This has been one of those interesting days where one theme keeps recurring no matter where I turn. A gentleman stopped me this evening to tell me how displeased he is with my blog — that he has, in the past, found value in my writing, but that my blog […]
What is our problem? How have we developed such a narrow-minded faith that we cannot interact with people who believe differently with any kind of tact, grace or kindness? Why can we not “offer an invitation” to know our God without turning it into a defiant line in the sand? […]
An adequate life, like Spinoza’s definition of an adequate idea, might be described as a life which has grasped intuitively the whole nature of things, and has seen and felt and refocused itself to this whole. An inadequate life is one that lacks this adjustment to the whole nature of […]
Sometimes it takes a crisis. Sometimes it takes a terrible tragedy to remind us what’s important. In a week of unremitting sadness for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, it has been oddly refreshing to turn to United Methodist information sources and not read about our institutional plight, but […]
It never fails that when I am looking for something in particular, I manage to find something else I was looking for months ago. Such is the case with interview notes I took in Colorado, Iowa, and Connecticut with 20-60 year old spiritual seekers. These notes have been the missing […]
Are there prophets in the church today? Are there any willing to speak the truth regardless of the consequences? Anyone willing to point out the unconscionable amount of money and time we waste in meetings and conferences? Anyone willing to point out that our own systems and structures are as unfair […]
My heart is breaking. I haven’t been back to Haiti in more than 20 years, but a big piece of my heart is there. The trips I made to Haiti were life-shaping and values-reshaping. I learned more about being a member of a global community working in Haiti than I […]
A large number of United Methodist congregations are struggling — with money, with members, with commitment, with leadership, with a host of problems large and small. Many of these churches aren’t doing anything wrong to cause these problems — in fact, they aren’t doing anything much at all. And that’s […]
Over a decade ago, Evelyn Burry and I did a study of the issues that District Superintendents most hated dealing with. In the broadest category, DSs hate having to deal with people — but that’s not fair, because the thing they like most about their jobs is people as well. […]
There are two deadly types of leaders in today’s congregations: ascribes — those who ascribe negative intentions to other people’s actions — and pharetics — legalistic types who go out of their way to misconstrue and manipulate information to make others look bad. Two quick illustrations: A young pastor left […]
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