COMMENTARY

Clapham Institute Blog

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A Bit More Liberal

A graduate of a Christian college posted this on Facebook: His education “didn’t prepare one for business in the real world.” Colleagues treat him like a “sweet puppy.” But grads from recognized b-schools are also unprepared. They stumble over purpose. Both traditions would benefit from becoming a bit more liberal.

Graveyard Shift

Paradigm shifts can be difficult to see. They’re slow to develop, about a century in the making. But a cemetery can compress a century, so a stroll through a graveyard can highlight century-long shifts. My wife and I were recently reminded of this.

Incognito

Groundhog Day has come to mean two different things. Will there be six more weeks of winter? … or something that is repeated over and over. C. S. Lewis probably would have liked both, as they’re instances of God walking around incognito.

Gone Canopy

To figure out who the Academy might select for Best Actress, catch the film Gone Girl. And to get a glimpse what the United States Supreme Court might decide regarding same-sex marriage, watch a 1971 movie that could have been titled Gone Canopy.

Faith's Fourth Estate

Weeks before the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi urged Islamic leaders to look at their faith from another angle. Shortly after the attack, David Brooks urged all religions to do likewise. They’re referring to faith’s fourth estate.

Not Very Profitable

Outsiders often see what insiders don’t. Take McKinsey’s recent report on the nonprofit sector. McKinsey works mostly in the for-profit world. As outsiders, their findings in the nonprofit sector should, as they put it, “give us pause.”

Effective Closers

Mariano Rivera had a little help. Baseball’s all-time saves leader could only save a game if the New York Yankees held the lead when he entered it in the late innings. That’s how baseball works. It’s also how apologetics works.

Sticky Resolutions

Chip and Dan Heath know a few things about sticky ideas. They’re the authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. New Year’s resolutions are often good ideas. Few stick however. Here are four ways I think you can make ideas sticky.

The Story Behind the Stories

Ferguson. Chandler. “I can’t breathe.” ISIS. Beheadings. It’s Christmas time in the city. But you’d have to know the story behind the Christmas story to recognize this.

Who's Next?

Albert Einstein said the most important thing you can do is name something. What would you name the next generation? Jon Stewart posed this question last year to Paul Taylor of the Pew Research Center. Taylor didn’t have an answer. I have one.