Pastor Bob Cottrill is the Pastor at Port Kells Church in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Here we talk about the Christian faith.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is your family background?

Pastor Bob Cottrill: My folks were working class folks from British background. It was 100% Caucasian. I, often, think about the elementary school that I grew up in, which was about 500 kids with only a couple Japanese students or students of Japanese ancestry. The interesting thing, my sister stayed in the community, in the suburb of Toronto. When the children went through the same school a generation later. It was 80% ethnic. People from South Asia. People from Africa. It is so interesting how the face of Canada has changed. Their experience, completely different from mine. We were completely isolated from the world, this bubble. My parents and the social structures that we were involved were very closed, Christian, conservative. I would even say, perhaps, fundamentalist. In this sense, the narrative that we experienced was probably more connected to a North American narrative of the 40s and 50s, of fundamentalist, isolationist view. Our particular read of the King James Version of the Bible was the only historical one given by Jesus and the Apostles. Everyone from Catholicism through to liberal Christianity, even elements of Evangelical movement. These were all aberrant expressions, but the true Christian faith was held by our small little church. One of the really informative moments for me. It was in high school.

There was a Christian club [Laughing]. I went to it. At the club, I met these other students from my high school. I thought I was the only other Christian in the high school. I met a guy on the hockey team, musicians. These were just normal kids who were experiencing and living out Christian faith in their life, in a real and vibrant way. We werent alone. I thought that we were huddled in the basement. I went back to my church, of course, of 80 or 100 people, who held this fundamentalist view. I thought, Wow! Wait until they hear this, other Christian people. [Laughing] I was very nave, as you can tell. They werent impressed at all. When I graduated from school, I looked for an opportunity to broaden my experience of people who were wrestling with and living out the Christian experience. This idea of integrating the reality of God and Jesus with culture and relationships in this world. I asked my high school counsellor, I would like to go to a Christian university. He said, That doesnt exist in Canada. You cant go to the U.S. because it is too complicated. A couple of weeks later in Grade 12, he saw me in the halls. He said, Hey! Are you the kid who was asking about Christian universities? I said, Yes. He said, I got this package of information about this place in B.C. I was about o throw it out, but then I thought of you.

It was a formative time for me. I got exposure to people from across the culture and around the world who came from societal and denominational different structures, but had the common idea of God at work in culture and in society. The ethos and presence of Jesus were real. It really expanded my mind. I left behind a lot of the confines that I grew up with. I am blathering on. Does this give an inkling? [Laughing]

Jacobsen: Yes, your time at Trinity Western University. Your degree, what was it? Were there further studies?

Cottrill: I enrolled in Business Studies. A lot of my original intent in coming to university as a young person was more social than it was educational. So, when I enrolled in Business Studies, it was a lot of interaction. I enjoyed it. I think somewhere along the way. I thought about being an accountant. It seemed like a good career. I did all my accounting studies. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration. When I first graduated, I pursued some business interests for about 3 or 4 years. My heart drew me into more traditional pastoral work. Because I think I have always been committed to community, to relationships, to understanding the experience of God and values and a deep love of that whole experience. So, inadvertently, I was drawn to that. It wasnt intentional. Certainly, I never had that intention through early education. I graduated and worked in the business world for 4 or 5 years. I was very involved in volunteer work through church and youth work. A church leader challenged me with an opportunity. So, I enrolled in seminary. I took a full-time position at a church as a pastoral leader, eventually. I have been doing that for 30 years or more.

Jacobsen: Same church?

Cottrill: No, I served for 7 or 8 years as a youth pastor at one church, providing leadership to high school students. Then I was, for 5 years, serving as a pastor in a Mennonite church in Mission. Even though, I have no cultural background with the Mennonite. I served as an associated pastor at a number of larger churches overseeing public services. For the past 4 years, I have been back here at Port Kells Church, which is a non-denominational, independent church. It has been in the community since 1888. Interesting story, it started in 1888 on 88th avenue, not far from where it is now. It was Methodist settlers who came to participate in the founding of Port Kells, which was originally meant to rival Vancouver as a seaport. I think in about the early 1900s, after about a decade or two; they constructed a building that was right by the corner of where 176th street meets the freeway. You know the historic schoolhouse there. They met there and built a church there, which they eventually disassembled and moved to the corner of Harvey Rd. and 88th Ave.

Eventually, in 1941, someone gave them a piece of property. They put it in rollers and rolled it down the street.

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Cottrill: That particular structure burned down years ago, but it has been rebuilt. We are on the same property. Like many Methodists, in 1925, the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists rolled together to become the United Church. The Port Kells Church was part of that, until about 1985 when, in the face of changing politics and direction, a number of churches departed the United Church. Port Kells Church being one of them. For a while, it was part of a group that left the Congregational Church of Canada. That partnership has fragmented a bit. The churches didnt have a lot in common. Many departed for theology. Others were traditionalists and didnt like new things. Others were mad about other stuff. It was hard to build a coalition. It is diminished, but still exists. The Port Kells Church hasnt participated in that for many years. It is a rally independent church and holds to a historic Christian understanding of faith. So, there we are; a little country church right in the heart of Surrey that has been there since 1888.

Jacobsen: When youre there since 2016, what are you seeing in terms of some of the differences between non-denominational church service and your example of pastoring to youth, or in a Mennonite context?

Cottrill: There are fewer differences among denominational churches. There are some broad differences. Liturgical type churches, Catholic, Anglican churches, some Presbyterian, Lutheran, churches, they would share a lot more in common in terms of the life of the congregation than evangelical or charismatic churches regardless of the name on the door. They would have a similar experience of congregational life. So, our particular church experience, of our congregation, is more connected with an Evangelical or Charismatic, or independent, thing. If you were to move from here in B.C. from a Baptist to a Mennonite to a Non-Denominational to an Alliance church, many of the big flagship churches or even some of the little ones. The differences would be more about the size and proficiency of the people leading it, as opposed to the ethics or the intent of it. Theres been a real breaking down of a lot of barriers. You notice the newest churches do not have a non-denominational label. It may be in the fine print, maybe on a back page, or in one of the dusty corners of the pastors mind. But, as far as the people in the pews, theres a real uniformity to most of the Evangelical churches or the non-liturgical churches.

Jacobsen: A lot of online resources exist online for modern Christians, especially young singles and couples. So, I do note when watching some of these. There will be the presentation. But before that, stating, Dont forget, this is only supplementary to the church that youre with, stay plugged in with your local church and your local pastor. Do some of your congregation take advantage of some of these resources?

Cottrill: Thats a good question. I dont really know. For about 13 years, I was part of a megachurch, as you would call here in Canada. It would get 2,000 a week in multiple services. We had a radio show. You have people coming to take advantage of your resources. We realized along the way. The people who attended on a weekly basis also belonged to a small church, committed to the small church, but would chime up. It may be a thing. Im not sure it is a particularly healthy or helpful model. A lot of the value of having churches is that it is a community; it is a family; it is a commitment. It is people who walk alongside you and love you, and work together with you, even when youre not doing well. Even in the kind of relationship people have with an online resource, an online church, it is, essentially, in the end, artificial. It is like watching porn. You dont have a relationship; theyre not going to be there in the morning. An online church thing may be all airbrushed. They may be incredibly talented. They may be right and smarter than your local teacher or leader, but they are not going to be there when you are in a crisis. In the end, I think it is an artificial relationship. A couple of years ago, I had a medical issue. I looked online. I figured, I am done for. My doctor said, No, its really nothing. Go buy this over the counter thing, youll be good in a couple of days. He was right. We had the same information. But my doctor had the information and knew my need, environment, symptoms, and was able to make sense of that in a way that I cant. It is not just restricted to Christian belief but applicable to all elements of life. There is this artificial element to information technology, which I think is leading people astray. In the same way, I am very committed to educated in a structured environment. Essentially, you could probably build a nuclear bomb based on information that you find in the internet, in theory. Nobody is because theres something about the structure. Thats a terrible example [Laughing]. Theres something about the structure of caring, mentoring, and personalizing and understanding people that cant be done online.

Jacobsen: It sounds like taking into account human beings are living organisms and the brain is a part of the living organism and requires an environment built around it.

Cottrill: I think it is more than it is a living organism.Although, that is one way of expressing it. There is something more to being human. There is this element of consciousness. Maybe, it is the image of God. There is this social aspect, which is, maybe, more important than facts.

Jacobsen: Take some of the comments of some Christian educators, they will not focus on the education alone, but on a level above. The education as a means by which to inculcate virtuous ideas, and virtuous habits, to then have virtue. It is a character form of education rather than knowledge-based education.

