2006 Full Engagement

 

Full Engagement

2006 is the best yet. It is not the best year we will ever have. 2006 is the best year that we have experienced. Righteousness means gaining mastery of your life. Become fully engaged in Life. Increase your power of full engagement of the six (6) areas listed below.

2006 is the best year:

• Spiritually
• Mentally
• financially
• Physically
• Emotionally
• Socially

Select two(2) goals in the six areas

• Learn how to encourage yourself
• Stay fully engaged
• stay in the moment

2006 is the best year:

• Spiritually
• Pray 15 minutes (minimum)
• Write down your spiritual thoughts
• Journal according to your life’s purpose
• Mentally
• Journal
• Read (30 minutes) in the area of your assignment and calling…the area that you want to get paid
• Increase your vocabulary in the area of your assignment and calling
• Lack makes you too easy to offend
• Financially
• Become spiritually aware of the Gods economy
• 10% Tithe
• 10% saving
• Physically
• Set your Rhythm
• Go to bed on a scheduled time
• Your day starts at sundown
• For Insomnia Download. Write down your thoughts Get the thoughts out of your mind by writing them on paper.
• Regulate your circadian rhythm-body clock.
• Drink your body weight in ounces PH factor of 7+plus
• Emotionally
• Practice capacity
• Develop capacity to feel the celebration and depression of others
• Measure success and failure
• Socially
• Be interested!
• Pay attention to others
Pay attention…..become interested in the plight of others

Full Engagement

2006 is the best year yet. It is not the best year we will ever have. 2006 is the best year that we have experienced.

Refuge for your Refuse Series: Put me back on my feet

'COME HELL OR HIGH WATER' By Michael Eric Dyson

 

CHAPTER 9: FRAMES OF REFERENCE
Class, Caste, Culture,
and Cameras

By Michael Eric Dyson

'COME HELL OR HIGH WATER'

Perseus Books Group

Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina And the Color of Disaster will be available in a bookstore near you on Jan. 17, 2006.

If race grabbed the biggest headlines in the aftermath of Katrina because of poverty and politics, its force was also felt in other dimensions of the cultural and personal response to the hurricane. The media became a big part of the story. Reporters’ anger at the government’s tragic delay leaped off allegedly neutral pages and TV screens even as the stories also reinforced stereotypes of black behavior in exaggerated reports of looting and social anarchy. The black elite stepped up to express support for the poor and outrage at their treatment, putting aside, perhaps even denying, elements of its own recent assaults on poor blacks. And despite its embattled status as the purveyor of perversity, patriarchy, and pornography, quarters of hip-hop responded admirably, reminding us that they have been one of the few dependable sources of commentary on the black poor all along. The disaster also sparked renewed interest in the “race or class” debate as to what element of the dyad accounted more reliably for the fate of the black poor.

But one of the untold stories of Katrina is how the hurricane impacted racial and ethnic minorities other than blacks. For instance, nearly 40,000 Mexican citizens who lived (mostly in trailers) and worked in New Orleans were displaced. Altogether, nearly 145,000 Mexicans in the entire Gulf Coast region were scattered by Katrina. Latinos make up 3 percent of Louisiana’s population, 124,222 people of the state’s 4,515,770 residents. Many Latinos who live in the South are foreign born and are undocumented laborers on farms or in hotels, restaurants, and other service industry jobs.

The fear that government officials and police would target undocumented immigrants discouraged many Latinos from seeking hurricane relief, despite messages from Mexican president Vicente Fox that the American government had assured him that it wouldn’t take such action. In fact, for the first time in more than 150 years, Mexico sent aid to the United States in the form of an army unit of nearly 200 soldiers and 45 vehicles that joined a Mexican Navy crew helping hurricane survivors. It also sent food, medicine, nurses, and doctors to Louisiana, as well as a ship transporting ambulances and trucks. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) sent translators and established a relief fund, while its Arizona branch sent four container trucks with sleeping bags, water, and food.

Latinos in other areas were affected by the hurricane as well. In Bossier County, Louisiana, many Central Americans were employed in the service industry. And Baldwin County, Alabama, was home to many farm workers who lived in migrant camps. Many of them, and Jamaican immigrants as well, had either lost their documentation or had sought refuge in hotels, and not designated shelter areas, for fear of having their citizenship status scrutinized. That fear outweighed the fact that undocumented immigrants, at least in theory, do have rights to disaster relief.

Thousands of Native Americans on the Gulf Coast were hard hit by the storm as well. According to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), several Native American tribes were in harm’s away across the damaged region, although early on there was little contact with affected members. In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, there was little information about the death tolls among the six federally recognized Native American tribes in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, including the Parch Band Creek Indian Tribe in Alabama; the Coushatta Indian Tribe, Jena Band of Choctaw, and Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in Louisiana; and the Chitimacha Tribe and the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi. For one tribe near Chalmette, Louisiana, the local high school served as a tribal morgue, holding the bodies of Native American workers, including shrimpers and other fishermen, who were drowned in the flooding near New Orleans. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians experienced power outages on their reservation and sought shelter at tribal hotels. The NCAI partnered with the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) to raise relief funds for Native Americans in the Gulf States. There were also nearly 50,000 Vietnamese fishermen who labored on the Louisiana coast—while others worked in the service and manufacturing industries—along with a large contingent of Filipino American shrimpers, part of the oldest Filipino community in North America. A community of Vietnamese shrimpers also lived and worked near Mississippi; many of them were displaced, while others died in the horrible pounding of Katrina. There were nearly 30,000 Vietnamese evacuees dispersed to Houston, although many of them were denied entry into the Astrodome, finding shelter instead at Houston’s Hong Kong City Mall.

The oversight of Latino, Native American, and Vietnamese and Filipino suffering in the catastrophe not only reinforces for the latter three groups their relative invisibility in American culture, and for Latinos their relative marginalization in the region. It shows as well that our analysis of minorities must constantly be revised to accommodate a broader view of how race and ethnicity function in the culture. As important as it is, the black-white racial paradigm simply does not exhaust the complex realities and complicated interactions among various minority groups and the broader society.

