Kruse Kronicle

"Is Political Conservatism Rooted in Reality?" John Armstrong

John H. Armstrong: Is Political Conservatism Rooted in Reality?

... Real conservatism is a political belief and strategy rooted in conserving while change happens and moves rather slowly in a defined direction. It does not embrace radical steps and means that harm multitudes all at once. It is, and this is so important, incremental. Liberalism, in the modern sense, is more radical. It is more willing to progressively make major changes believing that a bigger and newer way is generally superior. America has always had both views contesting for the center and the future. So long as conservatives act in unreasonable and pretentious ways their agenda will fail. The result will be government by default, at least ideologically. The modern heirs to Ronald Reagan seem to have lost their way. The worst speak of Reagan in messianic tones without an ounce of truly conservative reality about the past or the present. The big loser is the country! We need great conservative ideas now more than ever. What we are getting is as “anti-Obama” stance rather than new conservative ideas that will work to incrementally bring about real change that will improve the lot of most Americans in the end. ...

That will preach as far as I'm concerned.

Zero-Sum Game Economic Fallacy

Acton PowerBlog: Zero-Sum Game Economic Fallacy  Elsie Hilton

... The teacher then divides the students into three groups.  In her class of 30 students, one group is made up of 4 students, a second group is 10 students and the third group is 16.  The teacher then sets the cake before them, and announces that she will divide the cake according to food distribution norms among “first, second and third world countries”.

The group of four students will then enjoy half the cake.  The second group of students will get about three-quarters of the remaining cake, and the smallest piece will go to the group of 16 students.  Of course, protests will follow, along with a discussion of how unfair it all is. ...

The goal of the teacher will be, of course, to see if the students with the most cake will share their cake with the other two groups.  If they don’t, that choice will be discussed as well.  The students will come away with the idea that everyone will have an equal piece of cake if only those with more share what they have.

This is a noble lesson, and we should of course share what we have, regardless of how much that is.  (After all, Scripture doesn’t encourage only the rich to tithe.)  Unfortunately, the lesson is wrong:  it’s based on the idea that there is only one cake, and we can’t possibly get any more.

I have to admit, that as a teacher, I used lessons similar to this one.  And never once, did I or any of my students suggest a most obvious answer:  bake another cake. ...

Motorcycle Deaths by Age

Carpe Diem: Chart of the Day: Motorcycle Deaths by Age

 

Two thousand years in one chart

Economist: Two thousand years in one chart

An alternative timeline for the past two millennia

SOME people recite history from above, recording the grand deeds of great men. Others tell history from below, arguing that one person's life is just as much a part of mankind's story as another's. If people do make history, as this democratic view suggests, then two people make twice as much history as one. Since there are almost 7 billion people alive today, it follows that they are making seven times as much history as the 1 billion alive in 1811. The chart below shows a population-weighted history of the past two millennia. By this reckoning, over 28% of all the history made since the birth of Christ was made in the 20th century. Measured in years lived, the present century, which is only ten years old, is already "longer" than the whole of the 17th century. This century has made an even bigger contribution to economic history. Over 23% of all the goods and services made since 1AD were produced from 2001 to 2010, according to an updated version of Angus Maddison's figures.

Sugar rush

Economist: Sugar rush

The progress of a disease over thirty years

THE number of adults with diabetes more than doubled between 1980 and 2008, according to a new study led by Professor Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London and Goodarz Danaei at Harvard University and published in the Lancet. This jump is not quite as horrific as the numbers might initially suggest, because ageing helped push up rates. But a good 30% of the increase was caused by higher prevalence of diabetes across age groups. Obesity seems to be a main culprit; the authors found a high correlation between rising rates of diabetes and a rise in body mass index. The global leap masks considerable variation between the sexes and among regions. Across the world the rate of diabetes rose by 18% for men and by 23% for women, to 9.8% and 9.2% respectively. In some countries the gap between the sexes was more dramatic. In Pakistan, for example, rates jumped by 46% for men and by 102% for women. The highest incidence of all is found in the Marshall Islands, where more than a quarter of all adults had diabetes in 2008. America has lived up to its hefty reputation. Women’s rate of diabetes jumped 79%, something that has contributed to a decline in life expectancy among some groups. And once again, French women are the envy of the world. Rates there fell by 11.2%.

Mainliners' "Safe and Weak" Stories

From Gil Rendle's Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for Mainline Churches

For the moment it is sufficient to note that over time in a difficult environment where it has been increasingly hard to operate from strength, it is natural that our mainline denominational identity and stories have become both safe and weak. Our stories, our identities, become safe and weak because we have learned to tell only the more comfortable, less challenging parts of the stories so that we are not demoralized. Consider what happens naturally in an established congregation over time. For example, a congregation tells its story about how warm and welcoming it is to the people of the congregation and how members reach out to one another in times of need. Indeed, the story is quite often true. But this is also a safe and weak story because of what is left unsaid. Missing in this story may be the congregation’s fear of the changed community that now surrounds its building and how it tends not to welcome and naturally include neighborhood people who might join in a worship service. Because it tells only the safe and weak parts of its story in this all-too-common scenario, the congregation robs itself of a future that can come from the strength of remembering who it really is as a community of faith and what can happen in the neighborhood if members of the congregation come to terms with their discomforts and fears. Like local congregations, our mainline denominations have been held captive by the safe and weak stories they have been willing to tell themselves while there is much more that could be said. (13)

And as I read this again this week I also saw this video clip. I think it  serves as parable for what Rendle is saying.

Drain or gain?

Economist: Drain or gain?

Poor countries can end up benefiting when their brightest citizens emigrate

... Lots of studies have found that well-educated people from developing countries are particularly likely to emigrate. By some estimates, two-thirds of highly educated Cape Verdeans live outside the country. A big survey of Indian households carried out in 2004 asked about family members who had moved abroad. It found that nearly 40% of emigrants had more than a high-school education, compared with around 3.3% of all Indians over the age of 25. This “brain drain” has long bothered policymakers in poor countries. They fear that it hurts their economies, depriving them of much-needed skilled workers who could have taught at their universities, worked in their hospitals and come up with clever new products for their factories to make.

