-
Join 848 other subscribers
Amazon Author Page
-
Recent Posts
Categories
- Advent 2016
- Along the Way
- And Your Daughters
- At The Gate
- Benedict's Rule
- Christ
- Connections
- Day One
- Deep and Wide
- Desert Wisdom
- Editorials
- Engage
- For the Bride
- Here and Now
- Hermeneutics
- Holy Love
- Holy Week 2012
- Holy Week 2013
- In-Sight
- Journey
- Let Us Pray
- LGBTQ+ Writing
- Listenings
- Love
- Lumen Fidei
- Ministry Musings
- New Awakening
- Nonviolence
- Practicing the Better
- Rebuild My Church
- Shepherd's Care
- Site Updates
- Spiritual Life
- The Holy Gospel
- The Prophetic Task
- The Teaching Life
- UMC
- Uncategorized
- Wesley Windows
- Year of Mercy
Archives
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
Meta
Monthly Archives: September 2010
Ponderings: Too Much Sovereignty?
It almost sounds like heresy to say there can be “too much” sovereignty. And I hope you won’t stop reading here and miss the point I am trying to make. On the whole, I would agree with anyone who says … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Shepherd’s Care: Vigil
Paul begins our focal verse (Acts 20:28) with the words, “keep watch.” Christian self-care is rooted in the idea of vigil. The image is that of the watchman on the wall, who scans the horizon for any approaching enemies. The watchman’s … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherd's Care
1 Comment
Gleanings: The Great Temptation
Three quotes have held me fast when I have been tempted to become frenetic in my spirituality… Oswald Chambers: “The greatest temptation of devotion to Jesus Christ is service for him.” Thomas Merton: “Activism is a form of violence.” Richard … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Gleanings: The Great Temptation
Listenings: Patient
We will leave our concentration upon spiritual growth for a while, but not without one final word: patient. This is a word which follows from the previous ideas of growth being natural and incremental. But for me, the idea of “patient” … Continue reading
Posted in Listenings
Comments Off on Listenings: Patient
Connections: Oswald Chambers
For many of you, this will not be a new connection. But I don’t want to assume that everyone reading this blog is familiar with Oswald Chambers. I only want to encourage you to become familiar with him. Born in … Continue reading
Posted in Connections
Comments Off on Connections: Oswald Chambers
The Holy Gospel: September 26, 2010 (Year C)
Read: Luke 16:19-31 Meditation: “Naming the Rich Man” We cannot keep from noticing that the poor man is named, but the rich man is not. This is Jesus’ way of saying that we are the rich man. Jesus says, “Write … Continue reading
Posted in The Holy Gospel
Comments Off on The Holy Gospel: September 26, 2010 (Year C)
Ponderings: Not Certainty, but Hope
A few weeks ago, I watched a fascinating interview with Christopher Hitchens on The Atlantic Monthly website. Hitchens is dying of cancer—that’s what he says himself. The interview was in relation to that fact. As one who has become well-known among the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Ponderings: Not Certainty, but Hope
Shepherd’s Care: Stepping Into the Stream
The last words of a person are considered especially important. Books have been published containing the “famous last words” of people. For some weeks to come, we are going to focus on Acts 20:28, which are part of Paul’s last … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherd's Care
Comments Off on Shepherd’s Care: Stepping Into the Stream
Gleanings: The Value of Tradition
In his book, A Diary of Private Prayer, John Baille wrote, “I thank Thee that this Christian way whereon I walk is no untried or uncharted road, but a road beaten hard by the footsteps of saints, apostles, prophets, and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Gleanings: The Value of Tradition
Listenings: Incremental Growth
As I grew up, my Dad devised a way to measure my progress. He would have me stand up against a door facing, and he would make an indentation into it with his fingernail. I would step away, turn around and look … Continue reading
Posted in Listenings
4 Comments
Connections: Dennis Kinlaw
(I will not be posting this Friday and Saturday, so this category comes to you a little earlier than usual) Many of my mentors have been men and women I’ve never met. But “doubly blessed” is anyone who has mentors … Continue reading
Posted in Connections
Comments Off on Connections: Dennis Kinlaw
The Holy Gospel: September 19, 2010 (Year C)
(I will not be posting this Friday and Saturday, so this category is presented a bit early this week) Reading; Luke 16:1-13 Meditation: “Behind the Scenes” After using the manager’s actions to illustrate ingenuity, Jesus turns to expose the thing … Continue reading
Posted in The Holy Gospel
Comments Off on The Holy Gospel: September 19, 2010 (Year C)
Ponderings: Our Central Act
