A Year with C.S. Lewis was my go-to devotional for about a 5 year window. I just loved his witty takes, his everyday language, and his optimistic outlook. Once I decided to go to seminary and started reading heady theology, Lewis took a back seat. I tried to pick it up again a couple of years ago but it seemed too folksy and some of his logic seemed questionable. Lately I have been doing an experiment: taking material that I used to...
Read MoreA week in the woods is good for my soul. I look forward to my annual May camping trip and this year did not disappoint. This year had an extra interesting wrinkle. The Sunday before I left on the trip, I gave a short homily about email entitled, “too much of a good thing”. (It was the topic in our book series Sacred Everyday based Liturgy of the Ordinary). I also did something for the first time ever: I set an...
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You may be aware that sometimes people are unhappy or don’t like everything going on at church. A popular way of talking about conflict styles is to break them up into 3 categories: Flight Fright Fight I’m always surprised at the fairly even distribution of these 3 responses in any group. It makes sense why conflict is so difficult – because we respond to it in so many different ways. It is important that we handle...
Read MoreLast week our Sunday conversation centered around two questions: What is your favorite ‘special’ meal for big occasions? What is your most common meal in a month? I loved the enthusiasm of the answers and the passion around food. It plays such an important role in our life. I then asked if anyone’s favorite meal was ‘leftovers’. It was not. Leftovers are one of those things that get taken for granted....
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I don’t like losing my keys. Not because of the inconvenience, or being late, or turning over every leaf and cushion to find them. I don’t like losing my keys because of what it exposes in me. Normally I am a fairly competent, thoughtful, productive, spiritual, kind, and generally easy-going person. When I lose my keys, those attributes are in a danger of being exposed as a façade. I am afraid that all of those good things...
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Many of us have been sold a bad brand of Christianity. It has something faulty at its core and produces something very harmful in the end. The core problem is that your ‘spirit’ is the really important thing. Your mind is the next most important thing. In distant third is your body. At best, it is inconsequential to your spiritual journey. At worst, your body is harmful or dangerous and must be guarded against. So much of modern...
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Our topic this week in Sunday School might best be called “second faith” … The question is something like ‘what does faith look like after you outgrow your younger faith?‘ A lot of people are struggling right now with how to be a person of faith when they no longer believe what they used to. We are going to be engaging the ideas of a thinker named Paul Ricoeur who talks about ‘passing through...
Read MoreThe church is always changing. It adjusts and adapts to cultural shifts and needs. Change is often initiated when new technology meets evolving theology. I talked about it in Why Do Church This Way? [link] or listen to the podcast audio There are two interesting notes about these changes: 1) When new developments arise, the previous form does not go away, it continues on but without its former prominence or influence. Phyllis Tickle...
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Your body is not just a suitcase that carries your soul around. Your body is not an automated shell that your brain tells what to do like a computer inside a robot. Your body informs your experience and shapes your behavior. Much of what you think, or even believe, about the world is because of the interactions of your body. Here is the audio podcast of this sermon: (13 min) ...
Read MoreWeek 2 of ‘5 Favorite Ideas’ is The Cynic and The Fool. It is based on a book of that title by my friend Tad Delay. [link] If you can’t make it at 9am Sunday, watch this 10 min summary to get up to speed [youtube...
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