Cottrill: As you said, holding out this idea that theres virtue, theres morality. There are universal values that transcend just facts and figures. It is, again, an indication of believing that there is something bigger in the universe. This is really outdated. When I went to Trinity Western University, one of their bylines was Turning out fully developed students or something.

Jacobsen: How vague is that?

Cottrill: I know. There was this idea not just educated students. It was this idea of students who maturity and development in all aspects of life, whether a spiritual element, emotional growth, as well as academic. I think one of the big challenges coming full circle again to what you began the question with; the kind of relationship that you have with information technology is not real. It is information, but it is not relational. I think the churches. I think of even little church like mine, 100 people. It is a community; it is a family. Together, we experience the hurts and the successes. We experience the presence of God in the community. As part of that, it impacts us, as people.

Jacobsen: How are you differentiating community, family, as terms?

Cottrill: I am seeing them as descriptive terms to describe the types of relationships that we have. We are like an extended family. As with family, we have people who are sometimes not happy, who are introverted, who find it difficult to participate as fully. It is people who are connected.

Jacobsen: What are some of the difficulties in church life?

Cottrill: Difficulties in church life are people, who are people. You have people who struggle with emotional crises. You have people who struggle with mental issues. You have a lot of different views on peripheral issues. Politics is a great example. I know for a lot of Americans. Coming through the Christmas season and Thanksgiving, you will see a lot of news feeds, How to talk politics at the Thanksgiving table?

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Cottrill: We have a lot of the same things. There are a lot of ways to thoroughly address Christian issues in society. I am one person who believes how to deal with economic issues is trickle-down economics is through wealth redistribution. Others say the government should intrude. I may personal favour one or the other, but those views have integrity in and of themselves. It is the same in a dinner table chat or a church environment. Like any social structure, we have to work through those challenges. So, those are some of the challenges that we face. Also, I think a big issue for a lot of churches in the Lower Mainland is the cost of real estate. We have been in the same place in 1941 and the church structure was built well and a lot by volunteers, which has given us a leg up on a lot of folks. It is still a leg up to pay staff in the community. There are other pressures as well.

Jacobsen: What brings individuals and families to church?

Cottrill: There are probably a couple of different reasons. I think would like you to think it is a deep need to connect with their Creator with this internal spiritual need. Ill come back to that. Realistically, I think people want community, are lonely, have social expectations still. So, theres some of that. But I would say that for an awful lot of folks. The things that keep them there are that many people, and I say this from my own experience, have this compelling sense, intuitive sense even; we try to rationalize and justify it, and rightfully so. The intuitive core of a lot of people and I dont know if I can say it is universal, but this sense of there being more to life than what we see on the surface. That communities and resources like churches explore the whole idea. It gives a framework to try and understand not just power here, and not just what were needing today, but why we are here. Why we exist? Why we have a consciousness going beyond instinctual reactions to what we do? It is this sense that theres something more. Were trying to make sense of it. Churches and Christians in particular feel that the best explanation or the explanation, perhaps, is that there is a Creator behind this; that there is a presence behind this beyond molecules, which is out there. We understand it as being a god. It is not only a presence, but a benevolent presence and a personal presence. Our expressions of worship and community and study are in trying to make sense of it, making connections, with that part of us, which calls us out. It is almost clich now. Augustine or someone talked about this missing part of our heart. I think it is attributed to Luther along the way, a God-shaped hole. This idea that intuitively we want something more and strive for it. Communally, we work towards that. Of course, we find structure and whatever through Scripture, through mystery and tradition and understandings of theology. But I think the whole thing is driven in the first place and we cant make people come, in our culture at least that we are more than just molecules. Thats, at least, what I attribute it to.

Jacobsen: When we are having the different types of theology on the ground in pastoral life, how does this tie into the trainings. You were at Regent College. Who were prominent people who taught you?

Cottrill: I took courses with Dr. Alistair McGrath. Someone who I deeply admire. It sounds as if I am overwhelmed by his knowledge of things. It was really a profound thing to study under him and realize. It is not just him. It is the whole tradition of deeply understanding and wrestling with and committing yourself to understand a topic. Another professor who I had was Eugene Peterson, who is known in Evangelical circles for his translation of the Bible called The Message. It is a particular translation of the entire Bible from original languages. He passed away, recently. He was a Presbyterian, I believe, who has been uniquely influential in Evangelical circles. I found them very inspiring for different reasons. Regent seminary at UBC is a very inspiring place, actually. I didnt graduate from there. I graduated from Trinity Western Seminary, even though I went to Regent. It is part of the ACTS consortium of seminaries, which are 3 to 5 Evangelical denominations that share some facilities, even share some classroom space and courses together on the campus of Trinity Western University. I graduated with a Master of Theological Studies in 1996.

Jacobsen: As youre working at Port Kells Church, which is non-denominational, and as youre graduating from the ACTS consortium of seminaries in 1996, what is the orientation when you have the Evangelical ACTS consortium training, in terms of seminary, and then translating this into a non-denominational context?

Cottrill: To a large degree, the divisions people see in the popular conception of how Christian faith and churches are divided up; it is artificial and more social constructs or ways that communities come together because I would say within the big picture called historical Christian faith or historic orthodox Christian faith. I am not talking about the Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Church. I am talking about those who adhere to creeds and statements of faith that have been in place since the 2nd century. In the big picture, there would not be a whole lot of difference. If I was to pick up a Baptist confession of faith or a statement of faith, and if I was to actually pick up the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, and discarding all of the cultural paraphernalia, and getting down to what are the key elements of faith, not argue about peripheral stuff, I dont think youd see a whole lot of difference.

Jacobsen: What are the core aspects of faith or Christian religion?

Cottrill: Since 7th century, or so, they have been defined by about 7 or 8 key elements of faith. I dont know if this is a test. I didnt study for this.

Jacobsen: Something impressionistic to provide an idea.

Cottrill: As a non-denominational church, this is what we have tried to define, this is what places us in the stream of Christian faith. We hold to these 7 or 8 things. The others, we arent saying they are not important, but are sort of secondary. One is God exists (primary). He is good, personal, cares about us, and has revealed Himself to us, personally. Two is not only God exists, but the unique form in which he has revealed Himself in three different personalities. We would call this the Trinity. It is always an imperfect way of expressing. The Catholics would call it a mystery. I would call it complicated. But the fact that God has revealed Himself as God the Father, God the Son in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. So, God exists, revealed Himself in these ways, and Jesus has specifically revealed Himself in this world to reveal Himself and connect with people and bring about forgiveness. That would the third and fourth one. Third is Jesus is, in fact, God. Fourth is coming to the world and leading the way to a life that extends beyond that. The fifth one is the Holy Spirit revealed itself in the world. The sixth would have to do with God revealing Himself through Scripture. Seventh would be that God will, at some time, wind up the affairs of this world and bring people to account. There will be a reckoning by God. When I say those 7 points, those creedal doctrines of understanding extend from the most conservative fundamentalist groups right to Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Coptic Church in Egypt, whatever. They would all hold those same 7 or 8 creedal understandings. Now, how they spin out them, the last one, for instance, of God winding things up at The End. Some fundamentalist Americans may adhere to a Dispensationalist view of 70 years, etc. I dont quite understand it, as opposed to a different group. Those would be the distinctive, unique understandings of historic Christian faith that hundreds of millions of people have adhered to since the 7th century.

Jacobsen: Who would be outside of that remit?

Cottrill: I guess whoever doesnt hold to those.

Jacobsen: What denominations would be outside of it?

Cottrill: When we talk about Christian denominations, we talk about people who are within that. There are not denominations per se, but there are other faiths who dont hold to that. I think a lot of groups that sprang up in the 19th century, mid-1850s there seemed to be an explosion of American-based ones. I dont know if this comes out of the entrepreneurial American spirit of right your own ticket. There came the Jehovahs Witnesses who did not hold to the creedal stances of Christi, of how faith in Christ brings about relationship with God, Mormonism, Christian Science. There are some that straddle the line who are mostly in. Depending on what day you catch them

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Cottrill: It doesnt sound like it. This sounds like a tangent now. But Oneness Pentecostalism, they appear to be fully in the mainstream of Christian faith, but they have questions about how we express the identity of Christ or in understanding of those creedal things; you must be baptised in a certain way, in our church, to somehow become right with God. So, those people are mostly in. But you say, How committed are you to these basic understandings? I would say most of them are committed to those basic understandings. So, some people, if you interpret it too tightly, have excluded Catholicism because they would say, Not only do they hold to those creedal things. They have extra parts. I am not sure about those. For example, Catholics would depart from Protestants because they would give authority to apostolic tradition, which finds its expression in the faith. In the sense, the Vatican has this authority in speaking on faith. We just accept scripture, agree on the creedal things, and disagree on a few extra lines on the bottom. It is splitting hairs in the end. Because if we agree on primary things, its like a marriage relationship. If youre on the same page on most things, we can continue for even a lifetime. If there is a disagreement, maybe, we can work it out. Perhaps, it is a little pragmatic.

