Don’t find your passion—find your lover

Last updated on: May 31, 2011 at 4:27 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Graduation is in the air, and David Brooks’ excellent article about the wrong-headed speeches he’s heard this graduation season is a great jumping-off point for a very important conversation. Brooks makes the important observation that today’s generation is entering a world of unemployment and an unprecedented convergence of challenges on several fronts. But, as Brooks notes, “College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment... Read more

Don’t find your passion—find your lover

Last updated on: May 31, 2011 at 4:27 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Messiah complex and conventional wisdom: a marriage made in hell

Last updated on: May 28, 2011 at 3:31 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Two books found their way into my world this spring, and their convergence has helped me understand why so many pastors are suffering short tenures (3-5 year average) and physical problems, and the battle each of us in professional ministry must face. The books are The Time Bomb in the Church and Ignore Everybody. The former is about pastors who have heart attacks because they’re doing too much; the latter is about creativity, which is a big umbrella under which... Read more

The rest of the story—and a way to share it

Last updated on: May 26, 2011 at 10:04 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Yes. Of course. Westboro Baptist church is planning a protest for President Obama’s visit to Joplin, Mo., to inflict a little hate and misery, in Jesus’ name. That the rapture didn’t happen this past Saturday was in the news as much as if it had happened. And people are still debating whether Rob Bell is saved. This is the stuff that generates tweets, blogs, Facebook fodder, debates, ill-will, and the general opinion that people of faith are more interested in... Read more

California, meet Rwanda – and learn about justice, reconciliation, and prisons

Last updated on: May 24, 2011 at 1:05 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

In a culture characterized by high unemployment, isolation, mind-numbing addictive drugs, and ready access to weapons, it’s no surprise that prison populations are swelling. But our response to the inevitable overcrowding is, just possibly, a moment when we can take pause and learn from others. The lessons we’ll discover are important, not just for prisoners and governments, but for ever person who’s ever wronged another and looked for a way forward in the relationship. Interested in learning? Read on… The... Read more

California, meet Rwanda – and learn about justice, reconciliation, and prisons

Last updated on: May 24, 2011 at 1:05 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Science Camp…has just begun

Last updated on: May 21, 2011 at 1:42 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

Science camp is just getting started. Yes, the week on the island is over. The week of being thrown together with what appeared to the naked eye to be an utterly random gathering of 15 pastors (Baptist, Assembly of God, Reformed Church, United Church of Canada, Presbyterians, and a mutt like me) is over. The profound face to face conversations with this group, in class settings and while feasting on organic, lovingly prepared meals and fine wine, is over. Waking to... Read more

Permission to enjoy life: Granted

Last updated on: May 18, 2011 at 11:06 am By Richard Dahlstrom

“Come and have breakfast.” It’s a simple statement embedded in the story that billions believe has changed the trajectory of history forever – the resurrection of Jesus. The bit about breakfast might easily be lost on us because of the larger framework of the resurrection, and the restoration of Peter to faith after he’d failed Christ by denying him. But the meal and the wounds in Jesus side aren’t incidental décor; they’re telling us something vital about the nature of... Read more

Weekend: Lessons from backyard and bible

Last updated on: May 14, 2011 at 1:33 pm By Richard Dahlstrom

This past week has included what, on the surface, appear to be two radically divergent investments of my time. It included some passionate visioning conversations at the church I lead, and important reading in preparation for my upcoming week at conference addressing the intersection of science and faith. While on the surface, they appear to be two wildly different worlds, they came together this morning in my quiet moments in the backyard. Everything’s becoming new these days in the... Read more

Quiet…an endangered species

Last updated on: May 13, 2011 at 7:49 am By Richard Dahlstrom

I don’t eat margarine anymore because somewhere along the way chemists (who invented the stuff in the first place) discovered that the hydrogenated oils in it are horrible for your body. I try to ride my bike to work more than my car because we’ve also learned that the big behemoth of a convenience that we call an automobile contributes to a form of atrophy. First the car, then the elevator–who needs legs? Turns out my pump called a heart... Read more