“This was Jeremiah’s fate in Jerusalem. The crowd avoided dealing with his life by setting him apart. The crowds understood what he was saying and probably admired the way he was living, but their self-concepts were crowd-conditioned. They didn’t disbelieve in God, but they disqualified themselves from strenuous, personal participation. Biblical faith, however, has always insisted that there are no special aptitudes for a life with God—no required level of intelligence or degree of morality, no particular spiritual experience. The statement “I’m not the religious type” is inadmissible. There are no religious types. There are only human beings, every one created for a relationship with God that is personal and eternal. How can people who are conditioned to a life of distraction and indulgence be moved to live at their best, to be artists of the everyday, to plunge into life and not loiter on the fringes?” Run with the Horses. Eugene Peterson.
“There’s a rich spirituality in these principles: Stay inside your commitments, be faithful, your place of work is a seminary, your work is a sacrament, your family is a monastery, your home is a sanctuary. Stay inside them, don’t betray them, learn what they are teaching you without constantly looking for life elsewhere and without constantly believing that God is elsewhere.” Domestic Monastery. Ronald Rohlheiser
“We cannot answer the big question about the meaning of our own life unless we discover answers to the smaller ones: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? What does this relationship mean? What does our work mean? Every day our lives are rich with meaningful answers, but only when we stop long enough to appreciate meaning will it bloom in our lives.”Prisoners of Our Thoughts. Alex Pattakos, Elaine Dundon,
“The pastoral life is a refusal of any view that will make human maturity before God dependent on external stimulus, “good thoughts,” good impressions, edifying influences and ideas. Instead, the pastor must learn to live with his or her own darkness, with the interior horror or temptation and fantasy.” Eugene Peterson
"You know the antidote for exhaustion is not necessarily rest. It’s wholeheartedness." - David Whyte via @JonTyson
“The reason so many men are on the verge of burnout is not that they don’t have what it takes to face the challenges of their lives; it’s that they are living with half their hearts.
HALF-HEARTED MEN
No man sets out on the journey of life to lose his heart. It just kind of happens along the way. We live in an age of such anxiety, with so much to do and with much responsibility, that piece by piece our joy is smothered, our vision is blocked, and our hope is eroded.” - Jon Tyson
@theosheridan @sheen_alexander @owenmorgan@WillBriggs@JonTyson@johnmarkcomer@james_ka_smith Love trying to name this growing Movement. There are many churches and leaders around the world trying 2 build something that reflects FormationNewMonastic/EmotionalHealth/BiblicalOrthodoxy/CourageousMissionalCulturalEngagement/Charismatic/Community -I’m part of @gardenchurch_lb
There is a version of American nationalism that camouflages itself as Christianity...
It has its own icons and idols, its own creeds and worship songs.
But it looks nothing like Jesus.
If it doesn’t look like Jesus, it is counterfeit religion.
Christian means “Christ-like.”
@StevenMWhite @BrianAddisonLB@Gerard_Brown@RobertGarciaLB@lukehklipp Welcome to LB. You are gonna love this place. It is a beautifully diverse, welcoming and creative city. It’s a wonderful place for raising a family. Great community.
... I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”
Amos 5:21-24 MSG
““I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making...
I believe if Christians continue to excuse the racism and hate from the leaders they desire to hold power will result in a future church that is both powerless and ineffective in proclaiming the Gospel to the world. Our lives, beliefs & actions must be congruent w/ our message.
I wonder if Christians keep striving to get back to Egypt when the Lord is intentionally taking us through the wilderness. It’s in the wilderness we rediscover our dependence, identity and vocation. It’s the concistency of Egypt that provides so much comfort. May we press onward!