After the September 11 attacks, the 9/11 Commission argued that the United States needed a powerful leader, a spymaster, to forge the scattered intelligence bureaucracies into a singular enterprise to vanquish AmericaÆs new enemiesùstateless international terrorists. In the midst of the 2004 presidential election, Congress and the president remade the postûWorld War II national security infrastructure in less than five months, creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and a National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Blinking Red illuminates the complicated history of the bureaucratic efforts to reform AmericaÆs national security after the intelligence failures of 9/11 and IraqÆs missing weapons of mass destruction, explaining how the NSC and Congress shaped the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks. Michael Allen asserts that the process of creating the DNI position and the NCTC is a case study in power politics and institutional reform. By bringing to light the legislative transactions and political wrangling during the reform of the intelligence community, Allen helps us understand why the effectiveness of these institutional changes is still in question.
As a pastor, Michael Allen realized there was a real need for Bible study material directed toward the maturing Christian. There is a wealth of information dealing with salvation and the first baby steps a newborn Christian takes. Yet, there seems to be a drought of material aimed at those who are attempting to walk in the deeper things of God. This book is for those who truly hunger for a more extensive knowledge of the most high. Do you genuinely want to draw closer to God? Do you want to know him personally and intensely? Then this book is for you. As the world plummets deeper and deeper into the concept of self as the center of all living, this book is an insightful look into the heart of God. If you wholeheartedly desire a greater intimacy with God, this book will provide insights into his character. Do you dare to see God for who he is? Then read this book and immerse yourself in the knowledge of his amazing power, love, and grace.
Explore effective learning programs with the father of e-learning Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company, Second Edition presents best practices for building interactive, fun, and effective online learning programs. This engaging text offers insight regarding what makes great e-learning, particularly from the perspectives of motivation and interactivity, and features history lessons that assist you in avoiding common pitfalls and guide you in the direction of e-learning success. This updated edition also considers changes in technology and tools that facilitate the implementation of the strategies, guidelines, and techniques it presents. E-learning has experienced a surge in popularity over the past ten years, with education professionals around the world leveraging technology to facilitate instruction. From hybrid courses that integrate technology into traditional classroom instruction to full online courses that are conducted solely on the internet, a range of e-learning models is available. The key to creating a successful e-learning program lies in understanding how to use the tools at your disposal to create an interactive, engaging, and effective learning experience. Gain a new perspective on e-learning, and how technology can facilitate education Explore updated content, including coverage regarding learner interface, gamification, mobile learning, and individualization Discuss the experiences of others via targeted case studies, which cover good and not so good e-learning projects Understand key concepts through new examples that reinforce essential ideas and demonstrate their practical application Michael Allen's Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company, Second Edition is an essential resource if you are studying for the e-Learning Instructional Design Certificate Program.
“Tautly crafted, Dymmoch’s bittersweet journey of discovery glimmers with subtle tension”—from the award-winning author of the Caleb and Thinnes mysteries (Booklist). The accidental death of Rhiann Fahey’s second husband leaves her paralyzed by grief and has her son Jimmy cutting school and drinking. The widow’s problems are compounded by unwanted advances from her dead husband’s friend. She does her best to cope, returning to work, dealing patiently with Jimmy’s misbehavior, telling Rory Sinter she isn’t interested. Then a mysterious stranger moves next door. John Devlin offers Rhiann beer and sympathy. He offers Jimmy work. When Sinter tries to discredit John, then beat him to death, Rhiann comes to John’s rescue. But she discovers her perfect neighbor isn’t what he seems—which leads her to investigate, and to see John in a different light altogether. A beautifully written story with characters who come to life from the first page, M.I.A. shows one more side of Michael Allen Dymmoch’s powerful storytelling ability. “A compelling and well-written story about lost love, missing friends and new beginnings.”—Fresh Fiction “[A] novel about enduring love and family secrets.”—Publishers Weekly
What does the Bible say about heaven and hell? How do I distinguish biblical promises from sentimental myths? How can I be ready? Exploring the wonders of heaven while taking an honest look at the realities of hell, pastor Michael Allen Rogers provides us with a clear and accessible summary of all things related to the afterlife. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to answer the crucial question of what happens after I die?
