He told them a story. Then he told them another one. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,” he said. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast kneaded into dough.” Jesus told them stories meant to help their souls awaken to the life to which he came to invite them. He told them stories that held up a mirror that allowed them an unfiltered look at who some of them really were, instead of who they pretended to... Read more
The last thing a busy mom needs is another thing to do. But what if adding a wee slice of spiritual self-care to your day becomes the kind of “one more thing” that can help you begin taking other, less important things off of your plate? My sage friend Jennifer Grant has written a daybook of 365 brief meditations called Wholehearted Living: Five Minute Reflections For Modern Moms (Loyola Press, 2014) that is designed to help you think beyond the daily urgent... Read more
Regular readers of this blog know that my family and I have experienced a number of nightmarish church experiences over the last three and a half decades. Not too long ago, someone asked me why I didn’t just exit the Church at one particularly miserable juncture twenty or so years ago and just keep walking. My short answer came from Simon Peter’s words to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)... Read more
One of my favorite podcasts is Phil Vischer’s rollicking foray into pop culture and the state of affairs in the Evangelical church. Regular cohosts actress Christian Taylor and pastor/author Skye Jethani are joined (and sometimes replaced) by a variety of interesting guests. This week’s guest, Dr. Gary Burge, tackled the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which can be summed up in the question, “Whose land is it anyway?”. I was tempted to skip this week’s podcast, as I am familiar with Burge’s point of view.... Read more
This quarter at Northern Seminary, I took a class for which I had low enthusiasm before I walked in the door back in September. In fact, the words “low enthusiasm” might be overstating it a bit. If it hadn’t been required to complete my degree, I would have probably found a way to avoid taking this course altogether. However, you can’t opt out of core theology courses when you are enrolled in seminary. I’m not anti-theology. I noted in my first... Read more
The conversation around the relationship between those at midlife and the local church clicked into a higher gear last week with these two blog posts: At Thom Schultz’s Holy Soup: The Rise Of The Dones. “After sitting through countless sermons and Bible studies, they feel they’ve heard it all…The Dones are fatigued with the Sunday routine of plop, pray and pay. They want to play. They want to participate. But they feel spurned at every turn. Will the Dones return? Not... Read more
“How are you doing?” There’s a lot of different ways in which those words can be voiced ranging from a casual aside with no desire for an answer to the way the pastor of the church we’d attended for a year and a half asked it of me. It sounded as though he really wanted to know because he really cared about the state of my soul. I hesitated for a moment. Could I trust him? I’d worked hard with... Read more
In military terms, a retreat is the decision for an army to withdraw because they’re losing a battle. In Evangelical church circles, a retreat is a weekend packed to the rafters with activity, teaching and relationship-building. Jesus often retreated from the go-go-go of his ministry to seek his Father in solitude. Solitude was the life-giving marrow of his ministry as the Spirit shaping his communion with the Father. His withdrawl into retreat was an advance for him. Solitude was not... Read more
“For a long time, I thought my children were a distraction from the work God was doing in my life and in the world around me. I am starting to realize they are the work God is doing in my life. They are the invitation to give, to receive, to be humbled, to grow. They are the vehicles of grace.” – Amy Julia Becker A few years ago, my friend Amy Julia Becker wrote a frank and shimmering memoir of... Read more
If you attended a church service this weekend, you may have been sitting in a roomful of suitcases. There’s no way to tell what percentage of people in a given congregation are schlepping baggage from a previous negative church experience, but I suspect the numbers would startle even veteran church leaders. Bad baggage is often eagerly recycled by leaders. This may serve the needs of the organization. It may even be called good pastoral care by some leaders, who rationalize... Read more
Pilgrim's Road Trip
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