The movement started when Christianity could be legally practiced in the Roman Empire. Those in serious pursuit of a way of life that could be called “Christian” left their towns and cities and headed to remote places to live alone or in small groups. The most notable were the ones… Read More »Becoming Fire
I’m a person of faith. But here’s the thing: while I believe deeply in some things, the beliefs I hold most firmly aren’t statements of religious dogma. Even with my theological education, when I think about dogmatic statements, I generally scratch my head and wonder, “What’s the point?” Among the… Read More »Living Faith
I’ve experienced many different kinds of transitions in my life. I’ve lived in Johnstown, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Morgantown, WV; Miami Beach, FL; Tucson, AZ; St. Louis, MO; and Atlanta, GA. Movements from city to city represent one kind of transition I’ve experienced. I’ve held many different jobs: hospital chaplain, pastor,… Read More »Transitions and Transfigurations
If you’re a user of social media, you’ve likely seen a meme frequently shared in recent weeks. It contains an image of an Amish man with a caption something like this: “A tourist asked an Amish man if he was Christian. The Amish man responded, ‘I don’t know. You’ll have… Read More »Ask My Neighbor
Belief in a deity: it’s a debate that’s often framed in predictable ways. Either a person believes in God or is an atheist. Or a person believes in the Christian God or a Muslim God or a Hindu God.. Or perhaps one has made money, power, or prestige a deity.… Read More »What God do You Believe In?
It’s an age-old question … one that people continue to ask. Why is this happening? Things happen to us that we view as bad. We look for a reason. We ask these questions when we don’t get the job we want, when a relationship doesn’t work out, or when a… Read More »Jesus, God’s Glory, and the Law of Attraction
He was sweet and full of energy: a blond-haired, blue-eyed six-year-old boy. He had a smile and laugh that conveyed joy to others. His name was Chris. I met him when on the pediatric unit of the hospital I served as a chaplain in the early 1980s. Over the next… Read More »Faith in the Midst of Tragedy
Faith. It’s trust and confidence in someone or something. It’s a conviction about something that’s not based on objective evidence. While we usually think about faith in terms of religious beliefs or the existence of a deity, we actually have faith about a great number of things in life. For… Read More »Faith: Moving Beyond Dogma