The field of e-learning continues to experience dramatic and turbulent growth. Over time, as technology has improved and the method's real capabilities have emerged, e-learning has gained widespread acceptance and is now the fastest growing sector of corporate learning. As in years past, Michael Allen's Annual offers a diverse and important collection that contains some of the most current insights and best practices that will help both educators and workplace learning leaders address issues of design and implementation, as well as strategy and culture. In addition, this new volume offers a diverse mix of content that spans the full spectrum of technology-based learning. Year after year, the Annual discusses emerging trends in social media; showcases e-learning innovation; presents contemporary- and best-practices; tackles big-picture, strategic issues; and provides a host of useful tips and techniques. Additional content is also available online. Praise for Michael Allen's 2012 e-Learning Annual "Michael Allen's Annual really is annual. I found new examples and provocative ideas—just what I was looking for." —Allison Rossett, professor of educational technology, San Diego State University "Just another academic anthology? Hardly! Michael Allen has convinced e-learning's super-heroes to join forces to crush complacency, demolish dogma, rewrite rules, streamline strategies, and light a brighter future for e-learning. Warning: The accumulated wisdom and original thinking of this elite team of designers, practitioners, consultants, and researchers will leave you dissatisfied with your current e-learning efforts and aching to put their ideas into play." —William Horton, author, e-Learning by Design and consultant, William Horton Consulting "The real learning at conferences takes place in the hallways. This wonderful book is like eavesdropping on those conversations, except that Michael has put the top thinkers in our field in the hall for you." —Jay Cross, chairman, Internet Time Alliance Nabeel Ahmad Clark Aldrich Bobbe Baggio Tony Bingham Julia Bulkowski Bryan Chapman Phil Cowcill Allan Henderson Peter Isackson Cheryl Johnson Cathy King Leslie Kirshaw Tina Kunshier David Metcalf Corinne Miller Craig Montgomerie Frank Nguyen Maria Plakhotnik Tonette Rocco Anita Rosen Patti Shank Clive Shepherd Martyn Sloman Belinda Smith Susan Smith Nash Ken Spero Carla Torgerson Thomas Toth Reuben Tozman Marc Weinstein
The murder of a Vietnamese woman reawakens wartime trauma for cop John Thinnes and psychiatrist Jack Caleb in an “absolutely gripping” police procedural (Chicago Tribune). After a woman is shot in the Little Saigon neighborhood of Chicago, Detective John Thinnes realizes he knew the victim when he was stationed in Vietnam. In fact, he was the best man when his friend Bobby Lee married Hue An. When an anonymous tip comes in that Thinnes might be the real father of her son, Tien Lee, who is the prime suspect in her murder, he is pulled off the case and his partner Don Franchi takes over. At Hue An Lee’s wake, a schizophrenic man insists there is a connection between her death and an unsolved murder in wartime Saigon. Psychiatrist Jack Caleb is called in to help the schizophrenic mourner, but the therapy is kicking up his own PTSD from serving as a medic during the war. Working with Caleb, Thinnes remembers a deadly criminal from his days as an MP in Saigon—known as White Tiger—who he fears has resurfaced in Chicago. Now it’s up to the two vets to stop him . . .
Eschatology and ethics are joined at the hip, says Michael Allen, and both need theocentric reorientation. In Grounded in Heaven Allen retrieves the traditional concept of the beatific vision and seeks to bring Christ back into the heart of our theology and our lives on earth. Responding to the earthly-mindedness of much recent theology, Allen places his focus on God and the heavenly future while also appreciating ways in which the Reformed tradition provides a unique angle on broadly catholic concerns. Reaching back to classical ethics as well as its reformation by Calvin and other Reformed theologians, Grounded in Heaven offers a distinctly Protestant account of the ascetical calling to be heavenly-minded and to deny one’s self.
