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Avenue Takes Top Prize at Chef’s Challenge @LongBranchPatch

Tre Amici Executive Chef Matthew Zappoli at Chef's Challenge, Long Branch, April 2011

Chamber of Commerce hosts second annual Chef’s Challenge at Ocean Place Resort.

Seafood was the dominant theme at the second annual Long Branch Chef’s Challenge held last night at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa.

Executive Chef Dominique Filoni of Avenue took the top prize. His wild black sea bass with maitake mushroom, bok choi, and sesame oil in a lemongrass ginger fish broth won the judges over with its simplicity, texture, and flavor.

“It was perfectly cooked. You wanted to go back for more,” said judge Debbie George who is account director for Food & Wine magazine.

“Simplicity and flavor and texture were the three components to success,” said judge Chris Brandl, chef and owner of Brandl restaurant in Belmar.

“I’m not a big a seafood person. Even the fish had nice crispy ends and soft insides,” said judge Michael Sirianni, director of the Culinary Education Center in Asbury Park. …

For a taste of this fun event, go to Long Branch Patch.

My favorite city restaurant won, but the braised veal breast with porcini marascapone polenta from Sirena RistoranteSirena Ristorante entry, Chef's Challenge, Long Branch, April 2011 and the black grouper over Asian coleslaw with a smoked mango puree from White MarlinWhite Marlin entry, Chef's Challenge, Long Branch, April 2011 were delicious too. I also enjoyed a couple of beers from 21st Ammendment Brewery that were being featured by West End’s Court Liquors: the Back in Black black IPA and the Monk’s Blood Belgian dark ale. I’m generally not a fan of microbrews, but these were both delicious.

 Posted on April 29, 2011 by

 Capitalism, Community, Culture, Food, Public Square, Travel

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High School Social Studies Classes Confront Islamophobia @LaceyPatch

I’ll be dealing with some of the issues raised in this lecture in my next NJ Shore Patch column. I didn’t have the opportunity to do so in this article.

Lacey Township High School is attempting to break cultural boundaries as guest lecturer Engy Abdelkader, a Muslim American, spoke to students about Islamophobia.

Social Studies teachers Julie Ferenc and Joe Humenick hosted Abdelkader in an effort to increase tolerance and reduce bullying, Humenick said. Although previous classes have learned about intolerance and a holocaust survivor is scheduled to speak before the school year ends, Abdelkader is the first person invited to speak on the topic this year, he said.

Abdelkader is a Monmouth County attorney of Egyptian descent. She was born, raised, and educated in the United States. Her goal for the event was to reduce conflicts, misunderstanding, teasing, and bullying, and to build trust and supportive relationships so that a more effective learning environment is created for all students, she said.

Abdelkader opened the discussion by asking students what stereotypes they have heard about Muslims and/or Arab Americans.  …

To learn more and to see how Lacey residents are responding, go to Lacey Patch.

 Posted on April 29, 2011 by

 Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Faith, Family, Friendship, History, Islam, Leadership, Public Square, Race, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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What Is Scripture for? An Architect Wrestles with His Calling @TheHighCalling

Rick Archer was a rising architectural star in Washington, D.C., when some fellow believers challenged him: “You’ve always chosen what was best, but have you chosen what was right?”

For Archer, what was right was synonymous with what was best for his career, and he had just been offered the opportunity to rise further in his field through a two-year all expenses paid fellowship to study in Florence, Italy. His friends advised him instead to take a sabbatical so he could learn about Jesus and what it means to be his disciple.

“The story of the rich young ruler who went away sad because he wouldn’t follow Jesus hit me like a ton a bricks,” said Archer. …

Find out what happened next and why at The High Calling.

 Posted on April 25, 2011 by

 church life, Community, Culture, Ethics, Faith, Leadership, Public Square, Redemption, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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Eating in South Jersey Is Better Than They Thought @LaceyPatch.com

John and Lisa Howard-Fusco’s food blog helps locals and visitors find the best of the South Jersey food scene.

Eating in South Jersey isn’t what Forked River residents John and Lisa Howard-Fusco expected.

The blog they launched in 2008 grew out of their surprise at finding great food in South Jersey when they moved from North Jersey to be closer to their families. The couple never expected their hobby to catch the attention of The New York Times and New Jersey Monthly, but Eating in South Jersey has.

More importantly, the blog has become popular with local readers, many of whom look to the site to find out what’s going on in the South Jersey food scene.

“People read us. Let me tell you, we were pretty surprised,” said Lisa.

“A lot of the New Jersey media doesn’t give South Jersey its due at all,” she said. “We would go to all these wonderful places, but they wouldn’t stay open because nobody knew about them.” …

To learn about South Jersey’s hidden foodie gems, read the rest at Lacey Patch.

