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Essay

The Restrooms @ Synod

A few weeks ago Michael Gerson, columnist for the Washington Post, made the following comment regarding the transgender issue and bathroom use on the PBS News Hour: This is the kind of issue that is normally handled with culture norms, and people making compromises, and, you…
Jason Lief
June 17, 2016
Biblical StudiesEssayPolitics

Why Baylor Matters

Women are prominent characters in Luke's gospel.  It begins with Mary, the blessed one through whom grace and hope is born into the world; it ends with women running from the tomb, proclaiming the gospel. In between there are powerful stories that tell of Jesus' encounters with women, like the one who…
Jason Lief
June 3, 2016
Essay

Pilgrimage

Two weeks ago a friend and I took a bike trip. I bought a book—Road Biking Minnesota—so we drove up to Willmar, Minnesota, the place where I was born and lived until the 6th grade. I've been back many times but this time felt different. We stopped…
Jason Lief
May 20, 2016
Essay

Take me to your Leader

I'm wondering—What did colleges, churches, and ministry organizations do before all the new leadership literature that has clarified goals, objectives, and processes? Thankfully, we have been blessed with new forms of leadership that clarify the essential issues: This new paradigm shines a badly needed light on the inefficient processes of…
Jason Lief
May 6, 2016
Essay

The End of the World as we Know It

https://youtu.be/Z0GFRcFm-aY The longevity of REM's song “The End of the World as we Know it” speaks to it's symbolic creativity. It pops up in the strangest places—from movies like Chicken Little, to political speeches decrying the cultural shifts that have transformed the idyllic peace and harmony of mid twentieth century…
Jason Lief
April 22, 2016
Essay

Leadership: (What is it Good For?)

I've tried hard to stay away from the leadership jargon that gets thrown around organizations. I'm certainly not opposed to leadership; it's a lot like beauty—hard to describe, but you know it when you see it. So it's ironic that I'm teaching a class on leadership. I've taught the class…
Jason Lief
February 26, 2016
Essay

Being Grateful for my “Stupid Little Life”

"The cultural race to the bottom is a myth; we do not live in a fallen state of cheap pleasures that pale beside the intellectual riches of yesterday… All around us the world of mass entertainment grows more demanding and sophisticated, and our brains happily…
Jason Lief
February 12, 2016