Kia ora e te whanau
I’m about to hit the road – the end of this week will find me passing through Auckland, into the Waikato, and down into the King Country. Then returning home to Lincoln late next Tuesday.
I hope to have another Newsletter ready for you – if it is, expect it to come via my personal email – yomyom@xtra.co.nz. People have asked where I acquired this moniker. I took Hebrew at St John’s /Trinity Theological College in Auckland under the tutelage of Keith Carley. One of the first words we learnt was ‘day’ = ‘Yom’. For the next 3 years one of my fellow students continued to call me ‘Yomyom’. If the newsletter doesn’t appear, my homily for the week should be able to be accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEiA3APpF6A
Personal and Leadership Resources
Skinner’s Law Is 86 Years Old. It’s Still the Ultimate Secret to Beating Procrastination
This one goes back to the insights of BF Skinner – one of the pioneers of modern psychology. It struck me that his prescription is not something we’re likely to see today, as we tend to lean strongly toward providing positive incentives for people behaving well, rather than avoiding the unpleasant. Apparently we’re hard-wired more strongly to avoiding unpleasant experiences than seeking rewarding ones. So, if you’re still struggling to beat procrastination, have tried everything else, and are still desperate to succeed, this may provide the ultimate winning strategy. Jessica Stillman’s article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jessica-stillman/skinners-law-86-years-old-ultimate-secret-beat-procrastination.html
Steve Jobs Said This Is the Number 1 Sign of Remarkable Intelligence
Steve Jobs, apparently very driven and not always the easiest of people, yet, years after his death, continues to inspire and show profound insight. While the title of this article may be a little misleading it’s work some consideration. It seems it may not be as simple as one simple sign. It did remind me of one of the advantages of growing older – we tend to accumulate a much deeper and broader reservoir of experiences, concepts and ideas to draw on, and make creative connections from – very useful for problem solving. The Jeff Haden article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jeff-haden/42-years-ago-steve-jobs-only-needed-13-words-to-describe-number-1-sign-of-highly-intelligent-people.html
Homilies
Trevor Hoggard’s sermon addresses the lectionary readings 2 Cor 5:6-10,14-17; and Mark 4:26-34. He describes the issues as follows: The human ability to conceive of time and mould the future to our own ends is one of the chief characteristics of the human mind. Yet it is thwart with risk and potential disaster. The Bible insists that human freedom is only relative – that we exercise limited choices within a cosmic physical and moral framework which God himself has laid down. For optimal human flourishing, the Bible urges humanity to live in harmony with God’s rhythms and seasons. In short, the Bible says that ultimately time belongs to God and not to us. Our use of time must respect the greater context of God’s providence. God has written the book, even if we humans determine much of what goes into each page.
Trevor’s sermon can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxgO2BcajD0
My response to the Gospel text of Mark 4:26-34 is titled ‘Parables, Seeing As We Are’. I recognize that there is no one way to interpret a parable, and as I’ve grown older have seen more nuanced ways of understanding what Jesus may be saying, and saying to me. It can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZtciVyOwQQ