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    This is a link to my podcast where I ruminate on life, leadership, travel, spiritual revolution, books, and just about anything else that may pass through my mind when the recorder is on. Listen at your own risk!

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Rethinking Wealth

GoldbarsCheck it Out! Christianity in a Consumer Culture

For those living in a capitalist context, wealth, profit, advantage and power are understood, in a general sense, almost exclusively as material and, in a more specific sense, as economic. But clearly there is a form of wealth that is not rooted in money, property, or any other physical asset. Similarly, there are advantages in life that extend beyond the economic realm and there are forms of power that are not rooted in the world of financial wealth. 
    In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, one of the wealthiest men in history, wrote, “Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! …So what is the advantage of wealth – except perhaps to see it run through your fingers!”  Moreover, Solomon writes, “There is another serious problem I have seen in the world. Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver … People who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as the day they were born.”  Solomon seems to be saying here that material wealth, in itself, is not capable of providing human beings with the happiness and inner peace that they ultimately value and seek. Something (spiritual capital) must exist beyond or beneath material wealth that imbues it with the power to grant happiness to its possessor. Solomon contends that people who seek material capital alone, apart from such spiritual capital live their lives under a cloud – frustrated, discouraged, and angry. Any thoughts? Let me encourage you to attend what should be an intellectually stimulating and life-changing event: Conference on Christian Consumerism

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Recent Posts

Reading for Revolutionaries

  • Shane Claiborne: The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

    Shane Claiborne: The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
    This book will rock your world! I believe this is a must read for anyone serious about being a genuine Christ-follower. Read it and weep ... Read it and rejoice. (*****)

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  • John Wood: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children

    John Wood: Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children
    This is at turns and incredibly inspirational and convicting book. John Wood left a cushy job and promising future at Microsoft in order to devote his life to building libraries and schools in the villages of Nepal and other third world countries with low literacy rates. I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he spoke to the rich young ruler? (****)


  • F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage: Transforming Spirituality: Integrating Theology And Psychology

    F. LeRon Shults and Steven J. Sandage: Transforming Spirituality: Integrating Theology And Psychology
    Shults and Sandage bring a fresh approach to this work on spiritual/personal/theological formation and its integration. As in their previous collaboration, "The Faces of Forgiveness," this book is a paradigm-breaking, creative, and invigorating contribution to the field of spiritual formation - though it deals as directly with subjects such as theology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and sociology, weaving them all into a rich, integrated whole. Just a taste of what awaits in Transforming Spirituality ... "However, the reformative Pneumatology we have been outlining can help us understand that our way of being-present to others in space and time is our spirituality." (*****)

  • Kathryn Tanner: Economy Of Grace

    Kathryn Tanner: Economy Of Grace
    Theologian Kathryn Tanner explores alternative economies that are based on grace rather than greed and money. She provides a challenging and cogent argument for rethinking the foundations of current forms of advanced capitalism. Though I do not agree with all of her final conclusions, I agree with her primary premise that current systems are in need of change and rethinking our theology of economics is where we need to begin.

  • Larry L. King: In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor

    Larry L. King: In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor
    A powerful and sad tale about the troubled life of a near literary genius and how his dark side caused him to squander his talent and strengths. A sobering reminder of the need for Self-leadership!

  • Stanley J. Grenz: The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei

    Stanley J. Grenz: The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei
    This book addresses how an understanding of the triune nature of God should shape our concepts of "self" or "soul" as well as result in a more relational and communal church which takes responsibility for the "other." Because we are created with the imago dei, we can only find our true self-hood in relation to others. God is a social God. Grenz does an amazing job of debunking the post-modern concept of "possessive individualism" which is killing the missional focus of the church today. (*****)

  • Gerald Clarke: Capote: A Biography

    Gerald Clarke: Capote: A Biography
    This is an excellent biography of a brilliant writer whose life was sabatoged by the Dark Side. A study in how not to be a parent! This is an interesting read. (****)