It was over 10 years ago that I was able to be with the A Place Apart community for a retreat. This past weekend I was able to meet with 25 others who are seeking another way of being true to the story of Jesus while asking crucial questions around that seeking.
The weekend was not what I had come to expect as we spent more time in intentional conversations around what shifts are taking place in the church. What was equally important was the opportunity to begin using a guidebook called "Encounters." I suspect that the next few posts on this blog may pertain to how I'm engaging the guidebook. So I hope if this becomes interesting to you, that you will engage me in conversation as well.
This most certainly is a pebble creating a concentric ring in my own journey and hope that you will walk with me along the way.
October 12, 2016
June 11, 2016
Fertile Soil
My son was born a little over 3 weeks ago... and more than 2 months ago I began a wellness journey that has absolutely doing everything I had hoped for and more!
When you begin to discipline yourself in one area, I believe it spills out into other areas of your life as well. I am experiencing a wave of creativity and synchronicity that is propelling my life forward in a way that I've not felt in a long time and it is exciting!
I'll post more later, particularly as it relates to where this journey is taking me... but rest assured... there hasn't been this much fertile soil in my life since I left for WAS nearly 7 years ago.
When you begin to discipline yourself in one area, I believe it spills out into other areas of your life as well. I am experiencing a wave of creativity and synchronicity that is propelling my life forward in a way that I've not felt in a long time and it is exciting!
I'll post more later, particularly as it relates to where this journey is taking me... but rest assured... there hasn't been this much fertile soil in my life since I left for WAS nearly 7 years ago.
January 12, 2016
It's More Than...
Every year, (for the past 10 years) it's the same challenge and ultimately the same struggle.
Not this year.
Something's changed.
Something's different.
It's more than just not being able to keep up with my 2 year old.
It's more than realizing I'm going to be a father again.
It's more than just being in the worst shape of my life. (read more than just physically..)
It's more that I've been stuck in my head and not listening to my body.
It's more that I still believe I can think myself into a new way of living.
(Look where that has gotten me.)
It's more than seeing how it affects every aspect of my life.
A recent quote by Neale Donald Walsch got me thinking about how I have to approach this:
Yearning for a new way will not produce it.
Only ending the old way can do that.
You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new.
The old will defy the new. the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new.
There is only one way to bring in the new.
You must make room for it.
It's more than just yearning for it.
It's more that I've not made room for it.
I am making room for the new me.
Not this year.
Something's changed.
Something's different.
It's more than just not being able to keep up with my 2 year old.
It's more than realizing I'm going to be a father again.
It's more than just being in the worst shape of my life. (read more than just physically..)
It's more that I've been stuck in my head and not listening to my body.
It's more that I still believe I can think myself into a new way of living.
(Look where that has gotten me.)
It's more than seeing how it affects every aspect of my life.
A recent quote by Neale Donald Walsch got me thinking about how I have to approach this:
Yearning for a new way will not produce it.
Only ending the old way can do that.
You cannot hold onto the old all the while declaring that you want something new.
The old will defy the new. the old will deny the new; the old will decry the new.
There is only one way to bring in the new.
You must make room for it.
It's more than just yearning for it.
It's more that I've not made room for it.
I am making room for the new me.
September 16, 2015
The Ministry of Wayfinding
It's been a month since I've been re-licensed in the Church of the Brethren.
And all I can say is that it is different this time around.
For the first 12 years that I was licensed, it just felt like something I had to do since I was in pastoral ministry. Yet this time around, there's a sense of heightened accountability that I didn't have during the previous years. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I had some wilderness time away to better clarify that call. Maybe it's because I now have a family who shares that affirmation. One thing is for sure though, I have the affirmation of my ministry today in a way that I didn't prior. I'm involved in Outdoor Ministry/Education in ways that expand beyond just my local context.
This licensing is a reminder that I am called to be 'coyote' to the church. Though many may not understand what that means entirely it has been the best way I know to relate to the church. There has also been a few (so called mystical) moments that have occurred in the span of me being re-licensed. And language that once inflated the ego now somehow is helping me gain a better sense of just what 'coyote' ministry to the CoB will be. At my licensing service, one of my supporters shared how coyote also has come to mean one who is a 'wayfinder' for others.
Maybe that's a better description of my calling to the church.
A wayfinder.
P.S. As part of my sense of accountability, I plan to blog more frequently as well. I find that this medium has helped me piece together my best thoughts/ideas/vision for integrating nature connection and spirituality so I hope to be more regular in that regard. In the meantime, get outside and connect!
And all I can say is that it is different this time around.
For the first 12 years that I was licensed, it just felt like something I had to do since I was in pastoral ministry. Yet this time around, there's a sense of heightened accountability that I didn't have during the previous years. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I had some wilderness time away to better clarify that call. Maybe it's because I now have a family who shares that affirmation. One thing is for sure though, I have the affirmation of my ministry today in a way that I didn't prior. I'm involved in Outdoor Ministry/Education in ways that expand beyond just my local context.
This licensing is a reminder that I am called to be 'coyote' to the church. Though many may not understand what that means entirely it has been the best way I know to relate to the church. There has also been a few (so called mystical) moments that have occurred in the span of me being re-licensed. And language that once inflated the ego now somehow is helping me gain a better sense of just what 'coyote' ministry to the CoB will be. At my licensing service, one of my supporters shared how coyote also has come to mean one who is a 'wayfinder' for others.
Maybe that's a better description of my calling to the church.
A wayfinder.
P.S. As part of my sense of accountability, I plan to blog more frequently as well. I find that this medium has helped me piece together my best thoughts/ideas/vision for integrating nature connection and spirituality so I hope to be more regular in that regard. In the meantime, get outside and connect!