Jacobsen: What about individual tenets?

Cottrill: I think any of those creedal tenets. If God has revealed Himself in Jesus, if the spiritual realm, if someone was to discard the testimony of Scripture, if someone was to question if we can be in a right relationship with God through Jesus, if someone was to disregard that there is a calling to account for our actions, I think any of those things would remove people from a historic orthodox view of Christian faith. Socially, people can function as Christians, but practically and in a belief structure; they dont believe it. Then I would think that they cant call themselves Christians or a follower of Jesus. You hold to the historic beliefs, the ethos and values of Christ. I dont know why they bother calling themselves Christian.

Jacobsen: When youre pastoring, what is the difference between a youth pastor, a lead pastor, etc.? How can we make distinctions between these labels being thrown around?

Cottrill: Right, I think theyre functional job type things, descriptions. Pastor means shepherd or leader. Somebody who helps makes sense of the community and to guide it. When the community gets bigger, the tendency is needing help for the leader. It is not healthy. It is not practical for one person to do it. It is easier to divide responsibilities. It is saying a leader with emphasis with one particular dimension of emphasis. For instance, when I was a youth pastor, it was that my primary responsibility was with a certain age segment, youth leadership. When my job description was worship pastor, one of my primary roles was to provide structure and support for the communitys public expression of worship. I think it is just recognizing, especially in large environments, that you will have to divide the work to get it done. Right now, when I am in a small environment community, they call me Pastor.

Jacobsen: What are some of the difficulties members of the congregation bring to you?

Cottrill: The most difficult issues, at all, are the human condition. We struggle with disappointment, with hurt, with loss. We have to make sense of that. We have these hurts. We have losses. We want to know why. We want to know how to make it through, make sense of it. Whether someone is going through a divorce, or someone has passed away, or they are lonely, or they are disappointed in something that has happened in their life, those are all big challenges that. Sometimes, people struggle with faith. If all these creedal understandings that God is real, in good, and cares about me, and wants to have a relationship with us, why is my life so bad? Why do I live in despair? These are hard questions. They are the things that we work together to understand, to experience, and to make sense out of it. Specifically, when I was a youth pastor, I remember running these mid-week and Sunday programs. Someone brought this kid. I didnt know the family. He came a couple of times. I said, Can I get your moms phone number and name, and to touch base? To let her know what we do here and to answer any questions. He said, My mom is dead. I said, I am so sorry. I am sorry to heat that. What about your dad? He said, My dads dead. I said, Who do you live with? I would like to talk to her. He said, She is in the hospital, pregnant with twins. She fell and broke her collar bone and is in the hospital. I said, Does she live with the boyfriend or father? He said, No, she doesnt know the father or met him at a bar one time. I said, Well, youre living by yourself? He said, Yes, until she gets out of the hospital. I said, Do you have any siblings? He said, One of them fell over a waterfall and died, and the other committed suicide.

Jacobsen: This is awful.

Cottrill: It sounds like youre making this up.

Jacobsen: It sounds too bad to be true.

Cottrill: In fact, it is true. He came from a First Nations background, which is a complicated, tragic, and seemingly impossible story. That was 30 years ago. I still know him. He is a good friend of mine. I think he has gone on to live a very fulfilled and happy life, married with a happy family, and successful in business. Taking advantage of the resources, finding a reason to live, believing that we were meant for something worthwhile, and in spite of tragedy and sin, and error, there is a reason and a hope for our lives. Thats the challenge of Christian faith.

Jacobsen: What is sin to you?

Cottrill: Traditional theological definition, I hold to it. Sin is anything falling short of Gods standards.

Jacobsen: What are Gods standards?

Cottrill: God is the essence of Good. He is the ultimate moral standard. Anything that falls short of that, whether death, hurt, betrayal, or any of those selfish things like pride. Any of those kinds of things that find expression in this world are sin. So, lying, for example, or hurting somebody or betraying somebody, those are sinful. They are an expression of this departure from this standard of good that somehow God holds to.

Jacobsen: How are the Evangelical ACTS consortium training theologians at the time and potentially now? Within the non-denominational frameworks of modern science, things like evolutionary theory, things like Big Bang cosmology, and so on.

Cottrill: I think that theology like, perhaps, a lot of things in life are a lot different in academic circles than they are at street level. So, for example, I would say, Questions about the origins of the universe. In theological academic circles, I would say may prominent, even Evangelical, seminary settings like Wheaton College in the Eastern United States, the heartland of Evangelicalism. It would have very broad views on the origins of the universe. They would not be confined to or even entertaining 7-day creationism. If you were to go down to street level, the same pastors and seminary professors would be influential in; you would find many people hold those views. It is interesting. If you go around the world, this scientific I dont want to say, Denialism, or this literalism is mainly confined to the U.S. and to a certain flavour of Christian culture in the U.S. So, you have the fun park like Disney.

Jacobsen: The Ken Ham Petersburg, Kentucky, Ark and museum.

Cottrill: You wouldnt find that hardly anywhere else in the world. Many places with a long tradition. The Coptic Church in Egypt is unbroken back to the 2nd century or the Catholic Church understanding, or the Orthodox (Eastern), or the Anglican, or in Australia or Canada. You look across the centuries. It is only a small sliver of culture that has, for some reason, been really fixated on a particular idea. I think it comes out of the American experience of from the 1850s onward strongly influenced by a few strident voices. If you go to key seminaries or teaching focus, whether TWU Seminary or Wheaton, or numerous other places, you wouldnt find a fixation on scientific facts. I think you would find people looking at the biblical text and saying, This is more of an explanation of why things exist and how God has revealed Himself to us and why God has Himself to us. It is not a scientific textbook. It is not descriptive of the geographic events. But I think it was something attributed to C.S. Lewis, who said, I take Scriptures far too seriously to take them literally. Thats a thoroughly Christian thing to understand that these are sacred texts, and not necessarily scientific descriptions of how things happen. There happens to be historical overlaps. In the New Testament account, if you read about certain historical figures or accounts, history does coincide with that. But the story of the intent isnt necessarily to teach science or even history. Its to teach us why we exist. So, I would say coming full circle. In the context of Trinity Western, for example, I think that you would find that the prevailing ethos would not be a commitment to a scientific interpretation of the origins of the world, at least not in their theological training. I dont know about their science department. I dont know how they muddle through origins, whether multiverses, Big Bang, or otherwise. I have no idea. So, I think it is very easy to get bogged down in a very strident, very loud tiny sliver in the expression of American Christian faith and, somehow, think that that is a prevailing thought over the centuries, or even over the world.

Jacobsen: What demographics are at Port Kells Church, even impressionistic?

Cottrill: I would say that we have gone through a transition like many social structures. We tend to be set in certain social patterns that move their way through, which go into sunset and move their way through. I think we are in transition. I would suspect half of the people in the church are 60 and up. But we have intentionally had conversations about that. In the last couple of years, we have transitioned some of the activities of our community to make room for new generations. So, it is a rebalancing and emerging of newer families into our community. For example, getting down to the facts and figures, our Sunday school for children, two years ago, had two kids in it, which [Laughing] is not a good sign for the future. Whereas, we currently have 20 kids. It is an intentional focusing on that and deploying resources to say, Yes, we are not just a club for older adults who are moving into sunset years. Our mission statement talks about being a multigenerational community. So, periodically, you have to rebalance things and say that we are open to those things. We are rebalancing. In two years, I would hope to see a broader representation of the generations in our church.

Jacobsen: How do you plan a service? How do you implement a service?

Cottrill: Our worship service in Sunday are about an hour. An hour and a half of peoples time, what we want to do is make room for people to have community time to connect with each other, to have time to communally express their commitment, we make sure there is a teaching time, a time to explore the Scriptures together. We make sure there are elements of participation for all levels. On a practical level, what happens is that we, usually, have about 20 minutes of singing and musical participation spread across that time, I preach a typical sermon about 30 minutes, which take apart a passage of Scripture and talk about the significance of it, how this impacts our life, how we understand it, what its context is. We have an element where children participate in the service. We make sure that as we gather; we have some element of prayer. This idea that we believe God is present with us, and is interested, and responds to our communication. So, we pray together. Sometimes, it is one person. Also, this year, each time, I am taking five minutes in each service to interview a person. I ask them one of about four questions, Tell us about yourself, How did your life intersect with Christian faith?, How did you understand Jesus? How did you become a part of this community?, What is a significant way God influenced your life in this community? It gives people and opportunity to experience community. About 80 people come on a Sunday morning in our church. Also, we receive an offering each week. We have bills to pay. I am paid a salary. We have a mortgage to pay. We have someone else we pay. We pay our worship director, the person who leads the music, a custodian, and someone who coordinates Family Ministries. He volunteers at the schools and runs childrens programs. We pass an offering plate each week. People voluntarily contribute to the upkeep of the community in that way.

