Where I live in the upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, we are experiencing a summer we thought would never come. It was a full month late, with the dependably warm weather not kicking in until July. It’s so funny because July and August are crammed full of fairs and outdoor festivals,… Continue reading
You may hate me after you read this. If you do, you won’t be alone. My hate mail file has suddenly gotten rather thick, after a recent post. For decades, I have endured the disdain of church members who felt their church was drifting out of their control under my… Continue reading
This post is a follow-up to “Preoccupied Pastor.” I’m not there yet, but I have mellowed out tremendously. I wonder why? Well, I couldn’t have been wound much tighter. Mostly, I mellowed out because I had no choice. Things happened, unexpected, unwanted things. Different kinds of people came into my… Continue reading
I am absent minded! I loose tract of my eyeglasses and my beverage everyday. When I get ready to go somewhere, I often return to the house from the garage to pick up something I should have taken with me. Behind the wheel, if I am in conversation, or deep… Continue reading
I love Kenosha. Sometimes I play a little mental game, dreaming about what I would do if I were King of Kenosha. I chose king as my imaginary title, instead of a more realistic one, like mayor, city administrator, community development director, or councilman. That way I don’t have to… Continue reading
I thought I had the cap on the jug of citronella oil, but, in fact, it was just setting on jug, and it was not twisted on. After putting some oil in a patio torch, I put it back on the shelf in the garage. Well, almost. It slipped out… Continue reading
Yeah! I can’t believe it either! It’s 85 degrees! It’s only hit 70 a couple of times so far this year, here close to that big drink of water, called Lake Michigan. Living here has made me cynical. Is spring (our weirdest and almost non-existent season) really here, or are… Continue reading
I want to be a good storyteller. It’s a big paradigm shift for me. Most of my life I have been a nonfiction reader. As a pastor, I wanted to learn how to be a better pastor, so that’s what I read about. As a writer a writer, I… Continue reading
It’s hard to remember, and it’s not just due to my age, or getting so lost in a thought that I forgot which route I took to get home. Our culture is not given to remembering. It’s more about what’s trending on Twitter at very this moment. So, this month’s… Continue reading
Within days, the sump pump quit, as did the furnace. The toilet overflowed. The car still won’t start, and the furnace went out again this morning when it was -9. There was also a big disappointment concerning a business opportunity, and a few other things happened that seemed to do… Continue reading
165 million Americans do not go to church. In the last ten years alone, 38 million people stopped going to church. 76% of the unchurched have attended church. They used to go, but stopped. They claim their faith, but avoid the institution. Continue reading
God become man. Entering the world in the most humble manner. Defying religious preconceptions. Shocking people with his radical way of loving them in spite of their shortcomings. Suffering constant misunderstanding and persecution. Finally, he was tortured to death. But that was not the end, because… Now, his death is our redemption.… Continue reading
Ah ha! Gotcha! You thought this article was going to reveal some deep, dark secret about me. It does. I have a confession. Hello, my name is Glenn, and I am addicted to writing. Oh, the weight that was just lifted from my shoulders. I have been preoccupied with other… Continue reading
Our culture’s way of celebrating Christmas is to cram as much in it as possible, while exhorting us to reflect on its deep meaning in relationship to faith and family. It’s like mixing oil and water, or Nat King Cole and Metallic. It’s impossible. “More” is the mantra of the… Continue reading
Boyd & Ava chillin’ in a chair I didn’t know if it would work. We had inherited two long-haired Chihuahuas. Due to no fault of their own, we were their fourth home. They are siblings, brother and sister. While they are off-the-charts cute, they are also needy, attention hogs, who… Continue reading
I talked to my Dad last Saturday on his eighty-eighth birthday, and he was surprising like his old self, chatty and congenial. What a relief. For so much of his recent years he has lived in a state of agitation. Contentment has been something he rarely experienced. Hence, much of… Continue reading
Yesterday, my Dad was kicked out of his nursing home due to bad behavior. Today, he is being transported to a Geriatric Psych Unit, a few miles from his home. His diagnosis: Vascular Dementia. Patty’s Mom had the same diagnosis. Mom’s was caused by a stroke induced by a common… Continue reading
