Global Gospel Advancement Week 2017Covenant College’s annual Global Gospel Advancement Week took place November 6-10, featuring guest speakers Matt Allison '04, Rev. Wy Plummer, and Rev. Aaron Tolson '97. Around the Web: Is There an Evangelical Crisis?Ross Douthat | from The New York Times “The evangelical market share has held steady while other traditions have declined, evangelical churches have continued to win more converts than they lose, and evangelical resilience is the main reason why religious conservatism retains an intense and active core. “The question is whether this resilience will survive the age of Trump.” Around the Web: Fear and the Fight to RememberChristina Fox '96 | Advisor to the Covenant College Board of Trustees | from Tabletalk “My fearful responses to changing circumstances are as automatic as breathing. I slip on fear like my old college sweatshirt, the one that is soft from wear and fits like a comfy blanket. In some twisted way, fear is comfortable and normal and familiar. “But I also know that fear is the opposite of trust. It’s not a friend; it’s an enemy, one that keeps me from my Father. Fear lies to me. It tempts me to focus on myself. It hides me in a fog so that I can’t see the reality in front of me. It makes it difficult for me to believe God’s truth—the truth that He is always with me.” Around the Web: Choosing Our Limitations: Thoughts on CommunityAndrew Russell | from The Rabbit Room “Rather than being something centered on a shared perspective or idea, community is rooted in place—and, deeper still, shared humanity and history. Community is not an echo chamber for a group of politicians or painters. Community is sitting in the living room with a group of relatives with whom you have nothing in common and recognizing that they are worth your time. It is staying close to home because Dad can’t work as well as he used to. It is tense political conversations, school plays, and funerals. It is a God who identified himself with a people who wanted nothing to do with him, and united himself to them against all odds. Any sort of community that avoids personal discomfort or inconvenience cannot be honestly described by the term. The truth of the matter is we don’t get to decide who our people are—our people are our people.” Around the Web: Laptops Are Great. But Not During a Lecture or Meeting.Susan Dynarski | from The New York Times “[A] growing body of evidence shows that over all, college students learn less when they use computers or tablets during lectures. They also tend to earn worse grades. The research is unequivocal: Laptops distract from learning, both for users and for those around them. It’s not much of a leap to expect that electronics also undermine learning in high school classrooms or that they hurt productivity in meetings in all kinds of workplaces.” Around the Web: Enough With the Laptop Ban Debate!Mark Lieberman | from Inside Higher Ed “Every so often, the debate over laptops in classrooms flares anew. This time, it took over one of the most relaxing times of the year—the days surrounding Thanksgiving—when The New York Times published an op-ed by Susan Dynarski…. “Observers interviewed for this article said they believe the laptop ban debate is productive for raising more pressing concerns, but not so much on its own. Educators have to be willing to adapt to students' needs, they argue—whether they're related to new technologies or individual personalities.” View email digest | Volume 1, Issue 19The View email digest is designed to bring thoughtful, challenging, and encouraging ideas and stories to your inbox. We invite you to share feedback with us on how this email digest could improve. What kinds of content are you interested in reading, listening to, and watching? We want this email to be a service to you and the church as a whole, and we value your ideas. You can send us your feedback by replying to this email. If you are not a direct recipient of this email and would like to receive future issues, please subscribe here. Web versions of all digest issues are available here. "Around the Web" content is provided to promote and encourage conversation and is not necessarily endorsed by Covenant College. |