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To see culture through a biblical lens, particularly as it relates to the arts, we must first understand how God views the creative process. What does God have to say about artistic expression and how are we, as Christian culture-bearers to engage in it? Join Ike Reeder as he reconciles the Creation Mandate with the 2nd Commandment in lesson 4 of Christ and Culture.
What is a Reformed Christian view of cultural engagement? To understand the Bible’s theology of culture and answer the question, we have to go back to the Garden of Eden and connect the creation mandate with the Great Commission in Matthew.
It seems obvious to us that we live in a specific culture, but many of us would struggle to define exactly what culture is and even more-so how, as Christians, we should engage with it. In this lesson in the Christianity and Culture series, Join Ike Reeder, president of Birmingham Theological Seminary, as he shares insights into culture from T.S. Elliot and Hans Rookmaaker, discusses the key elements of culture and introduces us to 4 specific types of culture.
This is a refreshing citrus vinaigrette with just a hint of sweetness.
In all interactions – greetings, emails, phone calls, meetings, and conflict, etc. – treat others the way that you would like to be treated. Forgive quickly, help eagerly, listen intently, and speak kindly.
When people reach out to you, they expect a quick response. Let people know that you received their message, give updates even when you don’t have an update and communicate before the work day is over. Rapid response is one of the easiest ways to stand out from the crowd.
Pick up the phone with energy. Your tone should convey helpfulness, competency, compassion and curiosity. This is one of your best opportunities to provide a Unique Customer Experience.
Email can often be cold and convey an abrupt and negative tone. Remember that the recipient can’t read any non-verbal communication in an email. Take the extra time to make your email warm and engaging by being purposeful about introduction, personal comments, expressing appreciation and anticipating (and addressing!) the recipient’s needs. Don’t just answer the question, also answer the “why.” Exclamation points help too.
Look for ways to make things happen not excuses for why things didn’t get done. Be resourceful. Show initiative. Effort is one of the few things you can control.
Failure is part of growth so you will fail. And when you do fail, it’s critical that you own your missteps. This means admitting you made a poor decision, took an incorrect action, or had an unproductive call. There isn’t anyone or anything to blame. Take personal responsibility.
Wow moments happen when you make the lives of your customers better. Making their life better doesn’t happen by selling them products or services at a fair price. It happens by giving them a memorable moment. So be creative, have a laugh, get uncomfortable, and leave an eternal impression. Take action, with the goal to genuinely enhance someone else’s life.
You should give the best of yourself to help others. If your purpose is to serve yourself you will quickly run out of passion and quit. If your purpose is to serve others you will leave a legacy. Other is number one.
Work with the assumption that people are good and their intentions are positive. Set aside judgment and give people the benefit of the doubt.
Use your abilities to create solutions instead of finger pointing and let every mistake serve as a learning experience.
Be someone that others can be honest with. Even if you disagree, be gracious to hear them out, desire to understand before being understood, and thank them for their honesty. Be aware of how body language and other non-verbal signals can be interpreted and work to create an atmosphere of approachability.
Speak honestly in a way that moves the action forward. Be precise about expectations to eliminate misunderstandings. Establish mutually understood objectives and timelines, and confirm them before a meeting closes.
One of the easiest ways to win the trust of others is to do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
It’s a fact that humans need to hear 9 positive comments to equal 1 negative comment. The not so funny part about that is humans naturally think negative thoughts 80% of the time. You want to be the 20% so catch others doing good things AND tell them about it!
Take pride in the quality of work you produce. Everything you touch has your signature on it. Sign in bold ink!
All communication sets a tone and a feeling. Whether in person, on the phone, or by email, be someone who conveys friendliness, warmth, and helpfulness. Be kind, even when others don’t deserve it.
We spend as much time at work as we do at home so have fun! Most of the challenges we face at work aren’t that serious so create perspective for yourself and others, and don’t take things personally. Make sure you laugh everyday.
Be willing to help one another, do anything, and serve in any role necessary to ensure that the company moves forward. The team is always more important than the individual.
Be willing to fight negativity both within yourself and with others. Difficult customers, unresponsive vendors, and frustrating coworkers lead to a natural feeling of negativity. If the cause is external (outside SC) or internal (within SC), there is a path to avoid negativity. Know what to do when those emotions come up and choose a positive environment.
If you’re experiencing conflict or frustration with a co-worker, take the initiative to approach them privately and personally. Don’t unnecessarily bring others into it. We all work together every day and conflict is inevitable. Don’t let it fester; it only gets worse over time and harder to resolve. Care about others enough to use a direct approach, which breaks down barriers and builds trust over time.
When on the phone or in a meeting, avoid distractions that communicate a lack of interest. Put your phone away and turn your computer off, and if you need them on, communicate to others why they are on. When you are present the other person feels like you care about them.
Ever need to look up data in one Google sheet and use that to populate a different Google sheet? It’s pretty easy to do, but you need to use the VLOOKUP function and the IMPORTRANGE function and it takes 2 steps:
The other afternoon I noticed a pool of water on the floor in front of my refrigerator. It wasn’t huge and my first thought was that some ice had fallen from the dispenser on the door and melted, which would not be out of the realm of feasibility. I wiped it up and made a mental note to keep an eye on it. Sure enough, a couple mornings later I went into the kitchen and there it was, another pool of water. Hmm, I thought, this is a problem that’s probably not going to go away.
I had planned on having a lot of prep time, but after the wedding and our visit to the art museum, I fell asleep for a couple hours. Then had to go to the store and shop for ingredients and then on my way home I remembered that we hadn’t gotten any food for our Mother’s Day picnic the next day. On top of that, I couldn’t find a pre-prepared pastry crust at the grocery store (mainly because I was still half asleep when I was shopping) so if we were going to have the quiche, I needed to make a pastry crust from scratch. By the time I started prepping, it was about 6:30 in the evening.
This evening was a particularly nice spring evening and we kicked off the date night dinner with an appetizer of fried oysters, followed by a wine walk around the neighborhood (so we would’t feel guilty!) before settling in for the main course. The nice thing about this menu is that all the work is up front on the appetizer. The main course requires very little prep, just timing. Main thing is to cut up the potatoes before even starting on the appetizer and pre-heating the oven while making the oysters. I’m all about efficiency, particularly on a date night, so we can maximize the enjoyment part and minimize the food prep part.
This is a classic quiche recipe that I got from the Spring 2018 issue Magnolia Journal and one that I use as a base for lots of quiche experimentation. It’s eggs, cream and bacon in a pie shell so how can it be anything other than delicious?