Tuesday on the blog means that I get to share some links to what I have found interesting and thought provoking over the past week with all of you. To make sense of all of these links, I have grouped them by the following categories: Church and Ministry Thought & Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership Thought & Practice; Millennials; Neighbor Love; Social Media & Blogging; Stewardship; Vocation and Miscellaneous. I hope you enjoy these links!

Church and Ministry Thought & Practice

If you are preparing for worship or giving a sermon this coming weekend, check out these reflections based on the revsied common lectionary appointed readings from Bishop Michael Rinehart on “Pentecost 8B,” as well as from friend and professor Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis on “The Dew of Compassion,” and also, “Pentecost 8B: Compassion and Need,” from Rev. Dr. David Lose

If you are following or using the Narrative Lectionary (like I am currently), check out this commentary on “Proverbs 8:1-11, 22-36,” by friend and professor Rev. Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker

Jan Edmiston reflected about “The Difficult Truth About Creating the Future Church.”

Friend and blogger J.W. Wartick shared “John Wesley’s Directions for Singing Hymns.”

It’s a very good week when Rick Steves makes the links. Check out this post about filming at some of the Reformation sites in, “Martin Luther’s Been Kidnapped!”

Church and Social Media (#ChSocM) shared a transcript of its weekly chat moderated by Meredith Gould, “Celebrating 4 Years of Chatting about Social Media.”

My cousin Kimber shared reflections and pondering in “How it all began,” a life and journey in cross-cultural ministry.

The time has come. This week about 30,000 Lutherans are gathering in Detroit for the ELCA National Youth Gathering, which you can watch and follow along. Regarding the Youth Gathering, Todd Buegler writes, “A Church that Steps Out.” To follow along with the fun, learning and excitement of the gathering, follow on Twitter here, here or with the hashtag #RiseUpELCA.

Friend Megan Hansen shared, “Recovering Reverend: You can take the pastor out of the church, but you can’t take the Church out of the pastor,” by Derrick Weston.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

Tom Murphy at The Humanosphere asked a great question that leaders, stewards, and donors wonder, “Why can’t we track money pledged for disaster relief?”

Friend and professor Dr. Ron Byrnes shared, “Education Apocalypse- Junior Achievement for Kindergartners.”

For those of you like me who love visiting National Parks and National Monuments, Julie Hirschfeld Davis shared news that 3 New National Monuments were established by President Obama.

Anne Loehr asked and shared, “How Do Generations Impact Teamwork?”

Jon Mertz shared this helpful post about remote work by Chantal Bechervaise about, “RV Travelers: Working From the Road.”

I share this detailed essay about “The Really Big One,” by Kathryn Schulz because it is fascinating and a good synopsis of what I learned in science growing up, but also in college geology courses. I share this also in this section, in the hope that the different sectors of society come together and with whatever time there is until the “Really Big One” hits, more will be done proactively to prepare structures, people, cities and communities. There is great work to be done, and I think it is possible to do a lot of good. The only question is, is there time and a willingness to spend now in an effort to not spend as much (in lives, deficits, destruction) after it hits and changes the face of the Pacific Northwest forever?

Julian Stodd shared this perspective about organizations and social leadership, “All of it: not just the tasty bits.”

Leadership Thought & Practice

Julian Stodd wrote about “The Leadership We Need.”

Brian Dodd shared a list of “12 Practices of Highly Successful Leaders who attract other leaders to your organization.”

Justin Irving shared about the leadership practice of “Providing Accountability.”

Will Yakowicz shared “Leadership Lessons from a True Renaissance Man,” explaining about “How Cosimo de’ Medici used a style known as ‘multivocal leadership’ to get people to work together and bring out their strengths.” Some of the highlighted insights include: speak team members’ language; know what drives your employees; and be aware of your weaknesses.

Tanveer Naseer asked and shared, “Are You Creating Purpose through your Leadership?”

Dan Forbes and Lead with Giants shared a guest post by Mark Fernandes about “Values Based Leadership- An Aligned Life.”

S. Chris Edmonds wrote that, “Great Leaders Manage People’s Energy & Their Contributions.”

Dan Rockwell explained about “How to Focus on What Really Matters.”

Last fall, Saga Briggs shared a list of “25 Things Skilled Learners Do Differently.” What do you think of this list? What might you add?

Ron Edmondson shared, “7 Reasons I Need to Regularly Exercise as a Leader.” The 7 reasons Ron lists that you may relate with are: forced down time; physical health; mental stimulation; longevity; maximum effectiveness; eat with less worry; and stress reduction.