Many now take issue with this view (see article). Several economists reckon that the brain-drain hypothesis fails to account for the effects of remittances, for the beneficial effects of returning migrants, and for the possibility that being able to migrate to greener pastures induces people to get more education. Some argue that once these factors are taken into account, an exodus of highly skilled people could turn out to be a net benefit to the countries they leave. Recent studies of migration from countries as far apart as Ghana, Fiji, India and Romania have found support for this “brain gain” idea. ...

How to Start a Movement

Doctor as renegade -- accepts cash, checks, eggs or pie, not insurance

Minnesota Public Radio: Doctor as renegade -- accepts cash, checks, eggs or pie, not insurance

Comparing Indian states and territories with countries

Economist: An Indian summary

Which countries match the GDP and population of India's states and territories?

How big is Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state? One way of answering the question is to take its total area: 95,000 square miles (246,000 sq km). Another way is to think of it as a country. If Uttar Pradesh were to declare independence, it would be the world’s fifth most populous country (as the map below shows, it has about the same number of residents as Brazil). Yet its economy would only be the size of Qatar, a tiny oil-rich state of fewer than 2m people. That makes it poor on a per person basis. Despite India’s two decades of rapid growth, Uttar Pradesh’s GDP per head is close to that of Kenya. The map below presents country equivalents for India’s states and territories in terms of GDP, GDP per person (in PPP terms) and population. Please play around with it and tell us what you think.

This is an interesting look into income disparities across the second largest nation in the world.

PCUSA: Stay or Go?

There is much dialog in the PCUSA about recent changes made to the Book of Order. For those troubled by the recent removal of the "fidelity and chasity" clause from the Constitution, essentially leaving the denomination silent on ordination of sexually active homosexuals, I think Alan Wisdom of the Institute on Religion and Democray has some good insights in his article Stay or Go?:

"...  I do not see a single clear scriptural answer to how we should relate to a 21st century Protestant denomination that has ceased to uphold the biblical teaching on sexuality. There are some passages that seem to counsel separation from those who turn the Gospel into a license for sin (e.g., Ephesians 5:3-7). On the other hand, we have the example of the Apostle Paul, who never gave up on the Corinthian church even though it was plagued by all kinds of errant beliefs and behaviors. It is not so easy to take New Testament passages about the universal Church, the whole Body of Christ, and apply them directly to a modern invention—the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), established 1983—that has never been more than a sliver of the whole.

There are good reasons to remain in the PCUSA, and good reasons to leave. Those of us who are ministers, elders, or deacons freely took vows to be “governed by our church’s polity and … abide by its discipline.” When we took those vows, most of us knew that the PCUSA had serious problems. Can we now set those vows aside because the problems have grown worse?

The deletion of the “fidelity and chastity” standard from the Book of Order does not, so far, compel any of us to violate our conscience. If we believe that standard reflects the teaching of Scripture—a higher authority than the Book of Order—then we can and must continue to hold ourselves accountable to it. Nothing stops us from obeying it in our churches and presbyteries. Nothing forces us to call a minister or elect an elder involved in a non-marital sexual relationship. That situation may change in the future, as revisionists demand as a matter of “justice” that prospective ministers be willing to ordain and marry those in same-sex relationships. But we have not yet reached that pass.

In the meantime, the PCUSA provides a wide space for faithful believers to proclaim and live out the Gospel. ..."

Hans Rosling and the magic washing machine

"What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? Hans Rosling makes the case for the washing machine. With newly designed graphics from Gapminder, Rosling shows us the magic that pops up when economic growth and electricity turn a boring wash day into an intellectual day of reading."

Solar forecast hints at a big chill

MSNBC: Solar forecast hints at a big chill

The latest long-range space forecast predicts a prolonged drop in solar activity after the next peak — and scientists say that might cool down temperatures here on Earth, or at least slow down the warming trend a bit. 

Scientists have studied sunspots and the sun's 11-year activity cycle for 400 years, and they're getting increasingly savvy about spotting the harbingers of "space weather" years in advance, just as meteorologists can figure out what's coming after the next storm.

Storms from the sun are expected to build to a peak in 2013 or so, but after that, the long-range indicators are pointing to an extended period of low activity — or even hibernation.

"This is important because the solar cycle causes space weather ... and may contribute to climate change," Frank Hill, associate director of the National Solar Observatory's Solar Synoptic Network, told journalists today.

In the past, such periods have coincided with lower-than-expected temperatures on Earth. The most famous example is the Maunder Minimum, a 70-year period with virtually no sunspots from 1645 to 1715. Average temperatures in Europe sank so low during that period that it came to be known as "the Little Ice Age." ...

Life expectancy of U.S. women slips in some regions

Los Angeles Times: Life expectancy of U.S. women slips in some regions

The backsliding for women began before 1997, but researchers find it has accelerated in the last decade. Experts say smoking and obesity are partly to blame.

Women in large swaths of the U.S. are dying younger than they were a generation ago, reversing nearly a century of progress in public health and underscoring the rising toll of smoking and record obesity.

Nationwide, life expectancy for American men and women has risen over the last two decades, and some U.S. communities still boast life expectancies as long as any in the world, according to newly released data. But over the last decade, the nation has experienced a widening gap between the most and least healthy places to live. In some parts of the United States, men and women are dying younger on average than their counterparts in nations such as Syria, Panama and Vietnam.

Overall, the United States is falling further behind other industrialized nations, many of which have also made greater strides in cutting child mortality and reducing preventable deaths.

