Vetrean Pastor, Life time Learner, Problem Solver, Servant-Leader and Motivational Speaker.

Urban Prep provides blueprint for blacks seeking higher ed

Urban Prep's students reflect the makeup of the school's surrounding community - all are African-American, and most come from low-income homes. National statistics might indicate that our students are destined for failure -- but at Urban Prep and across the country, this trend is beginning to change: high numbers of urban black boys are gaining admission to college. At Urban Prep, 100 percent of the students in our first graduating class are headed to four-year colleges.

What's the difference? Urban Prep and successful schools like it across the country are no ordinary public schools; they are part of a new breed sprouting up in urban public education: high performing charter schools. Charter Schools have long held the promise of promoting innovation in schooling. And sometimes, innovation means just doing what makes sense: having students spend more time in school; providing a learning environment that promotes achievement; focusing on core subjects; and creating a positive school culture.

MSNBC's REHEMA ELLIS REPORTS ON THE SUCCESS OF URBAN PREP ACADEMY

via www.thegrio.com

Are you waiting for God? | Ron Edmondson

Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14 NIV

I know what some of you are thinking, and quite frankly, I understand…

Sometimes I get tired of waiting as well…

You’ve been waiting so long already…

When is your turn?

Sometimes I find myself in another one of these trying times, when it seems I can’t win for losing…I have my daily pity party…curse the day I was born…and wish the world would let me off the rotation for a while. Maybe it’s not always that bad, but to be honest, sometimes I get impatient waiting for God to act!

Several times throughout the Psalms, the psalmist cries out “Come quickly, Lord!” I can identify with the writer. I want God to act on my timing. Sometimes…just to be honest…I can’t understand why God hasn’t responded to my pleas for help! NOW always seems like a good time to me!

Now, please, don’t leave me out on an island alone… surely you’ve been there too! We have a hard time waiting for God to work His perfect will! It’s just hard to see how the present situation could ever turn out perfectly.

via www.ronedmondson.com

Poetry Month: 'Totally Like Whatever' : NPR

In recognition of National Poetry Month, Day to Day and the Hearing Voices radio project present Taylor Mali reading his poem "Totally Like Whatever."

Totally like whatever, you know?

In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences — so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally...
I mean absolutely... You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like...
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation... ness
is just a clever sort of... thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since...
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

© Taylor Mali 2005

via www.npr.org

Totally like whatever, you know? - YouTube

Totally like whatever, you know? - YouTube

Video of the Week :Totally like whatever, you know? - YouTube

via www.youtube.com

WOW!!! THiS IS SO TRUE!!!!!Homeschool Blindspots - Joshua Harris

2. Raising Family as an Idol

When we allow the success of our family to determine our security or sense of wellbeing we are seeking from it something God intends us to receive from Him. I am describing idolatry. If homeschoolers are not careful, family can easily become an idol.

At times in their history the Israelites worshipped idols. They didn't always forsake worship of the living God - they merely served other gods with Him. Sometimes they simply made an idol of something good. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they elevated issues of holiness higher than the very God who declared them holy (Mat 12:1-8; 23:24). An idol is anything other than God in which we seek security and fulfillment. It may be something biblical or good, but if it has the power to determine our wellbeing, we have elevated it higher than God meant for us. As those who are devoted to our families, and therefore invest a great deal of time, energy, and heart, it is easy to elevate the family too high.

A great problem with idolatry is that idols require sacrifice, and we end up sacrificing relationship with our children for the idol of the family. When we elevate the image of the family, we effectively trade our children's hearts for our reputation.

3. Emphasizing Outward Form

Preoccupation with results often leads to emphasis on outward form. When we are preoccupied with achieving results it is natural to admire the results others seem to have achieved with their children. We like the way the pastor's kids sit reverently in the front pew and take notes of their father's sermon, so we go home and begin to teach our children to sit reverently and to take notes. What we don't know is that the pastor's kids conduct themselves with reverence and attentiveness not because he "cleaned the outside of the cup" and simply drilled them to do so -- he lived a genuine love for Jesus that was contagious, and watched as the fruit was born (Matt 23:26). Parents are destined for disappointment when they admire fruit in others and seek to emulate merely that expression of fruit in their own children. Fruit is born from the inside -- not applied to the outside.

via www.joshharris.com

Homeschool Blindspots - Joshua Harris

I read the following article by Reb Bradley in the Virginia Home Educator Magazine and was challenged by it. I appreciate Mr. Bradley's humility in admitting mistakes he's made as a dad. I see some of these tendencies in my own life and many of the observations he makes line-up with things that God has been teaching our church recently. Whether or not you homeschool, I'd encourage you to read this article prayerfully and ask the Holy Spirit to help you examine your motives in your parenting.

