MorningWalk by Tom Ehrich
Unions Matter
February 24, 2011
Years ago, in my first reporting job, I covered coal and steel out of Pittsburgh. I spent time in the mills and coalfields. I saw firsthand why labor unions exist. Without them, workers would have had no protection against unjust employers. Not all employers were predators, of course. But enough were, especially in heavy industry and more recently in the service sector, that unionization was ...
Bold vs. Fearful
February 22, 2011
I know communities whose leaders are bold, and others whose leaders are apprehensive, timid, even paralyzed by fear of failure and change. Both will fail, both will make mistakes, both will try and fall short, both will make foolish decisions. But the bold will learn from their failure, try again, do better, make different mistakes, learn, grow more capable, and maintain a dynamic tension ...
Broader Meaning of "Community"
February 21, 2011
As we move forward in the Internet age and learn to use the tools at our disposal, I think we are coming to a richer meaning of "incarnate" and what it means to be a faith "community." One meaning, of course, is the in-the-flesh reality of two people talking face to face. I don't know that any human relationship is quite so profound. But we are learning to trust less immediate connections, ...
Surprise! Discovering Gospel Music
February 16, 2011
I travel to Indianapolis tomorrow to visit my 94-year-old father and get caught up on his declining condition. He has the cribbage board ready to go and, he assures me, the deck "stacked." Thanks to mobile technology, I won't miss a beat in my daily writing and consulting. My wife will be visiting her family in New Hampshire. But I will miss Gospel Choir rehearsal, and that weighs heavily on ...
