Nothing is as difficult, or as necessary, as letting go. At this moment you are burdened by things from your past — damaging words, destructive arguments, hurtful parents and other role models, painful situations. These things build and build in your life, starting in childhood. You put them on the back burner so you canContinue reading “Letting Go”
Category Archives: GOD STUFF
The Church is Fundamentalist on Your Behalf
Peter Rollins says that the church, in its rituals and traditions and creeds, is already fundamentalist. You have to go deeper than that.
Does Right and Wrong Start with You or With God?
I’m going to say something a lot of people will be uncomfortable with, but it needs to be said for the only reason anything ever needs to be said — because it’s true. I’m speaking here to religious people, Christians in particular. You, not God, and not the Bible, are the standard of right andContinue reading “Does Right and Wrong Start with You or With God?”
The Frustrated Leader
Background I have been a leader in the church for almost eighteen years. When I was growing up in the church, the environment in most churches was one of considerable, and fairly extreme, legalism. It is so refreshing to see that beginning to change. I believe one of the main reasons it is changing isContinue reading “The Frustrated Leader”
Church — The Five Things I Dislike Most
Image courtesy of Richard Croft under this Creative Commons License In my last post, I covered the five things I like most about church. In this one I will take on some of the things I dislike most. To be honest this is going to be hard to keep to five. A lot of things frustrate meContinue reading “Church — The Five Things I Dislike Most”
Church — The Five Things I Like Most
Church people and everyone else aren’t as different as you might think. Both groups tend toward black and white thinking — that things are all good or all bad. In truth, everything is touched both with sacredness and profanity. We are shocked and mystified when we see profane acts and words proceeding from supposedly sacredContinue reading “Church — The Five Things I Like Most”
Thoughts on humility, inspired by Green Day
Image courtesy of Globovision on Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons. Green Day Thanks to Green Day for inspiring me to think about humility today. While working on Twitter I was listening to Green Day’s album 21st Century Breakdown. I’m not a huge fan of the band, but I did enjoy their previous album American Idiot, soContinue reading “Thoughts on humility, inspired by Green Day”
What I Believe (a.k.a. My Scary, Ultra-Liberal Ideas)
[This post was originally published on June 24, 2010. The content has been edited, updated, and expanded.] I write this coming off a hard week of Facebook exchanges with a conservative Christian. Good guy, from what I can tell, with a good heart. Just very conservative. So I now have this picture of myself asContinue reading “What I Believe (a.k.a. My Scary, Ultra-Liberal Ideas)”
Top book recommendations: Spiritual Formation
Photo by bsher on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License Top Books: Spiritual Formation And so we come to spiritual formation. I have delayed writing this post because I have been trying to figure out how to keep the number of books in this category from overwhelming you, my dear readers. You will no doubtContinue reading “Top book recommendations: Spiritual Formation”
I’m not okay, you’re not okay, and that’s okay
Image “Failure” from PixelPlacebo under Creative Commons License Nobody is okay Do you ever get sick of the fakeness of society how everybody walks around like everything is okay? I have never lived anywhere but in America, so I don’t know if what I observe and experience is unique to American culture, or Western culture, orContinue reading “I’m not okay, you’re not okay, and that’s okay”
Temp Arbor 