Author Archives

redemptive entrepreneur, leader in church property & finance, cultural philosopher

• In Praise of Bad Driving: Kant’s metaphysics of freedom celebrated by Kerouac’s On The Road

  By Joel Plotnek on October 29, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Do accidents just happen? Or do we encourage bad driving by designing cars where we do less of the driving? Have we hard wired a consumer ethic into our automated technologies of distraction in our quest for freedom? 9 minutes read

• The Post Covid Church. Part III – The crisis in church leadership

  By Joel Plotnek on October 22, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  Church authority has devolved from the Pope in Rome to the Protestant clergy industry. The increased fragmentation of denominations in a post Covid church will precipitate a further crisis in church leadership and denominational authority. How might church leadership change and adapt in the post Covid church?

• The Post Covid Church. Part II – Bursting the old wineskins of denominational structures

  By Joel Plotnek on October 15, 2021 • ( 4 )

  

  It’s not just churches that are dying. Covid will hit church denominations as we emerge into a new post Covid world. Increased volatility will disrupt denominational structures throwing up new challenges for church leaders.

• The Post Covid Church. Part I – Two emerging trends that will accelerate church disruption

  By Joel Plotnek on October 8, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  The number one question for many of us in church leadership this last year has been, what will church look like coming out of Covid lockdown into a new kind of normal?  Will we recover and get back to a… Read More ›

• Our Sabbath Work: Why we forgot how to rest

  By Joel Plotnek on October 1, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  Working from home in Covid lockdown has seen an increase in work productivity. We seem to be caught up in an endless cycle of work without reprieve. It seems harder than ever to rest when you can’t even take a holiday away in lockdown! Have we forgotten the meaning of Sabbath? 6 minute read

• The Divided Church:  Overcoming the politics of fear

  By Joel Plotnek on September 24, 2021 • ( 4 )

  

  Welcome to Melbourne.  The most locked down city in the world.  Us Aussies are a compliant lot, but a year and a half of six lock downs are taking their toll on the easy going ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude…. Read More ›

• Ground Zero 20 Years On: 9/11 and the return of the king

  By Joel Plotnek on September 17, 2021 • ( 5 )

  

  Where were you when you heard the news on September 11? And where are we 20 years later? We have seen the rise of the politics of tribes and rights. And the demand of the people for the return of the king. But which king will save us now? 9 minute read.

• The End Of Apocalypse: The Matrix, Žižek, and Life After God

  By Joel Plotnek on September 10, 2021 • ( 7 )

  

  The Matrix has been analysed to death but life in COVID lock down is a good time to re-visit this cyberpunk, sci-fi retelling of apocalypse and ask the question – is there still hope? 10 minute read

• When Is A Chair Not A Chair? And when can we real-ly know the truth about COVID-19?

  By Joel Plotnek on September 3, 2021 • ( 9 )

  

  Nothing is what it seems. A chair is not just a prop nor is a bug just a virus. How do we know what’s real from fake? A fun intro to metaphysics that won’t hurt your brain. 8 minute read.

• Anxiety As Symptom: On moral failure and why zebras are losing their stripes

  By Joel Plotnek on August 27, 2021 • ( 3 )

  

  With everything going on in the world right now there is a lot to worry about – COVID, Afghanistan, climate change. Should we keep worrying or is it possible to save the world and stop zebras from losing their stripes? 10 minute read.