The black-white racial paradigm was also pressured by an enduring question among social analysts that was revived in the face of Katrina: is it race or class that determines the fate of poor blacks? Critics came down on either side during the crisis, but in this case, that might equate to six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. It is true that class is often overlooked to explain social reality. Ironically, it is often a subject broached by the acid conservatives who want to avoid confronting race, and who become raging parodies of Marxists in the bargain. They are only concerned about class to deflect race; they have little interest in unpacking the dynamics of class or engaging its deforming influence in the social scene. In this instance, race becomes a marker for class, a proxy, blurring and bending the boundaries that segregate them.

Class certainly loomed large in Katrina’s aftermath. Blacks of means escaped the tragedy; blacks without them suffered and died. In reality, it is how race and class interact that made the situationfor the poor so horrible on the Gulf Coast. The rigid caste system that punishes poor blacks and other minorities also targets poor whites. Even among the oppressed, however, there are stark differences. Concentrated poverty doesn’t victimize poor whites in the same way it does poor blacks. For instance, the racial divide in car ownership discussed earlier partially reflects income differences between the races. However, as if to prove that not all inequalities are equal, even poor whites are far more likely to have access to cars than are poor blacks. In New Orleans, 53 percent of poor blacks were without cars while just 17 percent of poor whites lacked access to cars. The racial disparity in class effects shows up in education as well. Even poor white children are far less likely to live in, or to attend school in, neighborhoods where poverty is highly concentrated.

Moreover, one must also account for how the privileges of whiteness that transcend class open up opportunities for poor whites that are off limits to the black poor, whether it is a job offer at a restaurant wary of blacks or a schoolroom slot in a largely white, stable community. This is not to deny the vicious caste tensions that separate poor and working class whites from their middle-class and upper-class peers. Such tensions result in a dramatically different quality of life for the well-off and the have-nots. I simply aim to underscore the pull of racial familiarity that is often an unspoken variable, and sometimes the crucial difference, in the lives of the white and non-white poor. It is bad enough to be white and poor; it is worse still to be black, or brown, and female, and young, and poor. Simply said, race makes class hurt more. In African American life, class and caste differences show up most dramatically in the chasms between the black fortunate and the black poor. As I watched Hurricane Katrina sweep waves of mostly poor and black folk into global view, I thought of the controversy stirred by Bill Cosby’s assault on the black poor—that they are detrimentally promiscuous, disinclined to education, unappreciative of good speech, determined to saddle their kids with weird names, and bent on blaming the white man for all their ills. Cosby’s views were widely celebrated in the press, and in many quarters of black America, especially among the black elite—the Afristocracy. Those few who were publicly critical of Cosby were said to be making excuses for the black poor while denying their need to be responsible for their own destinies. Others agreed with Cosby that the poor hampered their own progress because they were either too lazy or too ignorant to do better. In any case, Cosby, and a slew of critics, believed that the black poor suffered because they desired or deserved to be poor.

In the aftermath of Katrina, some of the same black critics who had previously sided with Cosby suddenly decried conservative visions of the black poor that, interestingly enough, accord quite well with the comedian’s views. For instance, Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker penned a column, “Katrina Exposes Our Callous Treatment of the Poor,” nearly a week after the storm struck. She began dramatically—“Here in America, the land of opportunity, we gave up on the poor more than two decades ago.” She writes that under Ronald Reagan “we learned that the poor were simply too lazy to improve their prospects and their misery was their own fault.” Tucker argues that we “not only gave up trying to help the poor, but we also bought the argument that trying to assist them, especially through government programs, would just make matters worse.”

The right-wingers, she says, convinced us that the poor are illiterate, sick, and unemployed because of welfare, and because they choose to be. “So we turned our backs on the impoverished and tuned them out, leaving them stranded in the worst neighborhoods, worst schools and the worst geography.” Tucker writes that the images of the poor in the wake of Katrina shouldn’t surprise us, since it is the outgrowth of a culture that has left the poor to their own devices. Tucker concludes her column with a rousing portrayal of the insular attitudes that deny the privileges of the well to do, blame the poor for their ills, and sweep the plight of the poor under our collective social carpet.

In fact, it’s easy for all of us who live in relative prosperity to forget that most of us are here because we had the good sense to be born to the right parents. While a few impoverished young adults can still scratch and claw their way into the mainstream, it is getting harder and harder to do so as the industrial jobs that created the great middle class are disappearing. (Why do you think so many working-class sons and daughters volunteer for the armed forces?) Income inequality is increasing in this country; the latest census shows that the number of people living in poverty is rising. Still, a few predictable voices on the far-right fringe are already thinking up ways to blame Hurricane Katrina’s victims for their plight. Some are playing up the lawlessness of a few thugs; others are casting responsibility for the crisis solely on local authorities. Haven’t we listened to those callous self-promoters long enough? Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed levees and exploded the conventional wisdom about a shared American prosperity, exposing a group of people so poor they didn’t have $50 for a bus ticket out of town. If we want to learn something from this disaster, the lesson ought to be: America’s poor deserve better than this.

But less than a year before Tucker’s heroic defense of the vulnerable, she had heartily endorsed Cosby’s equally callous condemnation of the black poor. In a column entitled “Bill Cosby’s Pointed Remarks May Spark Much-Needed Debate,” Tucker lauded the comedian–cum–social critic for his willingness to address the black poor’s “self-inflicted wounds” in his “pointedly politically incorrect” diatribe against the black poor. After briefly acknowledging that American society “still bears some responsibility for the failure of so many black Americans to join the economic and cultural mainstream,” Tucker asked if black Americans shouldn’t “acknowledge that, at the dawn of the 21st century, personal responsibility has at least as much to do with success in modern America as race, especially since the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board rolled back much of systemic racism?”

A few months later, in a column entitled “Bill Cosby’s Plain-Spokenness Comes Not a Moment Too Soon,” Tucker affirmed the need for the Afristocracy to bear down on their less-fortunate kin by favorably citing the earlier example of black elites doing just that. “Throughout the first half of the 20th century, accomplished blacks routinely policed the behavior of their less-polished brethren, urging thrift, moderation, tidiness.” Such policing of black behavior gave way to a black leadership class during the civil rights movement that was loath to admit black failure for fear that it “would damage the movement,” while black power advocates “denounced any black critic of black failure as a race traitor.” Tucker concludes her column comparing American blacks to their kin throughout the diaspora who come to this country and succeed against the odds. She draws the lesson from their success that race simply isn’t that big a barrier to black achievement.

