J.J. Buckfart* communications * environment * leadership * science *

Whenever a publisher claims that a book has unlocked some secret from the Scriptures, I tend to become skeptical.

The book description claims that “a map, hidden in the gospel of Matthew, is the key to awakening the sleeping giant in the church-men. Sounds like fiction, but it’s true. The apostle Matthew embedded a map into his gospel. History’s greatest men, including Christ himself, followed this map.”

The first half of The Map is a fictional narrative of murder, deception, and greed as an author, vicar and a monk fight to uncover the truth behind the map. It has a bit of a Da Vinci Code feel to it. The narrative kept me reading and dialogue was fairly believable.

The narrative introduces the idea that all men of greatness must embark the Three Jouneys of Jesus (as found in Matthew’s Gospel) in their lifetime:

1. the journey of submision (Matthew 1-7)
2. the journey of strength (Matthew 8-25), and
3. the journey of sacrifice (Matthew 26-28).

The second half of the book uses the narrative in a parabolic sort of way to unpack and apply the three journeys.

The metaphor of a traveller ascending a mountain using switchbacks is the central image in the book. The three journeys are one leg on a switchback, moving the traveller toward the mountain’s summit.

In many churches I have seen soft, and gentle men (Murrow argues these are feminine leaning traits). In other churches, I’ve seen almost militant, an aggressive men whose mission it was to take their city for Jesus – complete with the military metaphors (Murrow argues these are masculine leaning traits). I find both extremes repulsive. And that is the beauty of The Map. The Map gives men permission to journey into feminine and masculine realms.  It is actually quite healthy to journey between feminine traits (Murrow says submission and sacrifice are feminine) and masculine traits (Murrow says strength is masculine).

I think this book is a very important contribution to Christan Spirituality and Men’s Issues and has the potential to give men a renewed sense of mission in the North American Church. In some ways the book re-casts some of the concepts John Eldredge provides in “Wild at Heart.” But it’s different in that the book lays out a framework for how to live those concepts out.

Personal leadership and discipline are important in living a life that benefits humanity, and the overall created order. Men who have an under-girding of submission, who then lives of strength and sacrifice, will have the potential to changed the world.

NOTE: I received a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review from booksneeze.com.

Source: Stock Exchange http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1105487

You’ve been busted! Caught! Maybe you were caught in a lie. Maybe you stretched the truth on your resume and now find yourself in a job you cannot do. Maybe you’ve manipulated people and situations and now are being called on it.

We all have.

The test of a leader is what you do when you’ve been found out. Do you continue to try to smooth things over? Do you try to talk your way out of it? Or do you face the consequences and do the hard work of making things right?

What you’ve been trying to hid is now clearly in the open. “The Emperor has no clothes!” the young boy cries.

The toothpaste is out of the tube and cannot be put back in. Now the mess is obvious. Do you want to to clean it up? Or would you rather draw smiley faces with your dirty little fingers in the globby toothpaste puddle?

I know this bill board campaign is something like 10 years old, but I still love it. Chick-fil-A did something pretty incredible with their bill board campaign. According to something I read in a journal article written by Leonard Berry the execs at Chick-fil-A knew they couldn’t compete with the big fast food companies such as  McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. These behemoths had more marketing dollars to be spent on expensive marketing channels such as tv – than the smaller Chick-fil-A.

What did the chicken restaurant do? They decided to dominate one advertising medium, rather than spread their advertising resources thinly over multiple marketing channels. Doing this and they would likely go unnoticed.

If you want to read the original article, and you are having a hard time tracking it down,  email me and I should be able to help.

In the spring of 2009, Lakehead acquired a PanAlytical MPD X-ray diffractometer (XRD for short). This unit is used for materials identification and phase characterization. It has applications in most fields, including chemical engineering, chemistry, geochemistry, geology, mineralogy and environmental sciences. They don’t let me touch the machine, but they do let me talk to Shannon. She’s really smart and has a doctorate in geology and runs the XRD. CLICK HERE to see the news piece on the LUCAS website.

In CSI: Miami an XRD was used to determine the materials in a hubcab found at a crime scene.

I am not a physics major, but last time I checked, X-rays are invisble to the human eye. Hmmmmm.

Maybe you are a bit clueless on how to properly use Twitter to connect with people and market your product or service. It’s taken me a few months to start to “get” it.

Facebook is much more straightfoward. If you are planning an event, you can set up a facebook event. If you are providing a service line, or promoting your brand you can create a page where people can become your fan. But how can Twitter be used effectively? It’s just a mini-blog right?

I found this pretty straightforward presentation on slideshare.net that gives some pointers on using Twitter… actually 140 pointers to be exact.

Enjoy!

I really like some of the Brita ads. They tap into the environmental sensibilities many people have. The first time I saw this spot, I thought they were selling a health product. The reveal at 15 seconds give the missing piece of information and the expected ahh-haa moment.

Check this following ad out. It points out a flaw in Brita’s reasoning. I think you will like it.

Have you every had a slice of Dominos Pizza where the crust tasted like cardboard? In this cleaver marketing campaign, the Pizza franchise takes its critics head on.

Does marketing like this ultimately help or harm the brand?

You can check out the full campaign by CLICKING HERE.

Over the Christmas holidays my friend Ken asked me what books I read a second or third time and why. A very good question. Why do we go back to certain books and leave others half read?

Books I’ve read more than once include…

• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard
• Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Henry Cloud
• The One-Life Solution: Reclaim Your Personal Life While Achieving Greater Professional Success by Henry Cloud
• Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World by Brian Walker, David Salt, and Walter Reid
• Bible

What have you read more than once?

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and in Ontario the law banning the cosmetic use of pesticides comes into effect.

As a licensed commercial pesticide applicator in Ontario, I thought it might be a good idea to I read over a few fact sheets outlining the new Ontario pesticide law. Also, there is some good information on the Ministry of Environment’s website.  I am pleased for the most part with the law. In a nutshell the new law denies the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes. So that means herbicides can not be used on your lawns for dandelions.

This law will give regulators some more “teeth” when dealing with pesticide application abuses. I know in parts of the province, pesticides are overused and many pesticide applications are really not necessary. I think a few dandelions are cute… but only a few.

While I was working for Cornell University Cooperative Extension a few years back, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Frank Rossi aka the Turf Guy at Cornell. He developed a great resource that outlines how to care for your lawn without the use of pesticides. You could also download the PDF and wall paper your garden shed with these great lawn care tips.

Source: http://www.bugsyinfo.com/siteassist_images/whatis.jpg

About a month ago Rick Mercer visited Thunder Bay and even mentioned my hometown, Nipigon, ON.

Check it out on youtube.