tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-356480112024-03-13T11:14:54.864+01:00Journey of JoyThoughts on life, learning, leadership and a biblical worldview for the journeyPaul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15383627435051043102noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-35936273881914599942023-12-27T11:01:00.002+01:002023-12-27T11:01:34.979+01:00Come and DrinkI meant to post this back in May during the season of graduations... It is a joy to celebrate these accomplishments, especially when we look back at how each one has grown in many ways. But it also makes us wonder what God has next for them and where they will invest their life and the blessings God has given them. What is worth our time and energy? What are the goals, desires and commitments Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-43058772024403709582023-01-14T10:12:00.013+01:002023-01-16T20:09:40.843+01:00Understanding realityMany of the observations in Ecclesiastes are related to work. We might even say that Solomon is investigating the significance of our work on earth. This is highlighted by the repeated phrase "under the sun". If you want more on this topic and an interesting overview of the book, read this article. We often wonder if what we do will have any real significance for the future. We seek not onlyPaul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-47686252882882535822023-01-02T06:30:00.070+01:002023-01-14T09:51:44.968+01:00All is Vanity? As we look more closely at Ecclesiastes, we will examine a few themes which Solomon explores. These themes also relate to our current context as we attempt to make sense of time, life, death, purpose, meaninglessness, hope, despair and the value and functions of wisdom. If you want a bit more insight into the wisdom literature of the Bible, take a look at a previous post titled Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-53624016764751997182022-12-30T17:33:00.001+01:002022-12-31T10:35:58.794+01:00Hope for the New YearWhat are your hopes and plans for the New Year? This is a question I often ask others and also try to take extra time with at the end of every year. The basis of this question includes a few basic assumptions which are important to understand and also help us to better respond to the question. Of course, the basic assumption is that we do have the capacity to hope. This is a dream that we will Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-41382748450180209262022-10-06T11:53:00.004+02:002022-10-06T11:53:31.894+02:00Inspiring biblical leadershipIt is interesting that each community usually takes on the personality of its leadership and its leadership is also a reflection of the values of that same community. Depending on the values of the community, this could produce very different types of leaders, leaders who only serve themselves or leaders who serve others.One approach would be to identify what biblical leadership means and then Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-19996217518850936182022-09-23T11:42:00.002+02:002022-09-25T17:31:43.143+02:00Conversation - additional thoughtsAfter reflecting on my posts from January a bit more, here are a few other things that come to mind...1. It is difficult to have meaningful discussions when we can't agree on common terms or definitions of words. Words like mother, father, marriage, love and even truth are now being twisted so that reality is redefined by how I want to see the world and how I require others to see the world.2. ItPaul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-63251716948596870452022-01-15T09:50:00.004+01:002022-01-15T10:08:26.272+01:00Conversation - part 9How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...So, here we are at the end of the conversation. I hope it has challenged you to think at least half as much as it challenged me. I believe that it was valuable for Derek on several levels as well and, although he did not respond to mePaul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-44060698944392772962022-01-14T14:47:00.003+01:002022-01-14T14:52:55.761+01:00Conversation - part 8 How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...This was Derek's 7th and last post in the conversation. I will provide my response later because this is such a long entry and I should add a few notes at the end here. His opening was really nice and I appreciated his friendly Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-46005557900399681842022-01-13T16:14:00.002+01:002022-01-13T16:15:20.071+01:00Conversation - part 7How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...A few comments:Now we are nearing the end of our conversation. This post from Derek reveals a continued shift in his attitude and openness. It was really encouraging to see this from him, though there is still some miscommunication atPaul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-64845458876198612722022-01-12T17:40:00.002+01:002022-01-12T17:46:29.270+01:00Conversation - part 6How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...Commentary:This post shows a real shift in Derek's attitude and willingness to open up. I was very grateful for that. He even tells some of his story about growing up in a Christian home, although there is no information on how his Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-41960006246190684412022-01-11T15:02:00.000+01:002022-01-11T15:02:17.523+01:00Conversation - part 5How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...It seems that Derek wrote this in a hurry and maybe did not even intend to post. I received a notification about the post and copied the text, but later was not able to find it in the comments feed. Some of his ideas here are Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-29499323863399843872022-01-10T20:15:00.003+01:002022-01-10T20:27:16.512+01:00Conversation - part 4How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story... Commentary:His second post in response to me was interesting and demonstrated that he was still trying to clarify several things. There seemed to be many misunderstandings related to my ideas. I felt that either I did not express Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-32141265131961653542022-01-08T13:37:00.003+01:002022-01-08T16:32:02.097+01:00Conversation - part 3How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story... Commentary:After my last response to Derek, I realized that maybe I did not really address the issue of Reformed theology, which he seems to have a particular issue with. (See his comments on predestination in part 2.) Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-13001977186271673302022-01-06T15:03:00.001+01:002022-01-08T16:51:54.796+01:00Conversation - part 2How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?Although Derek answered right away to my post, his tone was still quite accusatory and so he didn’t provide any real sense of gratefulness for the chance to discuss these ideas. As I read his post, I tried to consider why he communicates in this manner and what his previous experiences might have been to lead to this Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-15255842811117288062022-01-03T16:25:00.007+01:002022-01-06T14:40:07.619+01:00Conversation - part 1How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?This post begins a series of posts in order to review an online conversation with Derek that began in January of 2020. As I have reflected on this discussion over many months, my intent was always to invite him to work through this conversation again, contributing his ideas and commentary, which would give a more complete Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-21550877365539930862021-12-16T10:21:00.008+01:002022-09-23T11:02:14.037+02:00A Theology of StewardshipRight now I'm struggling a bit with what to spend on Christmas gifts this year. It is often interesting to hear how much people are spending, what they are buying, what they are not buying and ultimately their level of satisfaction with what they bought or received during the Christmas season. We can attribute many of these things to how we grew up and our parent's attitudes about money as well Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-13327423894687572602021-08-16T10:22:00.007+02:002021-08-16T11:02:24.095+02:00Interpreting our ExperiencesIt is interesting to see the conclusions people draw these days from the news or from their own experiences and then, claiming to understand the motives of others, make broad generalizations and theories about society, culture and even history. This may be partially due to the immediate access most people have to the news and how that is shaped by the biases and perspectives of those channels we Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-33071435862677185932021-07-24T11:21:00.008+02:002021-12-16T15:33:18.120+01:00Society - 11 years laterA few days ago I found my notes on "A Healthy Society" which was the basis for many of the posts I wrote on this blog in 2010. You might read the original post titled Society part 1. But now, after 11 years, I see a much deeper application of these ideas which addresses the current trends in our society, the dangers of an unhealthy society and the potential for healing in broken societies.The Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-15145002510161219162021-07-17T13:16:00.004+02:002021-07-18T12:20:54.178+02:00Meditate on it day and night“Meditate on it day and night” (Psalm 1) - this is a reference to continual thinking, processing and discussion over a lifetime as you dig deeper into the symbolism and ambiguities of Scripture in light of the bigger picture of life. This means that any one part of Scripture, taken as a single entity, can lead us the wrong direction because it is so different from our current perspectives and Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-64496956562920657262021-04-01T04:12:00.010+02:002021-07-26T10:48:07.590+02:00Discrimination and gender identityOk, I know this is not in line with my usual topics! But it is an important issue because it is central to human rights, education and especially to viewing others with compassion and love. Everyone bears the Imago Dei whether they realize it or not. So, in that sense, it is very important to talk about.In the US there is debate in 2021 about new proposed legislation, commonly termed the "Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-75559100322901721372020-08-17T23:59:00.008+02:002023-12-27T11:31:44.914+01:00 Recognize and evaluate assumptions How do I recognize and evaluate my own assumptions?This is a question which I believe has always been important but is becoming important in a new way now. Having worked in education now for so many years, the importance of critical thinking has continued to receive more attention. However, critical thinking in public conversation seems to be highjacked by a tendency to ignore our own Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-87984565266526748232020-01-14T11:52:00.000+01:002020-01-14T11:52:28.849+01:00Connecting faith and lifeI few posts back I wrote about "Real Value in Christian education" and mentioned several aspects of a Christ-centered education that provide unique and powerful connections between life and learning. We can now look more closely at the first of these connections:
Christ-centered education connects faith to life (God's law is central to all learning and to all decisions because I know He desires Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-47887748711223856162019-08-07T11:09:00.000+02:002019-12-03T20:11:36.633+01:00Comparing the scope of faith and science
Introduction
When we discuss faith and science together, we might encounter seemingly incompatible concepts and perspectives, but this should not be the case! Instead of having to decide between faith and science, we need to come to the discussion with a clear understanding of how they support each other. This approach demands that we know which questions to ask and where to go to find the Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-25001327023711828232015-09-26T12:58:00.002+02:002021-07-18T12:31:16.731+02:00Debates on ReligionEvery few weeks I happen upon an interesting article and then waste a few minutes looking through the comments to see what people have to say about the content. Sometimes this is slightly enlightening but it often just reinforces my belief that people have a long way to go in their ability to understand truth and communicate that truth in a graceful and convincing manner. And so, once again, I Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35648011.post-71753288812860946032014-05-02T17:21:00.001+02:002014-10-25T10:59:26.821+02:00Real value in Christian Education
What is Christian Education and why is it important? From much study and
experience it seems that the real difference is the focus on character,
the heart of the person, not just the brain or the thought processes.
Character formation is integral to learning because a person of
character is one that is prepared for life and finds real purpose in
both learning and in serving others. As we Paul Madsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151228410663401200noreply@blogger.com0