From the book, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster, by Michael Eric Dyson; Copyright (c) 2006. Reprinted by arrangement with Basic Civitas, a Member of the Perseus Books Group. All rights reserved.

11 Questions for Michael Eric Dyson on Hurricane Katrina and Other Issues of the Day

 

'Come Hell or High Water'

11 Questions for Michael Eric Dyson on Hurricane Katrina and Other Issues of the Day

By Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices

Michael Eric Dyson

Nancy Kaszerman, ZUMA

Says Dyson: "I worked 18 hours a day for three months writing this book. The book has over 500 footnotes. I did my work because it's necessary to do meticulous work in order to make an argument to defend principles and persons who are vulnerable. If you don't do that work intellectually, then you make those people even more vulnerable."

Author, professor, cultural critic and self-proclaimed "hip-hop intellectual" Michael Eric Dyson has consistently borne witness to issues of import in the black community. He's taken on rappers, classism, Tupac Shakur, Martin Luther King and most notoriously -- Bill Cosby. He writes and speaks with a candor and academic rigor infused with strains of theology and old fashioned plain speak. In his latest tome, 'Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster,' Dyson meticulously outlines the factors that shaped the Katrina debacle both on practical and political levels. The book certainly answers the question, How'd we get here, but also begs the question, Where do we go from here?

Who's your audience for this book?

First of all, anybody who was riveted or repulsed by what they saw on television; for those people who claim as good citizens, that they're concerned about the folk in the gulf and issues that it raises. For those people who didn't know that those were serious issues but now because of Katrina have become much more aware of them. And finally, I wrote this for all of those black people who had dissed poor black people before, who had joined Bill Cosby and who now understand that maybe it's not that simple. Maybe there are some bigger issues that Katrina swept to the fore that we have to confront.

In your last book ('Is Bill Cosby Right or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?') you talk about have-gots and have-nots. In the event of Katrina, why do you think so many blacks stood up for the black underclass?

The previous assault on poor black people was on us: "You're embarrassing us" "You're not speaking the right way" "You're not dressing the right way." It's about us. Maybe, in the event of Katrina, we recognized that we are too are black folk. Because the question is not simply whether George Bush cares about black people. Do black people care about black people? Black Americans are the most well off black folk in the world. And we owe it to our brothers and sisters to do something.

How does your background as a minister inform your work?

Well, it's pretty pervasive. I became a minister in 1979. I'm quite involved in the black church, also as a critic and a social gadfly as well as a citizen. It's central to my own existence and my identity of who I am as a human being trying to make arguments on behalf of those who were left out. That motivates every fiber in my being to argue against the ignoring of, the negligence of and the kind of assault upon those who are the most vulnerable and those we are charged with in the Gospel to be voices for and advocates for.

Speaking of gospels, the "gospel of prosperity" is sweeping through black America these days. Do you think this lessens our identification with the "least of these?"

Oh absolutely. It's materialism, it's the marketplace, it's also about the black middle class trying to alleviate its conscience, and trying to assuage its guilt about dealing with those who are less fortunate. If you're pursuing richness as the voice of God you're perverting religion at its base. And for me that's a problem. Do these ministers speak about racism? Do they speak about sexism or homophobia? Do they talk out against the issues of the day?

Can there be a happy medium between wealth and morality?

You gonna serve the market or morality? You gonna serve materialism or you gonna serve spirit? Are you going to be conscientious about those whose backs are against the wall or are you going to put your foot on their necks on your climb up? It could be both ways but it ain't been. I'm not saying that people who got cash can't have conscience. I'm not saying they're mutually exclusive but the pursuit of one primarily does exclude the pursuit of the other fundamentally. But to pursue morality in the best sense, means you ain't gonna make as much money as you could've otherwise made, even if you're rich. There are some things you ain't gonna do.

Where does FEMA stand today and are you confident that it's ready to adequately deal with another natural disaster?

They're atrociously out of step with even the achievements of the Clinton administration where the head of FEMA was part of the cabinet, so that meant that FEMA received the administration's attention and certainly the president's attention. FEMA is so disorganized; many of the top leaders of FEMA have no emergency management experience. These are people who were part of George Bush's transition team or they had political hook-ups. So cronyism has corrupted the culture around FEMA. Also, this is the agency that has received the most racial complaints than any other federal agency, so how you going to be the one to reach out to help these poor black and white and Latino and Asian brothers and sisters who are devastated by natural disasters?

You took the media to task in the book. Said it got some cool points by throwing its "objectivity" out of the window in covering some of the suffering of Katrina but lost some by its use of language (i.e. "finding" vs. "looting") afterwards. Your thoughts?

Well, it's the MYTH of objectivity. But how can we give the media credit for first of all, finding its spine? You know, the media has virtually been embedded with the American government. They're basically an extension of the propaganda of American political life. The media, as the fourth estate, ought to be asking questions and being suspicious - not cynical - but suspicious. And to congratulate the media, because they got pissed...Well they were down there too. Let's not forget. They were down there and they were also without. And they figure, if they got left behind - my God, what are you doing to these other people? So part of that is even self-interest. But beyond that, I was glad to see their anger. But the media recovered only a little bit. And then what they gave with one hand, they took back with the other when they spread all these rumors and urban legends and stories about the looting.

What do you see in the rebuilt New Orleans?

The reality is that New Orleans now is not concerned about getting these poor black people back -- the black people that funded the city's aesthetic expansion. That made it what it is. That made it a gumbo of ethnicity within blackness and Cajun and French and Spanish and American coming together. That kind of melange, that kind of gumbo, that kind of creative fusion is all but lost with this white Republican leaning or at least neo-conservative or neo-liberal leaning business interest that will certainly take the city over and clean it literally of its ethnic grittiness. The beautiful dirt that constituted the m‚lange of different identities, that stuff will be swept away with the flood.

You write of theodicies in your book -- God being the reason for natural disasters. Why do you think black folk gravitate to these?

