We are living in a time when the standard versions of religion are losing their appeal. The spirituality offered by these traditions seems small and niggling. Whatever is intended, the message people are getting is mostly about who’s got the truth and who doesn’t, who belongs inside the circle and who doesn’t, who’s having the […]
Uncategorized
A Beautiful Brain
A mother was asking me the other day for resources on how to talk to her six year-old son about death. It wasn’t that a family member had died—or the family dog had. The boy was playing violent video games on play dates (“I don’t allow them in our home” she said), and he came […]
Praying at 2:30 in the Morning
When you ask people, “Where have you experienced the presence of God in some powerful way?” they almost never mention the church. Even though I lead a church, that answer never bothers me. It’s true for me too. My most transporting experiences are always either in nature or in a close personal encounter with another human […]
The Old Well
“God is an underground river,” Meister Eckhart said, “that no one can dam up or stop.” I love that image of God because it completely flips the dominant image of God “up there.” When we first imagine a deity, God is always “up,” always distant, the Sky God of nearly every ancient religion. Until, gradually, […]