Oh, how I want to spend the next month just unpacking Unraveling, but the truth is that is what the book is for! There are also all kinds of blog posts I’ve written here about deconstruction and unraveling over the years, starting in 2008. The purpose of this series wasn’t to flesh these out, but to […]
Read Moreunraveling: it's a lot to lose.
For the past 3 days, I’ve touched on Fusing, Shifting, and Returning as some of the movements of a lot of our faith experiences. Whew! There’s no question, I am definitely a once, maybe twice a week max blogger. But since I’m taking the summer off in a few days I really wanted to get […]
Read Morereturning: playing it safe.
So far we’ve touched on Fusing and Shifting from Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe is Coming Apart as part of this 6-post series. These posts are only a small peek into what’s in the actual material. If you haven’t read it yet and are drawn into the content, there’s so much more in […]
Read Morefusing: the 10 commandments.
Well, like so many other areas of my life, sometimes when I make plans, they fall apart. I had wanted to work on this series a few weeks ago as I prepare to take a summer blog break, but just never got to it in the hubbub of May, all 5 of my kids being […]
Read Moreunderneath anger.
This month’s Synchroblog is centered on Anger. Here’s the description: “Anger sometimes has a bad reputation. Some of us have been taught that anger is a negative emotion, something that should be squeezed out, prayed through, avoided. Others of us have been raised in families and churches that never allowed for expression of anger so […]
Read MoreGoddamage.
The other day I made up a new word without even knowing it. I was hanging out with some of my favorite people in Denver at our spiritual formation-support-group-hanging-with-people-who-understand-how-hard-this-work-in-the-trenches-is, casually talking about the fall-out of controlling ministry practices. In response to one of the comments, I said, “The truth is that just perpetuates God damage.” […]
Read Moreunloading church baggage & moving forward.
In 2011, we hosted a live event at The Refuge called Walking Wounded: Hope for Those Hurt By Church. It was a great gathering of about 50 people, some from Denver, some from out of state–a place to laugh and grieve and gather some hope for the fallout of church and ministry pain. The next […]
Read Morewhat we're for.
There’s a new church plant in my neighborhood at our local school. They moved here with a whole bunch of people from another state, started two services out of the chute, have mailed us multiple big expensive postcards, put up flags and signs lining the street, and even have parking attendants in bright orange jackets […]
Read Morerunaway radical.
One of the things I have loved the most about blogging is the amazing people I have met along the way. So many hard and beautiful stories are floating around out here with the same themes in them: Some kind of deep dedication to God and church, pain and struggle related to that journey, and […]
Read Moreholy week for the not-feeling-so-holy.
It’s Holy Week, and I am guessing you are all over the place on this one. Some of you love it and are enjoying the different services and sacred spaces to honor the week. Others are wrestling with how to engage with Easter and all that’s wrapped up in it after a radical faith shift […]
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