The New Urban Christian
September 13, 2007
Who are these new Urban Christians? What’s up with the afros, long hair, grunge or gangster attire? Have you been to a Christian rock concert? You can hardly tell the difference between it and a Rolling Stones Concert ? there are crowds of long-haired teens and young adults, swaying to the music, holding up lighters. Have you been to a Gospel concert? It’s just like going to see any popular R&B artist ? everybody’s in their nicest clothes (which includes low riders and midriff tees), fur coats are front and center and people drive up in Hummers, Navigators and Escalades, bling-blinging away. Are these really ‘Christians’ or has this generation of believers simply lost its way?
Before we get too carried away, we must remember that each new generation of Christians brings a new flavor, a new style, and a new way to worship God. Pastor Rick Warren, author of the popular ‘Purpose Driven Life’, pastors his church in khakis and polo shirts (and, for him, that’s dressing up!). Go to any large congregation, and you’ll be treated to part-sermon, part skit, part video presentation and lots of contemporary music. Is this a bad thing? I have to believe the answer is no. Ask any teenager or young adult worshipping in these services if they know who God is, and they will say yes. As a matter of fact, ask any American if they are believers, and they will say yes as well (even if they haven’t seen the inside of a church since grade school).
Understanding Astrological Predictions
September 12, 2007
Opinions about astrological prediction are generally divided: "Mysterious! Magical!", say some; "Nonsense!", reply others. In fact, both views are based on a misunderstanding of the nature of how astrology really "works". In this article, I will use a story to show both the true value of astrological prediction, as well as its limits.
Let’s imagine that a girl named Ellen goes to an astrologer, who, after studying Ellen’s natal chart in relation to this month’s planetary positions, tells her that next weekend she will meet a fine young man with whom she will begin a relationship. And that’s exactly what happens. Ellen exclaims to Sue, a friend of hers: "It’s magic! Everything happened just like my astrologer predicted!" Sue, impressed by this, makes an appointment with the same astrologer. In her session, she is told that yes, she will indeed find that job she’s been looking for, and will have it by May. Sue, delighted, goes home and waits for a response from the company to which she had applied, yet May comes and goes, and she doesn’t receive a call from them. "What a fool I was!", she remarks when she sees Ellen, "I should have known: astrology is nonsense!"
Knowing Hinduism or Hindu Religion
September 12, 2007
Hindus are concentrated in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and these places have been the hot spot of this culture since time immemorial. Unlike other religions, Hinduism does not recognize a single prophet and has multitude of gods and goddesses, mythologically numbering at around 30 millions! Such a figure is given in mythology by people of wisdom who have included all such perceptible forms as things of worship, so that man can see god in them and respect the existence of such all forms (plant, animal, stone, sky, stars, soil, water, rain, fellow human being, etc.
While failing to appreciate such deep meaning of the practices and beliefs, few people from within and outside have started criticizing negatively the Hindu way of life as something of superstition and irrelavancy.The same people have done precious little in appreciating the basic tenets, principles, thoughts, etc. of Hinduism while magnifying the seemingly negative and negative things.
Reframing with NLP For Enhanced Happiness
September 11, 2007
I used to work for the Independent National Newspaper in Canary Wharf, London. I can remember in the build up to Christmas, my department was having a large & expensive new computer system installed because the newspaper was being relaunched, it was when Andrew Marr and Rosie Boycott were becoming joint editors, I digress?. The system was being put in just before Christmas, but it was a massive task, with numerous issues & overruns. As Christmas approached, there were still a number of teething problems, which led to stretched relations between the system supplier & the newspaper staff.
At one meeting about the integration of the system, my director had been trying to get more time investment from the installation company, only to be told that their people weren’t going to be available on Christmas day. My director was frustrated and furious, asking "What are you doing that’s more important than sorting out our system!?" Without hesitating, the guy from the installation company said "Delivering Christmas hampers to the elderly." The impact was immediate; everyone in the room started laughing & my director joined them, realising that he’d perhaps been a bit unreasonable. Everyone knew that the story about the elderly wasn’t true, but that didn’t matter ? the statement had changed his perception of the situation, instantly, & he started behaving more reasonably.
Your Focus Determines Your Reality
September 10, 2007
“Your focus determines your reality”, this famous line was spoken by Qui-Gonn Jinn of Start Wars-The Phantom Menace fame.
Ok, perhaps it is really infamous and you don’t remember that quote. Nonetheless, think about it for a moment. Would you agree or disagree?
I’m about to show you why I emphatically agree with this certain Jedi Master and not just because it’s from Star Wars…well not completely 
No I’m going to show you how your focus relates to anything you want to be successful in and then more specifically your Christian life. Ready? Let’s Go!