 Posted on April 22, 2011 by

 Blogging, Community, Culture, Family, Food, Public Square

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What Does It Mean to Live a Missional Life? @TheHighCalling

A Christian radio station commissioned a listener survey and learned that less than 100 people were tuning in to its programming. Instead of being concerned, management’s response was to say that it didn’t matter because their sole responsibility was to get the station’s message out.

Hearing this story in a Consumer Behavior class at Wheaton College was a defining moment in branding expert Karen Dougherty’s vocational journey. “They didn’t care how the receivers on the other end actually connected with the message,” said Dougherty.

The story illustrates a problem that Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow Darrell Guder and his colleagues tackled in their 1998 landmark book, Missional Church: A Vision for Sending of the Church in North America.

In the introduction, Guder identified these crises in the Western church: “diminishing numbers, clergy burnout, the loss of youth, the end of denominational loyalty, biblical illiteracy, divisions in the ranks, the electronic church and its various corruptions, the irrelevance of traditional forms of worship, the loss of genuine spirituality, and widespread confusion about both the purpose and the message of the church of Jesus Christ.”

I talked with Guder at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he is the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, about what it means to live out the Christian faith in light of these crises.

Read the rest here.

 Posted on April 19, 2011 by

 church life, Community, Culture, Faith, Leadership, Public Square, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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Evil Through the Eye of the Lens @NJShorePatch

Jewish Federation of Monmouth County hosts documentary screening and discussion on Nazi-era progaganda; honors Congressman Christopher Smith.

April 11 022What do a Congressman, a documentary about Nazi filmmakers, and a 10-time Emmy Award winning director have in common?

A discussion about propaganda and human rights, of course!

Evil Through the Eye of the Lens, an event held at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth County in Deal Monday night,  combined a 100-minute subtitled documentary about Nazi filmmaker Veit Harlan, a talk on the difference between propaganda and art by acclaimed filmmaker David Grubin, and humanitarian awards for United States Congressman Christopher Smith and executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education Paul Winkler.

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suss is the compelling story of the only Nazi filmmaker who was prosecuted (and acquitted) of war crimes for the Nazi propaganda films he made. More than this though, it is the story of his family’s complicated relationship with its legacy. …

 Posted on April 15, 2011 by

 Art, Community, Culture, Ethics, Faith, Family, History, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Vocation

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Q&A: Will Graham on Preaching Hell and Why He Doesn’t Believe in Mass Evangelism @Christianity Today

The son of Franklin Graham and the grandson of Billy Graham discusses his family and ministry.

William (Will) Franklin Graham IV is the grandson of Billy Graham and the son of Franklin Graham. CT contributing editor Christine A. Scheller interviewed him when he was in Red Bank, New Jersey, on March 25 preparing for the May 20-22 Jersey Shore Will Graham Celebration that will be held at the historic Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove. Graham is an associate evangelist at the evangelistic organization his grandfather founded and assistant director of The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. He is a graduate of Liberty University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He preached his first 3-day Celebration in Leduc, Alberta, Canada in 2006. Graham and his wife, Kendra, live near Asheville, North Carolina and have three young children.

Last year Harvard professor Robert D. Putman published a book called American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. He and his co-author found that Americans’ doctrinal commitments are weakening and they don’t believe God is going to send “Aunt Joanie” to hell. How do you preach the gospel to a generation that questions the eternality of hell?

I always go back to the Bible. It’s what the Bible says, and oftentimes as Americans— and this is not just in religion, it’s in a lot of things—we try to design stuff, today we call it designer religion: “I’ll take a little bit of this and take a little bit of that” and so on, and we kind of come up with our own little religion. We try to make our own God, our own idol in a sense. This is what our God is going to be: he’s going to be more compassionate, no more hell. But always I go back to this is what the Bible says; not this is what Will Graham says, but this is what God is saying through his Word.

But you have a generation that is not biblically literate and doesn’t necessarily respect the authority of the Bible the way society did in the past. And people like Rob Bell are communicating that it hasn’t always been clear that Christians believe in the eternality of hell. The fact that CNN, ABC News, and all these other secular outlets reported on it tells me that Bell is tapping into something. …

To find out his answer to this and other questions, go to Christianity Today.

 1 Comment

 Posted on April 8, 2011 by

 Christianity Today, Culture, Faith, Family, History, Leadership, Public Square, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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What Makes Those Roller Girls Skate? @NJShorePatch

Jersey Shore Roller Girls season opener gives this longtime fan a glimpse into what propels so many of us to love roller derby.

Jersey Shore Roller Girls 2011 Season OpenerIt was a standing room only crowd for the Jersey Shore Roller Girls season opener at Convention Hall in Asbury Park Saturday night.

