Spiritual Trail Guide
Last week I was at a church which hosted the first-ever Cultivate San Diego conference, which I helped to design and lead. As I hauled conference gear out to my car, I reviewed the many scenes of engaged participants, practitioner-speakers, moving worship, and deep conversation. During my last trip back and forth, a homeless man …
[Fighting a few rounds of a Christmas cold slowed me down in getting this post out-- but it also provided time for the Posada experience to deepen, to ripen further. Refresh your memory with my previous post as I anticipated this meaningful day. ] My Dec. 15th Posada experience in Tijuana cannot be captured in …
This Saturday I am joining 150 others on a 12+ hour experiential learning day in Tijuana among the migrant caravan. Our day has been designed to first simply be with the migrants themselves, to meet them in person rather than through news media sound bites and video clips. We will hear individual stories and share …
I claim to want to move deeper into the world of being a peacemaker, a reconciler, a bridge person who wades into the breach to stretch both directions across divides and conflicts. I want to heal enmities and convert them to collaborations. The phrase I've coined for this complex place is the Messy Middle. I …
Y'all know the iconic phrase, "More cow bell!".... right? From that over-the-top SNL skit featuring Will Ferrell in a Blue Oyster Cult-esque band where he not just added some background beats but overpowered the music and vocals with that raucous cow bell... but it was never quite enough for the producer who kept demanding "more …
I've taken a longer break from blogging than intended, and for the last few weeks it's been due to the tsunami of grief that hit like a cement truck when I got news that my dear friend Deb was in her final weeks if not days. Her wide circle of friends knew of her battle …
"Scaling the empathy wall"-- that's what author Arlie Russell Hochschild challenged herself to do in researching for five years and finally writing her book, "Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right." As a sociologist and writer living in far left Berkley, she wanted to not merely understand those politically opposite …
Where do you find hospitality for your heart, for your soul? Is there a place where you know you will be welcomed, every part of you whether manicured or messy, confident or crying, peaceful or in crisis? What relationship invites you to rest, relax, coax out the desires you're not sure about but have felt …
Last week I shared a slice of the ongoing conversation within the ReNew team on how our clients seem to be faring-- the ones we invite out of the trenches to pause, catch their breath, take a step back from the daily pressures of their roles as community and spiritual leaders. They are the pastors, …
How are Christian ministry leaders doing these days? Two days ago I got to be part of a rich discussion on the state of our faith leaders, particularly those served by the ReNew team which I am a staff member of. It was noted with a wry chuckle that, alas, you can find a report …