It is the mid-1990s in the small, peaceful oil field town of Pierce, California, when one of its residents is suddenly found dead in a drainage ditch beside the road. Known as a happy-go-lucky alcoholic who wouldn’t hurt a flea, Verlin Simpson’s unanticipated death is quickly deemed suspicious. Verlin’s devoutly Christian wife, Shirley, is naturally devastated and relies on her faith and her friends in her church choral group, the Golden-Agers, for strength. Meanwhile, Officer Tom Phillips begins working the case. Although Pierce hasn’t seen a murder in over ten years, Phillips must rely on his instincts as a former LAPD officer as he begins questioning residents and church members, and investigating clues he hopes will help him solve the case and learn why someone would want to kill a drunk old man. But after the case goes cold, another body is found in a bathroom stall a few months later, leaving Tom to realize he now must consider the worst-case scenario. Pierce may have a serial killer in its midst. In this Christian murder mystery, a small-town police officer and several church members work together to solve a complicated case and find a determined killer.
The Chief Security Officer’s Handbook: Leading Your Team into the Future offers practical advice on how to embrace the future, align with your organizations mission, and develop a program that meets the needs of the enterprise. The book discusses real-life examples of what to do to align with other critical departments, how to avoid spending time and resources on unnecessary and outdated methods, and tomorrow’s security program. Today’s security executives need to help their industry, their organization and the next generation of security leaders to pioneer, optimize and transform every aspect of our programs, technologies and methods. The book is ideal for current chief security officers, aspiring security executives, and those interested in better understanding the critical need to modernize corporate security. Offers suggestions on the do's and don’ts of professional development Provides tangible examples on how the CSO works collaboratively with internal peers Instructs CSO's on how to align with the business while remaining agile Illustrates the various paths to becoming a CSO Demonstrates ways to move your program into one that embraces enterprise security risk management, convergence and automation
This volume examines what it means to proceed in the path of wisdom by beginning with fear of God, that is, mindfulness always and everywhere of God's being and presence. Michael Allen describes the praxis of fearing the Lord, how that posture of contemplative pursuit marks the theological task and defines our theological method; in so doing it takes up the significant topics of divine revelation, theological exegesis, intellectual asceticism, and retrieval/ressourcement from a distinctly doctrinal perspective. In each of these conversations, doing theology in the presence of God functions as a consistent thread. God is not mere object but truly functions as subject in the process of theological growth, though God's presence and agency fund rather than negate creaturely theological responsibility. The Fear of the Lord: Essays on Theological Method explores some of the most central questions of contemporary theological method – revelation, Scripture, theological interpretation, retrieval, intellectual asceticism, scholastic method – by asking in each and every case what it means to think fundamentally of the perfect and present God involved and active in these spheres.
Seeking to move beyond current heated debates on justification, this accessible introduction offers a fresh, alternative approach to a central theological topic. Michael Allen locates justification within the wider context of the gospel, allowing for more thoughtful engagement with the Bible, historical theology, and the life of the church. Allen considers some of the liveliest recent debates as well as some overlooked connections within the wider orbit of Christian theology. He provides a historically informed, ecumenically minded defense of orthodox theology, analyzing what must be maintained and what should be reconfigured from the vantage point of systematic theology. The book exemplifies the practice of theological interpretation of Scripture and demonstrates justification's relevance for ongoing issues of faith and practice.
The Knowledge of God turns to consider the knowledge of God revealed in the Word of God, with several essays addressing the doctrine of God, then the person of Christ, and finally the miracle of the church. Michael Allen shows the exegetical shape of historical and dogmatic reasoning as well as the significance of thinking about these topics in their interrelationships with a range of other Christian themes, not least the doctrine of the living and true God. In each of these topics, the theme of the promise and nature of God's presence (whether in his own life or then in the economy of the incarnation and of the church) proves to be a unifying thread. The gospel is shown to be rooted backward in God's own life and to have consequence forward for the ongoing life of Christ displayed in his church. This volume explores what it means to learn of and come to know God, who has life in himself and then shares his life with us in the coming of his Son and the ongoing presence amidst his body, the church of Christ.
