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It’s a line I threw out in a sermon a few years ago — a sermon focused on the importance of what I call the “horizontal beam” of Christianity (i.e., our relationship with our “neighbor(s)”). Here, many of you know…

In various religious circles, a “rule of life” refers to the definition or regulation of rhythms, rituals, and relationships — held to be conducive to individual and communal spiritual formation.  Various religious orders have such rules.  There’s the Rule of…

At the intersection of the Enneagram and my love for great movies-stories are books like Michael Goldberg’s Travels with Odysseus: Uncommon Wisdom from Homer’s Odyssey. (Kathy came across it in a discussion last week while about advanced Enneagram training with…

“Good enough”; it’s a concept my friend and counselor (I think I can use both labels together), Gerry Desobe, introduced me to a few years ago. We were talking about parenting. Like a lot of folks, I have my laments…

“The proper response of a white American male is to work out a theology of repentance.”  It was the response of Dr. John Deschner, a seminary professor at Perkins (30+ years ago), on the other side of my asking about…

Dallas Willard’s words (above) are testimony to the fact that the Christian life is, first and last (and everywhere in-between), a matter of Grace.   It’s a good and needful word in this day and age – when so many seek…

Among the times God has “called” me was a memorable experience I had as a student attending A&M United Methodist Church. It came to me as I sat in the pews, even before the formal service had begun—a reminder through…

I came across a most interesting article on “How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity.”  Essentially, it is a [not so surprising] corollary to the power of gratitude—underscored in a post from November, 2018 on “Count Your Blessings!”  In a…

[Prefacing Note: This post represents a fourth (and final) installment on Joy as it is characterized in Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians [what some have called the “epistle of joy”… for all the ways the word appears throughout its four…