Andy Rowell

Category: Uncategorized

  • The use of humor by leaders, professors, and pastors

    In my class sessions this week, there was a lot of laughter. Surely that helps students wanting to attend. But online and offline, I have tried not to use sarcasm. With humor, we can easily confuse and hurt. Self-deprecating humor (about mistakes I've made) is usually safe.

    But as a professor or as a pastor or as a leader of a meeting, you are NOT a comedian. The point is not to get laughs. If you start trying for that, you waste people's time and skew the focus.
    But sincerely saying how you learned a lesson in the past is useful (and sometimes🤣).

    See:

    For example, I told stories about how I was a pastor and seminary student but was told I needed to develop relationships with non-Christians so I tried with the barber but it did not really work (and now I'm bald!) and talking to women at the gym who thought I was creepy.

    I also told about how when I was a pastor and we had lots of homeless people visit our church for handouts and we worked hard on comprehensive solutions. But also I found the people especially loved cookies and lemonade.

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on January 15, 2021.

  • Tennessee pastor Steve Berger’s lashing out at reporters for reporting on his presence in DC on January 6th and his subsequent exit from his position

    👀 Whoa. This is who a lot of us voiced concerns about a week ago when from the pulpit he angrily denounced Tennessee reporters by name for reporting on his presence in DC on January 6 (which he himself had talked about on Facebook live video that evening).

    Background:

    Steve Berger's January 6 Facebook Live video from DC is posted halfway down on this page:
    https://www.wsmv.com/news/governor-lees-pastor-apologizes-for-his-account-of-dc-riots/article_24a3a080-5156-11eb-9f75-371cdbbda8bd.html

    Here is his defensive letter from January 9:
    https://www.facebook.com/PastorSteveBerger/photos/a.1987085484849395/3532042017020393

    And here is his angry video from last Sun, January 10:

    The church, Grace Chapel, in Leipers Fork, TN (south of Nashville) is saying that the transition was long-planned.

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on January 17, 2021.

  • Dave Ramsey’s vicious lashing out at a reporter

    No one should ever recommend Dave Ramsey or the Financial Peace University course ever again. And I mean that sincerely. Bob Smietana is a long-time superb reporter and this statement by Dave Ramsey is outrageous and vicious.

    Here is the article:

    Here is the background:

    Yes, I'm assuming Dave Ramsey himself wrote this email. A Public Relations person would never do this. The only person who would do this is someone lashing out in anger without listening to anyone because *any* advisor would counsel against this reckless, vicious response.

    Rewording my original tweet: I would not recommend Dave Ramsey or support his Financial Peace University course because this email to long-time respected reporter Bob Smietana is outrageous and vicious. And it fits with much else we know about Ramsey's behavior. See above tweets.

    Originally tweeted by Andy Rowell (@AndyRowell) on January 15, 2021.