One Mistake is Not the End
In the United States, local governments routinely count traffic volume on important roads and major highways. The data is collected to help with repairs and provide insight into future infrastructure projects. In the 1970s, the process was complex. Local authorities would use a pneumatic road tube counter connected to a paper tape. Every time a car would pass over the tube, the counts were recorded onto the tape. The local government would then hire someone to manually count the information on the tape. This could become time consuming and costly, especially to towns and cities on a budget....
Leaving The Facade: How A Vulnerable Pastor Is An Effective Pastor
When barbarians crossed the Alps in the sixth century, Romans living in northern Italy fled in terror. Some went south towards Rome, others scrambled east towards Gaul, while some simply accepted fate. One group fled west, to a series of islands within a sheltered lagoon. They were a frightened and desperate people. The islands of the lagoon provided a natural defense against the conquering hordes, who, it turns out, were not good mariners. Over time, the refugees built a city amongst these islands, which would soon become a world-leading centre of trade. The name of the city? Venice. Few...
Pastors, Misfits Need Apply
On February 27, 1860, a young statesman from Illinois stood before a packed crowd at Cooper Union in New York City. His topic? The end of slavery in America. Over the next few hours, this politician with no formal education proceeded to electrify the audience with his rhetoric and reasons for the abolition of slavery. He proposed that slavery was in fact against the spirit of American principles enshrined in the constitution. The speech was so riveting that later historians would call this the watershed moment for the young politician’s career. His name? Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was a great...
Defying Our Dreams and Overcoming Failure
In April of 1882, an Alabama doctor approached the homestead of a desperate mother. Her name was Kate and her 19-month-old daughter was desperately ill. It was an era when medicine was still a burgeoning science. There were no x-rays, there were no MRIs, and there were no antibiotics. The infant mortality rate in the United States was hovering around 20%. Kate expected the worse. And as the doctor examined her ailing child, the best he could suggest was some form of congestion affecting the stomach and brain, an ailment with no effective form of treatment in 1882. The situation seemed dire....