Category: The Roofless Church
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I Work For Your Organization. And You Can’t Stop Me.
In Mandarin there is a phrase that goes, 水涨船高 (shuǐzhǎngchuángāo)–literally water rise boat high–which basically comes down to the often expressed wisdom that we hear in American economics, “a rising tide lifts all boats”. A lot of people attribute the saying to John F. Kennedy. But it turns out he got it from his speechwriter,…
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What is Worth Knowing?: From a Knowledge Economy to a Know Less Economy
The fact is that many of us get overwhelmed trying to keep up with all of the information that is thrown at us. It’s challenging to figure out what’s worth knowing. So, many of us just decide to limit our sources to those that challenge us the least. We then convince ourselves that our limited…
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Responsible Free Speech: Context, Content, and Why They Matter
Many Americans want to express their right to free speech. But, it seems that very few people want to be responsible for their right to free speech. There is a bit of wisdom that has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes something like this, “Better to remain silent and thought a fool than to…
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Dear Catalytic Convertor Thieves
I know that some people will either think I am either full of BS, naive, or just stupid. But, I submit to you–especially if you are on a spiritual path–to be a Catalytic Convertor when offered the opportunity. Take the junk that comes in and transmute it. (Like the Hawaiian concept of Hemolele) We are…
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Despite Reverence for Variety and Diversity…
In reflection, I wonder if what makes so many “well meaning” folks show up so hypocritically (myself included) is the unexamined discriminatory brain function that tells me, “Weeds are magnificent models of creation and I don’t want them in my yard.”
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What are In-Divide-You-Alls?
What are In-Divide-You-Alls? I have never met an individual. I’ve met people who live as if they’re individuals. And I’ve tried and failed to be one in an effort to understand a concept that fundamentally makes no sense to me. But I’ve come to see that it didn’t work because I just can’t feel my…
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Emotional Distraction: Why We Project Past Feelings on to Present Moments
Did you know that we, as individuals, families, communities, societies and cultures can be addicted to emotional states? Yes. We can be. And many of us are whether we are consciously aware of it or not. What’s more, we use each other for our fixes. And once we get the sensation that we’re looking for,…
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Fool Me Twice: Why We Believe the Liars That We Know Are Lying
In my experience, it is the one who most vehemently accuses someone of something that’s actually the one doing it—like cheating in a relationship or voter fraud. And also in my experience, the person being lied to is usually the least willing to accept the weight of the revelation. They say that it is because…
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Tools For Creating Greater Belonging Full Video
Belonging is an essential need for every person. And, creating greater belonging is the main ingredient for community thriving and healthy democracy. But what do we do when our ability to foster belonging reaches its limits? Or when we are frustrated with being excluded from the communities that profess to be welcoming? How do we…
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Working Ourselves to Death
On May 4th, a teenager, Arlana Miller died by suicide after posting a note on Instagram. I learned about it from a video of my cousin tearful and shaken asking people to check on one another, and most especially the strong people in out lives who we tend to forget about because we think that…
The Roofless Church 