In 737 U.S. counties out of more than 3,000, life expectancies for women declined between 1997 and 2007. For life expectancy to decline in a developed nation is rare. Setbacks on this scale have not been seen in the U.S. since the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, according to demographers. ...

Progressive vs. Emergence Christianity: From Where I Sit (Phyllis Tickle)

Patheos -Progressive Christian Portal:  Progressive vs. Emergence Christianity: From Where I Sit

Despite the sharing of conversations, there still are some distinct differences between Progressive Christianity and Emergence Christianity.

... Despite that sharing of conversationalists, however, there still are some distinct differences between Progressive Christianity and Emergence Christianity, at least three or four of which should be mentioned even in so brief an overview as this one. For example, Progressive Christianity pivots on social justice. Social justice is, likewise, a major concern and hallmark of Emergence Christianity, wherever in the Latinized world it may be forming and becoming operative. The difference—and it is, to me, a telling one—is in the underlying approach to the issue.

In dealing with matters of social justice, the Progressive stance and course of action generally are first intellectualized, then politicized, and finally formalized. By contrast, the Emergence posture or approach is far more pedestrian and humble in both its articulation and its delivery. Emergence Christians will defend vigorously their position that as long as some act of social justice has been a matter of "our doing something for them," the act is fundamentally one of enlightened or informed self-interest, if not plain old commonsense. Social justice, Emergence contends, really is—really must be—an exercise in "us helping each other" in whatever way possible here and now because of the bond of commonality that is Christ in all of us. ...

... Almost as remarkable is the way in which the operative approach to Scripture differs between the two groups. The Progressive stance, once again, is far more intellectualized than is that of Emergence. Born in a time of burgeoning Pentecostalism, Emergence Christianity and Emergence Christians are naturally inclined—increasingly so, in fact—toward the approach of communal discernment and direct appeal to the Holy Spirit for explication and direction. Such a stance allows Emergence to be more or less innocent of biblical literalism and far more inclined toward a kind of apophatic or Orthodox actualism.

Authority, for Emergence, is not yet firmly defined or ensconced, whereas for Progressives it tends to be fairly well rooted in situational, critical, and historical analysis. ...

Poverty Cure

Poverty Cure is a new initiative of the Acton Institute. Watch the promo below. You can "like" it at FaceBook here.

"Good intentions don't end poverty. Enterprise and Freedom end poverty."

Obesity and driving

Economist: Obesity and driving

AMERICANS are getting fatter: obesity rates have risen 74% in the past 15 years to nearly 28% of the adult population. And they are driving more: the number of miles driven by each licensed driver (VMT/LD), excluding commercial vehicles, increased by an average of 0.6% a year between 1988 and 2008. Academics at the University of Illinois have  found a striking correlation between these two variables—but with a large time lag. They noted that previous research had found that changes in diet had an affect on body weight only after some six years. Therefore VMT/LD in 2004 is correlated with obesity in 2010 (see left-hand chart). This near-perfect correlation (99.6%) permits predictions about obesity rates. Since VMT/LD fell in 2007 and 2008, America's obesity rate could fall to as low as 24% in 2014 (see right-hand chart). These predictions come with a strong caveat: correlation does not equal causation. And it should be noted that the authors did not control for factors such as diet, income and lifestyle. Additionally, they did not explore the possibility that the larger, and thus more immobile, people become, the more they drive.

Shoot an Elephant, Save a Community

The following graph comes from Mark Perry at Carpe Diem.

Perry is refferencingy this article, Shoot an Elephant, Save a Community.

... Like many environmental groups, PETA is all about the "anti." In this case, it is anti-hunting. Its supporters rally against causes with easily identifiable "bad guys" such as corporations and hunters like Bob Parsons. While such good-versus-evil narratives are useful for garnering financial support, they ignore the complexity of human-wildlife conflicts in Africa and the role of property rights and local management in resource conservation.

Seldom does PETA advocate for more practical but less emotive "pro" causes such as wildlife habitat, community resource management, or higher incomes. As a result, it neglects solutions such as devolving wildlife management to the local level, where the people living with the costs of wildlife can find ways to profit from sustaining the habitat and the animals. Where property rights to wildlife have been assigned to local communities—either through explicit institutional reforms or innovative entrepreneurship—Africans have proven that private ownership means resources stewardship. ...

... Anti-hunting groups succeeded in getting Kenya to ban all hunting in 1977. Since then, its population of large wild animals has declined between 60 and 70 percent. The country’s elephant population declined from 167,000 in 1973 to just 16,000 in 1989. Poaching took its toll on elephants because of their damage to both cropland and people. Today Kenya wildlife officials boast a doubling of the country’s elephant population to 32,000, but nearly all are in protected national parks where poaching can be controlled. With only 8 percent of its land set aside as protected areas, it is no wonder that wildlife in general and elephants in particular have trouble finding hospitable habitat.

For the landowners who bear the costs of wildlife, the decision of whether to protect wildlife is a simple one: if it pays, it stays. The ban on hunting gives wildlife little or no economic value, causing rural Africans to view wildlife as a liability to be avoided rather than an asset to be protected. As a result, landowners have increasingly turned to agriculture instead of habitat protection, which decreases available habitat and increases the potential for human-wildlife conflicts.

In sharp contrast to Kenya, consider what has happened in Zimbabwe. In 1989, results-oriented groups such as the World Wildlife Fund helped implement a program known as the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources or CAMPFIRE. This approach devolves the rights to benefit from, dispose of, and manage natural resources to the local level, including the right to allow safari hunting. Community leaders with local knowledge about wildlife and its interface with humans help establish sustainable hunting quotas. Hunting then provides jobs for community members, compensation for crop and property damage, revenue to build schools, clinics, and water wells, and meat for villagers—just as Parsons’ elephant did.

