Category: Spirituality
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My “comfortable environment of familiarity”…
Like most people, I suspect, I live within a “comfortable environment of familiarity.”
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I’m still learning
My spirituality, calling and employment have always been inseparable. Who is God when I’m not the pastor in the pulpit? I don’t know if know, because it’s all I’ve ever known. It’s time to find out!
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And so it begins…
Today (April 6, 2026), I begin a three-month(ish) “Renewal Leave” from full-time United Methodist ministry.
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“Holy Curiosity” – Part 5 of 5 (Finally!), of Developing an “Opposable” Theology
Even the most absolute, clearest of truths can be understood in deeper, richer, more complex and applicable ways.
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“Thinking like a Mystic” – Part 4 of 5, of Developing an “Opposable” Theology
The mystics demonstrate a path that begins and ends with seeking God – God, not information about God – and accept the complexities, paradoxes, and inscrutable qualities of God merely as a mystery worthy of continuing pursuit.
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Developing an “Opposable” Theology: Part 3 of 5 “The Power of Paradox”
The God of Scripture is not manageable, controllable or predictable. Understanding biblical paradox requires holy imagination, comfort with mystery, and a willingness to accept the infinitude of God. God refuses to fit into our boxes. God can’t be quantified or categorized. God is too big for that. God is too…
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Developing an “Opposable” Theology: Part 1 of 5
What if, rather than taking sides, theologically, claiming which belief or doctrine is right, or Truth, while declaring everything else false, or even heretical, what if deeper theological comprehension results from the “dynamic tension” of holding and pressing two or more theological concepts in prolonged tension?
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Adding, Subtracting, Replacing, or Integrating?
Learning – via reading, watching instructional videos, taking a class, attending a lecture, by trial and error – is more than simply adding information to what you already know. Ideally, what you already know is improved, deepened, corrected, or enhanced by new, nuanced information or inspiration. We aren’t merely data…
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What (or Who) is Normal?
There’s not another you, or me, in the entire world. We have different DNA. We have different finger prints. We have different personalities, dispositions, temperaments, capabilities, tastes, struggles and varying strengths and weaknesses. We certainly have different life experiences. There’s never been another you or me in the history of…
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How’s the water?
We exist in God, and God in us. God is as close as the air we breath. Every step we take is on holy ground, as every step we take is with God. God is everywhere we go, and there’s nowhere God isn’t.
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