My publisher, Convergent Books, asked me to write a piece on a phenomenon called “Sunday Assembly.” It’s essentially church for atheists, a movement recently featured on NPR. It’s a curious spiritual development, one that ought to tell us why people are taking a pass on our version of “church.” Click the link and give it […]
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No Explanation Necessary
My sermon was very short this morning. I read two poems—two excerpts, actually. After hearing the long Lucan story of the nativity on Christmas Eve—with angels and shepherds and barns and tax registrations and long journeys into night—this morning we heard John’s story of the nativity. It’s an elegant, poetic eight words. “The Word became […]
Thinking Big Enough
“If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not thinking big enough.” -Wes Jackson Those words gave me pause—a big pause. I read them in an article about sustainable agriculture (as a South Dakota native it’s sad to see the systematic poisoning of the earth as the basis for our agri-business). Wes […]
How to be a Saint
(It’s All Saints Day.) The saints are always those who are able to do deeds of power—sometimes great things and sometimes very small things, but powerful works. Sometimes their mere presence creates blessing and peace. Goodness follows in their wake. They are like Jesus who “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). This goodness, though, easily […]
Abba Moses and the Leaky Jug
Yesterday I sat in the second pew at St. Stephen’s church in Richmond, Virginia. There to speak later in the morning, I was worshiping at the 9 o’clock Eucharist. My friend Gary Jones preached—masterfully—on that well-known parable from Luke. Two men go up to the temple to pray, a Pharisee and a tax collector. The […]
Losing Your Faith, Finding Your Soul –launches today!
After years in the making, my new book is published today. It’s all about finding new life . . . after your old life has failed. That is the paradoxical promise of God. And once it dawns on us that this divine gift is reserved only for people who’ve somehow managed to lose their lives, […]