Category: Culture

Linsanity (or, Why We All Claimed Jeremy Lin): Ethnicity, Status, Religion, and the Search for Vindication

May 30, 2012

  Remember Jeremy Lin? This undrafted, unheralded, 6’3″ Asian-American put the sputtering New York Knicks on his rookie shoulders and took the NBA by storm back in February. Gushing headlines about the 23-year-old Harvard grad consumed one of the few industries where being a Harvard grad puts you behind, not ahead. His 38-point, 7-assist explosion (a) against … More Linsanity (or, Why We All Claimed Jeremy Lin): Ethnicity, Status, Religion, and the Search for Vindication

Taking One for the Team

February 10, 2012

In the five days since my New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in dramatic fashion in Super Bowl LXVI, the drama hasn’t stopped — it’s just moved outside the lines: receiver Wes Welker’s distraught and courageous postgame interview after dropping the game-sealing pass in the fourth quarter; tight end Rob Gronkowski’s much-publicized afterparty dancing only hours after the … More Taking One for the Team

Perfecting Your Craft: Wisdom from Aaron Rodgers

December 6, 2011

Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the defending World Champion Green Bay Packers. After playing at Cal and surprisingly slipping to the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers sat behind legend Brett Favre for three years from 2005-2007 until Favre’s legendary annual retirements led to his trade from the Packers to the New York Jets. … More Perfecting Your Craft: Wisdom from Aaron Rodgers

When the Pastor Falls: Lessons from Church Scandals & Blind Loyalty

June 2, 2011

“Why People Stick by Scandal-Plagued Pastors” by CNN’s John Blake is a brief foray into the blind loyalty that many knowing parishioners maintain toward their scandalized pastors. Sue Thompson, a public speaker herself, has been burned before. She explains that followers often build a “spiritual firewall” around their pastors so that reasonable suspicions and legitimate … More When the Pastor Falls: Lessons from Church Scandals & Blind Loyalty

Secret Sins and the Resignation of Jim Tressel

June 1, 2011

Jim Tressel, long-revered coach and field general of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, resigned on Monday after a lengthy saga of unraveling details regarding NCAA violations. Time and truth go hand in hand, so the sporting world must wait, as it often must, for the full revelation. I’m nauseated by those who turn every … More Secret Sins and the Resignation of Jim Tressel

The New Internet Democracy

April 19, 2011

Which GAP logo do you like better? Don’t think your opinion doesn’t matter. Six months ago, in what is now old news, GAP changed its traditional logo but reversed course after encountering an outpouring of opposition. MSNBC called the response anything from “wondering” to “buzz” to “outrage.” The new internet democracy is a force to be reckoned with. We … More The New Internet Democracy

Learning to Unlearn

November 11, 2010

Learning is a process.  But it’s not all progress.  Sometimes we need regress.  Trailblazing often begins with backtracking. What do I mean? Unlearning is as important as learning.  We enter this world as instant learners.  Before we can even feed ourselves, we’re digesting everything around us.  We are innate, insatiable, incessant learners. But there’s a … More Learning to Unlearn

The End of the Last Word

September 22, 2010

One interesting (and horrible) thing about the endless tidbit discussions encouraged by contemporary written media is that the wonderful concept of the last, striking, unanswerable word is virtually unattainable.  We’ve reached, at least in some settings, the end of the last word. You know that 15-comment Facebook discussion packed with lowercase one-liners where everyone’s channeling their inner debate team champion and … More The End of the Last Word

Kind-of Confessions

September 15, 2010

Yesterday afternoon former USC running back and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush took the unprecedented step of forfeiting the award for the best college football player of the season and returning the trophy to the Heisman Trust.  I can still picture some of his spell-binding runs during that captivating year that culminated in the … More Kind-of Confessions

Homeless, Human, and the Breaking of the Dawn

September 13, 2010

On Saturday morning 61 students from Boyce College headed out to the Jefferson Street Baptist Center in downtown Louisville to engage the homeless, serve the center, and learn more of the gospel.  This homeless shelter has roots reaching back to 1888 and the post-conversion ministry of former riverboat gambler Steve Holcombe.  It’s now run by a Southern Seminary … More Homeless, Human, and the Breaking of the Dawn

The World Cup and the Wonder of Humanity

June 30, 2010

Like some of you, I watched the United States’ national soccer team on its hair-raising journey into the quarterfinals of the ongoing 2010 World Cup.  By allowing opponents to score within the first ten minutes of every game, the team ensured a tournament journey filled with tension and drama.  Yet by producing comeback after comeback, … More The World Cup and the Wonder of Humanity