Andy Rowell
@andyrowell.bsky.social
Ministry Leadership professor at Bethel Seminary. Learner. Former coach. Three kids in high school and college. Wife pastors at City Church in Minneapolis. andyrowell.net
Superb sophisticated moral reflection on AI drawing on the book of Genesis.
"What Is The "Divine Image" in the Age of AI?"
Rav Soloveitchik's Tale of Two Adams
Second Voice and Zohar Atkins
Dec 16, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/secondvo...
"What Is The "Divine Image" in the Age of AI?"
Rav Soloveitchik's Tale of Two Adams
Second Voice and Zohar Atkins
Dec 16, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/secondvo...
What Is The "Divine Image" in the Age of AI?
Rav Soloveitchik's Tale of Two Adams
open.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Superb sophisticated moral reflection on AI drawing on the book of Genesis.
"What Is The "Divine Image" in the Age of AI?"
Rav Soloveitchik's Tale of Two Adams
Second Voice and Zohar Atkins
Dec 16, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/secondvo...
"What Is The "Divine Image" in the Age of AI?"
Rav Soloveitchik's Tale of Two Adams
Second Voice and Zohar Atkins
Dec 16, 2025
open.substack.com/pub/secondvo...
Neighbor families caring for a grieving family in 2025.
Free to read.
www.startribune.com/a-minneapoli...
Free to read.
www.startribune.com/a-minneapoli...
A Minneapolis neighborhood cradles this grieving Annunciation family
Amid never-ending grief after their 8-year-old son’s murder, Fletcher Merkel’s family finds strength in community.
www.startribune.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Neighbor families caring for a grieving family in 2025.
Free to read.
www.startribune.com/a-minneapoli...
Free to read.
www.startribune.com/a-minneapoli...
Reposted by Andy Rowell
Your must-read of the day (with tissues):
In the months since Fletcher was fatally shot during at Annunciation Catholic School, the Merkels have clung to everyday relics of their second child’s brief, full life.
Whatever they’re feeling, they’ve learned how large their village has become.
In the months since Fletcher was fatally shot during at Annunciation Catholic School, the Merkels have clung to everyday relics of their second child’s brief, full life.
Whatever they’re feeling, they’ve learned how large their village has become.
A Minneapolis neighborhood cradles this grieving Annunciation family
Amid never-ending grief after their 8-year-old son’s murder, Fletcher Merkel’s family finds strength in community.
www.startribune.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Your must-read of the day (with tissues):
In the months since Fletcher was fatally shot during at Annunciation Catholic School, the Merkels have clung to everyday relics of their second child’s brief, full life.
Whatever they’re feeling, they’ve learned how large their village has become.
In the months since Fletcher was fatally shot during at Annunciation Catholic School, the Merkels have clung to everyday relics of their second child’s brief, full life.
Whatever they’re feeling, they’ve learned how large their village has become.
A pastor can't find younger leaders for the church board. I wondered about the culture. "My kids like Chipotle burritos, zero sugar A&W Root Beer and Cream Soda, Takis, Scandinavian Swimmers gummy candy, and brownies. Would your age 65+ board be open to meetings with those?"
December 26, 2025 at 10:42 PM
A pastor can't find younger leaders for the church board. I wondered about the culture. "My kids like Chipotle burritos, zero sugar A&W Root Beer and Cream Soda, Takis, Scandinavian Swimmers gummy candy, and brownies. Would your age 65+ board be open to meetings with those?"
Excellent tribute to Dan Treier
Losing two mentors in one weekend is more than my heart can bear. I don't know another way through the grief other than to write about it.
Dan Treier, you made the world a much better place. We'll miss you terribly.
open.substack.com/pub/carmenjo...
Dan Treier, you made the world a much better place. We'll miss you terribly.
open.substack.com/pub/carmenjo...
December 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Excellent tribute to Dan Treier
“We’re not Jewish,” Brady said when I asked him about this. “But I think we’re into everything. . . . I don’t know what I believe. I think there’s a belief system, I’m just not sure what it is.” www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/m... January 2015. Gift article.
Tom Brady Cannot Stop (Published 2015)
www.nytimes.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:44 AM
“We’re not Jewish,” Brady said when I asked him about this. “But I think we’re into everything. . . . I don’t know what I believe. I think there’s a belief system, I’m just not sure what it is.” www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/m... January 2015. Gift article.
"Sacks established empathy as a quality every good doctor should possess, enshrining the ideal through his stories ... [But] His approach set the template for a branch of writing and thinking that made it seem as if the natural arc of illness involved insight and revelation."
Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost?