Jacobsen: How do atheist, agnostic, humanist, freethought people of Canadian society not understand, or misrepresent about, Christians and Christian community?

Cottrill: One is, I think they tend to gravitate to the stereotypes to strident voices, which dont necessarily represent a deep, thoughtful experience of Christian faith. It would be like if I engage Islam only in terms of a terrorist who has blown themselves up. Thats the only image. If I engage with Christians of the faith, and people who have not thought it through or who only represent a tiny fragment of what it is, it goes both ways, too. For example, being a Christian, if I paint a picture of an atheist, and immediately go to the most extreme of this is a hateful, hurting person who is only interested in tearing down everything thats good and right, and is probably an extreme socialist-totalitarian Stalinist, Satanist

Jacobsen: [Laughing] I have seen this.

Cottrill: So often, I think people think that they are one thing. Partly, it is that they have not experienced it. The second thing I would protest here. I think a lot of people are looking for an identity. This goes or cuts both ways. It cuts the Christian thing as well. I am looking to get behind something. So, if the atheists get to me before the Christians, then I going to be a Born Again Atheist and will sign onto it. I want to belong to something.

Jacobsen: Is this most people?

Cottrill: A lot of the most strident, obnoxious Christians as well as the strident, obnoxious atheists are people looking for an argument. It is like, Pick your side, I will fight you. I like the fighting. I dont care, actually. It is not because of a deep commitment. It is so funny. I remember being about 14 or 15 years old and being very argumentative. It was a phase in my life. I am the stereotype of the angsty teenager. I am going to get into an argument. I think for a lot of people in life. They are looking for an argument. People take them seriously. Theres a lot of very talented people looking for an argument and who are looking to use the structures of debate and information technology, and whatever else, to create tension and meaning in themselves. I am not always so sure that they are as committed as they might. It is a night like I feel above the fray in one way or another. Maybe, it is a part of discovering who you are and finding truth, which is to argue for positions and realize, Maybe, I am not as committed to these things as I thought. So, the misunderstandings of Christians towards secular people; people assume Christians are anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-human rights, when, in fact, I think it has been, certainly, in the Western world, that these values have been built upon. I think there is a fad of assuming Christians are against human rights or against valuing all aspects of society, whether its women, gender minorities, whatever it might be. That, in fact, Christian values subjugate those people instead of looking at history in a broader sense and realizing it is Christian values that allowed those things to thrive and become a conversation in Western culture. I think there are a lot of popular myths about Western culture in general, in freedoms, in civil discourse, in commitment to intellectualism. It is like Christians arent a part of it, when they are a part of it. I think part of this comes from the fact that the most strident voices in engagement has been with a stratum of popularism, which doesnt necessarily have a lot of intellectual validity. It is like take survey and thinking this is a national trend. As I said, I think it flows both ways. It is anecdotal as opposed to, a great example, in the U.S., when someone wants to get a soundbite of a prominent Christian leader. They go to Franklin Graham, who is an Evangelical, but more represents a fundamentalist 1940s Christian Protestant faith as opposed to a 21st century Evangelical. They go to Joel Osteen.

Jacobsen: [Laughing].

Cottrill: Or Benny Hinn. I am not even sure if they have a seminary education. They would, certainly, be rejected by the majority of Evangelicals as leaders. It is really easy to stereotype. I understand why. The critique flows both ways. Christianity in general is a kind of fluid target. In this sense, you cant go to the president. It is not like there is one Pope who represents all Christians and then his word is the final deal.

Jacobsen: Even Catholics will ignore and the Pope and Eastern Orthodox will ignore Patriarch Bartholomew.

Cottrill: Absolutely.

Jacobsen: This is obviously a perennial issue that will exist well past our lifetimes because dialogue is such a perennial issue.

Cottrill: I think dialogue, education, and modelling of civil discourse. Because when we converse, earlier, I was talking about how my growing up experience in a very isolated environment lead me to very unhealthy and untrue expectations of people who, for instance, were from different cultures, but when I, actually, came into relationship with them. I realized that all of my expectations were completely wrong or going to the doctor with the things that I read without understanding the context and experience of it. I think it is the same way. When people have dialogue, have civil discourse, a lot of this other stuff gets pushed aside. It doesnt mean that we disagree; it means that we are disagreeing things that do not matter rather than preconceptions that may not even be true.

Jacobsen: So, maybe, an open mind with reaching out to change preconceived notions.

Cottrill: I think any time that youre in discussion. That, in and of itself, exhibits an open mind if it is a discussion. I could preach it without having an open mind.

Jacobsen: [Laughing] We call this rebuking.

Cottrill: Right. If we are having a discussion, hopefully, you will learn something from me. I will learn something from you. Hopefully, it will help us come to a new understanding of truth, the universe, God, and what is happening in this world. Again, we talked about education, including online education, which is one of the challenges anything [Ed. Off-tape discussion over meal.] and is constricted, confined, and doesnt have the room to have the whole vista. If I was only to know you through five interviews that youve written; I wouldnt know you at all. If I were to know you through this one conversation, then I wouldnt you at all. If you research me through the internet, then you wouldnt understand me at all. However, if people have conversations and learn about one another, then they learn about one another and a whole lot more about life. One of the challenges, again, is the political landscape, and everything else, in which everyone retreats to enclosed camps, as you said. Another great example of this is the debate about climate change. It is about how people can have access to the same facts, the same experience; yet, they come to completely opposite conclusions, live in a closed community, where they are bombarded with the same take on things. They dont really evaluate what is actually happening. When I say, Education, it is this idea of being exposed to ideas and information and context, and wisdom. You know when you meet someone. They have been around for a while. They have had the chance to wrestle with things, look at it from a different angle, and understand that, maybe, they are not in it to convince you. They are committed to it because they have found some aspect of truth or hope, or future in it.

Jacobsen: You mentioned central tenets before. What is God to you?

Cottrill: I was thinking about this last night. Not in the context of our conversation, Am I convinced that God exists because of theological or factual, or scientific, reasons? I dont think so. It is this intuitive sense. I dont know if I was born with it or whatever. Somehow, my existence, and my life, and my being here, has a connection thats bigger than just living for 50 or 60 or 80 years. Theres something else out there mystical, and good, and powerful. Something that transcends our human existence. In the Christian faith, the understanding of God is there is this presence in the universe that is good, powerful, and benevolent. Thats God. It transcends our existence in this dimension. I think people have pursued that philosophically and come up with philosophical arguments for the existence of God. There are people who pursue it in terms of the natural realm. They talk about natural theology. There are people who experience that in Charismatic Christianity. God reveals Himself to us in mystical ways. To me, it was this intuitive sense; I was born knowing God exists. I think many, many people have that sense. I would like to think everybody has that sense.

Jacobsen: Most Canadians probably do, given the demographics.

Cottrill: I would say, Most Africans do.

Jacobsen: What do you mean by that?

Cottrill: I would say most Africans have a commitment to the supernatural world. They know from the time that they are born. In fact, most cultures know that there is something greater than the flesh and blood experience. I think only the Christian faith is a refinement, Not only is it true. It makes sense. God has revealed Himself in this Christian structure. Here is the thing, maybe, I am not right in this. I think many people who dispute that: If they are walking by a graveyard at 2 in the morning and the moon shines through the branches, and if they hear a wolf howl in the distance, a shiver runs down their back. Intuitively, something is telling them. There is something more out there. I am not trying to attribute some superstitious presence at that very moment. But something in us tells us that there has got to be more meaning to this world than organic material decaying in the grave; I am just on my way home.

Jacobsen: What about failures of intuition?

Cottrill: Yes, thats the tricky part. Intuition is an indication that something is there. We dont always understand what it is telling us. When intuition fails, it is our interpretation of intuition. In other words, one person has an intuition. This, perhaps, leads them into Satanism. Another person, myself, it has lead me to this deep commitment to the Christian faith. Clearly, one of our intuitions has failed. But I dont think it is the intuition itself. How do you make sense of that? I think that sometimes and I cant speak for atheists or agnostics people arent being complete honest, Yes, in my honest moments with myself, I think there might be something more to this universe. I might disagree with Christians about what it is, but I dont know.

