Kyle Oliver

"It was just three months in a decorated 19-year career, but three months the likes of which we may never see again."

Brewers fans of a certain age won't soon forget 2008.

Formation v. Education, Part 1 Does it really matter what we call it?

I’m curious how y’all feel about formation vs education. Has the change resonated with you?

Part 1 of my thoughts is in the newsletter today. (And I’m certainly NOT proposing we go back. The newsletter is called “A (Christian) Formation Playbook,” after all.)

formationplaybook.com/formation-v-...

Figurines placing building blocks

When I was just getting started in Christian formation, we were in the throes of the transition to *calling* it Christian formation. Roughly fifteen years later, I’m still puzzling over what we gained and what we lost.

Hit me up if you want more information. September 23–25. Gonna be great, the lineup is fantastic!

Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/faith-form...

I’ll be proposing an accessible framework for “talking about how we talk about” our pedagogy with the people we serve, and I’ll be bringing really fun and sturdy prompts for formative personal storytelling.

Crafted for those immersed in the work of faith formation—writing, designing, adapting curriculum and resources, and dreaming of what comes next—daily interactive plenaries and workshops will enable attendees to learn from scholars and practitioners, immediately reflecting on their learning.

The Faith Formation Creators Collective is a virtual mini-conference that brings together creative minds and faithful hearts to explore where pedagogy, theology, and imagination intersect.

A practice for noticing & resetting "One weird trick" that actually works

Anyway, the practice/example over on the newsletter this week is the most annoyingly transformative "one weird trick" of my spiritual journey. Maybe yours too?

formationplaybook.com/a-practice-f...

The funny thing is, sometimes there really IS one weird trick, you just have to be a consistent practitioner for a month or a year or a lifetime for the seed to fully flourish.

If you've been on the web in the last fifteen years, you've probably fallen prey at least once (I certainly have) to the "one weird trick" clickbait ploy.

Noticing (In)Attentive Moments Vacation Mode as a metaphor for the broader spiritual journey

Some reflection this week on attention, seen through the lens of Vacation Mode. 👇🏻 I close with thoughts on how faith leaders can support our people amid the Attention Crisis. More on that topic Wednesday.

formationplaybook.com/noticing-in-...

I’m grateful for the thoughtful ways many writers and researchers I follow are drawing our attention to … attention. It’s a personal wellness issue, a social fabric issue, a political persuasion issue, and—of course—a spirituality issue.

'Problem-posing' education makes room for the Spirit A fondly remembered example from my youth storytelling research

The day I tried to recruit participants for my dissertation pilot, I marched five counselors into the un-campy space of a formal conference room to hang out with a semi-stranger and make low-tech videos about themselves. 🤦🏼‍♂️

👇🏻 Here’s how we got back on track.

formationplaybook.com/problem-posi...

Important Learning Theories for Formation Leaders Bringing a (light-touch) faith lens to some of the most important ideas in learning

Which learning theories are especially important for Christian formation leaders to know? I've got thoughts

Even more important than the theories are prompts that help put their underlying mechanics into play. You'll prolly recognize a few.

formationplaybook.com/important-le...

'Pedagogy Moments' in action But you probably shouldn't call them 'Pedagogy Moments'—or anything at all

This week we’re talking about how we talk about our teaching/ forming.

My fav bit of advice is to have a little pedagogical pep talk ready for whatever activities you’ve had resistance to in the past. It’s better for motivation if you share it in advance.

formationplaybook.com/pedagogy-mom...

Teaching Transparently Key WHYs for sharing the HOWs of learning

I learned something important from my dissertation advisor: the best thing we can do to build buy-in from reluctant learners is tell them why & HOW we’re asking them to learn something.

We teachers & formation leaders are often lousy when it comes to HOW.

formationplaybook.com/teaching-tra...

There's nothing holy about writing discrimination into the law.

i think it is bad that high level public officials do not respect the offices they hold or the public they are supposed to serve

DURBIN: How can we give hope to people across the country who are suffering from so many diseases when our government is cutting back on that research?

RFK Jr: I do not know about any cuts to ALS research

D: I just read them to you!

R: I didn't know about them until you told me about them

🧵

Please use this link to leave a comment for the FDA asking them NOT to restrict access to the COVID-19 vaccination to people 65 and over and the immunocompromised. You have three days to get it done. And please share this link as well.
www.regulations.gov/document/FDA...

House Agriculture Committee approves $300 billion in nutrition spending cuts The bill will force states to take on more costs of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.

5/ And there are provisions making HUGE cuts to child nutrition programs. 30% cuts to food for kids. C'mon. That means Republicans are taking food away from 12.6 million people so billionaires can…..buy an extra yacht? www.politico.com/live-updates...

Opinion | A dangerous plan to ‘win’ the AI race is circulating Congress might release AI from state laws. Why put Americans at risk?

3/ The bill BANS states from regulating artificial intelligence - a present to the big AI companies that send $$ to Republicans.

So now no state consumer protections against AI stealing our jobs or corrupting our kids. What citizen is asking for that?? www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

HASSAN: What is habeas corpus?

NOEM: Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country

HASSAN: That's incorrect

🫠

this guy hates this country, its laws and its traditions

seems kind of weird that the vice president of the united states is openly supportive of german neo-nazis!

‘I expect that [LLMs] will become addictive in ways that make the previous decade’s debate over “screentime” look minor in comparison.’

@caseynewton.bsky.social on the dangers of chatbots learning to flatter us rather than be “honest” with us

* Whatever “honest” means in AI context

Rubio publicly criticizing an ally for cracking down on right-wing extremism. And Germany hitting back. We are in a new world

The End of Anticipation When it's an emergency, they let you do it. You can do anything.

Disaster preparedness disinvestment is both inflationary and authoritarian

substack.com/app-link/pos...