The scientist was famous for linking healing with storytelling. Sometimes that meant reshaping patients’ reality.
www.newyorker.com
December 21, 2025 at 3:34 AM
"Sacks established empathy as a quality every good doctor should possess, enshrining the ideal through his stories ... [But] His approach set the template for a branch of writing and thinking that made it seem as if the natural arc of illness involved insight and revelation."
"adult world-class performance is associated with limited discipline-specific practice, increased multidisciplinary practice, and gradual early progress."
"Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance" (18 Dec 2025).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance" (18 Dec 2025).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance
Scientists have long debated the origins of exceptional human achievements. This literature review summarizes recent evidence from multiple domains on the acquisition of world-class performance. We re...
www.science.org
December 21, 2025 at 3:30 AM
"adult world-class performance is associated with limited discipline-specific practice, increased multidisciplinary practice, and gradual early progress."
"Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance" (18 Dec 2025).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance" (18 Dec 2025).
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Proud to have learned from and admired Jeff Thorne since high school. Preparation, multiple sports, research, class, integrity, character, leadership. Always in the best sense, a captain. Here is a gift link to the Chicago Tribune article about him.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/f...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/f...
Former North Central College football coach Jeff Thorne remembered for ‘refusing to lose’
Naperville’s Jeff Thorne, who led North Central College to its first NCAA Division III national championship in 2019, died Tuesday.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Proud to have learned from and admired Jeff Thorne since high school. Preparation, multiple sports, research, class, integrity, character, leadership. Always in the best sense, a captain. Here is a gift link to the Chicago Tribune article about him.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/f...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/f...
Kristin Lavransdatter novel trilogy resources in thread below.
(I'm 1/3 in to it).
(I'm 1/3 in to it).
December 9, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Kristin Lavransdatter novel trilogy resources in thread below.
(I'm 1/3 in to it).
(I'm 1/3 in to it).
Finished "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion (1968). Well-paced essays mostly based in California but also one about Las Vegas weddings, another about Hawaii, and the last one about being in your twenties in New York City. Recommended.
December 2, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Finished "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" by Joan Didion (1968). Well-paced essays mostly based in California but also one about Las Vegas weddings, another about Hawaii, and the last one about being in your twenties in New York City. Recommended.
Incorrigible coach behavior at age 50: when my pickup basketball team loses or soccer team is down at halftime, I ask my teammates what adjustments we should consider making. They look at me like "Are you serious?" Yes, sadly, I am.
November 30, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Incorrigible coach behavior at age 50: when my pickup basketball team loses or soccer team is down at halftime, I ask my teammates what adjustments we should consider making. They look at me like "Are you serious?" Yes, sadly, I am.
Dad with 15-year-old daughter activities:
Planted 75 daffodil bulbs and 75 tulip bulbs, $30 total from Aldi).
Used all our extra Christmas lights on a front tree she climbed.
Rebound for her as she practices shooting 3's at park and YMCA.
Ride as she gets driving hours in.
Planted 75 daffodil bulbs and 75 tulip bulbs, $30 total from Aldi).
Used all our extra Christmas lights on a front tree she climbed.
Rebound for her as she practices shooting 3's at park and YMCA.
Ride as she gets driving hours in.
November 25, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Dad with 15-year-old daughter activities:
Planted 75 daffodil bulbs and 75 tulip bulbs, $30 total from Aldi).
Used all our extra Christmas lights on a front tree she climbed.
Rebound for her as she practices shooting 3's at park and YMCA.
Ride as she gets driving hours in.
Planted 75 daffodil bulbs and 75 tulip bulbs, $30 total from Aldi).
Used all our extra Christmas lights on a front tree she climbed.
Rebound for her as she practices shooting 3's at park and YMCA.
Ride as she gets driving hours in.
Here in Minnesota, high school kids can take college courses (PSEO) easily online or in person paid by the state. Undergrad students can take courses that contribute to shortening a master's degree. Everything is in a hurry.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Here in Minnesota, high school kids can take college courses (PSEO) easily online or in person paid by the state. Undergrad students can take courses that contribute to shortening a master's degree. Everything is in a hurry.
So you can now click on a person's profile on X and then click on the "Joined [month year]" and it will tell you where the account is based. (In my brief exploration, it has been unremarkable because the people I follow and repost are who they say they are).
November 24, 2025 at 8:27 PM
So you can now click on a person's profile on X and then click on the "Joined [month year]" and it will tell you where the account is based. (In my brief exploration, it has been unremarkable because the people I follow and repost are who they say they are).
I played and my kids played high school baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, football, ultimate, cross country, and Nordic skiing. I'm just learning some people focus on hypertrophy (bigger muscles), body fat percentage, and body building. Those are rarely mentioned in sports.
November 24, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I played and my kids played high school baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, football, ultimate, cross country, and Nordic skiing. I'm just learning some people focus on hypertrophy (bigger muscles), body fat percentage, and body building. Those are rarely mentioned in sports.
