Eh, yo, check out the link below for some awesome preaching on the supremacy of Christ in a postmodern culture. It is from John Piper's national pastors' conference (last year). Very accurately breaks down the challenge for today's ministers (and, heck, today's Christians) in the face of postmodern influences on the Church.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/1833_The_Supremacy_of_Christ_and_the_Church_in_a_Postmodern_World/
Sunday, July 01, 2007
What I'm Reading Now
Right now I'm reading The Rosenwald Schools of the American South, by Mary S. Hoffschwelle, 2006. Great look at the partnership between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald (who was responsible for Sears becoming a business success) to build over 5,000 schools for African-Americans at the turn of the century. Interesting look at the various forces at play in these ventures, from white philanthropists to Black local organizers to white officials in city and state education depts.
What was striking to me were the similarities bet. education reform in the early 1900s and education reform today: everything from the still unequal education that Blacks receive to the partnerships that have formed between school districts and philanthropists from the world of business to create new schools that will improve the quality of education for the poor in our cities. Another similarity was the complex dynamics between the vision and design of the funders and that of the community and the local leaders.
Some contrasts were evident as well, the most prominent being the lack of self help emphasis. Both in terms of the community mindset and in terms of the funders' requirements, what I found missing was the serious community accountability and involvement for the success of the schools being built. BTW and Rosenwald required communities to raise a certain amount of money before their donations even kicked in. In addition, they required measurable community support because they knew the success of the schools built would be dependent upon the involvement of the communities in which they were placed. I think today our philosophies about the ability of the poor to help themselves and about the political correctness of demanding accountability have hurt us tremendously. A final contrast is that the emphasis of the Rosenwald schools was on the physical plant, not on teacher training, curriculum, or other aspects of school reform that we are familiar with today.
Well, I am not yet finished with the book (about half way through), but I look forward to learning more about the process of getting over 5,000 schools built in about twenty, twenty five years, and about their legacy today. And my thinking is being sparked around what I can glean from BTW and Rosenwald's successes and challenges.
What's sad, though, is that almost one hundred years later, America is still trying to solve the problem of unequal education for its poor Black citizens....
What was striking to me were the similarities bet. education reform in the early 1900s and education reform today: everything from the still unequal education that Blacks receive to the partnerships that have formed between school districts and philanthropists from the world of business to create new schools that will improve the quality of education for the poor in our cities. Another similarity was the complex dynamics between the vision and design of the funders and that of the community and the local leaders.
Some contrasts were evident as well, the most prominent being the lack of self help emphasis. Both in terms of the community mindset and in terms of the funders' requirements, what I found missing was the serious community accountability and involvement for the success of the schools being built. BTW and Rosenwald required communities to raise a certain amount of money before their donations even kicked in. In addition, they required measurable community support because they knew the success of the schools built would be dependent upon the involvement of the communities in which they were placed. I think today our philosophies about the ability of the poor to help themselves and about the political correctness of demanding accountability have hurt us tremendously. A final contrast is that the emphasis of the Rosenwald schools was on the physical plant, not on teacher training, curriculum, or other aspects of school reform that we are familiar with today.
Well, I am not yet finished with the book (about half way through), but I look forward to learning more about the process of getting over 5,000 schools built in about twenty, twenty five years, and about their legacy today. And my thinking is being sparked around what I can glean from BTW and Rosenwald's successes and challenges.
What's sad, though, is that almost one hundred years later, America is still trying to solve the problem of unequal education for its poor Black citizens....
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