By granting local people control over wildlife resources, their incentive to protect it has strengthened. As a result, poaching has been contained and human-wildlife conflicts have been reduced. While challenges remain, especially from the current political climate in Zimbabwe, CAMPFIRE has quietly produced results with strikingly little activist rhetoric.

The numbers attest to the program’s success. Ten years after the program began, wildlife populations had increased by 50 percent. By 2003, elephant numbers had doubled from 4,000 to 8,000. The gains have not just been for wildlife, however. Between 1989 and 2001, CAMPFIRE generated more than $20 million in direct income, the vast majority of which came from hunting. During that period, the program benefitted an estimated 90,000 households and had a total economic impact of $100 million.

The results go beyond the CAMPFIRE areas. Between 1989 and 2005, Zimbabwe’s total elephant population more than doubled from 37,000 to 85,000, with half living outside of national parks. Today, some put the number as high as 100,000, even with trophy hunters such as Parsons around. All of this has occurred with an economy in shambles, regime uncertainty, and mounting socio-political challenges. ...

I wouldn't say that regulation is never needed but what is too frequently missing is an appreciation of how markets can help achieve better outcomes than moralistic campaigns.

Commissioning Service for Human Vocation (Input Requested)

Labor Day is a timewhen some congregations lift up the importance work. In recent years, the Presbtyerian Church, USA, Office of Vocation, has invited seminarians to develop resource materials that congregations might use with this event.This year they are doing something a little different.

Earlier this year, Martha Miller, in the Office of Vocation, and I met and she learned of my passion about the area of vocation. I was asked what I, an elder, might create for such an event and would I be willing to take on this project. I jumped at the chance.

I've answered this project in two parts. The first is a short essay distinguishing human vocation from Christian vocation. The second part is a liturgy for commissioning people to the work they do in daily life. The draft below shows you what I've come up with so far.

What do you think? What changes would you make? Are their hymns/songs you would suggest? Are there any selections from the Book of Confessions you can think of that would work?

The idea is that this liturgy will give people a starting point for putting together their own service. It will hopefully help congregations begin to think seriously about human vocation. I'm not saying any or all suggestions will be incorporated but your input would be welcomed. While this is for a PCUSA context, input from non-PCUSA readers is certainly welcomed as well.

 

Commissioning Service for Human Vocation

Human vocation involves much more than our occupation. Yet for many, our occupation is a significant on-going expression of human vocation that fills our days. The commissioning service gives public recognition of a call an individual has answered and sends that individual with the support of the worshiping community to fulfill that call.

Few people have experienced a commissioning service for human vocation. It might be desirable to spend a season preparing the congregation for such an event before inviting people to be commissioned. (It is possible that much of the congregation will want to be commissioned the first time this is done. Adjustments need to be made to the liturgy accordingly.) Once such a service has been held, it might be appropriate to schedule an annual (or more frequent) service in which previously noncommissioned people may participate or those who have changed jobs in the intervening period may be recommisioned.

Commissioning is typically done within the context of the service for the Lord’s Day, although the liturgy may be used alone. When done as part of the Lord’s Day service, commissioning should follow the sermon and precede the Lord’s Supper.

Sermon passages might include:

• Genesis 1:26-28
• Genesis 2:15
• Psalm 8
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
• Hebrews 2:5-9
• Revelation  21:1-5

Confession

• Confession of 1967: 9:53

The emphasis should be on seeing all of work as part of God’s mission. While it is certainly appropriate to lift examples from the “helping professions” (ex. education, social service, health care) as part of God’s work in the world, it is important to lift examples of laborers, service workers, businesspeople and professionals. Ideally, Illustrations will emphasize how specific work connects with directly with God’s mission in the world (versus, say, seeing work primarily as means to earn money to give to missions.)

Suggested hymns and Songs (Numbers are for the Presbyterian Hymnal):

• Here I am, Lord  525
• How Clear is Our Vocation Lord  419
• I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me  369
• Son of Man, Thou Madest Known 
• Servant of All, To Toil for Man
• Take My Life and Let it Be  391
• Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples  434

When it comes to the time of commissioning, the Minister, the people to be commissioned, and any others invited to be a part of the ceremony should gather at the front, possibly at the baptismal font.

 

Commissioning Liturgy for Human Vocation

Sentences of Scripture

               The minister addresses all present:

 Romans 12:1-2

[Leader] I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

[People] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Gen 1:26-29

[Leader] Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

[People] So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

[Unison] God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

Hymn

Psalm 8

               Unison reading

O Lord, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants

you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,

to silence the enemy and the avenger.

 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

 

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honor.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

Call to Service

                    The minister continues:

[Leader] We are called by God

to be the church of Jesus Christ,

a sign in the world today

of what God intends for all humankind

[People] The great ends of the church are

the proclamation of the gospel

     for the salvation of humankind;

the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship

     of the children of God;

the maintenance of divine worship;

the preservation of the truth;

the promotion of social righteousness;

And the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven

     to the world.

               The minister continues:

We are created in the image of God.

We have been called by God,

to serve as stewards of God’s resources

and to live as tenants upon God’s land.

We have been called to bring all creation and humanity

to flourishing fullness.

We have been gathered by Christ

into communities of discipleship,

and sent in mission,

praying and working for the reconciliation

of all things and all people

to God through Christ by the power of the Spirit.

The minister or other appropriate people shall relate the form(s) of service to which persons are being commissioned.

Those being commissioned may express their hope in accepting the call and commission, and give testimony as to how they came to their call.

The minister addresses those being commissioned:

[Name(s)],

the grace bestowed upon you in baptism

is sufficient for your calling.

By God’s grace we are saved,

and enabled to grow in the faith

and to commit our lives in ways that serve Christ.

 

God has called you to particular service.

Show your purpose by answering these questions.

 

Do you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?  I do.

Do you sincerely embrace the teaching that that the triune God was in the beginning creating the world, that God is at work sustaining the created order, that God is Lord over all creation and that we are called to be stewards of God’s resources and tenants upon God’s land? I do.

