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Duet
Almost ten years ago, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga released “Cheek to Cheek,” their album of jazz duets. Bennett’s controlled, classy (always a coat and tie) appearance matched with Lady Gaga’s ever-changing and audacious persona would seem to be a formula for failure but it worked beautifully. Bennett later remarked that the key to a good duet is contrast along with quality material and voices that complement each other. As well, they had developed a friendship two years before that led them to want to work together on the project. It was a stretch, but two soloists found complementary partners to create a best-selling album. For some reason, listening to…
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Farewell
Several of my friends are beginning to say “farewell” to careers. It’s hard to believe. I know for many retirement is not an issue and they will be finding something productive and challenging for the next several years. Nonetheless, for everyone it is a change and a transition. Not only are they saying farewell to work but to friends, clients, customers, donors, and people that have helped define them for so many years. The entire rhythm of life is interrupted. For some, it comes as a shock and they are unprepared. Unfortunately, many of these experience failing health, personal disintegration, and even death shortly afterwards. In losing the why to live…
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Korah’s Rebellion
Two weeks ago we looked at Numbers 11 and the uprising of the rabble against Moses to complain about the lack of variety in the food. Between then and now there have been two more rebellions – first from Miriam, his sister, and Aaron, his brother the high priest. As well, ten of the twelve men who explore Canaan come back with reports of giants in the land and the impossibility of their taking it. In Chapter 14 the people rebel and want to choose a leader who will take them back to Egypt. They wanted to choose a leader who could take them backwards. In response, God declares that…
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Christian Philanthropy Futures
In 2015, I wrote a blog titled, “This Is War” and the position I wanted to refute was Christian advisors, community foundations and organizations promoting the perspective that leaving wealth to children was not in the best interests of the parents or the children. This was a common quote: “Leaving children with wealth is like leaving them a case of psychological cancer.” You could not trust your children or you loved them too much to make them wealthy so it would be better to leave the money to an organization that could be trusted or establish a firm sunset for the foundation. Anyone but your children. No one ever…
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Numbers 11: The Rabble
At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud…
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Jumpin’ Til The Break Of Dawn
The song is so old that you cannot find the lyrics online, but in 1965 “Spider John” Koerner wrote and recorded Rent Party Rag on his first solo album. The gist of it was a story about what to do when you don’t have enough money to pay the rent. You get a barrel of beer, lots of food and some music. You tell the musicians, “I’m gonna feed you and let you drink for nothin’ and then you are “jumpin’ til the break of dawn.” You charge everyone a little to come and you have enough left over to pay your rent for the month. So simple! I’ve been…
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Like Hair in a Biscuit
The Kentucky River winds past Port Royal in Henry County and Wendell’s farm before it empties into the Ohio River below Cincinnati where I grew up. It was downstream in my life when I was first introduced to Wendell’s work and without our ever meeting in person his work has been a part of my life and work ever since. All of us have origins or we can call them headwaters. We come from someplace. We have a place of beginning. It may be a spot on a map or something that from the start has defined the way we look at life. I think Wendell’s headwater is love. Not…
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The Measure Of All Things
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Waldo Emerson the Philosophy Department of Harvard University commissioned a new campus building for the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology. In December 1905, it was officially opened with the esteemed member of the psychology department, William James, speaking. The professors of philosophy had determined the engraved stone inscription at the top of the building was to be, “Man Is The Measure of All Things” as that would have been appropriate for such an honor. While it would be difficult to neatly summarize the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, those words certainly reflected his own philosophy. In his lecture titled…
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The True Test
Imagine a see-saw with two children on either end. If equally matched everything goes smoothly. However, if one is bigger than the other it is hard work to keep the rhythm of back and forth. There is always an imbalance between them. In a 1924 article in the Atlantic Monthly, Lord Moulton wrote about the see-saw effect in the norms of a society. He titled it “Obedience to the Unenforceable.” Just like our see-saw there are two opposite forces acting on a society. One is complete Law where our every action is prescribed by binding rules which must be obeyed. On the opposite end is the force of total Free…
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The Ten Plagues
1. Moses had a number of serious challenges as a leader from the very beginning. a. He didn’t want to do it. “O, Lord, please send someone else to do it.” b. He didn’t have the talent or gifting he thought necessary. “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?” c. He had no credibility with the people. He was not one of them. He was privileged and they were slaves. He had escaped the consequences for what he had done and…
