In my studies I am reading Ola Tjørhom, who represents what has been called “evangelical catholicism.” He is concerned that the Reformation project went seriously wrong, and one of its greatest failings was its lack of recognition that the ecclesiology of the Reformers remained essentially catholic even while they criticized Rome in terms of doctrines andContinue reading “The Gospel of the Empirical Perceptibility of Grace, or in other words, Keep it Physical, Stupid!”
Category Archives: Spiritual Formation
Eschatological Me
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20, KJV) You died, and your life is hidden withContinue reading “Eschatological Me”
Get Small
The world tells us in a thousand different ways that the bigger we become, the freer we will be. The richer, the more beautiful, and the more powerful we grow, the more security, liberty, and happiness we will experience. And yet, the gospel tells us just the opposite, that the smaller we become, the freerContinue reading “Get Small”
Daniel Jepsen: A Season of Nothingness
Daniel blogs at Random Musing on Life, the Universe and Everything * * * I will be doing nothing this fall. For three full months, I will have no deadlines, to-do lists, phone calls or emails to answer. Nothing. I will be hiking, praying, reading, and spending time with my family. And I will stillContinue reading “Daniel Jepsen: A Season of Nothingness”
Get Lost!
Popular religion focuses so hard on spiritual success that most of us do not know the first thing about the spiritual fruits of failure. When we fall ill, lose our jobs, wreck our marriages, or alienate our children, most of us are left alone to pick up the pieces. Even those of us who areContinue reading “Get Lost!”
Busyness as Moral Laziness
The Desert Fathers (a protest movement in the early church) spoke of busyness as “moral laziness.” Busyness can also be an addictive drug, which is why its victims are increasingly referred to as “workaholics.” Busyness acts to repress our inner fears and perpetual anxieties, as we scramble to achieve an enviable image to display toContinue reading “Busyness as Moral Laziness”
Come to the Quiet
Yet in our busy, noisy, overstimulating mission field of the world, it is one of the church’s high callings to give the gift of silence, of greater spaciousness to make room for contemplative encounters with the means of grace, so that the Spirit may most freely do the works of salvation to form us inContinue reading “Come to the Quiet”
Depression and Delight
The opposite of depression is delight, being spontaneously surprised by the goodness and beauty of living. This is not something we can ever positively crank up and make happen in our lives. It is, as every saint and sage has told us, the by-product of something else. It is something that happens to us andContinue reading “Depression and Delight”
When “Worship” Is about Getting High
Through the influence of our consumer culture we’ve come to believe that transformation is attained through external experiences. We’ve come to regard our church buildings, with their multimedia theatrical equipment, as mountaintops where God’s glory may be encountered. Many of us ascend this mountain every Sunday morning wanting to have an experience with God, andContinue reading “When “Worship” Is about Getting High”
I Honestly Don’t Know
After many years of seeking to live a spiritual life, I still ask myself, “Where am I as a Christian?” — “How far have I advanced?” — “Do I love God more now than earlier in my life?” — “Have I matured in faith since I started on the spiritual path?” Honestly I don’t knowContinue reading “I Honestly Don’t Know”
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