I think that first of all, we want to have an explanation. We're moral people rooted in religious consequence and we want to have an explanation of where God was. It's a very messy affair. We've got to figure out a way to have an explanation. And if God is present, what does that say about who God is. Does God love Black people or not? I think I had to raise those questions in this book because they were being raised in the culture and we had to bring them to a sharp head.

Were the rappers most honest when it came to responding to Katrina?

Oh sure, the rappers were the most honest, conscientious and responded. Despite whatever misgivings that we have about their other flaws -- and there are many -- the reality is that they were on this from the very beginning, they were on it before Katrina began, they talked about it many times, put these ghettos and their projects in their videos. And some of the greatest footage we have of how it used to be comes from rap videos that went up in there and showed this misery of New Orleans. It wasn't about Mardi Gras! It wasn't about The French Quarter! It was about Desire projects or Calliope Projects. Those people responded and are often very powerful in a different fashion.

What should we as a community do next?

We have to deal with the issues of race, poverty and suffering. We also have to figure out ways to deal with the systemic issues that were revealed here. Three, we've got to move from charity to justice. Charity is beautiful. You give people stuff when they need it and then you move on. No. Justice. Martin King Jr. said it's one thing to be the good Samaritan on the Jericho Road, that's one thing. But hey, let's transform the Jericho road itself to make sure people are not getting robbed there. And that's what black people have to do

Burning Man Art Festival Draws 30,000 'Burners' Into Nevada

 

Burn, Baby, Burn

Burning Man Art Festival Draws 30,000 'Burners' Into Nevada Desert

By BEDE MOORE, ABCNews.com

Debra Reid, AP

The sun rises behind the giant statue that is the center piece of the annual Burning Man festival in 2002.

(Aug 28) - Explaining Burning Man is impossible.

You could try and start with the basics: a weeklong art festival, middle of the desert, 30,000 participants, a massive drug-fueled orgy of the senses.

You could try -- and fail -- making comparisons: Burning Man is the Woodstock of Generation X, a weeklong party for iPod nerds and punk-rock pixies.

Or, you could try and ask the participants.

Then, you'd be back to square one because, as they'll tell you, explaining Burning Man is impossible.

"There's just a lack of reference points, of things to compare it to," said Mike Wilson, producer of the film "Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock."

"It's just very hard to describe."

Burning Man, however, requires at least an attempt at explanation.

After all, what inspires tens of thousands of people to build a temporary city in the middle of a barren desert, with average temperatures in the triple digits, and no services to speak of?

"[It's] the creative energy that's brought out," said serial participant Mariana Goodin, a health-services coordinator from Berkeley, Calif.

"In regular society, creative energy is often stifled. At Burning Man, whatever self-expression you want, just go for it."

The organizers, at least, provide some broad guidelines for participation in the festival.

Buyer beware, though, this isn't a cushy event.

The 'Typical' Burner

The typical "burner" travels to Nevada's Black Rock Desert the week before Labor Day weekend.

The festival takes place on part of a prehistoric salt pan or playa and forms a circle, roughly two miles in diameter, where organizers lay the ground plans for a temporary city prior to the event.

When the gates to the city are swung open, entering participants -- who need to purchase a ticket for entry -- agree to "leave no trace" on the environment.

This means the city's 30,000-plus population must bring a whole week's necessities in their vehicles, as only coffee, ice and portable toilets are made available by the organizers.

Throughout the week, participants set up theme-based camps in the city and then walk or ride around the playa to view the art installations that are scattered across the landscape.

If you're wondering whether these creative campers ever get up to any mischief, there's no need to worry.

Come nighttime, the playa is illuminated by glow sticks and neon, while bass booms across the desert and masses of "burners" rave all night.

Understandably, this mixture of survival, art, crazy costumes and huge parties has often led to disparaging reports about Burning Man, something which most "burners" say are misplaced.

For Brian Doherty, author of the book "This Is Burning Man," the festival is often misunderstood and not given the proper respect.

"A lot of East Coasters look on it as stupid hippie indulgence," he said, "[but] Burning Man is one of the most interesting things on the American scene. It's attracting people from around the country and around the world."

History of 'Black Rock City'

Today, "Black Rock City" is open again.

Since the early morning, cars have wound their way through the gates to begin celebrating the 20th Burning Man festival.

The movement originally began on a San Francisco beach in 1986, when Larry Harvey and Jerry James had an impulse to burn an eight-foot wooden effigy of a man.

The procession created so much attention from curious onlookers that the two returned the following year, kicking off an annual tradition that continued until local police demanded the event be relocated.

For the last 15 years the festival has taken place in the desert, attracting ever larger crowds and a growing variety of artworks and installations.

"They have really become a proper organization and production," Wilson said. "They had to get it together in '97 when the population exploded."

Now the event is bigger than ever, requiring impressive coordination to continue living up to the festival's "leave no trace" motto, an attempt to minimize the event's environmental impact.

Even though the growing size might suggest Burning Man is losing its alternative roots, "burners" say this is not the case.

"If it were the usual suspects, it would have been a lot less interesting to me," Wilson said. "For a mass gathering, it is a much more enlightened crowd than you'd find at any art festival or concert that I've been to."

Scott London, a Santa Barbara journalist and "burner," agrees.

"The organizers had a very enlightened idea. They've managed to stay true to those ideals, and the participants have embraced them and internalized them."

In June, the organizers of Burning Man received permission to continue using the Black Rock Desert for the next five years, securing the event's short-term future.

"I don't know of anything else on the planet that's in the same ballpark," Wilson said.

With that sort of reputation, Burning Man's long-term future hardly seems in doubt.

Copyright 2006 ABCNEWS.com

 

DUCK Leadership

 

DUCK Leadership

You probably think DUCK is some clever acronym, but it’s not. DUCK is just what it says. DUCK is duck. Quack; quack. This past week I was working to encourage a key leader and joked about him writing a book about DUCK leadership. But then I thought, “Why should he have all the fun?”

DUCK leadership is quite simple.  It’s about letting the ill-equipped thoughts of others slide right off you – “like water off … a duck’s back.”