Will you as God’s image-bearer, answer the call to exercise godly dominion over creation and to pursue the shalom of the world, bringing all creation and all humanity to flourishing fullness? I will, with God’s help.

Will you bring the reconciling and redemptive work of Christ into your occupation, seeking the transformation of your particular sphere of work into that which gives honor to Christ and witness to his coming reign? I will, with God’s help.

Will you encourage, support, and pray for your sisters and brothers in Christ as they undertake this mission in their own lives? I will, with God’s help.

Will you, in all your work, serve with energy, intelligence, imagination and love, not as one working for human favor, but as one offering daily worship to God? I will, with God’s help.

               The minister addresses all present:

 Do you the members of [Name] Church,

confirm the call of God to our brothers/sisters [Name(s)]

as __________ in service to Jesus Christ?  We do.

 

Will you support and encourage them in this ministry?  We will.

 

Commissioning Prayer

 Faithful God,

in baptism you claimed us;

And by your Holy Spirit you are working in our lives,

empowering us to live a life worthy of our callings.

We thank you for leading [Name(s)] to this time and place.

Establish them in your truth,

and guide them by your Holy Spirit,

that in your service they may grow,

as faithful agents exercising stewardship over all creation

pursing the reconciliation of all things and all people.

To the Father, the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

be all honor and glory,

both In the creation that is now

and in the new creation that is to come.

 

Charge

 [Name(s)], your are now commissioned to service as ________.

 Whatever you do, in word or deed,

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God through him.

 

Blessing

 May the God of Peace

make you holy in every way,

and keep your whole being,

spirit, soul, and body,

free from every fault

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

 

Hymn

Retirement at 65? But it's the new 45!

Christian Science Monitor: Retirement at 65? But it's the new 45!

When the retirement age was set at 65, Americans had a shorter lifespan. So now, maybe we'd do best to stay productive a little longer.

In 1935, when the Social Security Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Roosevelt, the new law established a national retirement age of 65. At that age, people could begin receiving Social Security benefits and, in the minds of generations of Americans since, effectively set the psychological “retirement” age.

There’s an important fact to consider, though, that’s been left out of this story. In 1935, the average American lifespan was 61.7 years. You had to exceed the average American lifespan by more than three years to begin receiving Social Security benefits.

Let’s roll forward to today. The “retirement age” set by Social Security is still 65. However, today the average American lifespan is 78 years and continuing to rise.

In other words, the national “retirement age” of 65 has remained unchanged for 75 years, but the lifespan of the average American has gone up by 16 years.

Yes, this is an easy explanation for why Social Security is seeing financial problems, but there’s a more vital issue at work here, one that we’re seeing at work all over the place in America.

40 is the new 20. 60 is the new 40. Simply put, people are living far longer and enjoying excellent health much later in life than ever before.

In 1935, a person aged 65 was often quite elderly and in poor health. In 2011, a person aged 65 is often full of vitality and has two more decades of lively activity ahead of them (at least).

There are two key points to pull out of this....

 

Do emerging markets deserve developed status?

Financial Times: Do emerging markets deserve developed status?

What would have been your reaction, circa 2006, to someone peddling the following forecast? There would soon erupt the worst, synchronised global financial crisis in 80 years, or possibly ever. World trade would start to collapse as fast as in 1929-31. Many developed markets (DMs) would experience deep recessions, the costliest banking crisis ever and would stagger toward fiscal calamity. But – guess what! – emerging markets (EMs), after a brief panic, would sail on unscathed. They would have no significant crises: currencies, banks and fiscal positions would retain stability. A two-track recovery would take EM growth on to a trajectory away from a troubling slump in the DM world.

Anyone cognisant of the fragility of “high beta” EMs in past episodes of global macroeconomic distress (the 1980s, the 1930s, or back to the 1870s) would have dismissed such thinking as wildly implausible. Yet this is precisely how things turned out, a remarkable turn of events that prompts some to ask if EMs are the new DMs.

Can the idea that EMs are “graduating” to DM status have merit – now or over the longer term? And, if so, what are the implications? At Morgan Stanley, we examined the macroeconomic characteristics of the EM-DM groups and their socio-political and institutional fundamentals. We find evidence that today’s EM economies may not have fully closed the gap, but they are in a stronger position than in previous moments of short-lived euphoria. ...

... As history shows, economic development “graduation” follows from consistently passing stern tests of economic and social capability. This once – but hopefully not for the last time – the EMs aced the examination.

Shifting sands of religion and politics

Los Angeles Times: Shifting sands of religion and politics

Americans tolerate a broader array of religious affiliations in their politicians.

... Of the 44 U.S. presidents, all but a handful have been affiliated with a relatively narrow list of traditional Protestant denominations.

Eleven were Episcopalians (12 if you count Thomas Jefferson, whose adult beliefs are a subject of debate), eight were Presbyterians, four were Methodists and four were Baptists. Others included Congregationalists, Dutch Reformed and Disciples of Christ. ...

... But among the leading candidates for this year's Republican presidential nomination, not one is a member of the Protestant denominations that for so long have dominated American political culture.

Two of the potential candidates are Mormons (former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.); one is a member of an interdenominational evangelical church (former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty); two others are Catholics (former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum). Rep. Michele Bachmann, who says she's considering the race, worships at an evangelical Lutheran church; if elected, she'd be the first Lutheran president.

But no matter who wins from this list, it won't be an Episcopalian, a Presbyterian or a Methodist.

The denominational diversity of the GOP field reflects a trend that has been building for half a century: the decline of the "mainline" churches' size and influence. Among Protestants, evangelical congregations have taken off, and the old mainline denominations have been shrinking. ...

