The Dude Abides
7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2012 Mariners Church, the Upper Room 5001 Newport Coast Dr. Irvine California 92603-0164 949.769.8100 For more information (it's only $5, cuz I'm a cheap date, apparently) please click HERE. Read more
7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2012 Mariners Church, the Upper Room 5001 Newport Coast Dr. Irvine California 92603-0164 949.769.8100 For more information (it's only $5, cuz I'm a cheap date, apparently) please click HERE. Read more
When Sojourners CEO Jim Wallis departed on his three-month sabbatical at the beginning of January, I sent him a list of books, films and music that I thought would nourish his mind and spirit in, perhaps, different ways than the media he normally consumes do. Jim’s sabbatical — a true Sabbath in the literal sense — is designed to be a time of rest and, more importantly, rejuvenation. It will also be a creative time when he will be working... Read more
Desert sky Dream beneath the desert sky The rivers run, but soon run dry We need new dreams tonight ~ from “In God’s Country” by U2 On March 9, 1987, U2 released The Joshua Tree, its fifth studio album and one that would catapult the Irish rock quartet from popularity to international superstardom. Twenty-five years later, today The Joshua Tree is one of the most bestselling albums in history — with more than 25 million copies sold — and is... Read more
Early this year I visited the Episcopal parish outside Chicago where my family and I used to worship before we moved to California a few years ago. About a dozen 12-to-14-year-olds gathered in a classroom used for daycare during the rest of the week. They pulled out cushions and gathered in a circle on the floor, falling over each other like puppies and talking nonstop. The lead teacher began with prayer and then asked the kids to share about the... Read more
“We are surrounded by a way of life in which betterment is understood as expansion, as acquisition as fame. Everyone wants to get more – to be on top – no matter what it is the top of that’s admired. There’s nothing recent about the temptation. It’s the oldest sin in the book. The one that got Adam tossed out of the garden and Lucifer tossed out of heaven. What is new about it is the general admiration and approval... Read more
Eugene Peterson has written more than 30 books on theology and the life of faith in his 80 years, but he is perhaps best known for the one book he didn’t write: The Bible. Peterson’s “para-translation” of the Bible, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, was published over a span of nine years, from 1993 to 2002. And even a decade after its completion, critics still are debating the merits and missteps of his translation of Holy Writ into... Read more
NEW YORK CITY — Today and Wednesday, I have the privilege of attending a private gathering here in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan with Eugene Peterson, the 80-year-old theologian and prolific author best known for his para-translation of the Bible, The Message. The two-day event, Q Practices, is part-retreat, part-seminar on the theme of how we might cultivate our inner lives in an age of epic distractions. I’ll be reporting more fully later, but wanted to share with you a... Read more
Thank you to all the wonderful women who attended my “Gracespotting” workshops in Richmond yesterday. Below is the word collage we made together via wordle.net in the 11 a.m. session. Technical difficulties kept me from showing it to you on Saturday or posting it until now, but here it is! Beautiful! Read more
Over the weekend, I spent a few delicious hours watching episodes of the BBC’s The Vicar of Dibley, including the Christmas special from several years back where Geraldine** (Dawn French), the eponymous vicar, receives two surprise gifts from her parishioners in honor of her 10-year-anniversary at shepherd of St. Barnabas. 1) A chocolate fountain and 2) a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Overcome by the thoughtful gesture from her congregation — and her all-consuming ardor for chocolate — Gerry... Read more
A few minutes ago, I received an email from one of the pastors at the church where I worship here in California. It’s his weekly note of encouragement for the congregation and it’s always something I take a few minutes to read, no matter how busy my day might be. Today, I’m even more grateful than usual that I took a few moments to stop and read. Our pastor is the dearest man — he wears his heart on his... Read more
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