Saturday, February 18, 2012

Around the Horn

Leading off today is an interesting story about a WWII navy ship disaster off the coast of Newfoundland. One of the causes was that the ships didn’t know where they were. Sonar didn’t work well in the storm, visibility was bad, and the navigator was plotting their position by the occasional view of the stars. Grounding, freezing water, an oil-slick, a steep cliff, and a willing community make this fascinating.

At second, here’s an interesting video where Ed Stetzer shares some statistics on younger, unchurched people in America. It’s interesting, particularly about younger people being willing to listen. I have the book that this talk comes from, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them. I have even read some of it. Sorry, Ed. Will finish the rest tomorrow. Or the next day for sure. Seriously, it is an interesting book and talk.

At third, the NY Times reports on the increasing statistics regarding birth to single mothers. For women under 30, most births occur outside of marriage. This is a significant social structure problem in society. Yesterday, I talked with a University of Michigan grad student doing an internship here locally. We talked about the society structures and the idea that a lack of solid family structure is a serious problem for stability in a community. Children are not benefited by parents who do not marry and take responsibility for their lives and their choices. Many children are growing up in a split families, and some do not even know who their dad is, or at least have no relationship with him. This is bad for children, and it is bad communities.

And last but not least, the first signs of spring show up this week in the news reports that the hot stove league is cooling off and the pitchers and catchers are reporting this weekend for most baseball clubs. Full team workouts begin next weekend. The boys of summer are on the way back.

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