Category: <span>the refuge</span>

the difference between "cultivating communities" and "building churches"

“christian communities continue the work of Jesus. they are sent to be a presence to people who are living in darkness and despair. the people who come into these communities also respond to the call and the cry of the weak and the oppressed. they enter into the covenant with Jesus and the poor. they […]

the journey

hey all, it’s hard to believe that christmas is only a few days away. this week is a foggy week for us as a couple of the kids are fighting off the same crud i got, and we kicked off our christmas vacation by getting far-too-many shots for africa, fun fun. all 7 of us […]

doubt & faith: living in the tension

thanks for the comments & for hanging in there on the last series of posts on doubt & faith. we wrapped up our series 2 saturdays ago with dinner & a fun conversation together. my friend john & i facilitated together (how many times can i say that i love that in the refuge community […]

doubt & faith: God, you out there?

i don’t think we could talk about doubt & faith and miss one of the most critical reasons that it is tricky for people to connect with God in a real and intimate way: it is extremely confusing why such cruddy things happen in this world while God seems to “stand by and watch.” it […]

doubt & faith: new ways for old words

i’m a little behind these days, but what’s new? we are in the thick of things around here, with jose juggling the start-up of a 2 year department of justice grant to serve women victims of violence in denver (so exciting but a ton of work) & our kiddos all growing up and going to […]

doubt & faith: owning our egocentric tendencies

every day this week i meant to post but here i am, squeaking by before the end of the week and before our next refuge gathering tomorrow evening. i am still typing on my old irritating computer but the big news at my house is that a lovely group of friends pooled together and bought […]

for the next month we are doing a series at the refuge’s saturday evening gathering focused on “doubt and faith.” i usually don’t do this, but i think i’ll write about it each week here as a little mini-series because i know so many of you can relate to this conversation in different ways. i […]

practical theology

“Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” […]

Jesus school: not the most inspiring in town

many of you know that when i describe the refuge i use words like “messy, chaotic, honest, uncomfortable, unpredictable.” it is so funny to me, looking back on the past 3 ½ years how the world that i came from was completely different. on mega-church staff we used words like “focused, distraction-free, inspiring, dark-so-you-don’t-have-to-see-the-person-next-to-you, comfortable.” […]

leadership lessons when you want to run for the hills

hey, did i scare everyone off with that last post? i hope not! one of the things you non-bloggers need to know is there’s nothing worse than putting something a little risky out there and not getting very many comments! and one of the things all you bloggers know is that part of this journey […]