Yesterday was Pi Day – March 14 or 3.14 – and I heard a little story about this on NPR as I was driving into work. It reminded me how much my journalism students hate math. [Read more…] about Journalism Notes: Get Those Digits
journalism notes
Journalism Notes: Faith in the “Spotlight”
Image courtesy of emw at Wikimedia Commons, under a Creative Commons license
With Sunday night’s Oscar win for best picture, “Spotlight,†the movie about the Boston Globe’s investigation into systemic child abuse by Catholic priests, provided renewed validation of the press’s role to hold the powerful accountable in our society. [Read more…] about Journalism Notes: Faith in the “Spotlight”
Journalism Notes: Dreaming Nervously
Image Credit: StockSnap at Pixabay.com
This week I, along with a dedicated group of University of Tampa students and a Central Florida youth cultural arts nonprofit called Prodigy, will launch a community journalism program for teens.
Tampa Youth Voice will be an online youth media platform where young people in Tampa will tell their own stories, as well as those of their peers and their neighborhoods, from their own perspectives.
For me, this marks the culmination of years in which I’ve sought to bridge my previous professional history in journalism and teen social services with my scholarship on youth media and start an applied youth media project in our area. And obviously it marks the beginning of an exciting, terrifying new chapter as well.
Why terrifying? Because it has been a dream for so long. Because I feel that a great deal of personal validation hangs on its success. Because I have a lot of people looking at me to lead this thing in making the vision a reality.
My church started a new series this week called “Dream Year.†Our pastors are challenging us to let God fill our hearts and minds with his dreams for us. I can do that. The tough part is something else the pastor said Sunday.
If you can see exactly how your dream will become reality, if you’re not a little nervous about how it will all come together, then your dreams probably aren’t big enough.
Bam.
The Lord has been hammering me pretty good recently with the truth that on my own I got nothing. I’ve been swallowing a big heaping helping of humility in this new year. To be fair, there have been some pretty great moments of encouragement, too. But the message that I can do little more than trust and obey is coming through loud and clear.
On Sunday the pastor used the story of Jacob, the dreamer, to kick off this series. It’s only when that fancy coat comes off that God can begin leading us where he wants us. Think you’re called to lead? You might not want to go trumpeting all the great things you’re going to do, or you might find yourself at the bottom of the pecking order in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable land.
The Lord has the most curious and remarkable ways of bringing us to the place of complete surrender. Only after this journey of faith and patience will he bring us to this place where our dreams—ahem, his dreams—come true.
I don’t know that I’m there yet, but I know there’s no way Tampa Youth Voice is going to succeed without him. I can’t do it. I can’t make it happen. I can’t make the youth buy into this vision. I can’t make my students truly invest themselves in these teens. I can’t make people listen to their stories.
But I’m here. I’m nervous, but I’m ready. My plans, my dreams are yours, Lord. Make them happen.
And as Tom Grosh IV reminds us: To God be the glory!
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans (Proverbs 16:3).
Journalism Notes: Pressing On II
In my last post I took some time to consider the ideas of legacy and success from a Christian perspective. When I die, how will people remember me? What will be my mark on the world? What impact will I have made on the lives of others?
I didn’t know at the time how apropos those words would be. Last Tuesday my grandmother died. On Saturday I gave the eulogy at her funeral. She was 94 years old. [Read more…] about Journalism Notes: Pressing On II
Journalism Notes: Pressing On
When I die, no one will make a documentary about me. I don’t expect a big New York Times obit on my grand contributions to society and culture. It’s unlikely that social media will be flooded with worldwide tributes and memorials to how my work changed people’s lives. [Read more…] about Journalism Notes: Pressing On