A poetic journey through years of struggling with such emotions as love and hatred, or walks such as philosophy and spirituality. With such favorites as "In Memory of an Angel," "My Broken Piano," and "I'm the Only," revisit the journey that Michael Allen has shared with us over the years as well as read for the first time the many poems Michael Allen has never shared in any publication anywhere. With thoughtful, and often comical, prose along the way, Michael Allen's poetic journey is one he wants to share with you and one he sincerely wants you to enjoy.
The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible encourages readers to explore how the vital roots of the ancient Christian tradition inform and shape faithfulness today. In this volume, prominent Reformed theologian Michael Allen offers a theological reading of Ephesians. As with other series volumes, this commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.
Sanctification—the act or process of becoming holy—is one of the gifts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it's often misunderstood by the modern church. Sanctification offers a Christ-centered and clear account of the doctrine by viewing it within its wider biblical and historical context. Churches too often allow their definitions of holiness to be prompted by existential goals or the social mores of the Christian community. It's not surprising, then, that many view holiness as accidental or expendable, even as a legalistic posture opposed to the freedom of the gospel and separate from the gift of grace. Sanctification (part of the New Studies in Dogmatics series), defines holiness in theological terms by: Providing a framework by discussing the core Christian doctrines associated with it, such as the character of God, the nature of creation, and the covenantal shape of life with God. Considering the ways in which the gospel of Jesus not only prompts us to holy action but provides holiness as one of its blessings. Attending to the ways in which the gift of sanctification relates to human means, so that we can appreciate its connection to human nature, responsibility, and the pedagogy of exemplars and of law. -ABOUT THE SERIES- New Studies in Dogmatics seeks to retrieve the riches of Christian doctrine for the sake of contemporary theological renewal. Following in the tradition of G. C. Berkouwer's Studies in Dogmatics, this series provides thoughtful, concise, and readable treatments of major theological topics, expressing the biblical, creedal, and confessional shape of Christian doctrine for a contemporary evangelical audience. The editors and contributors share a common conviction that the way forward in constructive systematic theology lies in building upon the foundations laid in the church's historic understanding of the Word of God as professed in its creeds, councils, and confessions, and by its most trusted teachers.
The Christ's Faith coheres with orthodox Christology and Reformation soteriology, and needs to be affirmed to properly confirm the true humanity of the incarnate Son. Without addressing the interpretation of the Pauline phrase pistis christou, this study offers a theological rationale for an exegetical possibility and enriches a dogmatic account of the humanity of the Christ. The coherence of the Christ's faith is shown in two ways. First, the objection of Thomas Aquinas is refuted by demonstrating that faith is fitting for the incarnate Son. Second, a theological ontology is offered which affirms divine perfection and transcendence in qualitative fashion, undergirding a Chalcedonian and Reformed Christology. Thus, the humanity of the Christ may be construed as a fallen human nature assumed by the person of the Word and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The dogmatic location of The Christ's Faith is sketched by suggesting its (potential) function within three influential theological systems: Thomas Aquinas, federal theology, and Karl Barth. Furthermore, the soteriological role of the doctrine is demonstrated by showing the theological necessity of faith for valid obedience before God.
In the seven and a half years before his collapse into madness, Nietzsche completed Thus Spoke Zarathustra, the best-selling and most widely read philosophical work of all time, as well as six additional works that are today considered required reading for Western intellectuals. Together, these works mark the final period of Nietzsche’s thought, when he developed a new, more profound, and more systematic teaching rooted in the idea of the eternal recurrence, which he considered his deepest thought. Cutting against the grain of most current Nietzsche scholarship, Michael Allen Gillespie presents the thought of the late Nietzsche as Nietzsche himself intended, drawing not only on his published works but on the plans for the works he was unable to complete, which can be found throughout his notes and correspondence. Gillespie argues that the idea of the eternal recurrence transformed Nietzsche’s thinking from 1881 to 1889. It provided both the basis for his rejection of traditional metaphysics and the grounding for the new logic, ontology, theology, and anthropology he intended to create with the aim of a fundamental transformation of European civilization, a “revaluation of all values.” Nietzsche first broached the idea of the eternal recurrence in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but its failure to gain attention or public acceptance led him to present the idea again through a series of works intended to culminate in a never-completed magnum opus. Nietzsche believed this idea would enable the redemption of humanity. At the same time, he recognized its terrifying, apocalyptic consequences, since it would also produce wars of unprecedented ferocity and destruction. Through his careful analysis, Gillespie reveals a more radical and more dangerous Nietzsche than the humanistic or democratic Nietzsche we commonly think of today, but also a Nietzsche who was deeply at odds with the Nietzsche imagined to be the forefather of Fascism. Gillespie’s essays examine Nietzsche’s final teaching—its components and its political, philosophical, and theological significance. The book concludes with a critical examination and a reflection on its meaning for us today.
