A refugee is, by definition, a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. So a spiritual refugee is someone who has a well-founded fear of being the subject of hostility or ill treatment because of... Read more
I claim that in Jesus there are no boundaries. There are no edges. There is no center. All in all. None included. None excluded. The differences and divisions, separations and segregations are all inspired, fabricated, endorsed and enforced by the human race. We are all already one. It is a present reality. Our task is to make it manifest. (This cartoon first appeared on Believe Out Loud.) Read more
When I pastored churches I spent a lot of time in hospitals visiting the sick. This happened so many times. It has also happened in my own life. In the face of this paradoxical mystery, easy answers sound as ridiculous as they are. Read more
There’s another option. Why not see them as just people? Now there’s a novel idea! Read more
This is very much in line with my popular cartoon last week God at Gunpoint. It reminds me of King Kong: people attempting to control something insanely wild. It also reminds me of something Annie Dillard wrote: Why do we people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? What kind of god can be tamed? Own the original drawing of this cartoon Or buy a print. Check out my books. Read more
The story of mother Mary is quite astounding. On the one hand she hears incredible promises that must fill her heart with hope for her son. On the other hand there is the bitter reality that seems to manifest just the opposite. I think, above all, she would have to have the quality we call resilience. Resilience is the ability to withstand or recover from difficult conditions. I think this is a quality we can train ourselves in. We can... Read more
God is not orthodox. In the scriptures, God doesn’t punish bad theology. It’s behavior that is the concern. Specifically, behavior towards others. Anyway, Happy Mother’s Day to all who will receive it! (I thought I would ramp up my prayers from the cell. My hilarious friend Mike Myers suggested I do this and told me how to do it with my iPhone. This could be a whole new level of fun.) Read more
I said to Lisa that I’ll have a better idea how I feel today tomorrow. It’s true. Part of it has to do with my personality. It takes me a while to get in touch with what I’m really feeling deep down inside. But there’s another reason too. When we experience some kind of trauma… especially abuse… a part of us… the abused part… freezes over. But when we intentionally begin the healing process, the ice starts to thaw. I’m... Read more
Drawing this one was a very emotional experience for me. She is me. Is she you? You can buy a print of this drawing here. Read more
Strange things happened when the church I used to pastor renounced vision. It used to be a church that thrived on vision. There was the annual seeking of vision from God, then articulating the vision and then the vision casting, along with banners and meetings and reminders. Vision was its blood. Then the church gradually let visionary thinking go. It was a tough transition, including a painful church split followed by slow leakage. But I felt, along with so many... Read more
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