Lolly Daskal shared, “69 Simple Ways to Unleash Your Full Leadership Potential.”

Achim Nowak reflected about “How We Have Institutionalized Rudeness.”

Over at Thin Difference, Molly Page asked, “Do You Lead with a Selfie Stick?” If you do lead with a selfie stick you might operate by these rules: don’t wait, get it done now; don’t ask for help, go it alone; don’t trust, protect what’s yours; don’t mentor, just do it yourself; and don’t surrender control, get the perfect shot.

Millennials

Jeremy Chandler at Thin Difference shared, “5 Foolproof Ways to Effectively Lead Millennials.” Jeremy’s “universal laws” for leading Millennials are: define clear expectations and outcomes, then let us work; don’t just tell us what to do, teach us how to think; tell us what we’re doing right, not just things we need to improve; help us transform our everyday work to a bigger vision; show us how our current work is setting us up for future success.

Brigid Schulte wrote about “How this Millennial learned to keep her work at work and finally go on that date night with her husband.”

Kristi at Young Adult Money shared “3 Misconceptions of Millennials.” The misconceptions which Kristi reflects on and responds to are: we have an unhealthy obsession with social media; we are lazy and feel entitled to what we haven’t earned; and we are narcissistic and don’t care about helping others. What do you think of these misconceptions and their responses?

Neighbor Love

Friend, blogger and pastor Diane Roth shared “Fear Itself.”

Jesse James DeConto wrote that the “Activist who took down Confederate flag drew on her faith and on new civil rights awakening.”

My wife Allison shared this thought provoking post and reflection from Christina Embree pondering, “Who Needs God Anymore?”

Robert Christian shared about “Pope Francis’ Most Important Speech: A Radical Call for Change” in the Millennial Journal.

Blogger, writer and pastor Clint Schnekloth shared some “Things I’ve Learned about My Whiteness This Summer.”

Friend, blogger and artist Vonda Drees shared a number of beautiful posts over the past week. These included: “the impulse of God’s love“; “so much green“; “eternal questions“; “love“; “We are not alone“; “community of creation“; and “black fire on white fire.”

RJ Grunewald reflected about “Work, Mondays, and the Theology of the Cross.”

Friend, pastor and blogger Erik Gronberg shared some remarks and memories about “Uncle Al.”

Lindsey Paris-Lopez shared some neighbor love themed reflections in writing and explaining, “Celebrating Interdependence: why I don’t celebrate the false notion of independence.” What do you think?

My cousin Erin Parks shared this post from Alanna Vagianos, “Watch Young Women Destroy Gender-Based Barriers #LikeAGirl in Under 3 Minutes.”

On this blog I also shared some reflections about the “Challenges of Love.”

Friend, pastor and Ph.D. student Mandy Brobst-Renaud reflected about “The Problem with Power.”

Social Media & Blogging

Friend and blogger J.W. Wartick shared his version of the links with his “Really Recommended Posts.”

Uttoran Sen wrote, “Never Fear Google Again: The Smart Person’s Guide to Guest Blogging.”

Friend, blogger and communications strategist Carrie Gubsch shared this post by Pamela Wilson about “The 3-Step Journey of a Remarkable Piece of Content.”

Stewardship

Stefanie asked, “Is Increased Income a Threat to My Financial Goals?”

In The Chronicle of Philanthropy Rebecca Koenig & Meredith Myers shared and detailed about, “A Mismatch Between Need and Affluence.” One of the major insights in this is that, “American communities with high standards of living often have low charitable giving rates.”

Over on the COMPASS blog, the July series on gift giving continued with a guest post by Nicole Brennan who wrote and shared, “Planned Giving… it IS for Millennials, too!”

Vocation

Friend and blogger Julia Nelson shared some “Tuesday Tea Time,” as well as some reflection about “Heart.”

Friend, mentor and professor Dr. Terri Elton shared about “Parenting College Students.”

Friend and blogger Angel shared an update in “Six months later…”

Miscellaneous

In a smile worthy story, a 108-year-old Mariners fan threw out the first pitch over the weekend, becoming the oldest person to ever throw out a first pitch.

In other Mariners news, friend and blogger Tim Chalberg shared about the return of Jesus Montero.

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That will conclude this week’s edition. As always, if you have things to include in future editions, or topics for me to think about on the blog, please let me know. Until next time, thank you for reading and being part of the conversation! Blessings on your week. -TS

Image Credits: The Links; Selfie Stick; and “The Impulse of God’s Love.”