Donald Miller over at Storyline Blog put out a video the other day, in which he talks about the moment he realized he was codependent in his romantic relationships. Here’s how it happened: A counselor leading a small group session laid out three pillows on the floor. She had Don stand on one of these…
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:28-29 In my last post, I imagined what it might mean for a whole community to respond…
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. – Isaiah 60:1-2 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in…
The truth about myself is often hard to see. It is easy to overlook my own brokenness precisely because it is such a part of who I am. I have grown accustomed to it. The log in my own eye seems normal, which makes it far easier to play doctor to others than to examine…
“Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand…” – Isaac Pennington, 1667 During my studies at Earlham School of Religion, I was part of an…
I recently received an email from an American Quaker who had read my recent post, Freelance Ministry or the Body of Christ? They wrote:“I am totally in agreement with what you advocate — and my behaviors as minister among Friends are strictly Lone Ranger-mode. It’s not only my culture, it’s how I survived childhood. Those…
Now you are the Body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27 Since becoming a Christian in the Quaker tradition, I have witnessed the wide range of character of many different congregations. There are the obvious differences, like attendance, geography and theology. There are differences in class background, age and the…