It’s humid, sticky, sultry. It’s summer, the end of summer. For kids, the freedom of June has turned to into the boredom of August. They have resigned themselves to heading back to school. Parents are shelling out money hand-over-fist for clothes, school supplies, and hefty fees for every program imaginable.… Continue reading
Yeah, I was on the radio, talking about An Irreligious Faith. The radio show host, Drew Marshall is a fun and fascinating guy who asks great questions and runs a fast-paced show, interviewing all manner of authors, musicians, and celebs on “Canada’s most listened to spiritual talk show,” broadcast live to southern… Continue reading
You have some questions. You wonder about what it means to live life in the way of Jesus, but haven’t found what you’re looking for in the church. You have honest questions about the faith, but haven’t found them welcomed (or answered.) You are puzzled by the gap between the… Continue reading
Warning: This post involves time travel, which may affect the space-time continuum, thereby, altering the very course of human history forever. Great Scott! My monthly synchroblog assignment necessitated time travel to answer the question that holds the key to what I have been learning the last twenty years of my life.… Continue reading
Patty and I were vendors at the Kenosha Harbor Market last Saturday, which happened to also be our fortieth anniversary. The weekly market is an altogether lovely event in a beautiful location. There are over one hundred white 10×10 tents in a two block area and some side streets flanked by… Continue reading
Here is your assignment. Inspire people who are at a critical juncture in their life with fresh, memorable words from the heart, delivered before a group of several thousand preoccupied people, knowing what you have to say will be critically evaluated by each person present. You have twenty minutes, go!… Continue reading
I was in a funk, terribly bored by the Internet, television, and movies; despising the regular patterns of my life. The more I dreamed of something that would bring a glimmer of life to my soul, the more unattainable it seemed. Fear was holding me tightly, even though I hardly… Continue reading
A reprint of my column in the Kenosha (Wisconsin) News: I have a confession. Brace yourself. I live in Illinois. There, I said it. Please, don’t stop reading. Even though I’m from “south of the border,” it’s only by a block and a half. And that’s how I explain to… Continue reading
What have you got against religion? Religion has a lot of unintended consequences that are very unlike Jesus. It becomes about who is “in” and who is “out.” Therefore, it breeds pride among those who have the “right” doctrinal beliefs. It becomes a brand that you wear; protestant catholic, baptist,… Continue reading
Q: Why did you write An Irreligious Faith? GH: I kind of had to write it because these thoughts had been swirling around in my head for a few years. I had written things here and there that needed to be put together in a coherent fashion. After going through… Continue reading
We all need a personal resurrection. After all, there are a lot things trying to hold us down and keep us from being our best, truest, most unique self. This month’s broad synchroblog topic is simply New Life. (See the other posts on this topic listed at the end of… Continue reading
I just turned sixty a few days ago. My Dad is eighty-seven, my mom, eighty-five. It is a bitter sweet time in life. Sweet because my relationship with my parents is the best it has ever been. They need my help, and though, it can be challenging at times, I… Continue reading
Image by Nicholas Canup. Creative Commons This is not what I was going to write about today, but life can change things. Just a few minutes ago I was on the phone talking to a loved one (not an immediate family member) trying to arrange a way to help them… Continue reading
Image by dgthekneelo. Creative Commons This post is part of the December synchroblog and part of Christine Sine’s annual Advent synchroblog focused on the idea of “Coming Home” and how it relates to this season of advent leading up to Christmas. Links to the other writers’ contributions are listed at the end of… Continue reading
Image by Tim Samoff. Creative Commons. Christmastime is full of expectations. I am not referring to the expectation of a Messiah. I am referring to all of the pressure that we put upon ourselves. We want to have to have festive get-togethers with friends, memory-making family time, a Better Homes and… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchroblog in which the contributors tell their own faith story. The links to the stories of the other contributors are listed at the end of this post. How did you answer the Facebook profile question about your religious preference? I couldn’t think of any… Continue reading