If you ask the saints to name the central act of the Christian life, they will respond with one word: worship. Prior to any other act of belief or practice, we are called to worship. Underlying every thought, word, and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Ponderings: Our Central Act
Shepherd’s Care: Survival, Not Selfishness
I was conducting a pastors’ retreat, and I was talking about self-care. One pastor spoke up genuinely concerned that I was advocating “selfishness.” In communicating his concern, he quoted the old statement I’d heard before: “I’d rather burn out for … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherd's Care
1 Comment
Gleanings: Accountability
In his sermon “Salvation By Faith, ” John Wesley wrote, “Our commission is to ‘Go and preach the gospel to every creature.’ If anyone twists it, or any part of it, [he does so] to his destruction.” I am grateful … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Listenings: Natural Growth
We are continuing our look at spiritual growth. Last week we said it is unhurried. Today, we add to that the fact that it is natural. Thomas Merton wrote about this in New Seeds of Contemplation, “A tree glorifies God … Continue reading
Posted in Listenings
Comments Off on Listenings: Natural Growth
Connections: Francois Fenelon
Today I want to “connect” you with an older resource for your spiritual formation: Francois Fenelon. I want to do it for two reasons: (1) to know him and his classic work, Christian Perfection…and…(2) to bring you in contact with … Continue reading
Posted in Connections
Comments Off on Connections: Francois Fenelon
The Holy Gospel: September 12, 2010 (Year C)
Read: Luke 15:1-10 Meditation: “What About the ‘Found’?” Within this week’s grand story of redemption and the related joy it brings (on earth and in heaven) is an important message for the people Jesus says “need no repentance.” There is a … Continue reading
Posted in The Holy Gospel
Comments Off on The Holy Gospel: September 12, 2010 (Year C)
Ponderings: Spirituality Is Reality
We can never fully define the spiritual life, much less try to capture it in single-sentence descriptions. But there are sentences which serve as “windows” through which we see into the life God has in mind for us. One of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Ponderings: Spirituality Is Reality
Shepherd’s Care: A Crisis of Spirit
I was conducting a seminar at a Pastors’ School. As we left the room for a break, one of the participants headed in my direction. I recognized him as one of my former students. I could tell by the look … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherd's Care
Comments Off on Shepherd’s Care: A Crisis of Spirit
Gleanings: The Right Place
Years ago, Charlie Shedd spoke a powerful word into my life in his book, Time for All Things, “I am where I should be. I have been called to this place at this time for this work.” We waste an … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Listenings: Unhurried Formation
With the likely exception of Adam and Eve, the rest of us come into this world as babies. Even that single fact ought to tell us that God is not in a hurry. God seems quite content for us to … Continue reading
Posted in Listenings
2 Comments
Connections: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
Today I want to connect you with a person whom I have come to know largely through my wife, Jeannie’s, experience: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (as she liked to be called). Lettie and her husband were pioneer missionaries in Japan and … Continue reading
Posted in Connections
1 Comment
Editorials: Introduction
The spiritual life is not only deep, it is broad. It covers all of life. This category captures my reflections on a wide variety of subjects. In it, I offer you my thoughts on a range of topics and happenings, … Continue reading
Posted in Editorials
Comments Off on Editorials: Introduction
The Holy Gospel: September 5, 2010 (Year C)
Read: Luke 14:25-33 Meditation: “Thinning the Crowd” When we live with a “more is better” philosophy of life, we may equate crowds with success. Jesus didn’t do so. When he saw the large crowds following him, he turned to them … Continue reading
Posted in The Holy Gospel
2 Comments
Ponderings: Into Wonder
I turn 63 next month. When I mention that to folks, they often say, “That’s not old. You’re just getting started.” While I appreciate their kind remarks, I know in one sense, it’s not true. Looking down the path, there’s … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Shepherd’s Care: Introduction
For more than 20 years, Jeannie and I have been involved in “ministry to ministers.” For a season, we actually ran a ministry called “Shepherd’s Care.” But even when that ministry ended, we have continued to feel God’s call to … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherd's Care
Comments Off on Shepherd’s Care: Introduction
Oboedire 