I remember being in a conversation, I think it was my Junior year of college, in which I was fully introduced to the term “hermeneutics.” I’d been familiar with “interpretation” before but the idea that there was a field of study based on the interpretive potters of readers was fascinating to me. It actually gave … Read More
I ask just about all my guests about life online. I’m of the opinion that “real” life happens there and I’m increasingly interested in the way it does; particularly when that happening takes on labels like “religion” or “faith” or “spirituality.” I think a fair amount of personal formation takes place online and I’m intrigued … Read More
I don’t know when the words “liberal” or “conservative” became insults. What I do know is that I can’t remember a time when they weren’t. So, maybe it’s always been this way to some degree. I’m not sure. My guest on this episode of the podcast is a voice who shows up on what many … Read More
When Donald Miller’s book “Blue Like Jazz” was initially making its rounds through religious circles, one of the hot topics of conversation had to do with cultural taboos. Namely, that there was a pastor in the book who cussed and that drinking alcohol was somewhat normalized. As someone who grew up around people who both … Read More
The very first beer I ever had was, I believe, a Bud Dry. That’s probably not true for a lot of folks, but it’s part of my story and I like it as someone who tests as a 4 on the enneagram. At the time, beer pretty much only showed up at parties or in … Read More
I just got off the phone with a long-time friend who is now a coaching client. It’s the call I needed in order to finish this script. This beloved friend began the conversation with the nearly universal phrase: “I feel like I’m always in the middle.” And I get that. Even though I disagree a … Read More
The ethos and heart of my next book is that just about nothing “is what it is.” Instead, as the title of the book would have it, It Is What You Make Of It. I realize that shifting from “it is what it is” to “it is what you make of it” is a long process … Read More
I think it was 6 or so years ago, I was in a session with a therapist who practiced cranial – sacral therapy. Which, in short, attends to the alignment of the body between the cranium (my noggin) and the sacrum (which is pretty much my tailbone). It’s a series of long tensions and pulls … Read More
Often enough, the topic of pain gets tied up into the same kind of conversations had about “evil.” Spoken of as a “problem” or a thing to be avoided. A thing that diminishes the human experience and limits relationships. Oddly, pain, including physical pain, is perhaps the most common human experience. in the eternally wise words … Read More
I didn’t know a lot about the actual life of Jesus before I was in my mid-twenties. Honestly, even after I started calling myself a Christian (which is far more interesting conversation now than it was then). What actually led me to do the work of discovery and research wasn’t a sermon series; it was … Read More