Jacobsen: Would that be the compliment to the idea alluded to before? Christians having moments of serious doubt as per the experience of coming across the First Nations now-friend of yours: the mother is dead, the father is dead, one brother committed suicide, another brother fell and died in an accident, and his sister is pregnant with a back injury on the farm. In this sense, these present serious reasons for further reflection and doubt to the believing Christian as those other moments cause reasons to believe for the non-Christian.

Cottrill: I did get side tracked. I have such an abiding trust of God as a presence in the universe. As to why the Christian expression of faith makes the most sense, those are different questions along the way. I have always had a sense of a deep abiding trust of God in the universe. I attribute it to this intuition. I have studied, to some degree, theology, apologetics, etc., but thats not why I believe in God. I have just always known. I do believe most people do know there is something out there. I do not want to speak for everyone. Even most people who do not agree with me on the Christian view, we do talk about there being more than a naturalism, more than scientific evolution of social mores. There is something else that life is about. Thats what I am about.

Jacobsen: Thank you, Pastor Cottrill.

Photo by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash

Assistant Editor, News Intervention, Human Rights Activist.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the Founder of In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing. He focuses on North America for News Intervention. Jacobsen works for science and human rights, especially womens and childrens rights. He considers the modern scientific and technological world the foundation for the provision of the basics of human life throughout the world and advancement of human rights as the universal movement among peoples everywhere. You can contact Scott via email.

Here is the original post:
Pastor Bob Cottrill on Christianity, Faith, and Intuition - News Intervention

By STEVE REED The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE - There were days when running back Mike Davis wanted to quit the NFL, frustrated over his role as a practice squad player with the Seattle Seahawks.

But the memory of his brother's brief NFL career as well as a motivational speaker helped change that.

Now, two years later, the 27-year-old Davis is set to take over as the Carolina Panthers starting running back on Sunday against the Chargers replacing All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who was moved to short-term injured reserve Wednesday and will miss at least three games because of a high ankle sprain.

"What stands out most is I never gave up," Davis said of his journeyman career in the NFL which has seen him play for four teams. "It could have been so easy for me to give in when I was in Seattle being on a practice squad. It was real depressing and there were times where I was like, 'I don't want to do this no more.'"

His older brother, James Davis, made that mistake and it cost him.

James Davis was a star at Clemson who went on to play for the then-Washington Redskins. But in 2011 he became disgruntled with his lack of reps and left the team, later asking for his release. He wound up on a few other NFL practice squads, but never played another down in the league and finished his career with just 75 yards rushing on 28 carries.

"My brother, he was very talented - and he should have had more years than he did," Mike Davis said.

Davis, who played college football at South Carolina, said he learned many lessons from his older brother including how to stay in shape and save his money.

He also drew motivation during those internal struggles while on the Seahawks practice squad when he stumbled across a video of motivational speaker Eric Thomas' "You Owe You" speech. He watched it every morning when he woke up at 6 o'clock.

"Every day I took going against the (starters) in practice like it was a game for me, and it was a challenge," Davis said. "I treated every day like it could be my last."

Eventually, he got his shot.

As Seattle's backfield became depleted with injuries later that season in 2018, Davis was signed to the 53-man roster and stepped in and ran for 514 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry that season. He also caught 34 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

He parlayed that into a two-year, $6 million free-agent contract with the Bears the following season, but only carried 11 times before being released by Chicago.

The Panthers claimed him off waivers last year and now Davis is looking to make the most out of his latest opportunity after a strong training camp.

It was there that he grabbed the attention of running backs coach Jeff Nixon. Nixon championed Davis' battle, telling head coach Matt Rhule that Davis had what it took to be a starting running back in the NFL. Davis went on to beat out incumbent Reggie Bonnafon for the No. 2 spot behind McCaffrey to start the season.

Still, Davis barely saw the field in Carolina's 34-30 loss to the Raiders in Week 1 playing behind McCaffrey.

"It's hard to take Christian off the field because he's such a good player," Rhule admitted.

But the Panthers vowed to get Davis more work in Week 2 and he finished with eight catches for 74 yards after McCaffrey went down.

Davis should get the bulk of carries on Sunday, although Bonnafon will see action too.

"He runs with speed and power," Rhule said.

Davis' road is quite different than the man he replaces in the starting lineup Sunday. McCaffrey came into the league as a first-round draft pick and wasted no time showing he was an elite player in this league. Davis was a fourth-round pick by the 49ers in 2015 out of South Carolina and has struggled to find a permanent home.

Davis said his goal heading into Sunday is to "play angry" and not try to do too much.

"I'm not going to try to do anything crazy because that's when bad plays happen," Davis said.

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Motivated Davis ready to replace Panthers All-Pro McCaffrey - Sumter Item

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SOURCE Monet Analytics

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Subconscious Motivation Proves Key to Persuading Persuadables, According to New AI Political Study by Monet Analytics - PRNewswire

For an entrepreneur who had to shut down recently, it's important to press pause and mourn the loss. - 123RF

I can relate. Its frightening when our drive to thrive fades. Sometimes over the last few months, Ive felt so lost that Ive scared myself by my lack of motivation toward my work endeavors, which were previously a source of great interest. I realize now that this inability to do or create anything was nothing to fear, I just needed to press pause on production. It wasnt the time for business as usual. It wasnt the time to create something new. It was the time to acknowledge my losses and attempt to let go.

Sounds like you too need to spend this time being gentle with yourself and grieve the loss of your business. Its our challenge and our invitation to stay present and give our life experiences the attention they deserve.

As I said in our column a few weeks ago, fall is a time of letting go of all that has lived out its life cycle and must now fall from the branch. So much has changed for all of us, weve all lost something in this pandemic, and its vital that we take some time to be with whatever feelings we have about that.

Oprah recently quoted her friend Richie Jackson, who writes During this pandemic, we all have been confronted with bitter disappointments and shattered expectations. These losses require mourning too. Sadness isnt reserved solely for the dearly departed. Grief is for everything we lose.

With the equinox just behind us, and nature shifting into fall, I hope you can join me in taking some quiet time to reflect on what is calling to be released. When were ready, we can gradually let go, grieve our losses and then move onto new beginnings when the timing is right.

If you can afford the time, I recommend you take it. If youre feeling lost and unmotivated, know that these are symptoms of grief. We often consider grief to be a feeling assigned to the death of loved ones, but a loss of any kind can prompt feelings of grief and its important to process it at your own pace.

I encourage you to take the time to feel your sadness over the loss of your business, and as Jenny said above, to press pause on life until youve done the proper healing. If you jump in too soon, you might carry your grief and disappointment with you into your next venture, tainting its potential. If you can afford the time, why dont you spend this time to talk to friends about your feelings of loss, write about your COVID experience in a journal, engage in a pastime you enjoy, or explore the vast beauty of our Atlantic provinces.

For us, weve enjoyed our sojourns to the Annapolis Valley, picking berries in the summer and sunflowers in the fall. Inserting new and different experiences have been deeply healing and have helped us shift out of our somber emotions, if not for a day or two. My motto to life has always been to work hard and play unreservedly, and this approach has certainly helped to buoy us up amid so much emotional heaviness and heart ache.

If you cant afford to press pause and lick your wounds, I suggest you take a position with another company so you can experience reliable income without the pressure to start your entrepreneurial engines again. Once youve got some success under your belt and youre feeling more hopeful about lifes possibilities, you can start to allow your entrepreneurial spirit to come forth and explore what options lay ahead for you. Many successful businesses have multiple iterations and rebirths so dont let this setback define you.

Have a question for Jenny and Blair? Send your inquiries to info@BreathingSpaceYogaStudio.ca

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ASK THE THERAPISTS: How do I get my motivation back? - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Flexibility in the workplace is a lifeline for parents with young children and one way of getting it is to become your own boss.

For the three women featured below who did just that, motherhood was not only the motivation to set up their own business, but also the inspiration. Through having children, they identified a gap in the market.

The other thing they have in common is participation in the Government-funded Acorns, the acronym of which is a lot more attractive than its full title: Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups. This is a free and unapologetically exclusively female programme to help fledgling businesses thrive beyond the city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Triona Mac Giolla R is one of the lead entrepreneurs who act as volunteer mentors, sharing their practical knowledge while supporting round-table meetings of up to eight participants each. Co-founder with her husband Alan of Ar Digital Strategy, she works with independent luxury hotels all over the world from their base in the Connemara Gaeltacht, where they have raised four children, now aged 18-26. I really like the ethos of Acorns, she says, praising its open, collaborative nature. A fan of diversity, she admits she grapples with the all-female approach but believes in this context it works.

I am always quite amazed when you put a group of six, seven, eight women in a room, how quickly a bond grows and how open and trusting women are with each other.