 

Leavenworth prison farm trains inmates, feeds needy

KansasCity.com: Leavenworth prison farm trains inmates, feeds needy

Prison food has never enjoyed a great reputation. But the quarter million pounds of produce grown annually by inmates at the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth just might change that. It’s fresh, free, feeds the less fortunate and even has helped inmates get good jobs after being released — all without costing taxpayers a nickel.

Wait. A prison farm?

Believe it or not, an ecologically responsible one. Carefully screened volunteer inmates from Leavenworth’s minimum-security prison camp are allowed outside the secure perimeter to grow tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, watermelon, onions, radishes and other crops. Prisoners who work on the farm are serving time for a variety of non-violent crimes, including wire fraud, mail fraud and embezzlement.

Last year more than 80,000 pounds of produce grown by prisoners went to help feed the needy throughout the greater Kansas City area. This year, estimates put donated produce at up to 200,000 pounds.

Joe Mason, Leavenworth’s food service manager, started the prison’s Therapy and Mentor Horticulture program in 2008 with groundskeeper and garden supervisor Don Sargent.

By law, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons cannot use federal money for community programs. But Mason had an idea that made the farm possible. He designed it to be funded by outside donations and brought the idea to Brian Habjan, a Leavenworth banker who was at the time also president of the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce. ...

... Virtually all equipment used for the farm is donated or is free government surplus. The seeds are also donated by a Leavenworth domestic violence shelter, the Alliance Against Family Violence, and funded by civic groups, including the Leavenworth Lions Club. Debbie Weaverling, president of the club, said a member named Sam Maxwell brought the prison garden to her attention.

“What they produce is phenomenal,” Weaverling said. “We’re so happy to be part of the program.”

The way Mason sees it, a prison farm just makes sense.

“Everybody wins,” he said. “The environment wins. The institution wins. The inmates win. The community wins. Everybody’s winning here.”

Here’s how. ...

Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have approved a new Form of Government

Presbyteryian News Service: Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have approved a new Form of Government

While the Office of the General Assembly awaits official tallies, it appears that a majority of the 173 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have approved a new Form of Government.

At its meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, Trinity Presbytery became the 87th presbytery to approve an amendment that will replace the current 18-chapter Form of Government with a new version that is six chapters in length. The Form of Government is one section of the Book of Order, which is part of the PC(USA) Constitution.

Along with the new Form of Government will be a new section of the Book of Order entitled “Principles of Presbyterian Polity,” which contains a large majority of the content of the first four chapters of the current Form of Government.

The proposed new Form of Government (FOG) was approved by the 219th General Assembly (2010) of the PC(USA). Two years earlier, a proposed revision had been presented to the 218th General Assembly (2008) by the FOG Task Force. That assembly reconstituted the task force and asked it to present a revised version to the 219th GA based on the feedback received at the 218th GA.

This is the first full revision of the Form of Government since the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America reunited to form the PC(USA). The current Form of Government had been amended over 300 times since reunion in 1983.

The new Form of Government will take effect July 10, 2011, one year after the adjournment of last summer’s assembly. It is anticipated that the transition from the current to the new FOG will take time.

In response to the vote, denominational leaders issued a letter to all congregations of the PC(USA). In it, they write, “While the new Form of Government will help the PC(USA) to be a faithful and responsive church in the 21st century, it also has a dimension of bringing us back to a truly constitutional document that contains broad governing and theological principles and emphasizes function over structure.”

The letter continues, “Many Presbyterians will see nothing suddenly or dramatically different with a new Form of Government. Worship services will go on as usual, and congregations will continue to teach the faith, serve their communities, reach out to those in need, and work to further God’s realm on earth. However, what will be different is that congregations, presbyteries, and synods will have the opportunity to tailor mission and ministry to fit their own particular contexts and challenges.”

Resources and guides about the new FOG, including “Frequently Asked Questions,” are available at Form of Government webpage.

The full text of the churchwide letter:

To congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

While it is not official until the Office of the General Assembly receives notification from presbyteries that have voted, it appears that, as of June 7, 2011, the proposed new Form of Government (FOG) has been approved by a majority of our 173 presbyteries.

The new FOG will replace the current version within the Book of Order of the church’s Constitution on July 10, 2011, one year after the adjournment of the 219th General Assembly (2010). The print edition of the new Book of Order will be available by late July.

The new Form of Government at its core

A new section, Foundations of Presbyterian Polity, which contains the vast majority of the first four chapters of the current FOG, will also be added to the beginning of the Book of Order. Within it are these words:

In the power of the Spirit, Jesus Christ draws worshiping communities and individual believers into the sovereign activity of the triune God at all times and places. As the Church seeks reform and fresh direction, it looks to Jesus Christ who goes ahead of us and calls us to follow him. (F-1.0401)

The foundational message of the saving love of God through Jesus Christ is timeless. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8). And yet, when the Spirit has moved the church to respond to “the sovereign activity of the triune God,” the church has, in turn, worked to reshape itself to do so effectively.

While the new Form of Government will help the PC(USA) to be a faithful and responsive church in the 21st century, it also has a dimension of bringing us back to a truly constitutional document that contains broad governing and theological principles and emphasizes function over structure.

What will change?

Many Presbyterians will see nothing suddenly or dramatically different with a new Form of Government. Worship services will go on as usual, and congregations will continue to teach the faith, serve their communities, reach out to those in need, and work to further God’s realm on earth. However, what will be different is that congregations, presbyteries, and synods will have the opportunity to tailor mission and ministry to fit their own particular contexts and challenges.

The new FOG will also usher in changes in terminology. For example, ministers of the Word and Sacrament will be known as teaching elders, partnering in ministry with ruling elders who serve on the congregation’s council (session).

It is a season of much change in the church, and change is often accompanied by anxiety. Making the transition from the current Form of Government to the new one will take time, patience, and grace. We will all be living gradually into these new dimensions of the church’s governance.  We commend to you the resources and guides at the Form of Government webpage for assistance, including the “Frequently Asked Questions” document that accompanies this letter. Further resources will be made available over the course of the summer to help with this transition.

