Endorse People, Not Institutions

Marketing Experiment's Director, Flint McLaughlin always reminds people that "people don't buy from Web sites, people by from people." I often find myself recommending stores or businesses rather than people. This is a mistake. A business's identity is is often established by the people who run and work for the business.

Last week I made a purchase from Electronic Express rather than Best Buy, because of the encounters (positive or negative) I had with the salesman. Admittedly, the environments and circumstances can effect which person I buy from, but ultimately people have the strongest impact on the sale. The store does not make me feel good about a purchase. It's the person making the sale.

Because "people buy from people," I need to make more of an effort to recommend [Joe] at [Business] rather than just recommending [Business].  After-all, my reputation is on the line with recommendations, and if "the personal is the most powerful," shouldn't I be as specific as I can, in my recommendations?

I think the same principles should apply for recommending churches.  Rather than recommend a congregation, you should recommend getting to know specific people within that congregation. Isn't a church made up of people?

I also find myself recommending authors more than book titles.

Monkeys and Aliens

Image via Wikipedia

I've been reading recent interviews with Stephen Hawking about extra-terrestrial life. That has caused me to wonder about the following scenario.If two monkeys on the opposite sides of the world were given a computer, which monkey would be the first to type out a word, sentence, or paragraph?

In the same manner, if the Big Bang theory created the universe, then which life-form would be the first to reach out and discover new life forms and which factors would cause them to be further along in the process of discovery.

I know there is more science behind the universe and that not everything in the universe has the same age, but isn't it reasonable to assume (aside from luck) that any life-forms would approach our planet from the oldest direction?

Furthermore, as one who believes in the Sovereignty of God, is there any reason I can't believe in other life-forms (other than angels and demons)? Is there any reason why God would not create other solar systems for other purposes or even similar purposes as humans?  And if He did, and we were to mingle with other life-forms, could we still live in harmony if our purposes were different?

That's off my mind...I feel better.

Worst -paying jobs and a peaceful life

According to the article Worst-Paying College Degrees by Charles Purdy, my wife and I have participated in the top 3 worst-paying degrees mentioned. The worst being Social Work, followed by Elementary Education, and lastly, Theology.

I'm not sharing this to say "woe is me!" I'm sharing this to say that these degrees paid our bills and we lived a peaceful financial life while working with those degrees. If WE can do it, so can you.

These degrees did not define our life's end-work. They simply gave us a foundation on which to build other careers and professions. They provided us with tools and frameworks that are transferable. In many ways, they have given us an advantage.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

The question of why bad things happens to good people is one that's often asked in light of catastrophic events. As Nashville, TN recovers from one of it's worst floods in recorded history, this question naturally came to mind for many.

In order to begin answering that question, there are two places I'd like to point you toward.

1. Nashville Flood by Joshua Graves: This is a short blog post that may help center your thoughts in order to tackle the topic. It's a great response for a hallway conversation.

2. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller: This book gives a good overall argument for why God does or does not do certain things. In the midst of this book is a chapter entitled "How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?"

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