It means so much to me when people take time to read the advance copy of An Irreligious Faith and jot down their thoughts. This review from Jeanne who describes herself as “just an ordinary person,” was so encouraging! “Glenn Hager describes so much of what I am, where I… Continue reading
I identify strongly with Glenn Hager, having been a pastor who left the ministry and the church. With a mixture of his own experiences, research and conclusions, Glenn weaves a compelling and convincing story that many who struggle with the church will resonate with. David Hayward, ‘nakedpastor’ blog and theLastingSupper.com. Continue reading
An Irreligious Faith is a warm and honest reflection of Glenn Hager’s journey from a young pastor committed to Jesus and the evangelical church to an older, wiser, compassionate, unemployed pastor who still hungers to follow Jesus. Hager invites us into his own passionate story of following Jesus as he discerns… Continue reading
In his book, An Irreligious Faith, Glenn Hager describes the process that moved him beyond the boundaries of the church as an institution and into uncharted territory. He gives voice to the frustrations of many Christians who want to focus on love and the example of Jesus rather than on… Continue reading
An Irreligious Life is a portrait of a pastor and his journey from church leader to churchless wanderer. Breaking out of the cage of religion, Glenn stumbled into new discoveries of how to follow Jesus and serve communities apart from churchified codes and rigid traditions. This is his manifesto of how… Continue reading
Glenn Hager’s spiritual journey takes readers through a desolate landscape of religious arrogance, divisiveness, and self-righteousness. It will be an all-too-familiar journey for many who have been alienated or abandoned by American Christianity. However, Hager’s destination is one of hope and healing. He knows that where Christianity has failed is… Continue reading
Here is another pre-release endorsement of An Irreligious Faith: How to Starve Religion and Feed Life. Using his own personal story as a foundation, Glenn Hager writes insightfully about this thing we call “church.” He shows that while some people may have left the church as an organization, they have… Continue reading
Here’s the first pre-release endorsement of An Irreligious Faith: How to Starve Religion and Feed Life. Try to Imagine this scene. It’s 12 Billion BC. The Father, Son and Spirit are having a beer, planning how Jesus will save the world when The Holy Spirit has an unusual revelation. “Hey… Continue reading
Traditional publishing is rapidly giving way to self-publishing, also known as, independent publishing. For the author, independent publishing means total ownership of the entire project, larger royalties, and lots of responsibility for his own success. Guy Kawasaki compares writing, publishing, and marketing a book to beginning a business. If you… Continue reading
Writing a book is hard. It takes a lot of time, discipline, and then there are the revisions. But that may be the easiest part. Candidly, it is the only part I have already done, but I am about to launch into the publishing and marketing phases for my book,… Continue reading
The sun is making my computer screen hard to see as I sit here at our patio table in the backyard. I feel good, especially good, since I had a run of several days last week when I didn’t feel well. I was not suffering from anything physical and, as… Continue reading
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. – Ernest Hemingway The best stuff comes from our soul. Only those who have been touched deeply can touch and move others deeply. Unfortunately, we hesitate to go there. We tend to guard that… Continue reading
I am a novice writer, learning by doing. I thought it would be fun and instructive to bring you along on my journey. So, here is what I have been learning. Much of this stuff I have read as advice and have tried to apply. Only write about things you… Continue reading
Over 80% of people think they should write a book, most don’t. I believe almost everybody has a story worth telling and insights worth sharing, but not everybody should write a book. Here are some reasons not to write a book: To make a lot of money. There isn’t much… Continue reading
Your blog is essentially your personal website and platform for your writing, so it needs to be appealing in three ways: visually, functionally, and content. Visual What your blog looks like is determined by two factors, your theme which sets the parameters for developing your site and your ability to… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchrobog in which we recount our favorite prank. The links to the other writer’s contributions are listed at the end of this post. After work, the kids and I met Patty at Giordano’s, a deep dish, Chicago-style pizza place in a neighboring suburb. Upon… Continue reading
