Pew Survey of LGBT Americans

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/#overview

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Jim Wallis on his cancer diagnosis and losing control

Sojo.net

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What Synod Reminds Me Of Sometimes

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How To Streamline Synodical Deliberations

Watching some of Synod this week is always fun. An ongoing struggle for Synod is to figure out how as a body to allow good deliberation while not wasting time on speeches that won’t in the end impact the decision.

Most items that Synod decides don’t go long, but a handful of things each Synod go very long. When this happens Synod has to figure out how long to debate the matter. This isn’t easy. Last night in the debate on the scope of a study committee most of the speakers were clearly in favor of the advisory report. In the end the vote was not close.

Here is an idea that could be enacted by the electronic voting mechanism.

If a debate goes beyond a number of speakers (5 or 10 let’s say) or if it goes beyond 15 minutes, the chair can poll the assembly. The poll would be as follows:

Press 1. If you oppose the motion and you currently feel settled about it.

Press 2. If you oppose the motion but are still open to hear more on the subject.

Press 3: If you’re on the fence.

Press 4: If you’re leaning in favor of the motion but are still open to hear more on the subject.

Press 5: If you’re in favor of the motion and you feel settled on your decision.

This would inform the chair and the floor as to how much debate is needed.

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If your two year old were a grown man

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Jonathan Merritt on the Southern Baptist Convention

From Religious News Service

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More on Happiness from Barking up the Wrong Tree

What you can learn about happiness from the unhappiest place on Earth. Mostly excerpts from “the Geography of Bliss”.

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Phil Vischer Podcast 55 Link List

I love listening to the Phil Vischer podcast every week. Unfortunately they don’t post links to the articles they reference. Episode 55 had a number of interesting articles mentioned. I’ll see if I can hunt down these articles or at least some about what they talked about.

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John Suk’s Marriage Series

His invitation for participation. 

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Majoritarian Power Flexing by Cheering Crowds for Reading the Lord’s Pray or Gay Kissing

Two little videos to consider.

In this first one a Valedictorian places the Lord’s Prayer in the middle of his unapproved speech.  The students cheer. What is the emotional statement that the combination of the unapproved placement of the prayer, plus the cheering, plus the video posting are designed to elicit? It is a statement of crowd power that they as a group wish to celebrate their position at the expense of their adversaries.

If I had been asked for council by the young man I would have probably suggested that it would be better to present a winsome and a compelling witness to the love of Christ rather than a protest statement at the decline of Christendom in America.

Here is a second video of a street preacher who gets silenced by a same sex kiss at the applause of the crowd.  What is the message here?

I suggest that these are parallel statement where the crowd by its cheering brings to bear group power, pressure and influence against what in that context is perhaps a silent minority. The goal of the form of protest, accentuated by the video is to leverage the power of the majority to establish their position as a dominant one over their adversaries.

I think the tactic is neither wise nor very Christian but often tends to polarize the debate, threaten the adversary, and fuel conflict rather than encourage both sides to explore their differences in a productive way.

These are opposite examples of the same thing.

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