Long after women have finished the six-month scheme, which is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the networking continues. That aspect has never been more important, say these participants, as they adapt to doing business in this era of Covid-19.

When Alma Jordan became a mother, she started to see dangers everywhere for her son Eamon on the family farm in Julianstown, Co Meath.

Then the death of two children in farm accidents during the summer of 2014 really gave me the drive to sit up and take notice. I just said, this could happen to any of us. She started to look at what needed to be done to try to prevent the unthinkable and founded the farm safety educational company AgriKids that same year.

Eamon was the big reason; I was terrified for him and terrified that we would find ourselves in the situation where we would have to bury a child due to the simple fact that we were doing what we do every day going out farming.

The idea of setting up a business had been niggling at Jordan for a while before she and her husband, tillage farmer Mark Delany, had their son. Working in marketing, PR and communications, she had become bored quite easily, moving jobs every two to three years.

Once she began to delve into farm safety, she thought the message was being very poorly communicated within the agricultural community. She believed the topic needed a fresh approach, targeting a new audience.

Having worked with Repak, which sponsors the green schools programme, Jordan had seen how passionate children had become about issues such as recycling, changing not just their own behaviour but also influencing extended family and altering habits in households.

She started with storybooks for children, as storytime was a big thing in their house when Eamon, now aged eight, was being put to bed. Then a librarian approached her about doing workshops for schools and the venture took off, with more than 50,000 children having participated to date. I dont engage with farmers at all, I direct everything to children. My ethos is to engage, educate and empower children to be farm safety ambassadors. Despite huge awareness of the need for farm safety, its not translating into instinctive practice, so I am trying to bridge that learning gap.

There were 18 fatalities on farms in Ireland last year, up from 15 in 2018, and there have been 16 so far this year to the beginning of September, including three aged under 18, according to figures from the Health and Safety Authority.

Having grown up on a farm, Jordan admits to sometimes feeling a bit of a hypocrite when she recalls her carefree childhood, on the back of trailers and riding cows into a dairy parlour. However, she would not regard herself as an over-cautious mother: I am a big believer of little falls prevent big falls.

Although she started the business at home, working around Eamon, she was later to find herself in hotels up to three times a week. A very long and detailed conversation with my husband had to take place. Is this viable and is it doable? It actually was.

For a start they had an option of after-school care for Eamon. Then, fortuitously Marks busiest times on the farm are in the summer months, when the schools are closed and his least busy time is when she is, normally, out visiting schools. It all slotted into place but it did necessitate that conversation with my husband.

Responsibility for organising childcare seems to instinctively fall into the lap of women, she remarks. Have that conversation, she urges other mothers. You do matter, your career matters, but your children should never have to be a trade-off.

She believes some women never have this discussion and then become very resentful at the unequal burden, while their other half continues on in a nave bubble, unaware of domestic realities and brewing discontent.

Jordan has never been happier and more fulfilled. It was a huge risk but when passion lands, you have to follow it.

As an accidental entrepreneur, she jumped at the opportunity when somebody suggested Acorns. She found it a fantastic help and six years later members of the group continue to support each other. You have no idea how you are going to call on the resources and supports you have obtained by doing such a programme.

She believes the all-female approach works because women are wired differently: we tend to share more, talk more, feel more. Sometimes we take a little more persuading to get up there and go out there.

Reaching out to other people have never been more important than during this pandemic, which has had a horrendous impact on her business because 80 per cent of her revenue was from workshops. We can get very stuck in our own bubbles and thought processes. A lot of people were finding new ways of getting their service out there.

In April, she was approached by Monaghan County Council to do some webinars and, although doubtful, she gave it a try. They went well and led to her reaching more than 4,000 children. I did it all from my house. It put me into a position where I believe I can deliver more impact and more value.

She is quite grateful for being dragged out of her comfort zone. It has worked out far better and, for childcare, it has been a dream too. It is possible to have it all . . . ish, she adds, after a slight pause.

Despite having a nice office at the far end of the house, Jordans ideal would be an external work space to save her from domestic distractions. We have a dog here hes in and hes out and hes out and hes in.

Then there is the drier if it is not emptied promptly, the clothes will need ironing. There would be other people who would love the set-up I have here and could ignore the drier and tell the dog to go to hell.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been extremely good for the hand-made hair accessories business that Samantha Stuart set up at home in Co Tipperary three years ago to work around family life.

During lockdown, her Pretty Bowtique sales exceeded even the Christmas highs of past years as everybody was buying online and they were sending gifts, she says. It was hectic because, with three children aged six, 10 and 13, and her husband Alan working as an electrical engineer on-site with a pharmaceutical company, she had sole responsibility for home-schooling.

It was hard, but they managed, with her amazing husband taking over care of the children when he got home from work so she could head to her home studio for the night shift. She employs somebody part time to do administration so she can concentrate on the creative side.

The arrival of a third child is often the tipping point for couples who both have full-time jobs outside the home and depend on paid childcare. So it proved for Stuart who worked in insurance and started to rethink family life after the birth of their youngest daughter six years ago. I went back for a little while but it just wasnt possible.

The mixture of commuting to Cashel, nearly an hour away from their house in Carrick-on-Suir, and having three children, one of whom is asthmatic, made her decide she needed to be at home. However, she still wanted to contribute to the household income.

At this point, history might have been different if their eldest child, Abigail, now aged 13, had been a boy. But Stuart, having been very creative with painting and sewing from a young age, used to make hair accessories for her small daughter, which attracted the interest of other mothers who asked her to make them for their girls.

Having made the decision to be at home, she saw this as a business opportunity and set up Pretty Bowtique in February 2017. In October of that year she joined Acorns and it transformed my business. I went from a kitchen table business to owning my own website and stocking many different shops around Ireland.

She likens the monthly group meetings to board meetings, where you can receive feedback and advice from people not afraid to speak their mind. My husband can only listen to me for so long and he always agrees with me anyway, laughs Stuart, who believes the all-female nature of Acorns is very important. They understand you if you have kids, and family life and the juggling act.

Being her own boss, she can do the schools runs for her children every day and can drop everything if somebody needs her. While she probably works more than ever, I wouldnt change it for the world I am doing something I absolutely love.

She also thinks its good that her children see that money is hard earned. My son said to me recently Mam, you work so hard. It was nice to see that he could see that I do work hard to try and give them everything they need and supply a nice and safe home for everybody.

A third child was the catalyst for Deirdre Doyle to leave her job managing a charity shop, with the notion that I would set up a little business that I would run while my kids were in school and I would be home every afternoon.

A little nave, she admits in hindsight. Instead, she has discovered that The Cool Food School she established in January 2018 can be all-consuming because I am very passionate about what I do.

Her life is divided between work and her three children aged 13, 11 and nine. One bonus is she doesnt have to use childcare and now the children are getting older, they dont need as much care, but it is hard nothing is easy.

The arrival of the coronavirus made it a lot harder for a business that was mainly running workshops in pre-schools and at events around the country.

Doyle recalls having coffee with her husband Mark, after doing a pre-school workshop on Thursday, March 12th last, when they heard all schools were being closed. It was, Oh my God. I was supposed to be in a pre-school that Friday and I havent been back since.

After the shock, she decided to do free workshops online every day to help out parents who had been thrown into home-schooling. She did that for 14 weeks and it made her realise the potential for cooking coaching through Zoom.

I had the summer staring ahead of me; I thought I was going to be massively busy going to events all over the country and then I had nothing. I decided to do cooking summer camps and make it as practical as possible for people start at 11am and finish at 1pm and then they would have a meal ready for lunch.

Since running the camps for three weeks in July, she has started one-off classes and six-week terms for cooking family dinners and snacks. Theyre live and interactive: It works really, really well; I was surprised.

She is also being booked for childrens cook along sessions through libraries, under the auspices of Healthy Ireland. My focus is on cooking not baking, she says. Baking is great but its not going to sustain your child when they go to college they are not going to live on chocolate chip cookies.

After giving up her job, she studied to be a health coach and was reading about childhood obesity. She also wondered why when they went out to eat as a family, there was often little more than pizza or chicken nuggets on the menu for under 12s. Thats when I decided I wanted to work with kids and teach them about food.

She chose that target audience because I thought there is lots of information out there for parents but very little positive food education for children. She has focused on starting young with pre-school children.

There have been a few State initiatives to tackle the obesogenic environment but she believes it needs a much more concerted national approach, yet she cant see that being a Government priority in the current crisis.

She despairs when she hears about incidents such as a friends child being told by a junior infants teacher that theyd have a race to see who could eat their lunch quickest so they could get out into the yard. We are not giving our children the skills to eat, let alone cook. They are not getting the basics of how we should all sit at the table and eat and chat at the table.

