I had a meeting with one of our elders this morning over coffee. We were talking about the perplexing dilemma our church community presents. Well, let me just quote what she said: We want to do church in a way that is self-sustaining but doesn’t require us to pressure people to keep it going. The church is to serve people. We don’t want it so that the people are serving the system. What necessitated this kind of discussion is the... Read more
I just thought I’d submit this older cartoon as an entry into this week’s Illustration Friday competition for “Unbalanced”. I’ll post another cartoon later. Read more
There once was a man who, like his brothers and sisters, obeyed and worshiped, attended and submitted, believed and confessed as a part of Christianity and the Church, and all seemed to be well. But as he grew older, his darkness and suffering increased to the point where he realized that he urgently needed to discover the unifying Reality concealed behind all images, all philosophies, all religions, all theologies, all spiritualities, all institutions and organizations. He had to find the... Read more
This morning’s cartoon, The Fruitbowl’s Empty, intends to say that belief does not produce fruit. It seems to me that it matters not what people believe, but what they love and what they hate, that produces fruit. People can believe anything, even the most ridiculous, and do good. People can believe anything, even the most orthodox, and do evil. I know so many people who leave the church, not because of what is believed, but because of the pettiness and... Read more
Here’s my journal entry from today: So many people, including my wife and daughter, say I’m not myself these days. I do feel very very different. They say I seem sad. I’m not sure it’s sad, I said to Lisa. Maybe I’m just starting to believe I am since so many people suggest it. She suggested that I think of all the things I’ve lost in the past several months. Maybe it’s grief. Right now I’m down on the river... Read more
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