Column Title: In Search of Right Words: Saint Augustine, Rhetoric, and Preaching By Brandon Knight, Ph.D. William Carey University November: “The Death of the Soul” Column Description here: Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in his work On Christian Doctrine, illustrates the important relationship between preaching and rhetoric. Even in his day, many questioned what use the church could possibly gain …
A Prayer for Mercy in Our Communication, by St. Augustine
A Prayer for Mercy in Our Communication Lord, you know those who are sore stricken and heavy of heart. As their days, so let their strength be. Heal the sick, comfort the weary, succor the tempted, give peace to the dying and light at eventide.… Watch over us who are still in our dangerous voyage, and remember such as lie …
Devotional, Answering Questions with Grace, Donna Elkins
Answering Questions with Grace Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Colossians 4: 6 (NIV) Over the past 20 years teaching basic public speaking courses, I have seen how difficult it is for beginning speakers have an open Q & A time with the audience at …
Teacher-scholar column, “Faith-learning Integration in Organizational Communication,” by Matthew Fuss
Faith-learning Integration in Organizations: Helping Students Develop a Theology of Management/HR Matthew Fuss, PhD Geneva College As a former manager in both Human Resources and Operations, I spent a little over thirteen years managing people and processes in industries ranging from trucking to telecommunications, in organizations ranging in size from just over 100 to well over 10,000. Having answered the …
A Prayer for Empathy, by St. Ambrose
O God, who did look on humanity when they had fallen down into death and resolve to redeem them by the advent of your only-begotten Son, grant, we ask you, that they who confess his glorious incarnation may also be admitted to the fellowship of him their Redeemer; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Ambrose (339 AD …
Column entry, “Faith-ful Antiracism: Oxymoron—or Example of Living Faith?” by John Hatch
Crossed My Mind: Thoughts on Culture and Communication By John Hatch, Ph.D. Eastern University (retired) CCSN Senior Fellow Column Description: As Christians, we are called to have the mind of Christ. This goes against the grain of our social and cultural conditioning. We seek personal or political advancement; Christ seeks the lost and the least. We grasp for cultural ascendency; …
Vlog, Technology and Spiritual Formation, with Stephanie Bennett
Description: Sherry Turkle and Douglas Rushkoff aren’t names you’d typically find in the Secret Place, but their books about the importance of remembering our humanness are helpful and inspiring. Think about it this way: What informs our communication behavior in this age of social media and frictionless interaction? Are we listening for the Voice of the Lord or listening passively …
“Crossing Jordan Peterson: How Hard Can It Be?,” by Mark Williams
Column Title: Meaningful-Faith: Words, the Word, and a Life of Substance Column Entry:Crossing Jordan Peterson: How Hard Can It Be? By Mark Williams, Ph.D. Professor of Rhetoric, California State University, Sacramento November 2022 / October 2022 / March 2022 / February 2022 / November 2021 / October 2021 / September 2021 / August 2021 / June-July 2021 / April-May 2021 Crossing Jordan …
A Prayer for Words, by Richard Young
WORDS “In the Beginning was the Word . . .” (John 1:1) Lord, thank You for words! It is so amazing to be able to share meaning through these ambiguous, bewildering, astonishing things called “words!” Master, may the words I use be endowed with Your grace, Your love, Your mercy, and Your truth. May the power and authority of Your …
Call for Devotionals, Communication and the Christian Faith
We have begun a collection of communication devotionals, about 450-500 words each. There is one week’s worth of samples attached from Quentin Schultze, Tim Muehlhoff, Greg Spencer, Bill Strom, Paul Creasman, Elizabeth McLaughlin, and Paul Patton. If you have questions, please contact rwoods@theccsn.com. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION Day 1 Smurf-blue Pride and the Power of Forgiveness Fools mock at making amends …
