Confessions of a Man with a Sick Identity
My wife Carla almost died on our honeymoon. Traveling to Colorado for a two week vacation, we spent Sunday night in Iowa. The next morning Carla …
Articles
The Wonder of the Ascension
A couple of weeks ago Christians celebrated the Ascension of Jesus. Do you ever wonder why we celebrate the Ascension? I understand celebrating the …
The Heresy of Wonder-less Theology
I wonder sometimes if the greatest problem facing the modern church is a lack of wonder. When we were kids, all kinds of experiences brought wonder. …
Imagination, Intimacy, and Hearing God
I’m discovering that meditation is one of the most powerful ways to hear God. No, “powerful” isn’t a strong enough word. Meditation may be the most …
To Be, or to Do, that is the question
God is speaking to me again—I resist this message—about Being before Doing. I mix them up. I bet you do too. It is so “natural” to work (do) those …
Christianity: Will-Power or Desire-Power?
I know a man, a really good man, whose life is filled with drudgery. He dutifully cares for his wife and family; he dutifully pours out his life in …
How Does God View Us?
There’s a story about the artist Michelangelo who passed by a block of marble somewhere. He stopped transfixed and said, “I see an angel in there. …
Hearing God and Reflection
Thirty years ago I lived and worked in London with several other men. We were involved in campus ministry and the charismatic renewal. One …
Our Downward Spiral of Addiction
Cynthia Hymel lived in New York in the 1970s and she knew actors and artists before their fame—while they were still bussing tables and driving …
Filling the Void[ance]
My father taught me that discovering our true selves cannot be had by merely avoiding negative behavior we see in others. But herein lays an irony: …
Avoiding Avoidance
Deathbed advice offers impact which no other advice provides. My father died of cancer sixteen years ago. A few weeks before his death, knowing he …
Pursuing an Inner Life
The two pictures below show Mt. St. Helens. One was taken on May 17, 1980, and the other was taken several days later. Beneath the calm exterior of a …