ruminations, fulminations, and cogitations on the spiritual life
Imagine this scene: a group of twenty or so United Methodist leaders are gathered in a circle for the opening prayer of a weekend training in spiritual formation. The leader begins with asking each member of the group to center her thoughts on God “as you understand God…” This seemingly innocuous qualification opens the door [...]
Those darn Texans! I arrived home yesterday evening to find my copy of the latest United Methodist Reporter and read of the Texas Annual Conference’s consideration to discourage ordination by potential clergy candidates over the age of 45. As you might imagine, this proposal has struck a nerve. I may be weighing in too late, but, [...]
College campuses have become zones of utter moral ignorance. Not “immorality,” but ignorance. (Moral ignorance is not the same as intellectual ignorance. Think of the Greek word “moros,” which means “fool.”) This post will be no screed against immorality. We have a much more basic problem. To act in “immoral” ways one has to [...]
Grabbing a cup of coffee and waiting for Sunday School to start this morning, Joni and I noticed a “50% off” shelf of books outside the bookstore/coffee bar. I love snooping around in bookstores. Today’s excursion produced this moment of reverie: It’s a little bit like the church (not just our church) has a collective [...]
The Big Narrative in American (and Western) society is that religious faith is: 1. dangerous (notice in the most recent Boston Bombing tragedy how stories about the bombers revolve tightly and consistently around “radical Islam”). 2. irrelevant (This is a version of the secularization thesis, that, as the world modernizes, the need for religious faith [...]
I like to ruminate on all manner of theological, biblical, historical, and cultural topics. I believe followers of Jesus need to be more like members of Issachar's tribe, able to read the times. [Read More …]
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