As I mentioned yesterday, one of the first thing social scientists do when they want to model interactions is figure out whether the interactions are iterated (i.e. repeated). The vast majority of the work pastors do consists of repeated interactions. While this does take the pressure off of each … [Read more...]
The Joy of Ministry being an Iterated Game
When social scientists model interactions, one of the first things they have to figure out is whether the interactions are iterated (i.e. repeat themselves) or not. Non-iterated games are rare (the classic "Prisoner's Dilemma" is the one most people are familliar with; the game of "Chicken" is … [Read more...]
The (Unavoidable) Sin of Letting People Down
It’s an accepted truism that “you can’t please everyone.” And, as long as lazy people don’t use it as an excuse to ignore the preferences of those they are called to serve (i.e. their neighbor), it’s a useful one. But “useful” is not the same as easy. I reckon it’s easy enough when we are … [Read more...]
On the Joy of Service, Well Done
One of the many things I am thankful for in being an Orthodox priest is that the most important thing I do is scripted. As a musician, I was never inclined to jazz (or any kind of improvisation); I found my greatest joy when playing difficult pieces with a group that worked well together. … [Read more...]
On the Problem of Scientific and Spiritual Validation
As a social scientist, I was trained to test models based on their internal and external validity. A good model would explain a significant portion of the variation within the sample data (i.e. have internal validity) AND have applicability beyond that sample (i.e. in the "real world" or on … [Read more...]
The Priesthood and the Vision Thing
Every priest needs to have a vision for his priesthood and for the parish he serves. Because today's blog is a continuation of yesterday's on leadership, this post will focus on the latter. So... do you have done the hard work of discerning a vision for your parish? Most of us haven't. If … [Read more...]
“Can’t I Just Serve Well?”
This is a question/conversation that comes up fairly regularly with seminarians and priests. I strongly believe that in most American parishes it is NOT enough to just serve well and that one of the things we are called to do as "fathers" is lead. Yes, we need to strengthen our own life in … [Read more...]