Doyle knows she wont be going into preschools any time soon, so she is recording workshops for them, which they can do at their own pace.

She also has a small shop online selling safe knives and peelers, which she initially got to use in her workshops but have proved very popular. They enable children as young as two and three years old to peel and chop vegetables themselves, which means they are much more likely to taste them.

Having participated in Acorns for 2018-19, she found the network aspect really powerful. Her mentor was Mary B Walsh, founder and managing director of Ire Wel Pallets in Co Wexford.

She gave us one piece of advice that I think we will all remember, which was chase the money.

For all the ideas about fanciful projects, the bottom line is, you cant be in business if youre not making money.

See more here:
Motherhood can be motivation and inspiration for setting up a business - The Irish Times

By Steve ReedAP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE (AP) There were days when running back Mike Davis wanted to quit the NFL, frustrated over his role as a practice squad player with the Seattle Seahawks.

But the memory of his brothers brief NFL career as well as a motivational speaker helped change that.

Now, two years later, the 27-year-old Davis is set to take over as the Carolina Panthers starting running back on Sunday against the Chargers replacing All-Pro Christian McCaffrey, who was moved to short-term injured reserve Wednesday and will miss at least three games because of a high ankle sprain.

What stands out most is I never gave up, Davis said of his journeyman career in the NFL which has seen him play for four teams. It could have been so easy for me to give in when I was in Seattle being on a practice squad. It was real depressing and there were times where I was like, I dont want to do this no more.'

His older brother, James Davis, made that mistake and it cost him.

James Davis was a star at Clemson who went on to play for the then-Washington Redskins. But in 2011 he became disgruntled with his lack of reps and left the team, later asking for his release. He wound up on a few other NFL practice squads, but never played another down in the league and finished his career with just 75 yards rushing on 28 carries.

My brother, he was very talented and he should have had more years than he did, Mike Davis said.

Davis said he learned many lessons from his older brother including how to stay in shape and save his money.

He also drew motivation during those internal struggles while on the Seahawks practice squad when he stumbled across a video of motivational speaker Eric Thomas You Owe You speech. He watched it every morning when he woke up at 6 a.m.

Every day I took going against the (starters) in practice like it was a game for me, and it was a challenge, Davis said. I treated every day like it could be my last.

Eventually, he got his shot.

As Seattles backfield became depleted with injuries later that season in 2018, Davis was signed to the 53-man roster and stepped in and ran for 514 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry that season. He also caught 34 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown.

He parlayed that into a two-year, $6 million free-agent contract with the Bears the following season, but only carried 11 times before being released by Chicago.

The Panthers claimed him off waivers last year and now Davis is looking to make the most out of his latest opportunity after a strong training camp.

It was there that he grabbed the attention of running backs coach Jeff Nixon. Nixon championed Davis battle, telling head coach Matt Rhule that Davis had what it took to be a starting running back in the NFL. Davis went on to beat out incumbent Reggie Bonnafon for the No. 2 spot behind McCaffrey to start the season.

Still, Davis barely saw the field in Carolinas 34-30 loss to the Raiders in Week 1 playing behind McCaffrey.

Its hard to take Christian off the field because hes such a good player, Rhule admitted.

But the Panthers vowed to get Davis more work in Week 2 and he finished with eight catches for 74 yards after McCaffrey went down.

Davis should get the bulk of carries on Sunday, although Bonnafon will see action too.

He runs with speed and power, Rhule said.

Davis road is quite different than the man he replaces in the starting lineup Sunday. McCaffrey came into the league as a first-round draft pick and wasted no time showing he was an elite player in this league. Davis was a fourth-round pick by the 49ers in 2015 out of South Carolina and has struggled to find a permanent home.

Davis said his goal heading into Sunday is to play angry and not try to do too much.

Im not going to try to do anything crazy because thats when bad plays happen, Davis said.

___ More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Motivated Davis ready for his chance while Panthers' All-Pro McCaffrey is out - Salisbury Post - Salisbury Post

Late actor Irrfan Khans son Babil Khan recently took to Instagram to share apost, where he stated that he is seeking motivation. A lot of fans responded to his post giving him suggestions while many fans even regarded him as their own motivation. Take a look at what the late actor Irrfan Khan's son Babil Khan shared on Instagram from London.

ALSO READ|Babil Khan Fascinated By The Idea Of 'off-license'; Posts Pictures From A Supermarket

ALSO READ|Irrfan Khan's Son Babil Khan Posts A Heartwarming Picture With Mother

A while ago, Babil Khan posted a picture with his mother in which she can be seen hugging him tightly.Babil can be seen smiling for the camera as he has wrapped his arms around his mother. Babil captioned the post stating, "You told me to take care oher but it turned out that she took care of us like you did. Mamma.That lighthouse in the storm, I hope I can give you the world to travel, and everything more that you desire, there is nothing left for me to live now but you and Ayaan:)".

Babil Khan often posts unseen pictures of his father Irrfan Khan, his mother and some of their family pictures as well. A dayago he shared an emotional note whileremembering his father. He captioned his post as "I slept for 14 hours and I didnt want to wake up cause I was dreaming about you. Waking up is the worst, I hate realising every day that youre gone. You didnt say anything, we just laughed. (Hes playing the OG bounce)".

ALSO READ|Babil Khan Shows Pics Of What Irrfan Khan Wrote On His Walls When He Left For London

Lunchboxactor Irrfan Khan had married writer and fellow NSD graduate Sutapa Sikdar, with whom he has two sons including 28-year-old Ayan Khan and Babil Khan who is in his early 20s. The actorpassed away at the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Mumbai at the age of53. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and was receiving treatment for the same, but was admitted in April for a colon infection.He passed awaydue to complications related tocolon infection. Irrfan breathed his last on April 29, 2020.

ALSO READ|Irrfan Khan's Son Babil Khan Says 'Skip The Year For Me Please'; Fans Concur The Sentiment

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.

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Babil Khan says he needs to find motivation, fans ask him to look in the mirror - Republic World - Republic World

The environmental and economic challenges of 2020 have leaders scrambling to keep their teams focused, motivated and above all else, healthy. During disruptive times, its easy to fall into ineffective work streams by taking on too much or failing to clearly communicate objectives. Spending time and energy on tasks that fail to return positive results or growth kills motivation. Today, most teams are busier than ever, rebuilding 2020 plans -possibly more than once - or taking on more responsibility due to reduction or delay in resources. Working towards a constantly moving target makes staying motivated nearly impossible.

It may sound simple, but maintaining open and constant communication and setting smart KPIs the most effective way to keep your team on target and progressing. Even bad news communicated is better than no news communicated - and can help rally support from all levels to get back on track or pivot from an ineffective strategy. Leaders today must communicate over and above (almost to a point of annoyance), especially with limited face to face interaction that leaders previously relied on to accomplish goals.

Most leaders stabilized their strategy and their teams are producing at an appropriate level, allowing them to turn their attention back to business growth and building their teams. Like everything else this year, recruiting practices require a process shift. Lack of in-person interviews makes it more difficult to gauge a candidates personality and cultural fit within an organization - which is more important than ever. Its critical to hire candidates who can hit the ground running.

Leaders should pay just as much attention to a potential employees work ethic, values and cultural fit as they do their work experience and ability to meet the job requirements. Leaders recognize the importance of having a workforce with a shared set of values and culture. As businesses navigate through current disruption and plan for a post-Covid-19 world, they must be prepared for implications on their teams engagement. The onset of the pandemic tested many companies cultures and demonstrated that those committed to supporting a strong company culture and values prior to the crisis were more easily able to weather the storm. So how can business leaders create this level of team engagement?

Organizations must quickly adapt during crisis, accepting new ways of working, communicating and servicing clients. With a nimble workforce that is always prepared to pivot, even at the eleventh hour, companies can continue to thrive even in times of crisis. If your company lacks this agility, take the opportunity to re-evaluate your culture and examine how you can future-proof your workforce.

Dedicate yourself to developing a culture that embraces change. A good leader values growth over comfort, so inspire your team to do the same. Remember that for some employees embracing change can be a challenge. In our comfort zone we feel experienced, knowledgeable and in-charge, whereas we can be anxious and resistant during uncertain times. As a leader, realize that nothing is permanent except change. If you can do that, employees will be ready and even excited for what will come or what they might learn when the change happens.

Reward employees when they make rapid, informed decisions. These star employees are vital in fast paced industries and in times of crisis. When you reward employees for their ability to act decisively and implement plans without delay, you increase their confidence and eliminate future hesitation. That will help you create a flexible, confident, authoritative workforce which will be the cornerstone of success during difficult times. Invest in training and inspire confidence among your employees - and your workforce will respond with the business overarching goals in mind.