The best resources through this transition, however, will be each other. A new Form of Government puts all of us on the same page, as it were. Through conversation, cooperation, and collaboration, we will discover the most effective ways to move forward into this new and exciting chapter of the life of the church.

In the end, as affirmed in the Confession of 1967, “The church … orders its life as an institution with a constitution, government, officers, finances, and administrative rules. These are instruments of mission, not ends in themselves” (9.40). The mission remains the same: to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed, and to work for the reconciliation of the world. With God’s help, may this new Form of Government enable us to be ever more faithful to that mission.

In Christ,

Cindy Bolbach
Moderator of the 219th General Assembly  (2010)

Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Linda Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Mission Council

Landon Whitsitt
Vice Moderator of the 219th General Assembly (2010)

On balance, I think the merits of the new FOG outweigh the problems. I'm pleased it passed.

I understand that not all are pleased with the document. Some dismissively say that nFOG will not save our denomination. I'm not aware of anyone who has said it will. To use a football analogy, it is like saying that a play that will give you first down from your 2o yardline is irrelevant because it doesn't score a touchdown. The nFOG is one step in a positive direction.

Personally, I thrilled about the return to the language of teaching and ruling elders. Now if we can just get rid of the clergy vs laity lingo. The people of God are the clergy. Elders are the shepherds to God's clergy. But that's another battle.

I'll also add this bit of analysis. Comparing nFOG votes to 10A votes, I get the following count:

• 64 Yes on both.
• 52 No on both.
• 21 Yes nFOG and No 10A.
• 27 No nFOG and Yes 10A.
• 9 haven't yet voted on both.

That suggests to me the nFOG did not divide along typical conservative vs liberal camps.

Fewer and fewer European countries are run by left-leaning governments

Economist: Fewer and fewer European countries are run by left-leaning governments

Actually, that's not in the Bible

CNN: Actually, that's not in the Bible

... Ditka’s biblical blunder is as common as preachers delivering long-winded public prayers. The Bible may be the most revered book in America, but it’s also one of the most misquoted. Politicians, motivational speakers, coaches - all types of people  - quote passages that actually have no place in the Bible, religious scholars say.

These phantom passages include:

“God helps those who help themselves.”

“Spare the rod, spoil the child.”

And there is this often-cited paraphrase: Satan tempted Eve to eat the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden.

None of those passages appear in the Bible, and one is actually anti-biblical, scholars say.

But people rarely challenge them because biblical ignorance is so pervasive that it even reaches groups of people who should know better, says Steve Bouma-Prediger, a religion professor at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

“In my college religion classes, I sometimes quote 2 Hesitations 4:3 (‘There are no internal combustion engines in heaven’),” Bouma-Prediger says. “I wait to see if anyone realizes that there is no such book in the Bible and therefore no such verse.

“Only a few catch on.”

Few catch on because they don’t want to - people prefer knowing biblical passages that reinforce their pre-existing beliefs, a Bible professor says. ...

... Others blame the spread of phantom biblical verses on Martin Luther, the German monk who ignited the Protestant Reformation, the massive “protest” against the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church that led to the formation of Protestant church denominations.

“It is a great Protestant tradition for anyone - milkmaid, cobbler, or innkeeper - to be able to pick up the Bible and read for herself. No need for a highly trained scholar or cleric to walk a lay person through the text,” says Craig Hazen, director of the Christian Apologetics program at Biola University in Southern California.

But often the milkmaid, the cobbler - and the NFL coach - start creating biblical passages without the guidance of biblical experts, he says.

“You can see this manifest today in living room Bible studies across North America where lovely Christian people, with no training whatsoever, drink decaf, eat brownies and ask each other, ‘What does this text mean to you?’’’ Hazen says.

“Not only do they get the interpretation wrong, but very often end up quoting verses that really aren’t there.”

We do need to be careful about how we use the Bible. We can end up looking like fools. Like the Bible says, "Measure twice, cut once." ;-)

 

Watch Your Shoppers

The Hub Magazine: Watch Your Shoppers

What experts call “in-store subconscious” governs more than 95 percent of what we do in that physical environment. Just like our commute to and from work, we are on “autopilot” or “cruise-control” and relying on rote mechanics, memory, routine and habits to govern how we behave in-store. Examples of this include our purchase of items like toilet paper or toothpaste, or how we navigate the store and what we put in our basket and when.

Almost always, what people report that they do, and why they made the choice they did, does not reflect an accurate recording and interpretation of what they actually do and why. Paco Underhill and his company, Envirosell, observed that the larger the store, the longer shoppers perceive and record the time they spent shopping there. It doesn’t matter how much time actually spent in the store.

Conscious or sub-conscious, several factors affect how and why someone behaves the way they do at retail. Moreover, it can’t be assumed that the same person is going to behave the same way regardless of type of retail environment. Convenience, drug, mass, grocery, and club stores each elicit very different behaviors from the same people because their purpose for going to each, and the mode they are in, varies greatly. ...

... Obviously, the more stealth the better. The less chance someone has to begin to filter the activity with their personal biases, the greater the reflection of brand truth and behavior. Creating a natural possibility for true behavior is the goal. Neuromarketing and using biometrics to measure emotional response to stimuli are the next frontier of this approach. The use of virtual simulators to test response to in-store formats, merchandising, navigation and product display are useful tools that have been used for several years now to gain valuable insight.

As brands begin to scale more globally, we need to be careful not to make inferences based on syndicated data. It is increasingly important that we take the time to study and observe behavior at a local level. Procter & Gamble has led this anthropological approach for decades now. They made the commitment to visit consumers in their homes and watch how people actually used products and developed preferences. ...

Calling all elders

Moderator Cynthia Bolbach: Calling all elders

“I’m just an elder.”