Can Christians and churches be both catholic and Reformed? In this volume, two accomplished young theologians argue that to be Reformed means to go deeper into true catholicity rather than away from it. Their manifesto for a catholic and Reformed approach to dogmatics seeks theological renewal through retrieval of the rich resources of the historic Christian tradition. The book provides a survey of recent approaches toward theological retrieval and offers a renewed exploration of the doctrine of sola scriptura. It includes a substantive afterword by J. Todd Billings.
Michael Allen originally wrote this charming little book for his daughter. It was his way of showing her that he would always be in her life, despite the breakup the family was going through. It was a project that he was originally able to do with a few sheets of paper. He wrote the message complete with his own drawings and read it to her one day after picking her up from her mother's. Mikayla absolutely loved the little book her father had made for her and they read it together many times over the years. But, she has grown and the small time they spend apart isn't as lonely anymore. So, Michael returned to the book to make it available for everyone who has experienced being separated from their child for whatever reason. When You Miss Me is a great way for a parent to connect with their child during those lonely moments when you find yourselves apart. His heartwarming suggestions are the very ones that his daughter and he used. Both you and your child can learn how to magically turn those times you spend apart into times you spend together. There is a special gift Michael has included for everyone in the last pages of each book.
Western Rivermen, the first documented sociocultural history of its subject, is a fascinating book. Michael Allen explores the rigorous lives of professional boatmen who plied non-steam vessels—flatboats, keelboats, and rafts—on the Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers from 1763-1861. Allen first considers the mythical “half horse, half alligator” boatmen who were an integral part of the folklore of the time. Americans of the Jacksonian and pre-Civil War period perceived the rivermen as hard-drinking, straight-shooting adventurers on the frontier. Their notions were reinforced by romanticized portrayals of the boatmen in songs, paintings, newspaper humor, and literature. Allen contends that these mythical depictions of the boatmen were a reflection of the yearnings of an industrializing people for what they thought to be a simpler time. Allen demonstrates, however, that the actual lives of the rivermen little resembled their portrayals in popular culture. Drawing on more than eighty firsthand accounts—ranging from a short letter to a four-volume memoir—he provides a rounded view of the boatmen that reveals the lonely, dangerous nature of their profession. He also discusses the social and economic aspects of their lives, such as their cargoes, the river towns they visited, and the impact on their lives of the steamboat and advancing civilization. Allen’s comprehensive, highly informative study sheds new light on a group of men who played an important role in the development of the trans-Appalachian West and the ways in which their lives were transformed into one of the enduring themes of American folk culture.
