The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?

MYTH: Following a time-honored tradition, upon becoming physicians, all doctors take the Hippocratic Oath.

TRUTH: Not all doctors take the Hippocratic Oath. In fact, very few do.

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A student in my current on-line course, Educating in Faith, shared her memories of an evangelistic ”chalk artist.” Reading her comments I too remembered those presentations. I’m not a big fan of the graphic arts as ”performance art.” My early cognitive mapping related to art seems to have created a taxonomy that wants something to be one thing or the other, but not both. It’s either art or it isn’t; it’s ”craft” or high art; it’s a painting or a sculpture; it’s a drawing or a painting. Obviously, I’m not a big fan of ”mixed media,” and photorealistic Photoshop creations launches me into a philosophical aesthetical inner debate about whether what I’m looking at is ”art” or not.

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I’ve had several conversations with people about “how to write” lately. That topic seems to come in waves and in seasons. Over the course of several weeks all of a sudden it seems people get interested in the matter of writing, becoming a writer, or beginning a writing project. I’m never sure about how to help people who come for advice on writing. While I’ve published a few books and write a lot, I don’t identify myself as “a writer.” For me writing is more about having an opportunity to think than it is about getting my name in print, or feeling like I “have something to say.” More often that not, writing for me is a cathartic mind dump. Or, as I kid, “It helps stop the voices in my head.”

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Ryan Hamm, of Faithvisuals.com makes an insightful point about the use of media that educators would do well to consider when using media as participation, not just presentation.

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I try to blog every other week while some of my colleagues are more faithful in their writing. In this week’s post, I thought I would write on stewardship (I know that is a dirty word in some churches) but received an email from a former professor of mine that linked back to his blog. Be assured that the content is of high quality but that is not the point of my ramblings today. You see I am an advocate for using technology for personal and spiritual advancement.

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An aspiring artist friend and I enjoy occasional conversations about art and aesthetics. One on-going philosophical conversation has to do with “what is art?” This, in the context of how current and emerging technologies are changing the practices, if not the nature, of the work of the artist. For example, a couple of days after moving into our new home I met the neighbor. When I asked him what he did for a living he replied, “I’m a graphic artist.”

I asked, “Oh, what medium do you usually use?”

He looked at me like I had a third eye growing out of my forehead before replying, “Computer.”

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I am thrilled to be a part of this blog team! I started my own blog a few years ago (which needs much TLC) and have been an advocate for blogging since. Along my journey, I have inspired individuals and groups to create and maintain a blog and have tried to give good advice on putting up content. Creating a blog is easy with free blog hosts like WordPress and I would encourage you to follow the link to begin your own journey.

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That title is probably misleading but if it grabbed your attention for the moment, it did what I intended.  Technology is a big part of individual lives.  We hold the cell phone to our ear while reading the GPS to find the local Net Cafe so we can check our email that is not connected to our Blackberry.  So what is the implication for the church?

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Last November our family visited the local Apple store in search of prices on Ipods. Christmas was around the corner and an Ipod seemed like a perfect gift for our daughter. My wife, daughter, and I had begun our Christmas shopping adventure.

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