Blogs

In both my personal and coaching conversations recently, Gretchen Rubin’s personality framework called “The Four Tendencies” has really seemed to resonate with people. So, I thought I would take a few minutes to share it with you. Gretchen Rubin Explains the Four Tendencies First, here’s a six-minute video of Gretchen herself explaining the Four Tendencies and their relevance to changing one’s habits. How do you respond to INNER EXPECTATIONS and OUTER EXPECTATIONS? This is the key question that drives the framework. Here are the possible answers. ...

(DISCLAIMER: You are, of course, more than welcome to try rucking, even if you also love running.) Rucking > Running It took me a long time to “fall in love” with running. It did not take me nearly as long to fall out of love with running! And yet, even though I’ve long enjoyed doing kettlebell swings and doing the 5×5 weight-lifing workout, I did begin to miss the benefits of cardio training. ...

Tomorrow, I defend the proposal for my dissertation. For now, the dissertation is tentatively titled: “Scriptural, but Not Religious: Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion.” Here’s the “elevator pitch” for the dissertation. Feedback appreciated. Scriptural, but Not Religious: Barth, Bonhoeffer, and a Biblical Critique of Religion My project traces its origins to a single classroom discussion question in the Spring of 2015. The question was this: “In what ways is Bonhoeffer’s understanding of religion similar to, and different from, that of Barth?” ...

The following is a guest post written by my friend and former college roommate, Zak Weston. Zak’s been working in the area of food ethics, and I asked him to write up a post about why Christians should care about these issues. It’s an area in which I need to make some changes in my own life. He delivered this thought-provoking and challenging piece. I hope you enjoy. Introduction The three or so decisions you make each day about what to eat are some of the most consequential choices you make in your life. ...

UPDATE: Read my post, “Two More Pieces about Jordan Peterson.” If I remember correctly, I first heard of and listened to Jordan Peterson on an episode of The Art of Manliness podcast. (Or perhaps it was this episode.) However, I could be mistaken, because Peterson’s been popping up in conversation all over the place in my circles. Blog posts, podcast episodes, conversations with friends – Peterson has been popping up everywhere, so it seems. ...

Tim Challies begins his book, Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity with a bold claim: “I believe this book can improve your life.” However, after reading the book, which is just 120 pages long including endnotes!, I believe that Challies makes good on his claim. As far as explicitly Christian approaches to personal productivity go, Challies’ Do More Better stands alongside Matt Perman’s What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. While Perman’s book is fantastic and thorough, Challies’ book has the advantage of being MUCH shorter (120 pages vs. 383 pages). ...

Maybe you, like me, consider yourself quite the introvert. Maybe you, like me, have a difficult time walking the tightrope between feeling quickly overwhelmed by interpersonal relationships, on the one hand, and feeling incredibly lonely, on the other hand. Maybe you, like me, feel these problems acutely as a male (although I’m sure that females are having their own relational struggles as our culture increasingly pressures us all to be “alone together,” looking at our screens instead of looking each other in the eye). ...

Because good writing = good thinking, I believe that everyone could benefit from developing the habit of regular writing. However, because I Am a Ph.D. student about to begin work on his dissertation Edit a blog (Rookie Anglican) Write this personal blog I really need to develop the habit of regular writing. Up until now, I’ve largely relied upon writing in fits and starts, when the Muse descends, as it were. ...

Getting Things Done (“GTD” for short) is a widely popular personal productivity system invented and popularized by David Allen. However, as Nicole Dieker at Lifehacker pointed out in 2017, “You don’t hear a lot of people talk about the Getting Things Done productivity system anymore.” I think that’s a shame because it’s a very effective system. I first tried Getting Things Done after reading “What’s Best Next” by Matt Perman and then reading “Getting Things Done” by David Allen (in its newly revised 2015 edition) shortly thereafter. ...

I was recently privileged to see one of my favorite bands, The Oh Hellos, in concert at the House of Blues in downtown Chicago. I love all of The Oh Hellos’ music, but one song, in particular, has remained poignant to me ever since I first heard it. The song is called “The Truth is a Cave,” and I think it provides a beautiful picture of what I’m calling “the theological journey” – the stages one goes through in one’s knowledge of God. ...

Rachel and I just got back from our very first trip to the Southwest. The main reason for the trip was to visit some good friends of ours, the Smith family, in Phoenix, AZ. Here’s a picture of the group of us together after church at Living Faith Anglican Church in Tempe, AZ, where my friend Peter Smith is the rector. The trip was a blast. It was great to catch up with the Smiths and to see their new home and church in Arizona. ...

Reading is the closest thing that human beings have to a superpower. We can learn, from other minds, from other times, just by looking at symbols on a screen or a page. But, I mean, come on. Who has enough time to read? I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a stack of books a mile high that I’d like to work my way through. Now, there’s a bunch of good advice out there about finding more time to read (see this post from Farnam Street and this post from The Art of Manliness). In fact, finding more time to read is one of the main reasons why you should learn the basics of personal productivity and time management (see my posts about productivity and time management). ...

The Problem: We All Need to Grow, But We’re Not Sure How Let’s face it: to say the very least, we Christians all have room to grow when it comes to following Jesus. None of us has “arrived.” There’s always more to learn about who God is, what God has done, and how we can join God’s mission to set the world right again. And, even if we know a bunch about those things in the previous sentence, we surely don’t always live based on that knowledge! ...

Why am I an Anglican Christian? Here are 3 reasons. 1. Anglicanism as a Refuge from Fundamentalism First, for me, Anglicanism has been a refuge from fundamentalism. Now, to be sure, we do have our own fundamentalists within the Anglican Communion! But, compared to some “ingrown enclaves” I’ve experienced in my Christian upbringing, Anglicanism has been a breath of fresh air. It has been an ecclesiological space for healing as I seek to “not throw the (gospel) baby out with the (fundamentalist) bathwater.” ...

I’ll keep this short, sweet, and to the point: I’m looking for problems that I can help solve, so I need you to rant at me in the comments. That’s right, I basically want you to complain to me in the comments section of this post. What’s causing you frustration, angst, or stress these days? What questions are you struggling to find the answers to? What obstacles are in the way of you achieving your goals? Here’s MY problem/frustration: I don’t know what problems are causing YOU the most friction! ...