Category Archives: In-Sight

In 1972, Henri Nouwen wrote, ‘The Wounded Healer.’ [1]  I read it with benefit that same year, and even used it for a time in my course, “The Spiritual Life of the Minister.”  But back then, I read it from … Continue reading →

[Note: with this blog, I am reviving the “In-Sight” category, one designed to look at the spiritual life in a broad sense and through a variety of lenses.  Spirituality is reality, and spiritual formation influences every area of our lives.] … Continue reading →

Peter’s experience on the rooftop in Joppa (Acts 10:9-23) illustrates that original meanings of the Law can change, and that we can be instruments through whom God can work to effect the change.  Two insights from Peter’s experience can assist … Continue reading →

One of my abiding memories of Jeannie’s and my trip to the Holy Land is the time we spent in and around the garden tomb.  The way things worked out, we had a longer period of waiting than was usually … Continue reading →

One of my abiding memories of Jeannie’s and my trip to the Holy Land is the time we spent in around the garden tomb.  The way things worked out, we had a longer period of waiting than was usually the … Continue reading →

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of another new year in the Christian telling of time.  In preparation for this holy season, I have been thinking about The Story in its summary essence, remembering … Continue reading →

I am not usually a cliché Christian–you know, the kind of words that fit on a bumper sticker.  But truth be told, the phrase “the attitude of gratitude” is difficult to improve.  We must not allow the brevity and cutesy … Continue reading →

The sign read, “Traffic Calming Ahead.”  I had never seen a sign like that, so I wondered what was awaiting us around the corner as we neared the KOA campground we were going to stay in for the next few … Continue reading →

A third dimension of transformation is the move from darkness to light.  At first glance, this move seems so obvious that everyone would want to make it as soon as possible.  But it’s not so.  Jesus said that we prefer … Continue reading →

A second conversion is the move from strength to weakness.  We might call this the transformation of paradox.  St. Paul put it this way, “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). At first glance this strikes us … Continue reading →

In Christianity, we speak often of transformation.  We believe in conversion.  Conversion is essentially a 180° turn from something toward a new something.  In broad terms, it is the turning from sin to salvation. Within this overarching concept, there are … Continue reading →

There is nothing more difficult to accept than the idea of radical love.  Whether we are on the receiving end or the giving end, radical love is an elusive butterfly. On the receiving end, most of us convince ourselves that … Continue reading →

Every good school has opportunities to “learn by doing.”  Chemistry classes include laboratories.  Home Economics classes include kitchens.  Language classes make field trips to places where students can speak what they have learned. And so, Schools of Love practice love.  … Continue reading →

The monastic movement knew that, like any school, it had to have a curriculum.  If it was to be a School of Love, that curriculum would be (yes, you guessed it) love.  A two-volume textbook would be at the core: … Continue reading →

It was at Gethsemani where I first encountered the phrase, “school of love.”  I was immediately drawn to it, but it would still be some time before I discovered it was the phrase Bernard of Clairvaux coined to describe his … Continue reading →

Some of you reading this know that one of my favorite places on the earth is The Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Kentucky.  I never tire of going there, and it is easy for me to go there in my … Continue reading →

Jeannie and I recently completed a travel adventure with our pop-up camper and her Little Red Truck.  We still lacked ten states of the lower 48, so we used late July and much of August to complete the list. We … Continue reading →

August is one of the times each year when I cease posting and take a break.. “In-Sight” will return in the Fall as an occasional theme.

When my grandmother got older, neither of her two children (my dad and his sister) thought she was eating properly.  The crisis was precipitated by her wanting to eat jelly sandwiches instead of a “proper meal.”  I was present on … Continue reading →

The sun does not pop up in the morning or fall down in the evening.  Sunrises and sunsets occur gradually.  And they do not happen only once, but in a daily cycle that brings variety and enrichment to the basic … Continue reading →

I sometimes repeat topics and themes I’ve written about previously.  I do this not only because new people subscribe to Oboedire, but also because there are some things I believe are foundational for attentive Christian spiritual formation. Today, I want … Continue reading →

We are just one preposition away from ministry in Jesus’ Name.  Instead of viewing ministry as ministry ‘to’ people,  we need to be in ministry ‘with’ people. Theologically, this is the incarnational principle: Emmanuel–God ‘with’ us.  It resonates with Jesus’ … Continue reading →

In medicine, a simple rule guides the treatment of a wound: the deeper the wound, the longer the healing.  Physicians treat deep wounds differently and commend patients to exercise patience while the body responds to treatment and completes the healing. … Continue reading →

In much of the contemporary conversation about the Church, we use life/death language to frame what we say.  So, some allege they are in a “dead” church, while just down the road others claim theirs is “alive.”  And from there, … Continue reading →

