Control is not always ugly. Sometimes it looks very beautiful. Sometimes it is even desirable. Sometimes it is very, very intoxicating. Let me explain: Sometimes control is obviously and upfront cruel. It is dominating, oppressive and overpowering. It is applied by a power-hungry tyrant who thinks he is stronger than you and will do everything in his power to make you submit and bow the knee to his rule. However, sometimes control is maintained by affection. I’ve seen this in... Read more
This poor child hasn’t got a lot of exposure to good role models of what he is told God is like. He’s taught and he’s shown. The shown is overwhelming the taught. Demonstration always trumps explanation. He’s met some nice believers. But his general impression isn’t very impressive. He’s beginning to learn, at a very young age, that we serve the ‘god’ we have in our own minds, and this is usually a projection of our own personalities, a complex... Read more
Today I received a letter from a young woman needing some advice. (She will remain anonymous, but you need to know I receive letters like this almost every day.) She had decided that she was no longer a believer but an agnostic. She’s getting a lot of resistance from her family and friends. Some of them are saying she is now going to Hell and needs to turn back around. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if... Read more
The world is full of megalomaniacs. I saw another one in operation this weekend. It freaks me out. They are in all walks of life, not just the church. These people find their way to the front of the group. They find their way onto the stage. They find their way into leadership positions. But that’s just the half of it. The other half is we give them our permission. They are there because we put them there. Like this... Read more
I wrote a post the other day that you might not have notice titled Some Dangers in Leaving the Church. You might want to check it out and share it with friends or family. Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate you all! Read more
Back by popular demand! This is one of my first Sophia drawings. I wanted to depict the courage of a young woman to stand up against the impossible and not back down. She feisty! She’s stubborn! She’s steadfast! She’s not moving until she gets what she wants and what she knows she needs. For your chance to win, all you have to do is: 1. leave a comment on this post. Anything… even just a “hi”. And you can be... Read more
Don’t let anyone rush your grief! You’ve left the church. That’s heavy! Grieve it. Feel it to the full. Go ahead and deny that it hurts. Then bawl your eyes out once in a while. Get angry. Get frustrated. Think about going back then change your mind again. Get depressed. That’s the best way to let it pass and finally find peace. Grieving is an important and necessary step after any kind of loss. You have to grieve when you... Read more
Hang a print of this cartoon in your study to remind ourselves to stay humble, to remember that our theology isn’t the thing it is attempting to describe, and that our ideas will always fall short of the Truth. This isn’t to say that we give up trying to describe. But let’s not think we’ve ever arrived. Have a great day! You can buy a print of this cartoon HERE. Read more
I found it very interesting when Thomas Merton, the famous Benedictine monk, applied to become a hermit and it was met with resistance for years. Merton felt the Abbot was resisting Merton’s request for personal reasons. That battle is quite a read! The resistance to Merton’s request wasn’t without merit. Even Merton knew the dangers of living out one’s spirituality in isolation. That’s what I’m up against. I no longer am a part of a local church community. Neither are... Read more
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