Category Archives: In-Sight

Richard Rohr adds a second deformative element, which leads us to the creation of a false self:  the split of life from death… The Second Split: Life from Death The Second Split is the split between life and death. We … Continue reading →

Father Richard Rohr is posting on his blog some teaching having to do with the way in which the “false self” (fallen self) comes into existence.  Because this is so important when it comes to spiritual formation, I will post … Continue reading →

Sometimes in conversations, a person will say, “Jesus would hardly recognize Christianity if he came back today.”  Comments like this always mean that, as his followers, we have done a good job in making changes and additions which would surely … Continue reading →

People magazine has just named Beyoncé as “the world’s most beautiful person,” complete with a cover-page photograph intended to verify the decision. Why do we keep expecting the fallen world to produce what it never can—namely, a definition of beauty … Continue reading →

I know that many of you who follow Oboedire are professional leaders in the church, and the rest of you are ministers in some other form in the world.  Father Richard Rohr has written this morning about one of the … Continue reading →

Christians are not dualists.  We believe salvation means “wholeness,” and that there is a direct connection between what’s going on in our souls with what’s going on in our bodies. The need for true spirituality is being increasingly confirmed in … Continue reading →

I’ve been told that it was like searching for a needle in a haystack to find “The Weakest” video on You Tube.  When I went there, I saw how true this is! So…here is the link for it at You … Continue reading →

Jeannie just showed me a video post from Leonard Sweet. Go to You Tube and put in “The Weakest.”  It will come up. It’s a synopsis of a panel that Sweet did with Ron Sider and Shane Claiborne. You’ve got … Continue reading →

I wrote yesterday about Andrew Sullivan’s article in the April 9th issue of Newsweek: “Forget the Church, Follow Jesus.” One of Sullivan’s accurate critiques is how much of North American Christianity has become enamored (captured) by “personality cults” which form … Continue reading →

Andrew Sullivan’s feature article in the current issue of Newsweek (April 9), “Forget the Church, Follow Jesus,” is both creating quite a stir, but also revealing a tsunamic trend occurring in North American Christianity.  We may not agree with everything … Continue reading →

This past weekend, Jeannie and I had the opportunity to be with Leonard Sweet in a retreat.  The opportunity came as a gift from one of our former students. It was our first time to meet him and spend time … Continue reading →

The evidence just keeps rolling in with tsunami impact—and the plain truth is that there is a mounting movement toward “workplace happiness.”  Companies as large as Face Book are not only discovering—but also communicating—that the secret to their success is … Continue reading →

I receive a daily e-letter that keeps me connected to “the outside world,” and especially the high-tech world.  In today’s edition, one of the featured articles was on the growing need to figure out how to make machines “moral” as … Continue reading →

I attended a retreat during this Lenten season.  The opening session was after dark. We were gathered in a beautiful chapel—a location I’ve been in many times—enough times to know that above the altar is a lovely stained-glass window, depicting … Continue reading →

Recently, a blog posting contained this lyric from Leonard Cohen’s song, “Anthem”…. “Everything has a crack in it.  That’s how the light gets in.” This captures the purpose and spirit of Lent.  The purpose of a penitential season is not … Continue reading →

I’ve decided to give up adjectives for Lent—that is, modifiers of the noun “Christian.” I agree with Eugene Peterson, “A healthy noun doesn’t need adjectives” (The Contemplative Pastor, 23)—only deprived nouns need them.  He opts for the naked noun. But … Continue reading →

A couple of days ago, I read an interview with Andy Raine, one of the compilers of Celtic Daily Prayers. In one of his responses, he spoke of the need to find a “prayed in” place.  The phrase caught my … Continue reading →

“Put your money where your mouth is,” may turn out to be one of the best phrases for spiritual formation. In early Methodism, the concern for the poor turned into the phrase “a penny a week, and a schilling a … Continue reading →

Each Wednesday during Lent, I will post a second Oboedire blog, focusing on some specific aspect of our Lenten journey. This week, I’ve been thinking about sacrifice in relation to spiritual formation.  I believe that a lot hinges on whether … Continue reading →

Each Wednesday during Lent, I will offer a second post—one focusing specifically on our Lenten journey. Today is Ash Wednesday, and I want to share a story I recently heard Diana Butler Bass tell. The Episcopal Bishop of Chicago was … Continue reading →

Okay…I admit it.  I entitled this post to get your attention.  I guess if you’ve read this far, it worked.  Now, to the point.  As the United States presidential-election process has moved along (for what seems longer than ever), something … Continue reading →

When I was in seminary more than 40 years ago, I can remember times we’d sit in the student lounge drinking coffee and lamenting the mistakes our ecclesial leaders were making.  We were the “young bucks,” and we were convinced … Continue reading →

Jesus said there would be times when the children of this world would be wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8).  I have come to believe this is the case with respect to busyness, stress, activism, and overload. I … Continue reading →

As I begin the new year, I want to do so with the intention to cultivate my love for the Church.  I remain troubled at the ways in which the notion of “churchless Christianity” can creep into view today.  Sometimes, … Continue reading →

