{"id":10657,"date":"2017-02-10T06:46:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T10:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/?p=10657"},"modified":"2017-02-10T08:46:15","modified_gmt":"2017-02-10T12:46:15","slug":"let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"saint-paul-1276547_640_opt\"<\/a>Memo to Administration of Jesus University<\/p>\n

From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU!<\/p>\n

T0 Leadership:<\/p>\n

We are worried about the future viability of your educational project. First, you are heavily invested in disciples and apostles with hardly any support services. One has to question the viability of such a model. You have too many teachers and not nearly enough people to support those teachers by telling those teachers what to do and teach.<\/p>\n

Second, the organization frequently doubles down on hard sayings that are driving potential clients away. The entire \u201ceat my flesh\u201d episode<\/a> is perhaps the worst case of this syndrome.\u00a0Just tell students what to think and stop being so cryptic.\u00a0<\/em>How many students of means do we lose with each hard saying? Finally, you do not seem to have any plan to gain funding from Rome. The Empire is here to stay and we need to be practical enough to deal with it.<\/p>\n

The entire organization may not survive the next Passover unless some hard decisions and changes are made.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lay off redundant teachers. Do we really need a \u201cJames the Lesser?\u201d We have James. What about Simon the Zealot? He turns off donors with his revolutionary zeal and we have a dynamic teacher already named Simon. Does Judas also called Thaddeus ever generate revenue?<\/li>\n
  2. The time has come to empower your administrators. You should double down on the savy of Judas Iscariot. He keeps the purse and has a good sense of waste. His rebuke of the wasteful performance art of the pouring expensive nard on the Lord\u2019s feet is just one example of his acumen. Let\u2019s pay Judas the silver he deserves.<\/li>\n
  3. The entire organization seems mired in helping people unable to pay for our services and relying on altruistic people to help. This is not sensible. We need to work with the Romans. We also should cut off many of the five thousand who frequently show up\u00a0without even the food they need.\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. There has to be a way to better monetize some of what the organization does. Did anyone think of offering tours of the Holy Land with our organization? What about pushing product? Our organization has key contacts in the Temple to get some of our merchandise into the hands of the faithful. After all, if our Father\u2019s House is not just a house of prayer, but of business, then let\u2019s get our share of that market.<\/li>\n
  5. The leadership spends a great deal too much time listening to questions from disciples. \u201cWhat did this saying mean?\u201d wastes time that could be better spent preparing our students for life in the Roman Empire.<\/li>\n
  6. The senior leadership needs to appoint more administrators. We would suggest that retention is a big problem. People come for the loaves and fishes, but they are not staying as givers. We need to invest in retention strategies.<\/li>\n
  7. Letting Matthew just leave business was imprudent. Couldn\u2019t he have served better giving disciples loans to follow us for the next few years? Everyone wins with loans: Matthew makes a profit and we get disciples.<\/li>\n
  8. We were sorry to see the leadership still discipling students as individuals. This is\u00a0very<\/em> inefficient. We need to homogenize our message so it can be duplicated by all our teaching apostles.<\/li>\n
  9. We are concerned that we have\u00a0four\u00a0<\/em>different takes on our story! Let\u2019s get our communications team (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) on message and tell our story in a much more unified and consistent manner. John in particular needs to be brought into line as he keeps deviating from the message of the organization. \u201cIn the beginning was the Word. . . .\u201d and then not a\u00a0single mention of Christmas<\/em> is a downer. Consider cutting John.<\/li>\n
  10. The standards for leadership are too high. We are cutting off some of our best candidates by demanding \u201choliness\u201d and other concepts. Let\u2019s cut some corners to avoid getting stuck in a corner.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There is a great deal more to say . . . including whether discipleship is necessary for\u00a0everyone.\u00a0<\/em>Couldn\u2019t we just make some people deacons when they know the facts or content? Probing a person\u2019s inner life is expensive and not obviously sustainable. \u00a0Let\u2019s not be snobs. People are going to get ministered to someplace. Shouldn\u2019t they get our good product? Why deter them by making demands that they \u201cleave all and follow?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Please consider these suggestions for the good of the ministry. Know this at least: you have a real star in Mr. Iscariot. He shares our pragmatic approach to education!<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of your educational project. First, you are heavily invested in disciples and apostles with hardly any support services. One has to question the viability of such a model. You have too many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1007,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"yoast_head":"\nLet Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eidos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-10T10:46:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-10T12:46:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/files\/2016\/11\/saint-paul-1276547_640_opt.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Mark N. Reynolds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jmnr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Mark N. Reynolds\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/\",\"name\":\"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-10T10:46:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-10T12:46:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/3cb24660afc967bac2dc6fe5436bcffc\"},\"description\":\"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/\",\"name\":\"Eidos\",\"description\":\"John Mark Reynolds on Faith and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/3cb24660afc967bac2dc6fe5436bcffc\",\"name\":\"John Mark N. Reynolds\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51b26c17175c14d173bc738772a7bb0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51b26c17175c14d173bc738772a7bb0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Mark N. Reynolds\"},\"description\":\"John Mark Reynolds is the president of The Saint Constantine Schools and College, a school that aspires to preschool through college education. He is also a philosopher, administrator, and joyous curmudgeon. Reynolds is a follower of Jesus and a student of Socrates. His PhD in philosophy is from the University of Rochester and he is author or editor of numerous books. He is an owner of the Green Bay Packers. Opinions here are his own ... even Hope doesn't agree with him always.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/Www.johnmarkreynolds.com\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jmnr\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/author\/jmreynolds\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus","description":"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus","og_description":"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/","og_site_name":"Eidos","article_published_time":"2017-02-10T10:46:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-02-10T12:46:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/files\/2016\/11\/saint-paul-1276547_640_opt.jpg"}],"author":"John Mark N. Reynolds","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jmnr","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Mark N. Reynolds","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/","name":"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-02-10T10:46:17+00:00","dateModified":"2017-02-10T12:46:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/3cb24660afc967bac2dc6fe5436bcffc"},"description":"Memo to Administration of Jesus University From: Al C. Biades Ed.D., Consultant for WIN.EDU! T0 Leadership: We are worried about the future viability of","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/2017\/02\/let-go-james-lesser-education-advice-jesus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Let Go of James the Lesser: Education Advice to Jesus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/","name":"Eidos","description":"John Mark Reynolds on Faith and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/3cb24660afc967bac2dc6fe5436bcffc","name":"John Mark N. Reynolds","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51b26c17175c14d173bc738772a7bb0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51b26c17175c14d173bc738772a7bb0a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Mark N. Reynolds"},"description":"John Mark Reynolds is the president of The Saint Constantine Schools and College, a school that aspires to preschool through college education. He is also a philosopher, administrator, and joyous curmudgeon. Reynolds is a follower of Jesus and a student of Socrates. His PhD in philosophy is from the University of Rochester and he is author or editor of numerous books. He is an owner of the Green Bay Packers. Opinions here are his own ... even Hope doesn't agree with him always.","sameAs":["http:\/\/Www.johnmarkreynolds.com","https:\/\/twitter.com\/jmnr"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/author\/jmreynolds\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10657\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/eidos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}