The Anchor Assassins scored a decisive win (163-134) over Murder Beach Militia. It was redemption after losing to the team by five points in the 2010 championship bout. …

The bout was fun, but what I really wanted to know was what motivated these women to pursue the flat track version of a sport I vicariously competed in when I was watching bank track bouts on Saturday afternoons back in the 1970s. …

Find out what keeps them and us hooked at NJ Shore Patch.

 Posted on March 30, 2011 by

 Community, Culture, Family, Friendship, Public Square, Vocation

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Lessons from Elite Leaders: What Have We Learned? Part 8 of 8 @TheHighCalling

Highlights from the series.

For seven weeks, The High Calling has engaged with the ideas Laity Leadership Institute Senior Fellow D. Michael explored in his new PLATINUM Study on elite leaders.

In “Limits, Accountability, & Marriage,” we learned that setting limits on ambition, being accountable to peers, and getting married are important contributors to career success. A regular practice of Sabbath rest, for example, differentiates people who are successful over the long haul from those who experience significant difficulty creating life/work balance. We also learned that small groups can provide the kind of personal support leaders need, but only if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to our peers. Finally, we learned that a strong social support networks like marriage are vital to managing the challenges of demanding leadership roles. …

Find out what else we learned at The High Calling.

 Posted on March 30, 2011 by

 Capitalism, Community, Ethics, Faith, Family, Leadership, Public Square, Social Action, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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Out of the Darkness and Into the Light for Suicide Prevention @NJShorePatch

Remembering my son and walking off my grief with other survivors.

gabe art photoMonday, March 28 will mark the third anniversary of my son Gabriel’s death by suicide. Instead of wallowing in the grief that continues to haunt my life, I’ve decided to walk it off this year.

Not literally, of course, because one doesn’t shake this kind of loss, but in real ways that do me and others good I am walking off the stigma and ignorance that suicide inspires.

Right now I’m in training. Come June, I’ll join thousands of other suicide survivors to walk 18 miles from dusk until dawn at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s annual Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk.

As the name suggests, the walk is a fundraiser that seeks to bring the issue of suicide “out of the darkness and into the light.” This year, it will be held in New York City on June 4-5. If you’ve lost a loved one to suicide or just want to support efforts to prevent the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, I hope you’ll join me!

Here’s why …

To find out the answer, go to one of the NJ Shore Patch sites.

 3 Comments

 Posted on March 23, 2011 by

 Community, Family, Gabriel Gifford Scheller, grief, Leadership, Psychiatry, Psychology, Public Square, Redemption, Social Action, Walkin' the Talk

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How I Learned to Love a Show about Mormon Polygamy @Her.meneutics

Despite its troubling views on marriage and family, HBO’s Big Love always felt like an allegory for real people I know.

Years before TLC launched its polygamous reality show Sister Wives, Tom Hanks and company produced HBO’s award-winning drama series Big Love, about a family of polygamists who emerged out of a creepy Mormon splinter group.

I’ve watched all five seasons of Big Love, including Sunday night’s series finale. Creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer told the Los Angeles Times this week that the series emerged from their marriage, with the goal of communicating the idea that marriages can endure change. What appealed to me about the show was how it parsed the challenges of breaking free from a closed religious community while grappling with the community’s best ideals and penetrating reach. …

Read the whole review here.

 Posted on March 22, 2011 by

 Community, Democracy, Faith, Family, Her.meneutics, Public Square, Redemption, Theology, Walkin' the Talk

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Lessons from Elite Leaders: A Theology of Power for the Workplace, Part 6 of 8 @TheHighCalling

How can powerful leaders be effective and responsible?

In a 2009 Journal of Religious Leadership article, Laity Leadership Senior Fellow D. Michael Lindsay wrote that evangelicals populate halls of power, but generally “have no theological framework for managing the privileges that accompany the mantle of public leadership.” He then outlined a theology of power that can help us consider how to wield power effectively and responsibly.

“Christians in public leadership would be wise to pursue their lives in ways different from the dominant culture, especially in terms of their consumption practices and workplace politics,” he said. Lindsay drew this conclusion after analyzing anecdotal evidence that suggests “whatever suspicions non-religious colleagues may have of these Christians emerge not from hostility toward the teachings of Jesus but from the lifestyles of those who claim to be his followers.”

For example, two business leaders, MCI WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers and Enron Corporation CEO Kenneth Lay, have been depicted as notoriously corrupt. Yet both were active in their churches. Conversely, when Tyco International needed to “renew its commitment to ethics, it hired Eric Pillmore as senior vice president of corporate governance. Obviously, Pillmore’s faith and work is the public witness we want to emulate. But how do we ground such a witness theologically?

Find out the answer to that question here.

 Posted on March 14, 2011 by

 Community, Ethics, Leadership, Public Square, Theology, Vocation, Walkin' the Talk

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