One of my congregation members told me that he doesn’t have a clear mental picture of the Holy Spirit. He has no problem envisioning Jesus. He thinks of all the stories of Jesus laughing, Jesus eating and drinking, Jesus doing miracles, and Jesus spending time with people. But he doesn’t have much to go on … Continue reading The Holy Spirit: The Introvert of the Trinity
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Who have you asked into your heart?
“Have you asked Jesus into your heart as your personal savior?” Growing up in the Bible Belt, I often heard the question. A question asked by well-meaning people, earnest people. For certain, that question played its part in many a spiritual wakening.But is it the right question? Are we even offered a question? Are not … Continue reading Who have you asked into your heart?
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 4)
And now we come to brokenness. Perhaps it is audacious for Nouwen to assert that brokenness is a part of being beloved, but it is so. Why this is the case, I don’t know. Yet it is true. Innocence is shattered by experience. At some point, we discover the darkness within us for what it is, and we … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 4)
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 3)
What is it to be blessed?Henri Nouwen talks about it as being more than praise or appreciation. He describes blessing as saying “yes” to the Belovedness in the other.“…to give a blessing creates the reality of which it speaks…. A blessing touches the original goodness of the other and calls forth his or her Belovedness.”Now … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 3)
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 2)
“I choose you" Makes you feel kind of special, right? This is the first movement of Nouwen’s explanation of the spiritual life: our chosen-ness. “When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one …,” Nouwen writes. In other words, God sees the fullness of our distinctiveness (for He shaped … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (part 2)
Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (pt 1)
Why bother with spiritual things?Henri Nouwen wrote Life of the Beloved to answer that question. He had developed a close friendship with a sophisticated, non-religious urbanite. This friend, Fred, was a part of an intellectual society that had lost all resonance with the forms of religion. Yet Fred saw in Nouwen a deep rootedness, a … Continue reading Explore the Spiritual Classics: Life of the Beloved (pt 1)
People Are Not Projects
“He’s not there yet, but I’m working on him.”Ever heard something like that? Tell the truth – have you ever said something like that? In our task-dominated, project managed world, have you ever treated another person as a problem to be solved, a to-do to be checked off, or a project to be completed? Worse that that … Continue reading People Are Not Projects
Romantic Realism: A Meditation of Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
The famous “To everything there is a season” passage of Ecclesiastes teaches us how to die, and it teaches us how to live. This next passage that follows pushes to apply those teaching when confronted with the harsh realities of life.“Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was … Continue reading Romantic Realism: A Meditation of Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
4 Steps To Become A Curator Of Inspiration
Curator of Inspiration: It’s not a job title – it’s a role. It’s something you do, regardless of your official position in the organization. I’ve written earlier about the Pastor as a Curator of Inspiration; this is just one of many hats a pastor gets to wear. However, it’s a fun hat, and it’s a … Continue reading 4 Steps To Become A Curator Of Inspiration
One Church, Many Tribes. It’s Not a New Problem.
We used to think that generational difference determined church participation – “Builders” like traditional forms of church, “Boomer” like seeker-sensitive churches, “Gen X” likes a harder, edgier church. Therefore, when we talk about the Age of Design, that’s just church for Millennials, right? Not exactly. Certainly the cultural zeitgeist shapes the generation coming of age … Continue reading One Church, Many Tribes. It’s Not a New Problem.
Horizons of the Possible 