church life | Explorations Media

Emotional Intelligence for Everyday Leadership @TheHighCalling

Some leaders seem to instinctively understand people: what motivates them, what frustrates them, what inspires them. Other leaders don’t. They are blind to the emotional landscape around them. These leaders lack what is commonly known as “emotional intelligence.” EI can be defined as “the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions.” The concept has a long history, but was popularized in the 1990s by psychologists Peter Salovey,John D. Mayer, and Daniel Goleman.

The director of Seattle Pacific University’s Brain Center for Applied Learning Research, John Medina, Ph.D., prefers a more scientifically verifiable concept called Theory of Mind. He describes ToM as a gadget in the brain that allows a person to do two things: 1) peer inside someone else’s psychological interiors and understand the rewards and punishment systems inside those interiors; and 2) understand that the rewards and punishments that motivate that person are not same as the rewards and punishments that motivate oneself.

Medina says that having “terrific” ToM is what people mean when they talk about emotional intelligence. “If you’ve got really good Theory of Mind, you can make a terrific manager, because you can understand your emotional landscape all around you very, very quickly. If you have very poor Theory of Mind, you’re an emotional blunt instrument. You just bang around inside people’s hearts and make them mad and make them happy and inadvertently you do both and you have no idea how you do it, because it’s random, because you don’t see anything, because you’re an emotional idiot,” he said. (Note: This kind of forthright talk typifies the Medina Grump Factor, which is how Dr. Medina and others describe his commitment to rigorous scientific methodology.)

Whatever one calls the intuitive ability to read and respond well to others, nurturing this characteristic can help leaders create and foster cohesive, productive teams. After all what leader wants to be an “emotional idiot”? …

Read the whole thing at The High Calling.

Posted on December 22, 2012 by cascheller

Christianity, church life, Community, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Philosophy, Science, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Christianity, church life, Community, Dave Danielson, Emotional intelligence, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Golden Rule, John Medina, Leadership, mutliple intelligences, Philosophy, Psychology, relationships, Science, Terry Hargrave, TheHighCalling, Theology, Theory of Mind, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

When Storms Come @Faith&Leadership

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Bay Head, South Pt. Beach

Bayhead, New Jersey

Like a thrill ride gone terribly wrong, Hurricane Sandy barreled through my beloved Jersey Shore last month. Except during college and a six-year sojourn in California, this area has always been home, the place where I grew up and where I have lived for most of my life.

When the storm was over, the terrain upon which my memories live had been torn asunder. Friends have asked how I’m dealing with the destruction. My home wasn’t damaged, but I have been through so many deadly storms in the last decade that they’ve been worried for me.

The loss of wealth, health, ministry, community and, most impossibly, the loss of my firstborn child to suicide have left me vulnerable, they think.

But I’ve become adept at responding effectively and efficiently to trauma. So much so that I sometimes think I should work in disaster response. …

Read the rest of this gratitude reflection at Duke Divinity School’s Faith & Leadership site. It’s my first article there and I’m honored to see my byline at the website of such an esteemed institution.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by cascheller

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Faith, Family, Friendship, Gabriel Gifford Scheller, grief, Leadership, Redemption, Theology, Walkin' the Talk

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, death, Faith, Faith&Leadership, Family, Friendship, Gabriel Gifford Scheller, gratitude, grief, Hurricane Sandy, Leadership, Redemption, resilience, Thanksgiving, Theology, Trauma, Walkin' the Talk

Managing the ‘Disaster After the Disaster’ @NJShorePatch

“You’ve probably been asked by out-of-state friends where to send Hurricane Sandy donations and what kind? It’s a daunting task to advise people when you’re in the midst of a crisis, but as the Associated Press reported, unwanted donations can become a “disaster after the disaster.”

‘Ad hoc relief groups need to make sure they are taking in only items that are requested and can be distributed. Money is the best because organizations don’t have to pay to move it and can tailor spending to changing needs,’ James McGowan, a representative from the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster reportedly told AP.

I saw this problem firsthand after the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks when I volunteered with the Salvation Army.”

Read the rest at Brick Patch.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by cascheller

church life, Community, Culture, Family, Friendship, Leadership, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

American Red Cross, and brick township high school, church life, Community, Culture, Disaster Relief, Donations, Family, Friendship, Hurricane Sandy, Leadership, NJ Shore Patch, Point Pleasant Beach High School, Police Athletic League, Public Square, Redemption, Salvation Army, Social Action, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Q & A: John Piper on Racism, Reconciliation, and Theology after Trayvon Martin’s Death @ChristianityToday

John Piper was one of the first and the few white evangelical pastors to make a public statement on the controversial shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. Not only is his passion for racial reconciliation informed by his self-proclaimed history as a Southern racist; it also fueled by his experience as the father of an adopted African American teen daughter. Piper is the author of Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, a book that inspired a public discussion about Race and the Christian at the New York Society for Ethical Culture in New York City Wednesday night. The Minneapolis, Minnesota, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church was joined onstage by New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church pastor Tim Keller and Anthony Bradley, a theology professor from the King’s College in New York City. Christianity Today spoke with Piper on Thursday about various kinds of reconciliation, including what it would mean to reconcile with someone like author Rob Bell. …

Read the interview at Christianity Today.

