I have lived in Miami for the past ten years, but before moving to Miami I lived in Red River, New Mexico for the better part of three years. Red River is in northern New Mexico, about twenty miles from the Colorado border, and is absolutely stunning. The town is at 8,750 feet nestled in a beautiful valley between the …
I started becoming interested in soul care and contemplative spirituality when I was in college. At the time, I was a youth pastor at a rural church, an undergrad student, a roommate, and living in a low income neighborhood. Life was busy, loud, full of deadlines and commitments, and I was 22 years old. Around that time, I stumbled upon …
Can you imagine a God who dances with shouts of joy, laughs, plays, goes to parties, enjoys life and invites us to join the fun? I couldn’t until recently. Like most of us, I grew up with a very serious, workaholic God who chastised me for not keeping busy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Even though I …
As a kid growing up in Southern California, I spent a lot of time in the water. I loved the adventure of swimming in the ocean and the challenge of making it out to the recreational buoys and back again. They were just far away enough to feel a little dangerous. Maybe it was the hard work of swimming or …
We are living in a challenging season. Since the inauguration of a new president, civil discord and angry protests have had many of us oscillating between despair and hope. In the midst of venting our strong feelings we lose the ability to listen to each other, and we increase the conflict and the divide between us. Hope so easily gives …
It’s that time of the year when many of us are in transition. Students of all ages begin a new school year. Some of us are starting new jobs, and at church we are getting ready for the new seasons of Advent and Christmas. Even the created world is in transition, that season between summer and autumn when, at least …
Founding a new community will lead you to encounter unusual levels of chaos. New people, new places, new plans, and new priorities are just a few of the dynamics at work behind the chaotic experience of a planter. Although typically avoided, chaos is not always a bad thing. Under the right conditions, it can actually facilitate growth and innovation. This …