Author Archives: igalindo

About igalindo

Israel Galindo is Professor and Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Less is more

Posted on May 24, 2007 by igalindo

When it comes to effective teaching, “less is more.” While the brain is an amazing information and multi-sensory processor, it can only effectively learn one new thing (concept) at a time. The maximum number of “bits of information” the mind … Continue reading →

Posted in children, teaching | Comments Off on Less is more

Veggie Tales, I never knew you

Posted on May 23, 2007 by igalindo

I’ve only watched one Veggie Tales story. It was a televised Christmas special some years ago. I thought it was cute, and well done. It didn’t convince me to change our practice in our church to NOT use videos in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, Design, Sunday school | Comments Off on Veggie Tales, I never knew you

Competence vs. function

Posted on May 22, 2007 by igalindo

One of the concepts I often stress when giving presentations about leadership is that of function. The idea is that leadership is more about providing the function of the position of leader that a system needs at the moment than … Continue reading →

Posted in bowen family systems theory | 1 Comment

Biblical literacy

Posted on May 21, 2007 by igalindo

I just bought a new bible. Not that I need it. Like most clergy cum seminarians I have about a dozen of them, including my “first bible” given to me upon entering fourth grade. I have my ordination bible, a … Continue reading →

Posted in bible, Christian Education, Sunday school | Comments Off on Biblical literacy

The kid graduates

Posted on May 20, 2007 by igalindo

Yesterday my youngest son graduated from his university’s school of engineering. When they called his name to walk across the stage I heard my father’s name echo in my son’s middle name, Thomas Samuel Galindo. My father was never able … Continue reading →

Posted in bowen family systems theory | 1 Comment

Avoiding program proliferation

Posted on May 18, 2007 by igalindo

When I was a school principal we had an annual fundraiser in which our small army of 800 elementary school students sold hundreds of dollar candy bars. You know the ones, those one dollar, delicious, long bricks of chocolate and … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Education, Sunday school | 4 Comments

Is BFST valid?

Posted on May 17, 2007 by igalindo

On ocassion I run into a skeptic that challenges the validity of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). I typically don’t spend a lot of energy trying to “convince” people of something or other. But when there’s evidence that a person … Continue reading →

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Leaders know how to listen

Posted on May 16, 2007 by igalindo

One of the most important traits of an effective leader is his or her ability to listen. While hearing is a natural ability listening is an acquired skill. Listening involves more than just the capacity to understand what is said … Continue reading →

Posted in bowen family systems theory, second chair | Comments Off on Leaders know how to listen

I used to believe . . .

Posted on May 15, 2007 by igalindo

I’ve always found it fascinating to see how difficult it is for adults to appreciate children’s cognition. It seems as if when the brain makes those leaps from one stage of cognition to another we develop a sort of cognitive … Continue reading →

Posted in children, Christian Education, teaching, world view | 1 Comment

Leadership lessons from the Dog Whisperer

Posted on May 14, 2007 by igalindo

Full disclosure and legal disclaimer: I’m not a pet person. I’ve never been a dog owner, don’t have cats, and don’t understand what having pets around the house is all about. The most I’ve tolerated was allowing the kids to … Continue reading →

Posted in bowen family systems theory, handouts | 1 Comment