Posted on March 31, 2012 by cascheller

Blogging, Books, Christianity, Christianity Today, church life, Community, Culture, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Social Action, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Blogging, Books, Christianity, Christianity Today, church life, Community, Culture, Dr. Anthony Bradley, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, John Piper, Leadership, Public Square, Race, Race and the Christian, Racial Reconciliation, Redemption, Reformed theology, Rob Bell, Social Action, Theology, Tim Keller, transracial adoption, Trayvon Martin, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Photojournalism from Whitney Houston’s Home-going Service

Whitney Houston funeral guest showing program to journalists (photo by Christine A. Scheller)

For more photos from Whitney Houston’s Homegoing Service, click here.

Trying to Get the Money Shot at Whitney Houston's funeral (photo by Christine A. Scheller).

Trying to Get the Money Shot at Whitney Houston’s funeral (photo by Christine A. Scheller).

Posted on February 19, 2012 by cascheller

Art, Beauty, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Faith, Family, Friendship, grief, Journalism, Public Square, Redemption, Theology, Travel, Vocation

Art, Beauty, Celebrity, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Faith, Fame, Family, Friendship, grief, Journalism, Journalists, Paparazzi, Privacy, Public Square, Redemption, Theology, Travel, UrbanFaith, Vocation, Whitney Houston Funeral

What I Wrote This Week @UrbanFaith: February 13 – February 17

On Location at Whitney’s Farewell: What reporting on location at Whitney Houston’s semi-private, gospel-filled funeral taught me about spiritual battles, grace, and celebrity.
Marriage Is for Black People, Too: Ralph Richards Banks’ book ‘Is Marriage for White People?’ made him the target of angry critics. Now, the author has his say about interracial dating, the link between fewer marriages and the crisis in black communities, and his take on conservative scholar Charles Murray’s latest book on class and race.
Obama Birth Control Compromise Take 2: Activist Lisa Sharon Harper and ethicists Cheryl J. Sanders and Charles C. Camosy weigh in on the Obama administration’s contraception mandate accommodation.

Posted on February 19, 2012 by cascheller

Art, Bioethics, Books, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, grief, History, Journalism, Leadership, Medicine, Philosophy, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Science, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Art, Bioethics, Books, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Entertainment, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, grief, Health Care Reform, History, Is Marriage for White People? Ralph Richard Banks, Journalism, Leadership, Medicine, Obama Contraception compromise, Philosophy, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Science, Social Action, Technology, Theology, UrbanFaith, UrbanFaith.com, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk, Whitney Houston Funeral

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 6: Holistic Mental Health @TheHighCalling

When my son first began exhibiting symptoms of anxiety and depression as a sophomore in high school, my husband and I both worked at a California mega-church whose leaders openly preached against psychiatry and psychology.

The message reached a wide audience— from the pulpit, over radio, through books, and at conferences—thus cementing in place a culture in which getting professional help for mental and emotional suffering was discouraged and stigmatized.

This was a new phenomenon for us, one that may have delayed our son getting the help he needed. After I heard about the third suicide of a young Christian that I knew back home in New Jersey, however, I no longer cared what my church community thought. I knew my son needed help and was determined to get it for him.

Nonetheless, I was concerned that the mental health practitioners who treated him would respect his tender faith and the spiritual dimension of his suffering, some of which was directly related to our family’s decision to respond to a vocational ministry calling with a cross-country move and to the culture of the church where that calling was initially lived out. …

Read the whole article at TheHighCalling.org.

Posted on February 4, 2012 by cascheller

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Faith, Family, Leadership, Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Aging, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Dan Blazer M.D., Depression, Faith, Family, Freud vs. God, Geriatric Psychiatry, Health, Leadership, Medicine, mental illness, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

A Quarter Century of Jersey Shore HIV/AIDS Response @NJShorePatch

Tyler Alyxander and Ina Kaplan at "A Night of Illusion" fundraiser.

I well remember when the thought that I could have AIDS first occurred to me. It was 1986 and I was newly married. I had gotten pregnant by an East African man two years earlier and my husband had fallen in love with both me and my baby.

All seemed well, until I began paying attention to the news that AIDS had first appeared in sub-saharan Africa among heterosexuals. I dutifully got tested, then waited anxiously for the phone call that told me I was not infected.