Exposing Major Blind Spots of Homeschoolers by Reb Bradley

In the last couple of years, I have heard from multitudes of troubled homeschool parents around the country, a good many of whom were leaders. These parents have graduated their first batch of kids, only to discover that their children didn't turn out the way they thought they would. Many of these children were model homeschoolers while growing up, but sometime after their 18th birthday they began to reveal that they didn't hold to their parents' values.

Some of these young people grew up and left home in defiance of their parents. Others got married against their parents' wishes, and still others got involved with drugs, alcohol, and immorality. I have even heard of several exemplary young men who no longer even believe in God. My own adult children have gone through struggles I never guessed they would face.

Most of these parents remain stunned by their children's choices, because they were fully confident their approach to parenting was going to prevent any such rebellion.

After several years of examining what went wrong in our own home and in the homes of so many conscientious parents, God has opened our eyes to a number of critical blind spots common to homeschoolers and other family-minded people.

1. Having Self-Centered Dreams

The reason that our dreams for our children are so vulnerable to crashing is because they are our dreams, imposed on our own children. As homeschool parents we make great sacrifices and invest a great deal to influence how our children turn out. The problem is that love for children can be lost in love for personal success as a parent. Our concern for ourselves ends up overshadowing our love for our children.

via www.joshharris.com

Follow the Link and read the whole article.

Conversations with Teenagers: Recasting - smallyouthgroup.com

My first inclination was to reply, “Nuh-huh!” That would have been helpful, right? Instead, the Holy Spirit seemed to prompt me to ask a question. I asked, “How do you think a church should use the money they are given?” This changed the direction of the conversation. He mentioned things like feeding the hungry, helping needy, and letting people know about God’s love. That led to a conversation about things that happen when I give money to my church. I get to participate in disaster relief in California, church planting all over the nation, and mission causes literally around the world . . . as well as paying the light bill at my church. We could have had a conversation about what kind of cars pastors drive, but I don’t think that would have been helpful. So, because God is smarter than I am, I was able to recast the discussion into something that did feel helpful.

Recasting doesn’t mean that we change the subject; we just change the way we are discussing the subject. Let’s say that a student wants to talk about “how far is too far” in a relationship with his girlfriend. Maybe a discussion about what is okay to touch and what is not is warranted at some point, but that discussion always seems to lead to an argument over rules, not a growing commitment to Christ. Perhaps asking the question could recast the discussion: Why do you think God designed us to be sexual beings?

The adolescent brain is just beginning to stretch its new ability to think through things logically. That can be annoying to adults. Some of them want to challenge EVERYTHING. But, the answer is seldom in “fixing” their thinking by giving them the right answers. It is usually found in giving them a new way to think about difficult issues. I saw a Facebook post on a teenager’s site recently that said something like: Either God is incapable of ending suffering, in which case He is NOT omnipotent, or He is not willing to end suffering, in which case He is not compassionate. I am sure that seems like a logical argument to the student who wrote it, but can I recast it? Suppose  you are the father of a child you love very much, but who hurts other people continuously. What would you do? Destroy him? Isolate him? Remove part of his brain? What? We cannot know all that God knows, but we can trust  Him.

via www.smallyouthgroup.com

Marketing Is Dead!!!!

Marketing may not be dead, but, in the world of social media, it has morphed. Dramatically.

Tribe-building is the new marketing.

• Marketing is no longer about shouting in a crowded marketplace. It is about participating in a dialogue with fellow travelers.
• Marketing is no longer about generating transactions. It is about building relationships.
• Marketing is no longer about exploiting a market for your own benefit. It is about serving those who share your passion—for your mutual benefit.

In his groundbreaking book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Seth Godin defines a tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”

I reviewed this book right after it came out in 2008. It is just as relevant today as it was then. It is the first book I give to new authors. It is must reading if you are serious about building an enduring career as a creative.

Seth says that a tribe only has two requirements:

1. A shared interest
2. A way to communicate.

It is easy to think of examples:

• Apple users—Just visit a local Apple retail store. People aren’t just there to buy products. They come to share their passion and interact with other enthusiasts. While other retailers struggle, Apple can barely keep up with the demand.
• Dave Ramsey fans—He has built an immense tribe of people who are passionate about getting out of debt and taking control of their money. It borders on religious fervor. No wonder. His philosophy has given hope to millions.
• Don Miller readers—His first book, Blue Like Jazz was on the New York Times bestsellers list for months. He tried to make a movie based on the book but couldn’t raise the money. But his tribe wouldn’t let it die. They raised the money themselves.
• Evernote users—Who would ever think that a simple software database would engender such a large and burgeoning tribe. But with over 12 million registered users, Evernote has attracted a diverse and passionate group of users.

via michaelhyatt.com

Yiruma - River Flows in You. I love this piece.

via www.youtube.com