Compassion means to feel “with” another person.  Compassion is the basis for ministry, for even if we cannot feel like another person or group, we can still feel with.  Compassion is not the child of sympathy, but rather the offspring … Continue reading →

In a time when the air is thick with the acrid smoke of divisiveness, proposed exit plans, and cries that “the United Methodist Church is burning down,” it is refreshing to breathe some fresh air provided by two books: one … Continue reading →

A reconciled church is given a ministry of reconciliation by God, so that it can be in sync with the Risen Christ, who seeks to reconcile all things to himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Colossians 1:20). Today we turn to the … Continue reading →

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Paul describes the church as first ‘reconciled’ and then as ‘reconciling.’   That twofold flow has gotten my attention.  I want to write this week and next about it. First question: what would characterize a reconciled church?  … Continue reading →

Last week’s post (Arise #1) encouraged us to see Jesus’ resurrection as the ignition of an ongoing uprising. It is an uprising that occurs in all sorts of ways–what Paul referred to comprehensively as a “new creation” (2Corinthians 5:17).  This … Continue reading →

Read: Whatever the Hardship, Keep Rising Up As I have already told you, I have benefited greatly from McLaren’s analogy of resurrection as an uprising.  Not surprisingly, he brings the third-quarter readings to an end in a way I would … Continue reading →

Many of you will know that I write meditative posts each Monday here on Oboedire based on Brian McLaren’s book, ‘We Make the Road by Walking.’  I do this primarily as a way of personalizing the book for myself, but … Continue reading →

The April 13th issue of Time magazine featured a look at the various Religious Freedem Acts that are in place in the country, as well as those being proposed.  The magazine rightly showed how complex and divisive the matter has … Continue reading →

The movie “Selma” moved me deeply for a number of reasons.  But one scene has lingered–the one where Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis are riding together in King’s automobile.  King is exhausted, both by the effort it has … Continue reading →

Those of you who know me know that I am a pragmatist more than a theorist when it comes to theology.  I can work with abstractions and principles, but my mind keeps wanting to know how the doctrines and affirmations … Continue reading →

I am on thin ice.  I do not read music, and I am not a trained musician.  So, whatever I have to say about it arises more from intuition than from knowledge. But even with my limitations acknowledged, I am … Continue reading →

I recently read about Eratosthenes (third century BCE), the first person to accurately measure the circumference of the earth–missing it by only a few hundred miles.  I also learned that he had a broad mind as well as a deep … Continue reading →

Wednesday of Holy Week is often referred to as the silent day in the final week of Jesus’ life in earth.  He remained at Bethany in the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha–the home where (with the possible exceptions of … Continue reading →

Over the years, I have sometimes been charged with being inconsistent in my theology.  When it happens, I remember Emerson’s statement, “Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” Applied to the theological task, Emerson’s words simply mean that our reach … Continue reading →

One of the gifts of getting older is living long enough to see trends, not just events.  One of the ways I have been doing that recently is with respect to the unity/schism debate in the United Methodist Church and … Continue reading →

Hardly a week goes by without a speech or writing about how to move past various empasses in the Church–to say nothing of the society and larger world.  We are admittedly a very conflicted, confused, and contentious generation.  Some proposals … Continue reading →

As I move through my 67th year, I am disciplining myself to read Scripture asking, “What does this passage have to say to an aging adult like me?”  Often, I find small nuggets of insight; at other times, the entire … Continue reading →

Chances are, if you asked a fish about water, the fish would reply, “What do you mean by water?”  One of the amazing things is that we tend to lose touch with the surroundings we are in all the time.  … Continue reading →

Besides electing delegates to the 2016 United Methodist General Conference who are committed to preserving unity, and electing younger delegates who will end up implementing for years to come whatever form this unity takes, I believe there are other pre-requistes … Continue reading →

When stating my resistance to schism in the Church, and particularly in The United Methodist Church, I am often asked, “So, what do you think we should do in order to avoid it?”  Behind the question is another question, “Do … Continue reading →

I almost never write about a previous post, but given the unusual amount of attention that yesterday’s post on “Amicable Separation?” is receiving, I want to write today in response to comments I am seeing in the various social-media where … Continue reading →

As many of you already know, I am against schism in the church, even though it is talked about a lot these days in the larger Body of Christ, as well as within my denomination, The United Methodist Church.  I … Continue reading →

I have never run a marathon, but I have a good friend and members of his family who have.  I have noticed two things in particular that teach me some things about spiritual formation. First, as they run, they take … Continue reading →

I find we often exhort folks to be a certain way or do a particular thing, but leave them with little or no idea about what we mean.  One of these is the invitation to “be contemplative.”  Of course, the … Continue reading →

When my grandmother became old, her appetite changed.  She stopped eating widely from the food pyramid and enjoyed having a PBJ sandwich.  In fact, she preferred it. My father and his sister responded as you would expect her children to … Continue reading →

This post resumes January 7th.