“So let’s get to the point, let’s roll another joint Let’s head on down the road There’s somewhere I gotta go And you don’t know how it feels No, you don’t know how it feels to be me”. – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Do we really know “how it feels” to be in someone else’s shoes? Can we really comprehend the magnitude of other people’s experiences? Hard to say, really.  I know for myself; it is not easy trying to... Read more

With the recent rise of progressive “Christianity” in the last few years, it’s no surprise that one of the prevailing themes is social justice. Many denominations have been caught up in the movement forever. But social justice is not the gospel, and saying that it is, is heresy. [1.] How about that quote? Makes you feel all good and warm inside, right (NOT)? So many things to discuss with the current slam-campaign against the current “social justice” Gospel issue. What... Read more

Jesus’ focus was on “hypocrisy” more than “heresy,” and it might just be an indication of how far we’ve strayed for us to give so much attention to “heresy” and not enough to “hypocrisy.”[1.] It seems from both sides of the Christian partisan isle, the heretic agenda is still prevalent within Christendom. When we proclaim the charge of heresy-which in the context of the Greek in the Christian scriptures, literally means: division-it’s hard to really find a unified common ground with... Read more

We Americans are easily impressed by all things big and successful. We find it almost impossible to gainsay that which has massive popular endorsement. So the assumption is that if a particular message can fill churches and arenas and propel books onto bestseller lists, then it must be a good thing. – Brian Zahnd Bigger, stronger and faster, it’s the only way to survive and thrive in the good old USA. It has become the mantra of modern-day capitalism. The... Read more

“When our institutions lack movement to propel them forward, the Spirit, I believe, simply moves around them, like a current flowing around a rock in a stream…without that soul work that teaches us to open our deepest selves to God and ground our souls in love, no movement will succeed and no institution will stand.”-Brian McLaren It looks like we have come to the undeniable crosswords between the institutional church and the movements that have shifted forward. Ever since Jesus... Read more

  “Non-Violence is one of the byproduct of “loving your enemies” {1} In the history of our American culture, the “Hero” motif has always captured our imaginations in the cinema world.  We love to see the good guys prevail and the bad guys lose.  It is just the dichotomy that we enjoy to see at the movies. Take for example the new film: Avengers: Endgame (amazing movie, I recommend it.) This is the ending to a twenty-two film and over a decade... Read more

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. {1} When it comes to the chaos in life, it’s hard to determine the best course of action. I mean, the “technology driven, non-stop on the go” culture we find ourselves in, who can blame us? It’s almost as if we arrived in a whole new terrain that only functions at warped speed. Where do we find the tools to assist us through the path that will lead us... Read more

Remember that judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are.{1} Psychologists are discovering that we humans are naturally wired to use judgement when it comes to our survival. Can we trust and respect another person when it comes to our well-being? This question is what triggers our instinct to judge another (and ourselves) so we can move into a safe space. But, when our judgement becomes all we focus on, the results are not healthy. Harvard psychologist Amy... Read more

Sitting on an angry chair Angry walls that steal the air Stomach hurts and I don’t care [1.] Anger is the emotion that always has some controversy through the religious and secular sphere. We can see throughout our current culture that it seems to be running a mock with no end in sight. What do we do with it? We have numerous amounts of data from the scientific and medical fields that are helping us to react to anger. Neurologists are... Read more

All around your island there’s a barricade That keeps out the danger that holds the pain You got a heart so big it could crush this town And I can’t hold out forever even walls fall down [1.] Do walls always work? I think we can all agree to an extent that most walls work and are needed for holding stable structures. But, do walls always need to be created? Some walls aren’t needed due to other present circumstances.  We know from psychological... Read more