One of our kids is an engineering major in college. What a great tradition in this field that most companies offer paid summer internships after junior year. Applying helps get students moving toward careers. BUT often you have to know someone inside to get past the AI filter.
November 24, 2025 at 8:25 PM
One of our kids is an engineering major in college. What a great tradition in this field that most companies offer paid summer internships after junior year. Applying helps get students moving toward careers. BUT often you have to know someone inside to get past the AI filter.
Position Posting:
Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
Program Director for Competency-Based Theological Education Program
staffcareers-bethel.icims.com/jobs/2186/pr...
Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
Program Director for Competency-Based Theological Education Program
staffcareers-bethel.icims.com/jobs/2186/pr...
Bethel University | Careers
staffcareers-bethel.icims.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Position Posting:
Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
Program Director for Competency-Based Theological Education Program
staffcareers-bethel.icims.com/jobs/2186/pr...
Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
Program Director for Competency-Based Theological Education Program
staffcareers-bethel.icims.com/jobs/2186/pr...
Taylor University Tenure Track in Christian Ministries
www.schooljobs.com/careers/tayl...
www.schooljobs.com/careers/tayl...
Tenure Track in Christian Ministries
Taylor University is seeking applications and nominations of distinguished candidates for a faculty appointment Christian Ministries, as part of the department of Biblical Studies, Christian Ministrie...
www.schooljobs.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Taylor University Tenure Track in Christian Ministries
www.schooljobs.com/careers/tayl...
www.schooljobs.com/careers/tayl...
My kids also feel sorry for kids whose parents force them to attend their siblings' sporting events. The siblings are bored. And the player doesn't care if their siblings attend or not. Youth sports take a lot of time. The siblings don't need to be subjected to it.
My teenagers see parents who have daily "family dinner" as a red flag. The parents don't attend their kids' school activities. They don't provide rides to and from school. The parents are rich. The kids are nice. The kids can't wait to leave home.
November 18, 2025 at 4:27 AM
My kids also feel sorry for kids whose parents force them to attend their siblings' sporting events. The siblings are bored. And the player doesn't care if their siblings attend or not. Youth sports take a lot of time. The siblings don't need to be subjected to it.
My teenagers see parents who have daily "family dinner" as a red flag. The parents don't attend their kids' school activities. They don't provide rides to and from school. The parents are rich. The kids are nice. The kids can't wait to leave home.
November 18, 2025 at 4:15 AM
My teenagers see parents who have daily "family dinner" as a red flag. The parents don't attend their kids' school activities. They don't provide rides to and from school. The parents are rich. The kids are nice. The kids can't wait to leave home.
Finished "The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story" by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays (Yale U. P.), Sept 2024. They rightly argue the trajectory of the Bible is to include outsiders. But despite the subtitle, they don't delve into sexuality.
November 18, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Finished "The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story" by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays (Yale U. P.), Sept 2024. They rightly argue the trajectory of the Bible is to include outsiders. But despite the subtitle, they don't delve into sexuality.
"the first-ever empirical study of the American rabbinate across denominations, released this week by the Atra Center for Rabbinic Innovation."
"58% identify as women, 30% as men, and 12% as nonbinary. An estimated 51% identify as LGBTQ."
www.jta.org/2025/11/12/r...
"58% identify as women, 30% as men, and 12% as nonbinary. An estimated 51% identify as LGBTQ."
www.jta.org/2025/11/12/r...
What the first major study of the US rabbinate reveals - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The rabbinate is older, happier and more diverse than previously known, according to the study.
www.jta.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:45 PM
"the first-ever empirical study of the American rabbinate across denominations, released this week by the Atra Center for Rabbinic Innovation."
"58% identify as women, 30% as men, and 12% as nonbinary. An estimated 51% identify as LGBTQ."
www.jta.org/2025/11/12/r...
"58% identify as women, 30% as men, and 12% as nonbinary. An estimated 51% identify as LGBTQ."
www.jta.org/2025/11/12/r...
Pope Leo XIV extols the value of movies. "Entering a cinema is like crossing a threshold. In the darkness and silence, vision becomes sharper, the heart opens up, and the mind becomes receptive to things not yet imagined."
deadline.com/2025/11/pope...
deadline.com/2025/11/pope...
Pope Leo XIV Talks Movies To A-List Crowd At Vatican: Read His Speech
Pope Leo XIV Talks Movies To A-List Crowd At Vatican: Read His Speech
deadline.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Pope Leo XIV extols the value of movies. "Entering a cinema is like crossing a threshold. In the darkness and silence, vision becomes sharper, the heart opens up, and the mind becomes receptive to things not yet imagined."
deadline.com/2025/11/pope...
deadline.com/2025/11/pope...