It was both stunning and memorable. Over a several-week period, the wall sculpture was built, piece by piece. It was modern but the images were recognizable. Each week, a few more pieces were added. When completed, the sculpture covered the entire front wall of the chapel. In the early 1980s,… Read More »(Re)Building Our Cities and Our Lives Together
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
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
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
It was a difficult year for me. It’s not easy to convey what it was like. To begin with, I’m one of those people who started working in high school with part-time odd jobs. I always had something going on. Then, unexpectedly, I lost my job and was receiving unemployment… Read More »My Experience with Transformation: A Surprising Re-Orientation
As a child, I was fascinated by caterpillars. Living in rural Western Pennsylvania, there was a variety of caterpillars to be found in the back yard on plants and climbing on the stone wall of my family’s home. I was a bit older when I learned that these caterpillars would… Read More »Transformation: An Evolving Process
The sermon was high energy. The congregation followed the preacher closely. They laughed at humorous stories, applauded emphatically when she made poignant points, and shouted “Amen!” more frequently than most congregations in my predominantly white denomination. The preacher was a woman considered to be one of the most inspiring in… Read More »Spiritual Transformation: Sounds Great, But….
There is one pivotal event in the sacred story of Christianity which is crucial for understanding what it means to be a follower of Jesus. That is the resurrection of Jesus. The good news at the heart of the Christian message described in the New Testament is not that Jesus… Read More »Resurrection Where It Counts
