[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”ministry”]123rf.com[/featured-image] On June 12th (2016), I officially retired from the ministry after being a pastor since 1994. It’s still very new, this being a layman business. But I love it. In fact, I don’t miss the job one single bit. I do greatly miss the wonderful people in my former congregation at WildwindContinue reading “What I’ve Learned Since Leaving the Ministry”
Category Archives: GOD STUFF
“Christian” and “Counseling”
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”christian counseling”]123rf.com[/featured-image] I recently completed an interview for several of my graduate students about my perspectives on the integration of faith and counseling. I think my answer to one of the questions is something some of my readers might appreciate. Question: How do you distinguish between secular counseling, Christian counseling, pastoral counseling,Continue reading ““Christian” and “Counseling””
The God of Kim Davis
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”Kim Davis”]image from gawker media[/featured-image] We used Newtonian physics to formulate the laws of nature. For hundreds of years, that is all there was. Objects could not be in two places at the same time. What goes up must come down. We understood these laws as defining reality itself and believedContinue reading “The God of Kim Davis”
“The Sky Is Not Falling!”
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false”]image ©Disney Corporation, 2005[/featured-image] If the line that we see the world not as it is but as we are is true (and I’m convinced it is), there are a lot of dark, fearful, negative, cynical people in the world who look around them and see only despair, only things to fear,Continue reading ““The Sky Is Not Falling!””
Game-Changers
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false”]123rf.com[/featured-image] When I was younger, I had a lot of answers. Now I’m older, and I have a lot of questions. The few things I feel like I know, I know with more confidence than before. Here are things I know from experiences I have had that have radically changed my view of GodContinue reading “Game-Changers”
Nothing to Protect
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”nothing to protect — man under umbella”]123rf.com[/featured-image] One of the things I have learned is that I have nothing to protect. Everything in me I seek to protect and defend is false anyway. My ego, my sensitivities, my vanity, my guilt and regrets — none of it is going to last.Continue reading “Nothing to Protect”
Why I Need Your Grace
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”authenticity, vulnerability, and grace”]123rf.com[/featured-image] We all need grace. I try to extend mine to everyone at all times. Here are some reasons why I need yours. I’m a flawed person. I am a flawed pastor, flawed teacher, flawed therapist, flawed husband and father. As charming and charismatic as I have learnedContinue reading “Why I Need Your Grace”
The Purpose of this Blog
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”purpose of this blog”]123rf.com[/featured-image] Years ago I made a decision about my purpose on earth, and that has become the purpose of this blog. It is to guide and inspire those who willingly come seeking guidance from me, based on my life, experiences, and best understanding of both God and myContinue reading “The Purpose of this Blog”
On Suffering, Loss, and Being Okay
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”suffering”]123rf.com[/featured-image] I’m developing a capacity for suffering, for losing people I love, and yet I know deep down that I will be okay. In fact, I know it because of the suffering and loss. I know you’ll be okay too. I want to share with you how I’ve come to know this. AContinue reading “On Suffering, Loss, and Being Okay”
Evangelicals Support Torture — Isn’t That Weird?
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”supporting torture”]Dick Cheney, Torture Apologist in Chief[/featured-image] Isn’t it weird that evangelicals support torture? Apparently the majority of people in the U.S. are fine with it, including the majority of evangelical Christians. I wanted to put the word “Christians” in quotes, like I just did, but I know some of theseContinue reading “Evangelicals Support Torture — Isn’t That Weird?”
Temp Arbor 