Not that we, as leaders, don’t have a responsibility to listen attentively and give serious consideration to every comment, critique, compliment and complaint thrown our way, but we are to do so with the capacity to weigh out such forms of admonition and take action on those that are well-founded. 

When we fail to give merit to other’s perspectives, we allow pride, arrogance, and self-sufficiency to fester.  When we live to pacify every voice in the wind we lack stability, conviction and character.

Often we will need the consultation of an objective third-party to help us determine if the commentary thrown our way deserves to instigate life adjustments or to ignite the exercise of DUCK.  Ego-driven and or self-preservation-caused “blind spots” can keep us from seeing or receiving truth, especially truth that would offer refining challenge.  Most often the ability to DUCK with legitimacy is a task only attained with the help of others. 

It’s a self-desecrating feat to ignore compliment or critique that needs to be absorbed.  It can be a self-destructive measure to embrace commentary that needs to be DUCKed.

As for the good folks to whom we apply DUCK, do they not deserve to continue to have merit and value in the eyes of the DUCKer?  Certainly.  Well in most cases at least. 

And are they not owed the best discourse possible to elaborate upon the legitimacy of their being DUCKed?  As difficult as it is, yes, they do.  Especially in environments where integrity, honest communication, and authentic community are values.  For the DUCKee it is easy to feel slapped with disregard and disrespect, and therefore feel isolated and devalued.

In other words, the DUCKer looses creditability with the DUCKee unless communication transpires. And in a world where communication halts are to be avoided, in a world of teamwork and flat organizational structures rather than hierarchical systems and prolific authoritarianism, breakdowns in communication are unacceptable.

In essence DUCK leadership is about avoiding the compulsion or conviction to be all things to all people, yet it is about the responsibility to without bias be thoroughly attuned to the perspectives of others. DUCK provides leaders the responsibility to entertain the thoughts of everyone, yet permission to live free from the impact of unfounded opinions.

Happy quacking.

Eugene Peterson: Pastors Who've Gone Whoring After Other Gods

 

Eugene Peterson: Pastors Who've Gone Whoring After Other Gods

According to Eugene Peterson (author of many books, including The Message) in his new book, "American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs.

Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names remain on the church stationary and they continue to appear in pulpits on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn't the remotest connection with what the church's pastors have done for most of twenty centuries..."

Eugene Peterson: Pastors Who've Gone Whoring After Other Gods

According to Eugene Peterson (author of many books, including The Message) in his new book, "American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names remain on the church stationary and they continue to appear in pulpits on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn't the remotest connection with what the church's pastors have done for most of twenty centuries..."

A few of us are angry about it. We are angry because we have been deserted.... It is bitterly disappointing to enter a room full of people whom you have every reason to expect share the quest and commitments of pastoral work and find within ten minutes that they most definitely do not. They talk of images and statistics. They drop names. They discuss influence and status. Matters of God and the soul and Scripture are not grist for their mills.

The pastors of America have metamorphosed into a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches. They are preoccupied with shopkeeper’s concerns--how to keep the customers happy, how to lure customers away from competitors down the street, how to package the goods so that the customers will lay out more money.

Some of them are very good shopkeepers. They attract a lot of customers, pull in great sums of money, develop splendid reputations. Yet it is still shopkeeping; religious shopkeeping, to be sure, but shopkeeping all the same. The marketing strategies of the fast-food franchise occupy the waking minds of these entrepreneurs; while asleep they dream of the kind of success that will get the attention of journalists.

The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades.

From the introduction of “Working the Angles” written by Eugene Peterson. 

What is Your Volunteer Rate (and why should you care?)

 

What is Your Volunteer Rate (and why should you care?)

Imagine, having a full 40% of your weekend congregation plugged in to ministry and volunteering in some way. Most churches never come close to this percentage. But imagine a large church of almost 6,000 people hitting that mark. That's nearly 2,400 people volunteering their time and talent in some way to the church. Granger Community Church in Granger, IN is making it happen, and a recent interview at Pastors.com with Granger's Pastor of Connections, Mark Waltz, gives some great insight into Granger's philosophy and how they get so many people involved in ministry.

So… how does Granger do it?  Mark believes it’s all about two things – casting a vision and developing a culture of volunteerism.

“We teach about it and organize ministry around [volunteering],” Waltz said. “We don’t allow any islands and do everything in teams. When people know they matter, they tend to respond.”

This expectation is empowering to the staff, who are coached to release more and more of the responsibilities, so they will have more time to do the things in which they’re gifted. It’s easy for leaders to get caught up in doing all the tasks that need to be done rather than leading, Waltz said. What motivates people is allowing them to serve God in the areas they are most passionate about or that align with their life purpose.

“All of us want to know we matter,” he said."It’s not enough that the church needs you or the fourth grade boys need you. It has to be about how my purpose is fulfilled.”

Senior Pastor Mark Beeson’s role looks different now than it did a few years ago when he founded the church, Waltz said.

“I’m sure his process of handing off and letting go has been challenging and difficult,” he said of Beeson, who started the church in 1986. “When you plant a church, you own it, it is yours, and you know how you want to fulfill the vision. Sometimes, it’s about giving up what someone can do better. We are practicing this.”

At least once a year, the teaching team talks about serving and volunteering in a weekend series, presenting the biblical call to step up and to find fulfillment in his weekend message. Volunteer expos and checklists show potential volunteers what opportunities exist in the ministry of the church.

In addition, those attending C.L.A.S.S. 301 have the opportunity to sit down with an interviewer who will help them understand their purpose or S.H.A.P.E. The interviewer then can help that person plug into opportunities that best match his or her passions, interests, and desires.

“The interviewer helps that individual learn how he or she is wired,” Waltz said.

Volunteer opportunities aren’t limited to the church. Waltz said that on the second Saturday of each month, church members converge on five or six places in their community, assisting with non-profit groups such as Feed the Children. An average of more than 150 people of Granger Community Church have participated in these outreaches on any given “Second Saturday.”

“It’s a great opportunity to impact our community with the love and hope of Christ,” he said.

The church’s Web site also maintains a list of volunteer opportunities others may fill. Members may log onto the site to explore opportunities and the steps to connecting to each ministry area.

