Category: Faith
-
Stepping into the Mystery
Are you willing to step into the Mystery? “I don’t know” is a viable answer to any question if “not knowing” is the truth. Two years ago, when I listened to the “Voice” that called me into pastoral ministry saying that it was time to leave the pulpit and the building and go out into…
-
Once a Pastor, Always a Pastor?
Whenever I describe myself as a former pastor, almost always, someone says, “once a pastor, always a pastor.” To which I usually respond with shrugged shoulders, and say something to the effect of, “I don’t know.” I’ve been trying to figure out what that statement means to folks––“once a pastor, always a pastor.“ Is that…
-
Faith: Acting Like You’ll Live Forever, But Being Willing To Die Today
Faith Though I’ve spoken at lengthI haven’t said a wordAnd all this nothing that I’m sayingIs nothing but absurdI speak with liesSo that you might hear the truthI display for you illusionThat you might have proof Do you know that this life, as most of us engage it, is mostly illusion? Yes. In fact, most…
-
The Alpha and the Omega: Why Endings Are as Important as Beginnings
Endings matter because the final moments of a group’s togetherness can substantially influence the entire experience. The ending can modify the experience, make it better or worse, embed it deeply in memory or, absent a strong close, can dilute an experience into something that happened, but mattered little. Tim McNamara – https://sweetunrest.com/ending-well-treating-classes-like-gatherings-part-three/ One of the…
-
Don’t Lose the Vision When You’re in the Valley
Many times in my life, I’ve come to the top of a mountain, metaphorically speaking, only to realize that my journey is leading me to yet another mountain. For years, I’ve tried to articulate this path in a way that is both descriptive and prescriptive for those who may also find themselves on a precipice…
-
Ending Racism: How to Change the World in One Generation
The other morning I was feeling the weight of trying to articulate possibilities in the face of polarities. I prayed for some guidance on how to reimagine some of the conversations we’re having on race. Next thing you know, I get this email from my new friend Justin Michael Williams inviting me to preview an…
-
A Friend in Need
They say a friend in need is a friend indeedOr is it a friend in deedMeaning a friend is one who acts as oneWhen another friend’s in need Or maybe it’s the former oneWe’re friends when we’re in wantBut otherwise we give no others thoughtJust to make it blunt But perhaps it is more gray…
-
A Name and A Place for All
Recently, members of the Boulder County Together Colorado Lay and Faith Leader Caucuses came together with people all over the county came together to talk about housing justice–most particularly as it pertains to people living in mobile home communities. As a part of the program, my good friend, Rabbi Marc Soloway of Congregation Bonai Shalom…
-
Christ Is of Faith
One of the tensions of the Christian tradition is the “already, but not yet” element of the Gospel. How I understand this is that people who are seeking to follow Christ, are living in the faith that the work that he set out to do among us is already accomplished. And yet, in our daily…
-
Being With God
God is the ground of being, being-itself; who concerns us ultimately. Thus, God is our ultimate concern. — Paul Tillich I’ll be honest with you and say that on a weekly if not daily basis, I find myself wondering what good I am doing as a pastor. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what I do or the people with…
The Roofless Church 