Grace is Hard

Grace is the most counter-intuitive, mysterious thing in the world. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Christians seem to be particularly confused and conflicted about grace. Yet, they sing about it, preach about it, and would fight other Christians who disagreed with them about it. They say grace refers to… Continue reading

Guilt-free Thoughts About Money

Giving money and possessions to others is a sign that our heart is in the right place. Paying our bills is good, too, and an important responsibility. When we are trying to sort out our finances, that’s the obvious place to start. Maybe, we can lower our bills. Also, good.… Continue reading

The Skinny on Tithing, Giving, and Offerings

Churches didn’t just come up with the offering idea, as a way to keep things going. The idea of religious donations has a long history. Tithing, or giving one tenth of your income is a very ancient practice, even predating the Mosaic Law. Abraham tithed to the mysterious King Melchizedek,… Continue reading

How Can You Be a Christian without the Church?

Back in the day, this question would have seemed absurd to me, but not anymore. Millions of people are indeed holding onto their faith without being a part of the church, more all the time. But what does it look like when we don’t outsource our spiritual expression to an… Continue reading

A More Normal Way of Being the Church

So, what does this “free range believer,” this “being the church, rather than going to church” look like? How can it have a relational aspect? You are free to focus on the people in your world by taking time to notice them, engaging with them whenever you can, loving them unconditionally,… Continue reading

Some People are Asses

PPerhaps, the best (and worst) thing about being a pastor was the people. Probably, everyone could say the same thing, not just pastors and church-going folks. But pastoring a small church is a relationally intensive endeavor. I loved so many of the friends I made in those years as a pastor,… Continue reading

The Man of God Myth

It is hard to find grace when it is desperately needed, like when a pastor or other spiritual leader is discovered to have been abusive toward those who looked up to him and depended upon him. How can you possibly pull together an appropriate balance of accountability and restoration in… Continue reading

Was Jesus Religious?

Here is my most recent column in The Kenosha News. Don’t talk about religion or politics. People tend to have strong opinions about these matters, and they really don’t want to re-examine what they believe. Their minds are made up. Today, I am ignoring that sage advice to write about… Continue reading

Nurture Your Soul

This is the end of the chapter in my new book (the one I am writing now) on nurturing your soul. Spiritual formation requires something of us. It requires discipline. In fact, ongoing practices that help nurture spiritual formation are called disciplines. They are things you do intentionally and repeatedly that… Continue reading

“All You Need is the Bible.” ???

That’s what the lady said, repeatedly. It was really more of a pronouncement, as she made her opinion known in a loud voice from about twelve feet away. Last Saturday at the Harbor Market amidst meaningful conversations with people interested in An Irreligious Faith, I had an interesting encounter. A lady… Continue reading

Where do you get all your faith?

    It was fun meeting people the Harbor Market and talking about An Irreligious Faith. I had conversations with an atheist, a Unitarian, a missionary, and a young man grappling with his faith, among others. Someone asked me, “Where do you get all your faith?” I was stumped. I certainly, don’t… Continue reading

“Life-changing!”

Spiritual formation not all relationally oriented. We are personally responsible for our own growth and nurture.  We have to take care of ourselves, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Nobody else can or will do that for us. It is our personal responsibility. If we don’t do it, we will not… Continue reading

 Helping People Be Who They Are

Conventional church leadership wisdom says, “Build the church.” That means to build the organization by increasing attendance, involvement, income, and influence. The discipleship process got morphed into teaching doctrines and trying to turn attendees into good church members, training newcomers to use their talents and gifts to sustain and expand… Continue reading

How Spiritual Formation Does Not Happen

  This post is a continuation of a previous article, “You need to Get Plugged In” It is  my response to the typical church, programmed-based approach to spiritual formation. It treats people like cattle to be herded through a process with the other cows. That ignores one of the basic characteristics of God.… Continue reading

Abusing Hell

God can be so troubling. I dig that Jesus loved those on the fringes of acceptability, but the part about sending unbelievers to Hell, offends my sensibilities. Using Hell Hell has been used as motivation to “get people saved.” Only, we can’t get anyone “saved.” That’s between the person and God,… Continue reading

The Lowest Common Denominator

Short Answer Ain’t gonna happen! That’s my initial response to this month’s synchroblog topic, healing divisions in the church. People like believing they are right. Then they can look down the other poor souls who don’t measure up, and feel very righteous about it. That sums up a big part… Continue reading

Balancing Dependence Upon God and Personal Responsibility

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is, perhaps, the best known passage on prayer. Rabbi’s had their own prayers that were embraced by their followers. This is Jesus’. Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as… Continue reading

The Prayer Principle

Virtually every religion practices prayer. Communicating with deity seems to be a nearly universal desire among humanity. Prayer can be worship, confession, thanksgiving, requests for ourselves or others, or most anything one would want to say to a deity.   Native Americans dance as a form of prayer. Hindus chant mantras.… Continue reading

Stupid Faith

Stupid is as stupid does. Thank you, Mrs. Gump for cutting through the crap with your profound wisdom. Let’s exegete the text. The emphasis is on the verb, “does.” Forrest’s Mom was reminding her mentally challenged son that his behavior was more important than his IQ. Therefore, below average intelligence… Continue reading

Spiritual Wal-Mart

Image by arellis49. Creative Commons A few years ago, I sat at the table in the local state employment center as the workforce development case worker explained how the Worker Investment Act (the stimulus) grants awarded to re-educate laid-off workers. I took note of who was there. It was mostly males… Continue reading

Opportunistic Worship

Image by SakuriRainne. Creative Commons. We should become opportunistic worshippers, recognizing God wherever we find him. If we approach life like that, he will surprise us with a touch of the divine in weird and unlikely places. I am a party worshipper. Yes, partying has been equated with binge drinking and… Continue reading

So, just what does God want from us?

 Image by Bunches and Bits {Karina}. Creative Commons Nothing. What could we possibly offer a God who loves us unconditionally and redeemed us sacrificially? Over and over, Jesus makes the issue one of faith, simply believing him and believing he is who he said he was. Our relationship with God is… Continue reading

When You are No Longer a Member of the Club

Image by epiclectic. Creative Commons. When I was doing Communitas Collective, I found a lot of people in their thirties and forties were pulling the plug and saying “enough,” as they walked away from the institutional church they had known for so long. Often they were blindsided by the sudden… Continue reading

What is Worship, Really?

Image by Josa Jr. Ceatice Commons. Worship has been associated with ancient rituals performed by ordained priests, and ecstatic singing, praying, and utterances to be enjoyed by anyone in the congregation. It the minds of most people it is confined to a time (10:30AM) and a place (your local church.) But… Continue reading

When You Leave the Institutional Church

Image by t0xicsunshyne. Creative Commons. De-toxing, de-constructing, re-constructing, healing, and sorting things out, takes time. So, be patient with the process. Be patient with yourself. I missed the extended family the church provided. I missed the sense of validation and destiny that caused me to feel I was doing something significant,… Continue reading

Worship: An Exercise in Superiority?

  Image by Jason Wohlford. Creative Commons. For many years, I approached my faith from a fundamentalist perspective which placed a lot of emphasis on being right. The downside to that perspective is the latent sense of arrogance and exclusivity that holds that everyone who believes a little differently is… Continue reading

When Worship Rocks

Image by Kelly. Creative Commons. When I would visit my black, Pentecostal pastor friend’s church, I would leave feeling like I had been put through an emotional ringer. It was draining, but cathartic. They had awesome, emotionally intense music, singing, playing, praying, dancing, and swaying. There were times of reflection and… Continue reading

Who Are You Trying to Influence?

 Image: marcia furman, Creative Commons Jesus could and did draw a crowd, until his teaching became more cryptic; then people started scratching their heads and staying home the next day. It was as though he deliberately thinned the crowd, sending away the religious moths that always flew to the brightest light. He… Continue reading

Keeping It Real… and Interesting

Photo by NYCArthur I wish I could spin a yarn like Garrison Keillor, but, alas, I am a concept guy, not a detail guy. Popular author, Donald Miller, recently tweeted, “A good story is more powerful than an army.” Keillor has been spinning his meandering yarns about Lake Wobegon for… Continue reading