Other people I knew heard different news. There were whispers that a high school classmate who had been an intravenous drug user and died of a drug overdose had taken his own life after getting the diagnosis.

It was a scary time, especially for anyone who had been anything but virginal. …

Read the rest at Manasquan Patch.

Posted on January 31, 2012 by cascheller

church life, Community, Culture, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Food, grief, Leadership, Medicine, Public Square, Redemption, Science, Social Action, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

anti-retroviral drugs, Beacon Light Fund, church life, Community, Culture, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Food, grief, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, housing, Leadership, Medicine, Miss Gay New Jersey, NJ Shore Patch, Public Square, recession, Redemption, Science, Social Action, The Center Asbury Park, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Aging Well with Dr. Dan Blazer, Part 5: Social Supports & Storytelling @TheHighCalling

Stories help us make sense of the world. True stories told by our elderly relatives help us understand ourselves, and the telling also helps the storytellers make sense of their lives, says Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Dan Blazer, M.D.

“One of the most critical things a family can do is to try to recognize the value of an older person, and one of the best ways to do that is to get the older person to talk about himself or herself, or maybe write about himself or herself. Then actually pay attention to what they write,” Blazer said when The High Calling talked to him recently. …

Read the whole article at TheHighCalling.org.

Posted on January 29, 2012 by cascheller

church life, Community, Faith, Family, Friendship, Leadership, Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Aging, church life, Community, Dan Blazer M.D., Faith, Family, Friendship, Geriatric Psychiatry, Health, Leadership, Medicine, Psychiatry, Psychology, Redemption, social supports, storytelling, TheHighCalling, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

What I Wrote This Week @UrbanFaith: January 9-13

Religion Wins Big; Pastors Protest Loss: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools can fire ministers and more New York City pastors were arrested while protesting fallout from the court’s decision not to hear a Bronx church’s appeal.
Politics Are Personal: In her new book ‘Left, Right, and Christ,’ Lisa Sharon Harper models a civil and redemptive discussion of divisive political issues. She spoke to UrbanFaith about Christians in the public square, and the dangers of winning political and religious debates but missing the truth.
Pastors Protest School Worship Ban: Some New York City pastors are protesting the Board of Education’s ban on worship in public school space as the ban threatens to spread beyond schools.

Posted on January 15, 2012 by cascheller

Capitalism, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Bronx Household of Faith vs. New York Board of Education, Capitalism, Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Ethics, Faith, Family, Friendship, Hannah Tabor case, History, Leadership, Left Right & Chris, Lisa Sharon Harper, Politics, Public Square, Race, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, U.S. Supreme Court, UrbanFaith, UrbanFaith.com, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Lifelong Ocean Grove Resident Takes Helm of Camp Meeting Association @NJShorePatch

Dr. Dale C. Whilden succeeds Scott Rasmussen (who ended his six-year term in mid-October) as president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. Whilden is a life-long Ocean Grove resident. He has served as an OGCMA Trustee since 1983 and has chaired both the Development and Program committees. Patch Faith & Family columnist Christine A. Scheller interviewed Whilden about his new role.

Christine A. Scheller: How did you come to be involved with the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA)?

Dr. Dale C. Whilden: I came to Ocean Grove when I was three days old right from the hospital. My parents had purchased a home here back in the mid-1940s. In the early 50s when I was born, we lived here year round for a number of years. Dad was principal of the school here in town, then we had to move to Toms River based on a new job he had as county superintendent of schools. We kept our little summer house here, and so for my entire life I’ve been coming to Ocean Grove every summer. Growing up through the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting programs, the childrens’ programs, the youth programs, Bible studies, beach activities, and choral and dramatic events, all those things over the years has led me to a sense of how important OGCMA has been in my life and in our family’s life as well. That history has certainly been a factor in my wanting to be involved.

Then when I graduated from dental school and did a residency at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, I couldn’t imagine not opening my dental practice in Ocean Grove. All those years growing up, it was sort of my Shangri La. I’d go to school in Toms River and we’d be there all winter, and then come summer time, this was the place. This was the epitome of my dream escape and it’s worked out very, very well. I think it gives me a good sense of the community and the history of the community. …

Read the whole interview at Manasquan Patch.

Posted on December 20, 2011 by cascheller

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Democracy, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Medicine, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Christianity, church life, Community, Culture, Dale C. Whilden, Democracy, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Leadership, Medicine, NJ Shore Patch, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Technology, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

Photojournalism by Explorations Media, L.L.C.

I’ve recently created what I think are some compelling photo sets on Flickr. As a journalist, I prefer realism to photo-shopped images, though artistic renderings can sometimes reveal truth better than fact. I recommend viewing these sets as slideshows, as I’ve arranged each one to tell a story.