Encourage a team-first mentality. The feeling that everyone on the team is in this together will help your organization weather the toughest situations. We are more powerful together than we are on our own. While competition is healthy in most environments and can bring out the best in some individuals, it can be disruptive to have hyper competition within teams during difficult situations. Leaders must cultivate a team culture and hire accordingly, so the business can reap the rewards of a collaborative workforce. When employees work together to achieve a common goal, they feel a sense of ownership and pride in the team and companys shared achievements. Teamwork, efficiency, motivation and creativity also reduce employee burnout. Strong teams are able to continue producing quality work under pressure, maintain momentum and continue delivering business value.

Inspire employees to make bold, brave moves. While some employees are naturally confident and self-reliant, other employees might need more reassurance by their managers. Make it a priority to inspire employees to be more self-assured and you can increase productivity and creativity. Welcome ideas from across the workforce, from both senior and junior staff members. When employees understand that those who make calculated data driven decisions succeed faster than those who are very risk-averse, they will be more willing to share new ideas that may challenge the status quo.

Ensure that you are not hiring people who think just like you. Diversify the pool of employee backgrounds and experience to drive creativity and innovation. Building a team of employees with both deep technical expertise and critical thinking skills across various disciplines gives companies a competitive edge; a team of divergent thinkers with unique perspectives results in fresh ideas and inventive new ways to improve services or products. Invest in curating a team with diverse training and backgrounds, retain top talent and you will outpace and out-innovate organizations not following suit.

Hire people who treat clients, partners and colleagues with the respect they deserve. Be a champion for this behavior and ensure that managers and business leaders do the same. Lead by example to create an inclusive, positive work environment where employees feel valued, supported and nurtured.

Instill a culture that values talent and hard work. Ensure your employees understand they are valued for their ability to do the job well, and are not limited by their previous training. Give everyone in the workforce the opportunity to grow personally and build a career, regardless of their background and skill set. Give employees the chance to explore new skills and exceed expectations in a workplace that rewards talent, good work and a positive attitude.

Dedicated leaders who invest in company culture create united and engaged teams that enhance workforce productivity and - in turn - company growth. Keeping a sharp focus on personality, cultural fit, and diversity benefits not only your employees, but the company itself. Employees will be empowered and thrive in this environment driving creativity and innovation.

Remember, company culture is not just a checkbox it should be a shared set of values that transforms and drives the workforce and benefits the business. If you commit to strong company values now, you will create a resilient workforce that will continue to prosper through periods of blue skies and crisis.

Phil Ahad, Chief Digital Officer, Toluna

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How to build and keep your team motivated during uncertain times - ITProPortal

I should point out that while it could shift in the days and weeks to come, polling initially shows that former Vice President Joe Biden's voters have been more likely to be fired up about Supreme Court selections and that voters overall trust Biden more on a Supreme Court selection. A new Marquette University Law School poll paints the landscape well. Nationally, it finds that 59% of Biden voters say that appointing the next Supreme Court justice is very important to their vote. Compare that with only 51% of Trump voters. This finding matches what we saw in a CNN/SSRS poll last month. In that poll, 78% of Biden backers told pollsters that nominating the next justice was extremely or very important to their vote. That compared with 64% of Trump supporters. (It was 47% Biden supporters and 32% Trump supporters who said it was extremely important.) Compare these numbers to what we saw heading into the 2016 election. The final CNN/ORC poll in that cycle showed that 58% of Trump supporters said that nominating the next Supreme Court justice was extremely important to their vote, while only 46% of Hillary Clinton voters said the same. In the 2016 exit poll, Trump beat Clinton by a 15 point margin among those who put Supreme Court appointments as the most important factor to their vote.

In other words, it seems, at least initially, that unlike in 2016, a Supreme Court nominating fight could be more of a motivating factor for Democrats than Republicans.

Of course, this election is going to be fought in the swing states and it's going to be fought over the few voters who are still persuadable at this stage.

Biden was more trusted to pick a nominee in the average of all three states by a 53% to 41% margin. That was actually larger than his average lead against Trump in the horserace of 50% to 41% in the three states.

But perhaps more interesting is what the New York Times found among persuadable voters (i.e. those who said they could change their mind or were not backing either Biden or Trump). They preferred Biden to pick the next nominee by a 49% to 31% margin.

And among those voters who might not vote (i.e. those who said were less than very likely to cast a ballot), Biden led Trump by a 52% to 23% margin on who would be better at picking the next Supreme Court justice.

In other words, it seems that if the Supreme Court is a motivating factor for voters in these key swing states, it'll be more likely to get voters out for Biden than Trump.

Of course, this is just a preliminary look before voters knew that there would be another Supreme Court vacancy during Trump's first term in office. There are a number of complicating factors that could shift things.

Will Biden lose his edge on the Supreme Court, if Democrats try to block that nominee? Maybe, although I'm at least somewhat skeptical of polling on this issue.

Although a majority of Democrats (61%) were for expanding the size of the Supreme Court in the Marquette poll, a majority of independents (56%) were against it.

The bottom line is there's a lot we still don't know. The days and weeks will clarify, but for now the polling indicates that the topic of filling a vacancy helps Biden not Trump.

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Unlike 2016, polling this year suggests Democrats more motivated by Supreme Court than Republicans - CNN

Willy Monteiro Duarte was born in Rome to parents from Cape Verde. He had just become an Italian citizen, and at 21 years old, was an aspiring chef at a hotel in a town near Rome.

All of that ended on Sept. 6when he tried to break up a fight and instead was beaten to death himself.

Related:This Liberian Italian beatmaker uses music to tackle racism in Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended Duartes funeral earlier this month, and hundreds marched in a candlelight procession to call for justice for the young Black man. Two white brothers were arrested in Duartes death and have been charged with murder, while some believe they should also be charged for committing a hate crime.

The incident has exposed a deep divide among Italians over whichcrimes should be considered racially motivated.

In this case, based on the facts that we know, we do not know, in the end.

In this case, based on the facts that we know, we do not know, in the end, said Giulia Perin, an attorney with the Italian Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration, adding that there needs to be concrete evidence of racist motivations to be considered a hate crime.

This could be done if, for instance, we know at that instant that the boys were shouting, You are Black, or something, but thats not the case.

Related:Black and South Asian communities find solidarity in fight against racism

Others say Duartes death is evidence of growing fascism in Italy, pointing to the hobbies and interests of the brothers accused of Duarte's killing. Gabriele Bianchi, 26, and Marco Bianchi, 24,were into bodybuilding and mixed martial arts. They have pleaded innocent.

Fascism in Italy has this history of the cult of the male body, of the strong body, of the strong myth of Rome that ruled the world and so on a myth of domination, said Marcello Maneri, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Milan Bicocca who studies race and power.

These people [the two brothers] acted like they owned the community," he said.They wanted to patrol their territory. In the end, I think when they saw this Black guy, they thought, We are the people who must control this territory, not him.

And thats a fascist instinct, he said.

Fascism, as it was developed and implemented and experienced here in Italy, had a very racist dimension to it.

But fascism, as it was developed and implemented and experienced here in Italy, had a very racist dimension to it, said Judith Sunderland, the Milan-based acting deputy director of Europe for Human Rights Watch. Sheargued the brothers' behavior can be fascistic and racist.

Related:Video of police beating Indigenous chief fuels ongoing anti-racism protests in Canada

Sunderland said that while Italian law enforcement requires clear-cut indications to declare an attack racially motivated, thats not how racism often works in reality.

And it's unfortunate that so much of the conversation has revolved around this insistence on, Its not racism. It was all these other things, but it absolutely wasn't racism, she said, because that means that people aren't ready for the kind of reckoning that is necessary in order to really address systemic discrimination and racism in our society.

Last week, Duartes family released a statement saying they didnt want their sons death to be used as a political tool to talk about racism or fascism. They wrote: Willy was the victim of cruelty and unjustified ferocity, which had no color or race.

I understand. I think I can understand, said Ariam Tekle of their statement. Shes a daughter of Eritrean immigrants, and her 2017 documentary,Appointment to the Sailors (translated to English), explored the lives of children of immigrants in Italy.

Related:Somali Americans share in the grief and pain over George Floyds killing

Tekle doesnt know the Duarte family but speculatesthey were trying to fend off racist attacks online. She believes if Duarte had died in the US, there would be a larger mainstream discussion about racism.

For me, its obviously a racist act, she said. Its a bit dangerous saying it isnt racist because it is.

And, as long as Italians dont recognize racism, she said, they wont be able to address it.

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Italians divided over whether Black mans beating death was motivated by racism - The World