Even though the Web site, volunteer fairs, and interviewers help to build the volunteer base, Waltz said there’s no substitute for the old-fashioned way – shoulder-tapping. Most people – inside and outside the church – will volunteer because somebody personally invited them to join them. Ministry and team leaders are responsible for inviting people to help on their teams.

“Shoulder-tapping surpasses anything we do,” Waltz said. “When two people invite you to serve alongside them, it’s personal. Often people are just waiting to be invited.”

Have you taken the time to figure out how many people you actually have volunteering over a give month?  It may be worth your while to take an hour or so and really look into how you’re doing in this area.  How many of your attenders from yesterday are actually volunteering in one way or another.  The answer may surprise you.

For more detailed information on Granger’s vision casting and culture of volunteerism, I highly recommend Mark’s book, “First Impressions”, available here.

FOR DISCUSSION: What is your volunteer percentage?  What have you done to make it as high or as low as it is?  What can you implement in the future to get more people involved in ministry?

 

An artist stands in front of a blank canvas. The palette holds only three primary colors. Yet, with a clear vision and a creative spirit, the artist blends these “3ssentials” to unlock a world of endless and exciting possibilities.

Every Christ-following small group can become a living, breathing work of art as its members move into closer relationship with one another, are increasingly transformed to Christ’s image, and reach out in His name to touch a hurting world. Like a convergence of colors, a small group can bring inspiration and joy to those within the group, as well as to those around them.

To become this expression of authentic, biblical community, small groups benefit from the direction of a careful, caring eye of someone intent on bringing out each group’s unique depth, tone, and texture. The Small Groups Conference 2006 is an exciting opportunity for you to discover new ways to play that role more effectively. Come explore the “3ssentials” of dynamic small group life—relationship, transformation, and mission—and return home ready to unlock a rainbow of potential in the group or groups you lead.

Join Erwin McManus, Bill Donahue, Donald Miller, Sheryl Fleisher, Randy Frazee and others (including worship with Charlie Hall) at this year's Willow Small Groups Conference. If you need to build community in your church, then you need to attend this year's 3ssentials Conference! Click here for more information or to register.

Elton John Wants to Make Hip-Hop Album

 

Elton John Wants to Make Hip-Hop Album

AP

AP

Elton John is no stranger to hip-hop. He performed Eminem's 'Stan' with the rapper on stage at the 2001 Grammys.

Elton John  tells Rolling Stone magazine that he wants to record a hip-hop album with Grammy-winning producer Dr. Dre.

"I want to work with Pharrell , Timbaland, Snoop, Kanye, Eminem  and just see what happens," John says in the Sept. 7 issue. "It may be a disaster, it could be fantastic, but you don't know until you try."

The 59-year-old says he is a fan of Blackstreet's "No Diggity" and Tupac  Shakur's "California Love."

"I want to bring my songs and melodies to hip-hop beats," John says. "I love these beats, but I have no idea how to get them."

John performed Eminem 's song "Stan" with the rapper during the 2001 Grammy awards.

John's new album, "The Captain and the Kid," is due in September.

 

08/26/06 Fortifi@ Recent Entries

08/019/06 Fortifi@ Recent Entries Fortifi@ would like to tribute the (Living and Deceased) musicians who have mentored you or served you, your church, Sunday school, VBS, Prayer Meeting, conference, retreat, community and the Ministry of Music. Please list their name (s) and your comments. I can accept jpeg photos by email. Click here: Music Servant of the Week 8/26/06 Music Ministry Revival part97             Click here: Fortify @ Prayer and Sick List     8/24/06 Obsessed binLaden wanted to kill Whitney Houston's husband 8/24/06 Augusta Arena Renamed for James Brown 8/22/06 Ailing music biz worried about glut of new albums 8/22/06 Connick Song to Aid Katrina Victims 8/22/06 Bob Dylan Says Modern Music Is Worthless 8/21/06 Eight Virtues of Gladiator Leadership 8/21/06 Life on the upswing Tiger's recent upswing can be linked to ... his swing 8/24/06 The Sky Church, Frank Gehry 8/24/06 Look up Name Trends 8/23/06 Healthy Pastors = Healthy Churches = Healthy Communities                         Click here: Fortifi @ Humor The New Pluto

Fortifi@ Humor The New Pluto

Click here: The New Pluto: A Widow to the Universe: Is It a Planet?

 

