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 …
Like everyone else around me, I am struggling to make sense of what the new reality facing us in the coming weeks as we return to work and a semblance of normalcy, could look like. This has not been an easy time for any of us, but in the midst some startling and beautiful facts have emerged. My daily walks …
Normal. What is normal? After all, what seems normal to some is abnormal for others. When my work takes me out of town, I try to stay with friends, family, or colleagues as often as possible. Not only is it more cost-effective, but doing this allows me to catch a glimpse into someone else’s “normal,” solidifying the fact that “normals” …
“Our God is a God who cares, heals, guides, directs, challenges, confronts, corrects. To discern means first of all to listen to God, to pay attention to God’s active presence, and to obey God’s prompting, direction, leadings, and guidance.” [Henri Nouwen][1] Discerning God’s direction does not happen by accident. The Spirit helps us to discern but we have a part to …
Being Pastor or Planter involves embracing a ministry vocation that includes a consistent encounter with the conflicts and challenges most spend their life trying to avoid. While leading people to the beauty of Christ, we concurrently face the tragedy of betrayal, grief from unending losses, and pain from emotional assaults. What happens to our mind, soul, and body from this …
Leading in the way of Jesus is beautiful and incredibly vulnerable. We experience both joy and despair, fulfillment and loss, growth and disillusionment. Emotional cuts and bruises are inevitable, yet few of us know how to practice a spirituality that identifies, receives, and heals our pain. We need practices that anchor us in the love of God so hearts do not …
“We are shaped by our stories. And these stories, or narratives are running and (often ruining) our lives.” [James Bryan Smith][1] Discerning God’s direction in life is often messy and confusing. The stories that we have picked up in life often times do not serve us well. We need regular periods of silence to help us identify these stories, examine …
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 live in a 24/7 culture of endless productivity, workaholism, distraction, burnout, and anxiety–a way of life to which we’ve sadly grown accustomed. Church Planters live in this exhausted world and by nature of starting a new church from scratch feel the pressure to make an impact immediately. It is easy to give into this urgent system of survival and …