understanding
-
what comes after?
It’s easy to believe in God, in heaven; even in hell, if you’re speaking of hell on earth. All of us have experienced both heaven and hell in this life. We’ve seen evidence of their reality here and now. But are they actual places and states of existence in the next life, the afterlife? I Continue reading
afterlife, asking, authenticity, bible, change, Christianity, church, compassion, deconstruction, empathy, eternity, evangelicalism, experience, Faith, God, Grace, growth, heaven, honesty, hope, immortality, Jesus, knowledge, learning, listening, love, openness, personal, prayer, reflections, religion, scripture, Searching, seeking, spirit, spirituality, story, Theology, Trust, truth, understanding -
the bible
Is it our salvation, a love letter, a rulebook, a guide, an instruction manual, a weapon, or just stories made up long ago? Is it true, inspired, outdated, or myth? Is it directly from or dictated by God, or only some of it, or none of it. Does it point to God, or do only Continue reading
asking, authenticity, bible, change, Christianity, church, compassion, deconstruction, empathy, evangelicalism, experience, Faith, God, Grace, growth, honesty, hope, Jesus, knowledge, learning, listening, love, openness, personal, prayer, reflections, religion, scripture, Searching, seeking, spirit, spirituality, story, Trust, truth, understanding -
prayer
Heads bowed. Eyes closed. Hands folded. Who taught us to pray this way? Would God have us pray in a spirit of formality. Or would he rather we lift our heads, open our eyes, and stretch out our hands to the mystery that reaches us. I think of the Michelangelo painting on the ceiling of Continue reading
asking, authenticity, change, Christianity, church, compassion, deconstruction, empathy, evangelicalism, experience, Faith, God, Grace, growth, honesty, hope, Jesus, knowledge, learning, listening, love, openness, personal, prayer, reflections, religion, Searching, seeking, spirit, spirituality, story, Trust, truth, understanding -
my (short) story
Now, a little about me. I think back. What led me here? There’s childhood. A well behaved pastor’s kid though my father wasn’t a pastor but something more—a praying carpenter, a spiritual giant, a minister in his own unique way. I was like him, until l wasn’t. I wanted to be like him, until I Continue reading
asking, authenticity, change, Christianity, church, compassion, empathy, evangelicalism, experience, Faith, God, Grace, growth, honesty, hope, Jesus, knowledge, learning, listening, love, openness, personal, reflections, religion, Searching, seeking, spirit, spirituality, story, Trust, truth, understanding -
anthropology as a guide to faith
In my spiritual background there was little room for creativity, understanding, or messaging outside of a straight and narrow understanding of faith. Christian worldview embodies a clear message, points us to God, is based in the Bible, is mostly black and white, and contains the “truth” of our beliefs, actions, and ways of being in Continue reading
-
experiencing the other
I’m going to begin touching on topics (or beliefs or doctrines) I have personally wrestled with, or am still wrestling through. This is not a theological examination; I am not a trained theologian or pastor or biblical scholar. Nor are solutions and answers presented. My aim is to stir questions, propel reflection, and honor experience. Continue reading
-
context
The indecision of childhood remembered. Do I create myself or am I created? Am I made in the image of what I desire or am I formed from the pieces of past and context and circumstance, family history religion. Environment. Culture. The myth of the self made wo/man for no one makes themselves only we Continue reading
a kingdom built of seeds 