This book explores a hitherto unexamined possibility of justifiable disobedience opened up by John Rawls’ Law of Peoples. This is the possibility of disobedience justified by appeal to standards of decency that are shared by peoples who do not otherwise share commitments to the same principles of justice, and whose societies are organized according to very different basic social institutions. Justified by appeal to shared decency standards, disobedience by diverse state and non-state actors indeed challenge injustices in the international system of states. The book considers three case studies: disobedience by the undocumented, disobedient challenges to global economic inequities, and the disobedient disclosure of government secrets. It proposes a substantial analytical redefinition of civil disobedience in a global perspective, identifying the creation of global solidarity relations as its goal. Michael Allen breaks new ground in our understanding of global justice. Traditional views, such as those of Rawls, see justice as a matter of recognizing the moral status of all free and equal person as citizens in a state. Allen argues that this fails to see things from the global perspective. From this perspective disobedience is not merely a matter of social cooperation. Rather, it is a matter of self determination that guarantees the invulnerability of different types of persons and peoples to domination. This makes the disobedience by the undocumented justified, based on the idea that all persons are moral equals, so that all sovereign peoples need to reject dominating forms of social organization for all persons, and not just their own citizens. In an age of mass movements of people, Allen gives us a strong reason to change our practices in treating the undocumented. James Bohman, St Louis University, Danforth Chair in the Humanities This monograph is an important contribution to our thinking on civil disobedience and practices of dissent in a globalized world. This is an era where non-violent social movements have had a significant role in challenging the abuse of power in contexts as diverse, yet interrelated as the Arab Spring protests and the Occupy protests. Moreover, while protests such as these speak to a local political horizon, they also have a global footprint, catalyzing a transnational dialogue about global justice, political strategy and cosmopolitan solidarity. Speaking directly to such complexities, Allen makes a compelling case for a global perspective regarding civil disobedience. Anyone interested in how the dynamics of non-violent protest have shaped and reshaped the landscape for democratic engagement in a globalized world will find this book rewarding and insightful. Vasuki Nesiah, New York University
This is the second volume of six in Michael Allen’s e-Learning Library—a comprehensive collection of proven techniques for creating e-learning applications that achieve targeted behavioral outcomes through meaningful, memorable, and motivational learning experiences. This book examines common instructional design practices with a critical eye and recommends substituting success rather than tradition as a guide. Drawing from theory, research, and experience in learning and behavioral change, the author provides a framework for addressing a broader range of learner needs and achieving superior performance outcomes.
This reader from Karl Barth's multi-volume Church Dogmatics offers an introduction to the whole work, key readings in reasonable portions with introductions and provides helpful hints at secondary material. An ideal textbook for all beginners studying the work of one of the most important theologians of the last century.
The ADDIE process is past its prime. It was developed long before Agile and other iterative processes that have introduced greater efficiencies in design and development, fostered more creativity, and addressed effective stakeholder involvement. Leaving ADDIE for SAM introduces two new concepts—SAM, the Successive Approximation Model, and the Savvy Start. Together, they incorporate contemporary design and development processes that simplify instructional design and development, yielding more energetic and effective learning experiences. This book is a must-read for all learning professionals who have a desire to let go of outdated methodologies and start creating better, faster training products today.
In this study, historian Michael Allen examines the image of the rodeo cowboy and the role this image has played in popular culture over in the 20th century. He sees rodeo as a significant American folk festival and the rodeo cowboy as the surviving avatar of a nearly vanished authentic figure - the real cowboy, who embodies the skills and values of traditional western rural culture.
With “terse prose,” this “fascinating” entry in the award-winning series pits psychiatrist Jack Caleb and cop John Thinnes against a serial arsonist (Library Journal). While jogging through Chicago’s Lincoln Park at dawn, Dr. Jack Caleb comes upon a scene of horror—a mob in white robes about to set a police car on fire with the officer inside. Caleb’s training as a medic in the Vietnam War kicks in and he rushes to rescue the man. One cop is saved, but later his female partner is found in another location, stoned to death. Homicide detective John Thinnes has a cop killer on his hands. But these two attacks are only the beginning in a series of arson fires and murders over the course of a long, hot, deadly summer. Evidence points toward cultists in the Church of Divine Conflagration—but then some of them also fall victim to the pyromaniac. When a physician friend of Caleb is implicated, the psychiatrist works with Thinnes to set a trap for the killer—but it’s one they might not escape unscorched themselves . . .
George has owned the bar for years, and it's mostly been the same old thing - serve the drinks, keep the locals happy, clean up the mess. Of particular note is the graffiti that some joker keeps leaving behind in the stall of the restroom. It doesn't seem like anything special, until George notices that one morning, it reads more like a murder confession than the random sex jokes and vulgar rhymes that he's used to.
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