IDEAS
MISSION WITHOUT A MORTGAGE
Faith & Leadership, Duke Divinity School, Duke University, March 2, 2010
The first clue that a visitor is not attending a typical Christian church is the indoor climbing wall and batting cage. But that’s just part of Sunday worship with the people of Riverside, a missional community in the small Texas town of Spring Branch.
WALK INTO THE BIBLE
Faith & Leadership, Duke Divinity School, Duke University Sept. 29, 2009
A church tells the oldest stories in a new way. A bold, one-of-a-kind mural project enriches children’s ministry and helps heal wounds at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Read full story here.
ITHUBA: THE LANGUAGES OF HOPE
Sombrilla, UTSA, Summer 2008
One day, a fifth-grade teacher in Soweto, South Africa gave a lesson about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. One of her students, a young girl who had recently lost both parents to this merciless disease, listened intently. Then the girl wrote a note to the teacher about her family—how she had become the sole caretaker of two younger sisters and how they struggled for food. She slipped the note into the classroom message box, but did not sign her name. Instead, she signed the note with the number 1. The teacher was sad to read about her student’s struggle. So, she picked up a pen and wrote her reply. It began, “Dear 1 ….†Read the full story here.
AS TRINITY GROWS, SAN ANTONIO BENEFITS
Trinity Magazine, July 2008
Researching and writing a history of the town-gown relationship between Trinity University and San Antonio gave me the opportunity to learn more about the fascinating history and aspirations of an exceptional university. Hopefully, readers learned something new as well about Trinity’s deep roots in its adopted hometown. It all began with a risky decision by Trinity’s leaders to move the college from its rural outpost to the big city of San Antonio on the eve of the United States’ entry into World War II. Here’s a quote:
“Looking back at the fateful decision and the leaders who made it, Tim Hixon, chairman of the Trinity Board of Trustees, doesn’t mince words: ‘They were either the dumbest people or the bravest people in the world.’ Fortunately, the latter proved to be the case and Hixon notes that today both the city and the University are supremely grateful for their decision. … “Â PDF of full article available.
GLOBAL RESOLVE
San Antonio Express-News, Jan. 19, 2008
Don Hester cares not one whit for plastic grocery bags, and this year the retired computer consultant aims to delete them from his daily life. “What really aggravates me is when I go to the grocery store and they give me 10 bags to carry five items,” he says. In 2008, Hester, who volunteers regularly at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center, plans to carry his groceries home in reusable cloth totes. He’s purchased some from his grocery store, and he reuses canvas bags acquired at conferences he’s attended — another bit of recycling. “That’s my No. 1 resolution,” he says. Download and read a pdf of this San Antonio Express-News article.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT, PARENTING
Our Kids Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Parents Magazine
Articles on child care and child development issues, such as this one on Basic Reflexes