Have you heard someone say that? Have you said it yourself? Maybe in response to being asked to lead worship, or preach, or visit someone in the hospital?

“No,” you reply, “I couldn’t do that. I’m just an elder. Those are things the pastor does.”

Our Presbyterian polity doesn’t recognize the statement, “I’m just an elder.” In our polity, ruling elders and teaching elders (also known as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament) share equally in the governance and spiritual leadership of the church. Our calls to ministry encompass different functions and tasks, but we are called equally to ministry and to leadership in the church.

For too long the ministry of ruling elder has been diminished, equated with serving on a non-profit board of directors. Yes, the session does perform tasks like hiring nursery attendants and deciding whether the amount of insurance coverage is adequate. But that is not the primary task of the session or of the ruling elders who serve on it. ...

Nice column ... and I'll be at the Big Tent at the Elders Conference.

The end of AIDS?

Economist: The end of AIDS?

Thirty years on, it looks as though the plague can now be beaten, if the world has the will to do so.

ON JUNE 5th 1981 America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported the outbreak of an unusual form of pneumonia in Los Angeles. When, a few weeks later, its scientists noticed a similar cluster of a rare cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma in San Francisco, they suspected that something strange and serious was afoot. That something was AIDS.

Since then, 25m people have died from AIDS and another 34m are infected. The 30th anniversary of the disease’s discovery has been taken by many as an occasion for hand-wringing. Yet the war on AIDS is going far better than anyone dared hope. A decade ago, half of the people in several southern African countries were expected to die of AIDS. Now, the death rate is dropping. In 2005 the disease killed 2.1m people. In 2009, the most recent year for which data are available, the number was 1.8m. Some 5m lives have already been saved by drug treatment. In 33 of the worst-affected countries the rate of new infections is down by 25% or more from its peak.

Even more hopeful is a recent study which suggests that the drugs used to treat AIDS may also stop its transmission (see article). If that proves true, the drugs could achieve much of what a vaccine would. The question for the world will no longer be whether it can wipe out the plague, but whether it is prepared to pay the price. ...

Nikola Tesla's revenge

Economist: Nikola Tesla's revenge

Transport: The car industry’s effort to reduce its dependence on rare-earth elements has prompted a revival in the fortunes of an old-fashioned sort of electric motor.

ONCE again, worrywarts are wringing their hands over possible shortages of so-called “critical materials” crucial for high-tech industries. In America the Department of Energy is fretting about materials used to manufacture wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells and energy-efficient lighting. The substances in question include a bunch of rare-earth metals and a few other elements which—used a pinch here, a pinch there—enhance the way many industrial materials function. ...

... The rare-earth element that other industrial countries worry about most is neodymium. It is the key ingredient of super-strong permanent magnets. Over the past year the price of neodymium has quadrupled as electric motors that use permanent magnets instead of electromagnetic windings have gained even wider acceptance. Cheaper, smaller and more powerful, permanent-magnet motors and generators have made modern wind turbines and electric vehicles viable.

That said, not all makers of electric cars have rushed to embrace permanent-magnet motors. The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car based on a Lotus Elise, uses no rare-earth metals whatsoever. Nor does the Mini-E, an electric version of BMW’s reinvention of the iconic 1960s car. Meanwhile, the company that pioneered much of today’s electric-vehicle technology, AC Propulsion of San Dimas, California, has steered clear of permanent-magnet motors. Clearly, a number of manufacturers think the risk of relying on a single source of rare-earth metals is too high.

The latest carmaker to seek a rare-earth alternative is Toyota. The world’s largest carmaker is reported to be developing a neodymium-free electric motor for its expanding range of hybrid cars. Following in AC Propulsion’s tyre tracks, Toyota is believed to have based its new design on that electromotive industrial mainstay, the cheap and rugged alternating-current (AC) induction motor patented by Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor, back in 1888. ...

There is another lesson in this story: As long as there are free markets we will never run out of anything. As a resource becomes more expensive, humans innovate and find substitute resources or substitute processes. As neodymium becomes too expensive, we find alternatives. As Douglas Hay observed 25 years ago, nearly everything we make can ultimately made from renewable resources ... including building materials and plastics. As recycling becomes more prevalent and more efficient, it drives down costs as well. Technology improves the efficiency of how resources are mined, processed, and utiliezed, eliminating waste. While neodymium may become so expensive no one wants to use it, we will never run out of neodymium as long as there are market economies. The Stone Age did not end to due an absence of stones and the horse transporation age did not end due to the extinction of horses. Neither will the rare-earth age end because of the exhuastion of minetal deposits.

Related: Also see the article on rhenium

A Decade Makes All the Difference (College Education)

New York Times Economix: A Decade Makes All the Difference

Only 45% of college grads under 25 years old have a job that requires a college degree. That compares to 60% in 2000.

Kruse Kronicle Turns Six

The Kruse Kronicle is six years old today. Thanks to all the readers and conversationalists who make this blog so much fun.

I've made some minor upgrades in the categories section over the past month or two. I've gone back through six years of posts and tried to improve category tags. I've added some categories that help me find articles I'm looking for more easily.

Capitalism and Markets - Posts directly addressing the issue of capitalism or addressing how markets function.

Economic Development - Posts that feature how economic development takes place, has taken place, or is theorized to take place. Also posts dealing with appropriate technology.

Vocation - Posts addressing the idea of vocations from a number of different angles.

Additionally, I discovered that with some topics, like "Wealth and Income Distribution," I have not done a very good job of tagging over time. I also have added some geographic categories in case you want to look up Europe, Centeral America, or India.

Over the past year or so the Kruse Kronicle has become primarily news aggregation. A number of changes in my life knocked me off my routine of regular writing. The episodic nature of several responsilities and projects at the moment continues to keep me off balance. My hope is to get back to creating more original content this summer.

Thanks again for reading the Kroncile.