Pastor Knows Best

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I’ve had the good fortune of enjoying healthy, positive relationship with my pastors over the years, relationships that have left me with enormous respect for church leaders and the challenges they face daily. Having befriended a lot of pastors’ kids, I know that pastors and their families are often held to impossibly high standards that leave them constantly striving for perfection and subjected to great scrutiny.  That kind of pressure is enough to strain marriages, hurt chi... read more

God Things

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As my close friends and family already know, I’ve always struggled with the notion of God blessing His children with stuff. I get fidgety and cynical whenever something is said about God providing funds for a new building project or the money for a second car or new TV. I roll my eyes when pastors announce that God has intervened to help get parking lots re-paved or new sound systems ordered.  I have an extremely negative visceral reaction when the term “blessing” ... read more

What is faith?

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My apologies for the lapse.  As it turns out, writing a book can be a bit all-consuming at times. I really appreciate your patience. So, what exactly is faith? This may seem like a really basic question, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. Most Christians believe that we are saved by faith. Many make sure to add “but not by works” to the end of that sentence, while others are sure to bring up the fact that “faith without woks is dead.” For most o... read more

Thanksgiving with Mother Teresa

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers!  I hope you will take a few minutes to read this beautiful story from Mother Teresa, and this prayer from St. Francis of Assisi. As we celebrate our blessings today, let us remember those who are hungry, lonely, and afraid, and let us commit ourselves to doing everything we can to help. From Mother Teresa: “One night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days. They ha... read more

Book Club Discussion: Those evangelicals are so judgmental!

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So I’ve been reading through our book club selection—“unChristian" by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons—nodding my head and humming in agreement with every negative statistic that the authors uncover. Eighty-five percent of non-Christians think that Christians are hypocritical, the book says. “Well that’s because they are,” I think to myself, “especially evangelicals.” The first word that comes to most people’s minds when they think ... read more

Finish the Sentence Friday: Confession

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So Bob Jones University issued an official apology this week for its racist policies. Believe it or not, Bob Jones refused to admit black students until 1971 and banned interracial dating until 2000. A statement on their Web site said that these rules were shaped “by culture instead of the Bible.” Lest we get too proud and look down our noses at the “fundies,” let’s remember that all Christians carry the burdened of a troubled history. I’m reminded of t... read more

Following Jesus and Maintaining Your Mental Health

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So after years of teaching myself to say “no,” I’ve been experimenting with “yes” again. I know, I know. I’ve read Cloud and Townsend.  I am aware that it is important to maintain boundaries in one’s life. I know that I can’t do it all, and that if I spread myself too thin trying to meet everyone else’s needs, I’ll be drained of emotional energy, rendered incapable of giving and receiving love, devoid of all sense of self, etc. A... read more

Your Spiritual Journey: Send Me a Postcard!

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So recently I’ve been bumping into a lot of old friends on what was once a lonely and frightening path away from religious certainty. While most of us share a common starting point, we are often headed in different directions. I’ve talked with some who have given up on faith altogether, others who have shifted allegiance to another religious tradition, and a lot who (like me) are still a little uncertain about which road to take next. We’re an eclectic troupe of misfits, ... read more

Finish-The-Sentence-Friday: Finding God

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This one is especially reflective. Finish the following sentence: “I feel closest to God when…”I’ll start. I feel closest to God when I am among “the least of these.” When I went to India to work with my sister  at an orphanage for AIDS-affected children, I felt closer to God than ever. Somehow, the gospel just made sense there.... read more

Taking God's Name in Vain

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I do it every time I tell a friend I will pray for her, and then forget. I do it when I absently mouth the lyrics to a hymn or use the Bible as a weapon in order to win an argument. I do it when I gossip, speaking ill of another human being created in His image. I do it when I drop spiritual buzzwords into my conversations in order to fit in. I suppose we’ve all mastered the art of taking God’s name in vain. Christians in particular have a way of letting careless language about God c... read more

A little mindfulness never hurt anyone

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Once again Oprah Winfrey has generated a lot of interest (and some controversy) regarding spirituality as she recently launched a worldwide discussion about Eckhart Tolle’s book "A New Earth." Folks who know me know I’m a big Oprah fan. I watch the show nearly every day while running on the treadmill in my basement, and I really enjoy her magazine, which I feel has raised the bar intellectually for other popular women’s magazines. I also admire her philanthropy and her ability ... read more

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