“It was like shooting fish in a barrel.” This saying may be applied to any situation where you can get away with doing something because there is no opportunity for resistance or challenge. You have an unfair advantage over a ‘target’ and exercise your freedom to impose something on them whether or not they like…
Religion, Spirituality, Faith
can God
can God can God see me hear me if he only sees what kind of man am I to live holy but speak with jaundiced tongue am I then the prime actor in a shadow play if he only hears what kind of man am I to speak holy but live with jaundiced deeds am…
“It’s okay”
Nightbirde – Born 1990-12-29. Died 2022-02-19. 31 years of age. For singer-songwriter Jane Marczewski, choosing Nightbirde as her stage name came from a recurring dream. In the midst of an undesired divorce that left her alone to battle an aggressive cancer, she dreamed of birds outside her bedroom window. They were singing morning songs in…
More than enough – David’s story
David always liked Sunday School. His teacher really cared for every boy and girl in the class. She talked about Jesus as the best friend you could ever have. David could hardly wait for each Sunday. But this week all the kids were in the big church room with adults. In the car on the…
Darrell and Barbara – an encounter with fellowship
A review of ‘differentiation’ and ‘integration.’ In A ‘problem’ with “Ask Jesus into your heart,” I introduced ‘differentiation’ and ‘integration’ to describe how individuals and organizations work to create their identify. They outline differences to distinguish themselves from others (differentiation) or similarities to show avenues of potential alignment (integration). I shared how Indigenous students in…
A ‘problem’ with “Ask Jesus into your heart”
I am 100% Ukrainian on both sides of my parental lineage. Raised in the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church and steeped in Ukrainian culture. It was a strong local church community with a large extended family network through heritage and marriage. Liturgy and rituals from the cradle to the grave. Baptism of babies had symbolic rites…
Her name was Merrilee
I wish I could find a picture of her. Especially when dressed in her clown costume to do a program with children. She was a woman born deaf but could communicate on levels that surpassed many ‘normal’ hearers. And I believe she was an active agent in saving my life. A plane and a son…
Mark and Crystal
It struck me how Mark was sitting with such a nurturing posture. His arms were comfortably surrounding Crystal with warmth and security. It reminded me of Jesus tenderly holding a lamb. If you can, enlarge the picture to see Mark and Crystal’s eyes, a window to the soul. Both have that look of pain from…
Repenting of Religion
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany, was killed by the Nazi regime just weeks before liberation of the prison camp by Allied troops. In his relatively brief life, Bonhoeffer set out a path for what he called ‘religionless Christianity.’ It was a call to reject ‘religiosity’ and embrace a living and active…
On ‘Repenting of Religion’
Note: This piece is an extension of the material in ‘Repenting of Religion.’ You may want to start there. (see Bookshelf). Repenting of Religion by Greg Boyd Boyd tees up against the deficiencies of organized religion. As a successful pastor, he is obviously trying to build the Church and local community of faith in positive ways….