“Close or narrow attention; concentration” - so says Mister dictionary.com. When you are focusing on a certain aspect of anything, you generally ignore the rest of the picture. You’re concentrating so hard that the rest of it at the very least becomes far less important and occupies less of your mental powers.
So what happens? You get more of what you’re focusing on. And less of what you’re ignoring. You can be successful at what ever it is you are focusing on because you’re giving it all your attention. And everything else gets harder to become better at.
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Shifting Culture and Climate in Todays Corporate World
September 9, 2007
This articles relates to the AlphaMeasure core competency Culture and Climate. AlphaMeasure defines climate as the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole. Knowing and understanding workplace culture and climate leads to a better understanding of what factors are influencing employees. In relation, the level of service your customers receive is almost always influenced by the culture and climate of your organization. This competency can be especially insightful if your organization is experiencing customer service related issues or problems working together internally.
A Tale from the Corporate Frontlines: An Employee’s Perpective on Culture and Climate. This short story is part of AlphaMeasure’s Tales from the Corporate Frontlines.
When large, multinational corporations acquire medium-sized, locally-oriented businesses, huge shifts in the culture and climate of the workplace can occur.
I experienced such a shift while working for a prosperous company with a rich local history and plenty of prestige in the community. When I started there, years ago, the culture was very friendly and laid back. This may have been due to the fact that although an eastern company, it was owned and directed by a larger west coast entity.
The Five Feng Shui Elements and Their Characteristics
September 8, 2007
Feng shui handles five main elements in order to achieve harmony and balance in any space. These five feng shui elements are: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each one of them has its own characteristics and properties, and we will detail them in the following lines.
According to Chinese traditions, everything is constantly changing and interacting and that happens through these five main elements. Feng shui traditional knowledge and all its guidelines are based on these five feng shui elements. Therefore, when wishing to harmonize a place according to feng shui, these elements must be properly employed according to their characteristics and effects.
One first feng shui element is wood, which has the Chinese name of Mu. Wood represents innovation, creativity and birth, and it is a sociable element. This element corresponds to the color green and the east direction. By placing this element at a strategic spot in any space, you would be adding all of which it represents.
Another feng shui element is fire, called Huo in China. Fire symbolizes and brings activity, enthusiasm and energy to the places where it can be found. It is a warm element that must be treated with measure since too much of it can destroy what surrounds it. Fire is represented by the color red and direction south, and symbolizes the puberty years.
Red Balloon of Happiness
September 7, 2007
Just when you think you know it all, some 17-month old child comes along and teaches you another valuable life lesson.
Little Lady lost her favorite ball. There are few things that bring this 17-month-old more joy than playing with her favorite ball. And, of course, we want our daughter to have all the happiness she can get.
So we headed out to the store to replace the missing ball. Little Lady enjoyed the outing, since there were so many exciting things to pull off shelves. And when we reached the ball aisle, she nearly jumped for joy. (OK, more like raced to the bin and started covering the floor with her joy, one bounce at a time.)
As we left the aisle, Little Lady was happy and smiling. She held her replacement ball in her hands as we walked up to the cash. While waiting to pay, Little Lady caught sight of a red balloon that had obviously been used for some promotion, but was now wandering aimlessly around the floor like a lost puppy.
Union with Christ Unites Us to One Another
September 7, 2007
Jesus knew He would be abandoned
On the night He was arrested, Jesus knew His disciples would abandon him and scatter. "Scatter" means that not only would they be separated from Him, but also from one another. Nor would this be a one-time event, but an ongoing tendency. Scattering is what sheep do. That very night, to prevent the scattering of his followers, Jesus did at least three things:
- He washed their feet, setting an example of humility and service;
- He prayed for them to be united, establishing both a path and a destination; and
- He established the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper not only unites us to the Lord as we remember His death until He comes, but because we share in this symbolic meal, it also unites us to each other.
As Paul said, "Is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:16-17).
Acts 20:7, the passage that suggests the first-century disciples were in a habit of weekly communion, says, "On the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread?"
Unholy Shadows: Gnosticism
September 6, 2007
One cannot begin to appreciate the early struggles of Christianity for existence without at least a rudimentary knowledge of its formative history. Thus, it behooves us to take a brief look at Gnosticism and its challenge to early Christianity.
Christianity’s infancy history comprised a time teeming with religious theories; a time when religious discussion was a popular occupation among thinkers of every type. So it was inevitable that in the enthusiastic interchange of religious ideas, truth and error would intermingle and the pure doctrines of Christianity soon became threatened.
Though Christianity faced many and varied forms of opposition as it spread and came into contact with other cultural forms, heresy presented a totally different kind of contrariety. And although the conflict subsequently resulted in ameliorated understanding of the meaning of Christ and a more lucid presentation of Christian belief, heresy was by far the most serious menace Christianity had to confront. The challenge was in the arena of thought. In its most sinister form it appeared under the title of Gnosticism.
