From “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation” by Steven Johnson In the late nineties, a Stanford Business School professor named Martin Ruef decided to investigate the relationship between business innovation and diversity. Ruef was interested in the coffeehouse model of diversity, not the “melting pot” political kind: the diversity of professions […]

From “Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner” by Frederick Buechner Late one winter afternoon as I was walking to a class that I had to teach, I noticed the beginnings of what promised to be one of the great local sunsets. There was just the right kind of clouds and the sky

From “The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity” by Carey Wallace Inspiration becomes incarnate in the materials and culture of the world that surrounds us, in the details of our circumstances, and the unique folds of our minds. But the work we devote to shaping ourselves and our

From “The Soulwork of Justice: Four Movements for Contemplative Action” by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson Dr. David Wang, a professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, received funding from the Templeton Foundation to coordinate a global study on how seminary education affects the spiritual development of students. An early empirical piece of data revealed that 45 percent

From “Walk with Me: A Journey through the Landscape of Trauma” by Ellen Corcella The patient believed people who were faithful, devout, and kind were shielded from trauma and tragedy. Yet, with accident after accident, the patient’s emotional strength collapsed as she rummaged through her life history to identify where she’d stumbled. If the innocent

From “Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice” By Terrence Lester, PhD Educational redlining describes the systemic barriers that disproportionately limit Black and Brown communities from accessing higher education. Much like housing redlining, this practice manifests through discriminatory policies and structural inequities in loans, funding, college acceptance, GPA requirements, standardized testing, and other

From “How AI Changes Your Customers: The Marketing Guide to Humanity’s Next Chapter” by Mark Schaefer We’re living in an era when bots may be more empathetic than your best friend, spouse, or even your professional therapist. In a study that would have sounded like sci-fi a few years ago. AI was tested against licensed

From “World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading” by Jeff Crosby When I have been asked “who are your mentors?” I usually refer to authors – even those who are dead! In doing so, I’m not ignoring the great influences pastors, colleagues and others have had on me. But being able to read and reread

From “Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons” by Frederick Buechner I think that is much of what the Christian faith is. It is a moment, just for a little while, seeing the face and being still, that is all. There is so much about the whole religious enterprise that seems superannuated and irrelevant

From “Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most” by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz To help us out, we’ll turn to Smokey Bear, America’s iconic forest fire prevention representative. For those who aren’t familiar with him, Smokey Bear is a cartoon character created by the United States Forest Service for their