Details

Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 26 March 2020

This 1:46 min video examines the three most common responses to the coronavirus pandemic, fear, foolishness, and faith.

The Coronavirus is now a declared global pandemic.

People are responding to this surreal, spreading disease in several ways.

Fear is paramount: hoarding, riots, debilitating anxiety, or not just social distancing but social isolation.

People suggesting fear is not appropriate are labeled foolish. And perhaps some are, because they don’t seem to be taking the threat seriously, refusing to change their routines or behaviors.

Fear, foolishness? There’s a third response.

For Christians, it should be faith. Christians believe God is engaged, he is not surprised. Nor is he vindictive or a cosmic meany.

Faith is not blindness, not irrational. It’s belief in God’s revelation of himself in the world, in his Word, and in his son Jesus Christ.

Faith gives us assurance Providence knows us individually.

As the Scripture says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Is. 41:10).

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020

*This blog and video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.

Details

Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 25 March 2020

This 1:41 min video considers state governors' calls for churches to close their doors in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. This is my take produced by Manna Media.

Should churches, despite the requests of governors, remain open during a public health crisis?

I’m not an infectious disease expert, so I can only go so far commenting about coronavirus.

But I can say this: Leaders are not omniscient, can’t predict the future, and make mistakes.

Schools close to reduce spread of the virus. Good? Maybe. But we can’t ID umpteen other ripple effects.

Similar for shutting down major sports schedules. Good? No one knows.

I confess that it concerns me to see governors using executive orders to ban gatherings over certain numbers, including particularly churches.

I know this is not an anti-religious action. But ceding to government power over religious assembly seems unwise.

A health crisis, even a severe one, is short-term. But unhindered religious congregation is a long-term civil liberty essential to free society.

And historically, through many plagues, Christian churches largely remained open with Christians providing sacrificial care, community, aid, solace, hope, and trust in the Living God.

Churches should not ignore public concerns, but they should seek to open in whatever ways they can.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020

*This blog and video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.

Details

Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 24 March 2020

I've read more than my share of rants, angst, attacks, put-downs and more on my social media pages. These posts originate on both the Left and the Right and make it their purpose to pollute the air. Problem is, these kinds of posts add nothing, just more of the same.

I encourage people to post what they Think. Tell me Why you like or dislike something, Why you hold your views, and try to persuade me your view is correct.

Here's a short article with some social media recommendations on creating value-added posts.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-added-social-media-posts-rex-m-rogers/

I’m weary up to my ears with angry, cynical, gotcha, this-political-leader’s-latest-dumb-thing social media posts. These posts originate on both the Left and the Right, and they overrun my social media.  

It’s a free country (though recently, some folks seem to want to silence anyone with whom they disagree).  So, I get that people can post whatever they want. And I get that people will have differing points of view—actually, this is healthy in a free society—so this piece is not arguing for you to change your views. 

But aside from this, it’s a free country for me, too, so I’m going to share a few recommendations for social media posting.

Social media posts that offer nothing but another put-down of given leaders and/or their actions, or offer another rant, or throw shade on someone, do not help me much. These posts may help the posting-person to vent, but the posts don’t develop my understanding of his or her point of view. And such posts don’t really offer any substantive ideas to persuade me toward a different view. They just express angst.

What kind of social media posts actually make impact?

• Offer something original, something you think, you wrote, not just quotes from others or citations of news stories that bother you. Most of all, tell us Why.

• Include not just your feelings but again – what you think– or a point of view someone else has developed that you endorse.

• Periodically make a comment that is positive…about anything, i.e., find something that your political opposition has done with which you agree and affirm it. If you find this impossible, identify something else positive to say so you don’t become a curmudgeon. If all you do is cry, “Wolf,” or all you say is, “The sky is falling,” then after a while, you won’t be heard at all. 

• Avoid using degrading or profane languagein your posts. While this seems to be the trend of the day, even among the nation’s leaders, it doesn’t have to be ours. This recommendation is not about being a prude but about being practical. If you want to persuade people to your point of view you are more likely to accomplish this with respectful and intelligent language than the base vocabularies and insults now being spouted by many celebrities and political leaders.

• Vary the contentof your posts. If you’re a political junkie, OK, nothing wrong with that, but you’ll wear your readers down and your posts won’t be read if they all sound the same. So once in a while, post about your hobby or your travels or your family, anything you think your friends and followers might find interesting. 

If you implement these simple approaches to your social media posts, you’ll soon be offering your readers value added, something they haven’t heard or maybe cannot get elsewhere, and your number of followers will increase. You might even persuade them to your point of view.

Post all you want. Raise the bar with value-added commentary and make a contribution to public discourse in the body politic.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020    

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.    

Details

Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 23 March 2020

This 1:47 min video atop beautiful Mt Nebo in Jordan where Moses viewed the Promise Land is a good place to consider Moses passing the baton to Joshua, and then Ms. Rita El-Mounayer becoming the new SAT-7 International CEO, April 2019. We're now just a couple of weeks away from the first anniversary of this event and she is, like the rest of us, in the midst of the major leadership challenge and opportunity presented by the pandemic.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020

*This video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.

Details

Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 22 March 2020

This 1:50 min video looks at suffering, always difficult for us to understand but never a surprise to the Lord. This is my take produced by Manna Media.

Why does a loving God allow people to suffer with diseases like the coronavirus?

Why does God allow suffering like the Coronavirus? 

In the Bible, the Lord devotes much time to suffering, like the entire book of Job.

Tens of thousands have been infected by the coronavirus; thousands have died. Why would the loving, caring God permit such grief?

One, so that we may know his love. In Psalms, the shepherd David said, “Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record? (Psalm 56: 8).  

It’s an incredible statement. God remembers all our tears. All our anguish, heartache, suffering, all matter to our loving God.

Another reason for suffering, to refine us in God’s service: “but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4).

God works through suffering to accomplish his purposes, which we likely will not understand. 

But we know he is a God of grace and truth. 

Our trust in him is our comfort.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020

*This video may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Dr. Rogers at www.rexmrogers.com/. Follow at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.