A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle... Read more
Organizations and leaders, to keep up with the teams, sometimes incorporate the new hip language without actually changing. Leaders will try to teamwork approach for a while but will often resort to their old authoritative ways in order to get the job done their way in their time. Because teamwork can be slow, tedious and frustrating. It may produce results different than what the leader originally envisioned. Authentic teamwork takes a lot of sacrifice, usually from the leader. Read more
He sees the sparrow fall. Not very comforting for the sparrow. But that’s not the point. The point is that nothing is unimportant. Read more
I used to find silence disturbing. Now it is full of peace. (We’re taking our daughter Casile back to university today so I won’t be around until later. Peace!) Visit my store. Read more
And around and around it goes. Own the original cartoon drawing. Buy a print of this cartoon. Read more
There is a Zen saying: “At first, I saw mountains as mountains and rivers as rivers. Then, I saw mountains were not mountains and rivers were not rivers. Finally, I see mountains again as mountains, and rivers again as rivers.” Like the prolific theologian Aquinas said in his last days: “all that I have written seems like straw to me.” Our theological journey, when we fully invest, is not an easy one. Visit my new store! Read more
The problem with endeavoring to be an inclusive community is that there may be some who want to be a part of it who are exclusive. I found this to be one of my greatest challenges as a pastor. I continue to find this a challenge on this blog, nakedpastor. My take on the ministry of Jesus as told in the gospels is that his greatest adversaries were precisely the exclusivists. The exclusivists were those who had a very exact... Read more
Today Rachel Held Evans is kind to give away to one of my readers who wins the draw a free copy of her book Evolving in Monkey Town. Here’s a short description of her book: Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. Growing up in a culture obsessed with... Read more
I had this image come to me in a dream one night. It had the strangest affect on me. The boy Jesus was very calm and confident. Quietly content but also strangely sad. There was a strength in his demeanor. His eyes were gentle but determined at the same time. If you look closely, you can see that the image of the cross is already in view. It was as if he knew what awaited him, faced it with courage,... Read more
The point is that when someone says we are like family here, make sure you know what kind of family they mean. Remember the movie The Firm when Abby says to Mitch, “They told me the firm encourages you to have children!” She knew something was up. He refused to see it, enamored by everything else the firm was offering. Buy a print of this cartoon here Visit my new store! Read more
nakedpastor
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In