Weekly Meanderings, 22 July 2017

Last updated on: July 22, 2017 at 6:33 am by Scot McKnight

Weekly Meanderings, 22 July 2017 2017-07-22T06:33:05-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We begin this edition of Meanderings with this good news story from Janie Fulling:

MCKINNEY, TX – An 11-year-old boy from McKinney, Texas could potentially put an end to hot car deaths.

Bishop Curry is a young inventor who loves gardening and all things technology. When a baby from his neighborhood died after being left in a hot car, he never wanted something like that to happen again.

Curry invented Oasis, a device that will sit on a car seat and detect movement if a baby is left in the car. It will blow cool air on the baby and call emergency responders.

The 11-year-old prototyped his idea with the help of his dad, Bishop Curry IV, and asked him to pitch it to his employer, Toyota. The father and son team made a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of a patent and initial manufacturing and raised more than $46,000.

Curry says he feels awesome to be able to make something that will actually help people. “I never even knew it would get this far. I made twice the amount I was going for.”

Business students from Miami Dade College reached out to the young inventor and volunteered to put together a marketing plan, business strategy and website as part of a class project.

When asked about his next steps after securing a patent, the young inventor said, “After that we gotta work with the manufacturers, which I don’t know a lot about that stage but I will learn about it. But then it should be manufactured and sold.”

And this one about Donna Gaines:

Born and raised in the “birthplace of Rock ‘N Roll,” Donna Gaines returned 25 years later armed with a background in education and a heart for the county that claims one of the highest rates of childhood poverty.

Gaines is a women’s ministry leader and wife to Southern Baptist Convention president and Bellevue Baptist Church pastor Steve Gaines, where they minister together in Cordova, Tenn. Although she spends much of her time traveling with her husband, discipling women, and spending time with her 10—soon to be 11—grandchildren, Gaines is also the founder and president of a literacy program that targets at-risk children.

Five years ago, Gaines launched ARISE2Read, a faith-based literacy program for second graders in the greater Memphis and Jackson areas. Since starting the program, ARISE2Read has mobilized 822 volunteers who tutor 853 students in 19 schools—including in Gaines’s very own Georgian Hills Elementary, where she attended growing up.

“Our goal is to tutor every second-grade child,” Gaines said in an interview. Their goal for the upcoming school year is an ambitious 30 area schools.

Several studies, including a popularly cited study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2011, correlate high school graduation rates with reading on grade level by the end of third grade. The Casey study showed that children living in poverty who are reading proficiently by the end of third grade have an 89 percent graduation rate, since in fourth grade students are no longer learning to read, they are reading to learn.

“If you’re not on grade level by then, that impacts everything,” Gaines said.

Eric Shelkopf:

My Half of the Sky coffee shop owner Renee Pollino wants to do more than satisfy someone’s hunger with a pastry or empanada.

She hopes her coffee shop and retail store, which opened in April in an 1800s house at 121 W. Wesley St. in downtown Wheaton, has both a local and global impact. Purchases help those facing such challenges as extreme poverty, human trafficking and addiction.

My Half of the Sky is a social enterprise, a business that serves a social purpose.

“We’re using business as a means to provide jobs and development,” she said. “Our goal is to show that the marketplace can be used to create sustainability.”

The store is an outgrowth of her desire to help others who might need a helping hand.

“I’ve worked with at-risk students and at-risk families,” said the West Chicago resident, who attended Wheaton schools growing up. “I’ve lived in the Middle East. I’ve spent time with people in severe poverty in Africa and Haiti. There’s this common theme that people need jobs. It doesn’t matter if I was in Africa or Haiti or if I was dealing with inner-city families.”

See this by Pete Enns on apologetics? [HT: JS]

The notion of “Christian apologetics” presumes that the intellect—weighing evidence, sifting through pros and cons, rigorous analysis—is the primary arena for engaging the truth of Christianity.

I don’t think it is. At least it hasn’t worked very well. If it works, it works among those already convinced. At its worst, it simply props up the apologist’s insecurities.

A burden of (at least western) Christian apologetics isn’t so much in failing to show the wider world how well Christianity works intellectually, but in presuming that the intellect is how Christianity works.

But our arguments are constructed after the fact, after we believe, not in order to believe. Belief is first. Intellect follows. The problem I have with apologetics is that that order is reversed.

The best apologetic isn’t proving we have a better intellectual system. Nor do we persuade others with fear of divine retribution if they don’t agree and the promise of an afterlife if they do.

The best apologetic is where there is payoff now. Embodying, “Your kingdom come”—how Christians live positively toward others, showing the difference our faith makes to those near us and our global community, living out the notion that we are here to serve and not to be served.

We are the apologetic, and that is much harder than crafting arguments.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 21, 2017

The Joy of a Cohort

Next Post

July 23, 2017 Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Solomon famously judge between"two women and what disputed item?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A sheep A house A baby A ring