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video of the week
Best of the week's blogs
Everyone wants to be a great leader. Nowhere is that call more important than in the local church, where often the pastor is looked at to lead their church in inspiring and expectation-defying ways. Meanwhile, books on leadership tend to give broad advice that can be relatively difficult to apply in the local church setting.
We’re here to help.
Below is the best advice from CT Pastors on leading your church well. Whether you’re trying to raise up new leaders, lead into your strengths, or cast vision for the new year, we’ve got you covered.
Diagnose your team
How do we develop and sustain a group that doesn’t simply tout the buzzword of teamwork, but is actually the real deal—a healthy, high-performing team? Learn how to use Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team to develop a team that is aligned with their gifts, makes good decisions, gets great results, and loves working together.
SpaceX launch lights up sky over Los Angeles
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying 10 communications satellites into space.
A rocket launch from a Southern California Air Force base generated a fiery contrail that could be seen all over Los Angeles Friday and had some social media users preparing for an alien invasion.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at around 5:30 p.m. local time. Its mission was to send 10 communications satellites into space.
Nayzia Thomas feels stunned that the picture of her writing a college paper while in labor has gone viral.
After Nayzia Thomas learned she was pregnant this summer, people asked the college sophomore if she’d take it easy during fall semester. She said no; she would attend school and work full-time, just like any other semester.
This work ethic carried over to giving birth. While in labor, Thomas finished a final paper. As she worked, her mom snapped a picture, which has gone viral.
“I was at 2 centimeters when I was finishing the paper,” said Thomas, 19, of Kansas City, Missouri, who is studying psychology and neuroscience at Johnson County Community College. “The contractions were painful, but I have a high pain tolerance. I thought ‘Before this gets unbearable, let’s get this done.’”
For about two of her eight hours of labor, Thomas wrote the paper on dissociative identity disorder. She began proofreading as the contractions intensified.
Controversial NBA dad LaVar Ball told ESPN on Wednesday that he is starting a basketball league for high school graduates who don’t want to attend college before launching an NBA career.
Ball says his Junior Basketball Association will be fully funded by his Big Baller Brand and seeks 80 players to fill 10 teams he hopes will play at NBA arenas in Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and New York.
“Getting these players is going to be easy,” Ball told ESPN. “This is giving guys a chance to get a jump start on their career, to be seen by pro scouts and we’re going to pay them because someone has got to pay these kids.”
Tom Brady has not been able to maintain his blistering start to the season, and the 40-year-old was not completely excellent on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
Nevertheless, he’s still probably the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
Or, to put it more accurately, he may be the Last Man Standing. Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending injury last week. Antonio Brown appears to be done, too. Russell Wilson, a longshot to win the award, turned in a dreadful performance on Sunday at home in a 42-7 loss. The other QBs of top teams — in descending order of worthiness from Drew Brees, Jared Goff, Alex Smith, Ben Roethlisberger, Blake Bortles and Case Keenum — don’t have the statistics to hang with Brady.
Nike will be dropping a limited edition “Kobe Bryant Black Mamba” Air Force 1 colorway.
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THINGS we found along the way
24 Of The Most Thought-Provoking Pieces Of Writing By People Of Color In 2017
Read these before the year is over.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, who wrote the much-discussed essay “The First White President” in October. In a shocking turn of events, 2017 was even more of a dumpster fire of a year than 2016. While the political landscape burned to a crisp, actual Nazis proudly walked the streets of U.S. cities and a horrifying report on Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct ushered in a long overdue reckoning in Hollywood and beyond.
This was a year of consistent bad news, a year that (for better or worse) was rife for poignant, thought-provoking and conversation-starting commentary from writers of all backgrounds. And so, for the third year, we’ve curated a list of essays and articles that defined conversations about race, pop culture, politics and identity in 2017.
These essays and articles cover a wide array of topics, from the fascinating delusion of Rachel Dolezal to the horrors of fraternity hazing to the complexities of Donald Trump’s presidency.
As always, the criteria for this list is simple: All pieces must have been written by a person of color and been published online within the last year.
Like most year-end lists, this one may inspire some readers to protest or point out obvious omissions. You are encouraged to do so. It was curated with the aim of being as comprehensive as possible, but it is by no means definitive ― so comment away.
Without further ado, here is some of the best writing from people of color in 2017:
“The First White President”
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
Many people consider Ta-Nehisi Coates to be one of the greatest black thinkers of our time (this, however, has been heavily debated in recent weeks), deftly examining the political and racial traumas that still plague America. In this brilliantly written essay published in October, Coates argues that “the foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy.”
Will Smith Explains Why He Can’t Watch Himself On ‘The Fresh Prince’
“It’s terrible and I can’t bear to watch it.”
Will Smith was so fresh on the entertainment scene when he was starring in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” that it’s hard for him to go back and watch the beloved 1990s sitcom.
The actor opened up about what makes the TV series so cringeworthy for him during a recently taped appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”
“It was my very first role, and I was very, very focused on being successful, so I learned the whole script and everyone else’s lines,” Smith said. “If you watch the first four or five episodes, you can see I’m mouthing other people’s lines. It’s terrible and I can’t bear to watch it.” Read More Here
Have a great week folks.
Malachi @ The_Oracle_Mag
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