I was talking with my friend Kyle today and he introduced to Ole Hallesby. Hallesby was Scandinavian mystic… of sorts. I liked this quote from his classic book, Prayer: “Be not anxious because of your helplessness. Above all do not
It’s official! Today, I successfully passed the oral defense of my dissertation; my readers signed off on it. Though the hooding ceremony is at the end of April I believe I can be called “doc” . . . but please
Yesterday, during the class period when Stan and I were supposed to be teaching “Thinking Theologically 2” Mars Hill Graduate School held a memorial service. It was an honoring time; a time that I think Stan would have appreciated. As
Ultimately our claim to know the one God only gains credence in the contemporary world as we demonstrate the Divine presence through the way we live – through our lives as we connect our Christian belief with true Christian living.
So am deeply saddened to report that earlier today my friend, mentor, teacher, and colleague, Dr. Stanley J. Grenz suffered a significant surge in blood pressure, which resulted in a major brain event, appears to be along the lines of
As is so often the case with at least me, when my journal is quiet – life isn’t. In addition to observing the 36th anniversary of my birth, I had a pretty full teaching week; 20 hours in the classroom.
“Everything in God’s store is on the bottom shelf – you have to get on your knees to get it.” Robert Collier Anyone who has explored contemplative prayer or any other practice of intentional silence knows — or will soon
Please take a moment and jump over to blog created for friends of Greg in need of a holy space for sharing updates on Greg’s condition, photos, prayers, etc. Recently Greg was in a very serious accident while doing some dry-dock work on his boat
Today millions of our siblings in Christ join together in an 1,100+ year-old tradition of commonly referred to as ‘Ash Wednesday’. The ashes – which are from the burned palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service – are placed
Have been using Leo Tolstoy’s short story “What Men Live By” for a class I get to team teach. It is a wonderful read… I commend it to you. The following quotations are from its conclusion. And you can find
“I have learned that prayer is not asking for what you think you want but asking to be changed in ways that you can’t imagine.” Kathleen Norris One of the most common changes in developing a rhythm of contemplative prayer
Yesterday a good friend had open heart value replacement surgery. Clinton Wilson (who is one of the people I’m working with to open a bar in Seattle) is not even 30 years old, and is one of the biggest hearted
“The church, like Peter, is both a stumbling block and a cornerstone. It is the latter only when it is consciously contrite for being, and having been, the former.” Gil Baile I can only provide a personal answer to this question. I
Who am I? Arguably, one of the great gifts modernity offered humanity has been the gift of “the self”; and like all gifts it cloaked a curse. So much has been said in critique of the modern idea of the
“The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” Marcel Proust One session every three to four weeks is normal with, and a duration of six months to a year or longer
Today my son, Pascal goes in for surgery to have his adenoids removed and his second set of drainage tubes installed in his ears. He’s 3.5 years old and suffered with non-stop ear infections for at least three of those
Today’s entry is intended for use by those who proactively shape the ethos of Quest by participating as our hosting forum. Quest’s “Hosting Forum” is the gathering of participants from our spiritual community who intentionally & collectively discern on behalf
You may have noticed that my journal has been a bit quiet. In addition to needing to complete grading the final assignments for five different courses at two different schools and calculating final grades for those classes by the early
I’ve been keeping my eyes open for online advent calendars. I been using the one created by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; I bet many artists, spiritual directors, liturgists, and faith communities are making some interactive advent calendars. If you
I am weary in almost every way. From disappointing myself, and others, from misrepresenting that which is so important to me; weary of not being enough husband for my partner, father for my son, pastor for my community, colleague for
Growth as a child of God… How is it measured? One of the metaphors left in the wake of the modern church is the metaphor of the steady, uphill climb. It’s the idea that though the way is rocky and
Karen Horst Cobb, wrote a powerful short editorial titled, No Longer a Christian, it was published on www.CommonDreams.org. Worth really reading. On a personal note. What a great day. I had the privilege of spending a good chunk of the
Just thought I’d post a reminder that there is a collective effort to make a stand in the face of “mindless consumerism.” For a number of years Adbusters has been promoting “Buy Nothing Day” as means of raising awareness and
A few years ago I asked a few people to help me see myself as “pastor” and “leader”. Through the process of that three month conversation I made a number of commitments that I revisit often and fail even frequently.
This morning I had the privilege of interacting with the Mars Hill Graduate School student leadership. I’ve got to say that they are an impressive group. In all of my schooling I have never seen a student led group so
To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend. Jacques Derrida One of the great thinkers of our time has died. On Friday, October 8 2004, Jacques Derrida died at a Paris hospital of pancreatic
Innocence cannot be saved. It seems every child will experience this loss. And it always hurts. Yesterday I watched as my three-year-old son lost some of his innocence to a small group of boys ranging from 4-8 year-olds who were
“Theology is the study of God and [God’s] ways. For all we know, dung beetles may study us and our ways and call it humanology. If so, we would probably be more touched and amused than irritated. One hopes that
Let me pick up from my “young love” post of yesterday. So I was a poor college student recently home from studying abroad. Lynette’s birthday was coming up and I didn’t have two cents to rub together. I opted to
Before Lynette and I were married – like most young lovers, I suppose – I was certifiably nuts about her. Though we first knew each other as kids and had hung out together through much of our junior and senior