One of the primary images that I use on this site is that of “journey.”  And within that, I have variously emphasized that spiritual formation is a “from—to” experience:  e.g. from darkness to light, from death to life, etc. Recently, … Continue reading →

A recent article in Atlantic Monthly reported on the marked decline in “play time” among children, leading to what some believe to be the marked increase in depression among them when they grow to be adults. It’s an interesting connection … Continue reading →

The Dead Sea is drying up.  Some believe it will eventually disappear. The problem is not in the sea itself.  It’s in the re-routing of water upstream.  It’s in decisions which have been made before the Jordan river ever makes … Continue reading →

I spoke with a person who recently made a trip to the Holy Land.  When I asked the person about the trip, he replied, “It was good except for one thing.  We had to bypass Bethlehem.” It seems that the … Continue reading →

Recently, Jeannie called me in to watch an amazing video.  It combined spectacular scenes from nature with a contemporary song about the existence of God. As I watched and listened, I began to wonder if God has not (again) pulled … Continue reading →

I am hesitant to post another writing about the liturgy, lest you think I am trying to “sell” you on it.  Let me be clear—there are various ways to worship God. But at the same time, I must be honest … Continue reading →

I did not grow up in a “high church” atmosphere, where liturgy and sacraments were emphasized.  I have had to learn my way into an understanding of these things, and as I do so, I increasingly recognize and respect the … Continue reading →

Not long ago, I was in a discussion with some seminary students.  One asked, “Why don’t the Roman Catholics have altar calls?” Happily, I had already talked about this with my friend, John Michael Talbot.  When I raised a similar … Continue reading →

The Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to Dr. Adam Riess, for his recent discoveries about the cosmos.  All this is way over my head, but I do want to write about it as much as I am able. … Continue reading →

Today, I want to connect two ideas:  simplicity and the will of God. I am not doing so to “dumb down” either concept, but rather to share some emerging thoughts I’ve been having. I am increasingly convinced that “the will … Continue reading →

After ministering for more than 45 years as a pastor and professor, I have recommended many things over the years.  Once in a while, someone will come to me with a book in his or her hand and usually they … Continue reading →

A while back, I was given pause by these words from Henri Nouwen, “Many people live with the unconscious expectation that eventually things will get better….But Jesus doesn’t support such an optimistic outlook…..For Jesus there is no happy ending in … Continue reading →

Jesus never asked anyone to worship him, but he invited everyone to follow him.  This is an important insight I received from reading something from Richard Rohr.  But I am responsible for the rest of this post—not him. Maintaining the … Continue reading →

Oboedire intentionally describes and commends a classical/historical vision for Christian spiritual formation.  In that context, we pay attention to the saints who have preceded us, in keeping with the perspective provided for us by Hebrews 12:1. But…who are the saints? … Continue reading →

Day before yesterday, I wrote that the development of mainstays and/or changes in our spiritual formation takes time, and that one way we can discern something is taking root is we miss it when we do not practice it. With … Continue reading →

I read John Michael Talbot’s testimony that it took him quite a while to truly “live into” liturgical prayer.  His Christian heritage was initially shaped through Methodism, even though he only marginally embraced faith at that time in his life. … Continue reading →

I’ve lived a lot of my life in an “I’m OK, You’re OK” environment. The only problem is—I’m not OK. I’m not writing this to advocate any kind of spirituality that makes me pathological, but I must avoid any kind … Continue reading →

Every so often the landscape is populated with another round of people advocating “value free” living—which often includes crying out against an alleged imposition of religious values on education, public policy, or whatever else it’s being attached to. I have … Continue reading →

One of the reasons I believe the Reformation was a good thing is that it opened the door to a diversification of Christianity.  I am not here to defend all the ways this has resulted in some bad things; I … Continue reading →

One of the recurring emphases on this Oboedire site is the notion of the “false self,” which I believe is the essence sin.  We have defined the false self as egotism—the notion that “I” am at the Center, and thus … Continue reading →

Conversations about “external markers” of the faith have resumed within Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism.  They raise the issue of how important, or even necessary, these things are in the overall scheme of things. In some parts of Protestantism, the conversation … Continue reading →

I’ve been paying particular attention to leadership literature lately.  One of my main convictions is being confirmed by even the “20 something” leaders, who sometimes seem to be taking over the world. These young leaders and those who work for … Continue reading →

There are plenty of better places to go than here to get insights into how the Church can be faithful and responsive in the 21st century.  But I’ve been thinking about this in relation to spiritual formation, particularly as I … Continue reading →

July 31st is the day many Christians remember St. Ignatius of Loyola.  In doing so a few weeks ago, I was struck by the experience which led to his conversion.  Among multiple factors used by God for his transformation, one … Continue reading →

As I am growing older, I am also growing in the conviction that we are meant to become part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “that they may all be one….”  We are called to live the … Continue reading →

One of the first stories I heard after I became a Christian is this one. A baby bear was fretting over how to learn to walk.  “Do I start with the left front paw, or the right rear paw—the left … Continue reading →