Music Ministry Revival part97

Music Ministry Revival part97   Music Ministry Teamwork and the Movement of God Music Ministry Revival is at hand! Music Ministry Revival is theAUTHORITY , PRESTIGE , WEIGHT and INFLUENCE of the Sovereign in the Music Cosmos. Music Ministry Revival is an emanation of spiritual or moral force of the sovereign. The Music Ministry that does not increase you will inevitably decrease you. Whose success and influence matters to you? The success and influence of the Kingdom of God is supreme. The kingdom of God must take authority and influence over every other influence in the Music Cosmos.  I (We) prophesy to the 4 winds of heavens. Revival Angels come into the Music Ministry. Come,  Spirit of Music Ministry Revival. The Spirit of awakening come.  Come, Music Ministry Revival, Music Ministry harvest angels come. Music Ministry...angels of revival come... awaken Lord. Send your glory. Send your glory... send your glory and change the atmosphere in the Music Ministry. Fire of God come. Light of God come. Go forth Light of God. Breathe ... wind of God, breathe into the Music Ministry, now in Jesus name.  Music Ministry Revival is the preeminence of the Spirit of God (Ephes. 1:13-14) on the Spirit of Man (James 3:15) and the influence over the Spirit of the World (Ephesians 2:2). Corinthians 2:6-16. " All of Adam's offspring contain the spirit of man until they're born again. At that time the Spirit of God enters and dwells within them."(Ephes. 1:13-14) Jack Kelley Consequently , Music Ministry Revival is evident and apparent when God makes an appearance. Signs follow the Music Ministry Revival. Regeneration! Revival!  It is difficult to sing the Lord's song while the Music of the spirit of the world has weighted influence. I do not deny that the Music of the Music Ministry has an influence also. Perhaps, not enough to slow, thwart, and contain the influence of the Spirit of the world. The Kingdom of this world shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope the following will make us uncomfortable.  I hope the following will make us sp uncomfortable that we will do something! The Spirit of the world is expressed in our music. "The course of this world" is the zeitgeist—the spirit of the times. Click here: Fortify @ Prayer and Sick List  "The course of this world" is the zeitgeist—the spirit of the times. The National Education Association estimates that many of the 5000 teenage suicides each year are linked to depression fueled by fatalistic music and lyrics.“ Music is not just a singular influence. Music is a combination of frequency, beat, density, tone, rhythm, repetition, loudness, and lyrics. Different Basic Personalities tend to be attracted to certain styles of music. Energy Block patterns can intensify, reduce, or change these natural inclinations of a person's identity. Different cultures have developed traditions which place a stress on certain forms of music. These are often associated with the common instruments of the country and may be focused according to nationalistic interests. Music influences our emotions because it takes the place of and extends our languages. MUSIC and HEALTH become associated when the one influences the other. With its ability to trigger emotional states, music can encourage us to feel sad, happy, hopeful, anxious, expectant, angry, sensual, afraid, reverent. Since we have the capacity to be self-directed, we can also choose music which dispels negative emotions and encourages positive emotions..  Music's Deadly Influence Thomas L. Jipping, M.A., J.D., should motivate you to pay attention to the content of the songs.  Some of the factsthe document highlights include: Estimates of how often teens listen to music range from four to six hours a day. Today's technology makes music more portable (e.g. CD walkmans). Dr. Joseph Steussy, professor of music history at the University of Texas, confirms that music affects behavior, psychologically and physiologically. Child psychologist Dr. David Elkind states that ”music can influence young people as much as any visual media.“ Teenagers rate music ahead of religion, books and television as factors that greatly influence their generation. ”The vast majority of studies conclude that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence [including music videos] and real-life violence“ (American Academy of Pediatrics). In the mid-1980s, more than 50 percent of the popular music videos shown on MTV included episodes of violence. By 1995, only 10 of the 40 most popular CDs were free of profanity or lyrics dealing with drugs, violence and sex. The American Medical Association asserts, ”The vivid depiction of drug and alcohol use, suicide, violence, demonology, sexual exploitation, racism and bigotry could be harmful to some people.“ ”The National Education Association estimates that many of the 5000 teenage suicides each year are linked to depression fueled by fatalistic music and lyrics.“ A 1994 University of Michigan study concluded that ”[g]lamorization in the music industry has been an important determinant“ of increased drug use by teenagers. [Thomas L. Jipping, M.A., J.D., ”There Is a Virus Loose Within Our Culture: An Honest Look at Music's Impact,“ Washington, D.C.: Free Congress Foundation, 1999] I (We) prophesy to the 4 winds of heavens. Revival Angels come into the Music Ministry. Come,  Spirit of Music Ministry Revival. The Spirit of awakening come.  Come, Music Ministry Revival, Music Ministry harvest angels come. Music Ministry...angels of revival come... awaken Lord. Send your glory. Send your glory... send your glory and change the atmosphere in the Music Ministry. Fire of God come. Light of God come. Go forth Light of God. Breathe ... wind of God, breathe into the Music Ministry, now in Jesus name.  Music Ministry Teamwork and the Movement of God Teamwork and the Movement of God The Music Ministry Revival will sink or swim based on its teamwork. Could teamwork among the Music Ministry solve: The music Ministry assignment The Music Cosmos World Hunger A common agenda for Music Ministry Convention-leaders Lower the increasing divorce rate among Music Ministry couples in their 40s, 50s, 60s and even the 70s Music Ministry and AIDS and drug dependency Control, Distribute , Produce CD for the general Music Ministry Sexism, classism, racism in the Music Ministry Affordable Senior Housing for the Music Ministry Music Ministry pension funds Retooling the the Music Ministry from Industrial Pipe Organ, organic Piano to electronic instruments Institute Remedial music education program for the Music Ministry Updating resume service for the Music Ministry who is out of work Redeem rap music into Christ-centric rap Music

The New Pluto: A Widow to the Universe: Is It a Planet?

 

The New Pluto: A Widow to the Universe: Is It a Planet?

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, AP   PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Aug. 24) - Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.     After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one. Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings -- urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side. "It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella. "Many more Plutos wait to be discovered," added Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club. For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's. Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites. Experts said there could be dozens of dwarf planets catalogued across the solar system in the next few years. NASA said Thursday that Pluto's demotion would not affect its $700 million New Horizons spacecraft mission, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets. "We will continue pursuing exploration of the most scientifically interesting objects in the solar system, regardless of how they are categorized," Paul Hertz, chief scientist for the science mission directorate, said in a statement. The decision on Pluto at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects. That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing. In the end, only about 300 astronomers cast ballots. Now, two of the objects that at one point were cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, has nicknamed Xena. Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no longer under consideration for any special designation. Brown, who watched the proceedings from Cal Tech, took Thursday's vote in stride -- even though his discovery won't be christened a planet. "UB313 is the largest dwarf planet. That's kind of cool," he said. AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this story. 8/24/2006 12:21:25 Pluto: Is It a Planet? Aug 15, 2006 by Frank Sherwin Science is dynamic, always changing. With new information, what was taught as a fact to one generation is but an amusing footnote to the next. When the camera was first invented, the common saying was “pictures never lie.” This lasted for a few years until the camera became popular and people took entertaining pictures that were physically impossible. The mantra of the nine planets of our solar system is about to be reevaluated. Generations of people will soon learn if what they have been taught regarding our total planet number may be off by one (are there eight planets…or ten?). In the Czech Republic, several thousand astronomers are currently attempting to craft a cogent definition of the word planet. The International Astronomical Union is in a stalemate according to representative, Pavel Suchan. Half of the participants say Pluto is insufficient to be called a planet with the other half disagreeing. The split is accentuated by the discovery of a larger object/planet (dubbed Xena) that is beyond Pluto, but has a circumference 112 kilometers (70 miles) longer than Pluto. If Pluto is considered a planet, should not also Xena? Should this be a tenth planet? Notice that additional scientific research has up-ended current planetary thought. Will there ever be a time when neo-Darwinism will be held up to such scrutiny due to new scientific discoveries? Probably not. The philosophy of vertical evolution (descent with modification) seems to be immune to contrary scientific information (e.g., soft dinosaur tissue discovered in eastern Montana, lack of evidence in the fossil record, etc.). Yet the creation still testifies of its immortal and invisible Creator—even if men refuse to listen.

The Sky Church, Frank Gehry

Frank O. Gehry & Associates
Experience Music Project
Seattle, Washington

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The Experience Music Project, designed by Frank O. Gehry & Associates, is an exciting blend of exhibits, technology, media, and hands-on activities that combines the interpretive aspects of a traditional museum, educational role of a school, state-of-the-art research facilities of a specialized library, and audience-drawing qualities of performance venues and popular attractions.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Located on 5th Avenue adjacent to the Space Needle at Seattle Center, the 140,000-square-foot facility celebrates the creativity and innovation of American popular music and culture. The EMP presents opportunities to explore its history and traditions, participate in the music making process, experience great music, and learn the secrets of composition and performance. It places a special emphasis on music-related traditions in the Pacific Northwest, and specifically commemorates Jimi Hendrix, one of America's a most creative, innovative, and influential musical artists.
Exhibits and public programs are envisioned as a three-dimensional floating puzzle formed by six elements, with each piece being critical to the shape and the nature of the whole.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The Sky Church, a concept inspired by Jimi Hendrix, represents the coming together of all types of people united by the power and joy of music and music making, and is physically embodied in the building's central public gathering area. Through a series of exhibition spaces, The Crossroads presents the collision of multiple viewpoints and traditions, which is American popular music.
The Sound Lab offers hands-on opportunities to create and illustrate some of the relationships between music, science, and technology. The Artist's Journey is a compelling history of the life and times of artists, illuminating the human aspect of their artistry and revealing the unexpected events and formative experiences that contributed to their creative development. The Electric Library is a multimedia archive of the EMP collection and information resources, and provides services that are available both on site and on-line.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The Ed. House functions as an educational public outreach program, offering opportunities to learn more about the themes explored in the exhibit areas, experience and participate in a variety of musical activities, and further explore and develop creative abilities and music-related skills.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

In addition to 35,000 square feet of exhibition space, the building houses a restaurant, bookstore, and administrative spaces, with support and storage areas located beneath grade.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The building itself consists of a cluster of colorful curving elements clad in a variety of materials. The fragmented and undulating forms are inspired in part by the image of a shattered Fender Stratocaster.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

The Seattle Center Monorail, a remnant of the 1962 World's Fair that continues to provide transportation between Seattle Center and downtown Seattle, passes through the building, allowing Monorail riders to glimpse inside.

Look up Name Trends

Why did God sometimes change a person's name in the Bible?

Answer:  When God gave someone a new name is was usually to establish a new identity. God changed Abram’s "high father" name to Abraham "father of multitude" (Genesis 17:5). God changed Jacob’s "supplanter" name to Israel “having power with God” (Genesis 32:28). He changed Simon’s "God has heard" name to Peter "rock" (John 1:42). Why did Jesus occasionally call Peter “Simon” after He had changed His name to Peter? My guess is that Jesus called him Simon whenever he was not being the “rock” God called him to be. The same is true for Jacob. God continued to call him Jacob to remind him of his past and to remind to depend on God’s strength. Another possible example is Saul / Paul. The name Saul means “asked.” The name Paul is a variation of the name Saul. The Bible does not say God changed Saul’s name to Paul. It only states that Saul was also called Paul (Acts 13:9).

 

Top 1000 U.S. Names

The Social Security Administration has released the most popular U.S. baby names of 2005. The list is derived from all Social Security card applications for children born last year. Click on a name to learn what makes it special, plus how its popularity has waxed and waned through the decades. 

9,840

#	Boys# babies		Girls# babies
1	Jacob	25,347	Emily	23,544
2	Michael	23,324	Emma	19,976
3	Joshua	22,775	Madison	19,240
4	Matthew	21,045	Abigail	15,492
5	Ethan	21,039	Olivia	15,453
6	Andrew	20,323	Isabella	14,908
7	Daniel	19,776	Hannah	14,553
8	Anthony	19,016	Samantha	13,436
9	Christopher	18,871	Ava	13,411
10	Joseph	18,737	Ashley	13,092
11	William	18,695	Sophia	12,458
12	Alexander	17,821	Elizabeth	12,453
13	Ryan	17,735	Alexis	11,770
14	David	17,712	Grace	11,633
15	Nicholas	16,772	Sarah	11,263
16	Tyler	16,712	Alyssa	10,726
17	James	15,773	Mia	10,663
18	John	15,458	Natalie	10,579
19	Jonathan	14,180	Chloe	9,406
20	Nathan	14,116	Brianna	9,218
21	Samuel	13,967	Lauren	9,098
22	Christian	13,919	Ella	8,930
23	Noah	13,623	Anna	8,885
24	Dylan	13,575	Taylor	8,538
25	Benjamin	13,282	Kayla	8,483
26	Logan	13,258	Hailey	8,475
27	Brandon	12,730	Jessica	7,966
28	Gabriel	12,471	Victoria	7,812
29	Zachary	12,047	Jasmine	7,713
30	Jose	11,836	Sydney	7,286
31	Elijah	11,355	Julia	6,968
32	Angel	10,788	Destiny	6,703
33	Kevin	10,756	Morgan	6,643
34	Jack	10,755	Kaitlyn	6,423
35	Caleb	10,710	Savannah	6,345
36	Justin	10,345	Katherine	6,276
37	Austin	9,963	Alexandra	6,225
38	Evan	9,962	Rachel	6,077
39	Robert	9,953	Lily	5,980
40	Thomas	9,866	Megan	5,783
41	Luke	Kaylee	5,779
42	Mason	9,639	Jennifer	5,752
43	Aidan	9,608	Angelina	5,690
44	Jackson	9,432	Makayla	5,623
45	Isaiah	9,310	Allison	5,566
46	Jordan	9,190	Brooke	5,478
47	Gavin	9,188	Maria	5,450
48	Connor	9,176	Trinity	5,370
49	Aiden	8,946	Lillian	5,141
50	Isaac	8,915	Mackenzie	5,127