More self-indulgent thoughts on my life. Skip if that annoys you. In the middle of this week, I heard some seriously bad health news about a good friend. Yesterday, I had to turn down an opportunity I really wanted to accept. Last night, I got a confusing and frustrating work-related letter. Today, I’ve really struggledContinue reading “Keep Going”
Category Archives: The Pit Stop Updates
No Regrets: A Better Look At Life
Young folks in ministry. Adults living in regret. This is for you. There was a time, in the last decade, that I constantly and painfully struggled with regrets about various choices I’d made in my life. I regretted not finishing doctoral studies. (I made it 37 hours in and never finished the paper.) I regrettedContinue reading “No Regrets: A Better Look At Life”
Blogosphere Spirituality: An Assessment
I’m writing about spirituality these days. Yeah, I know how a lot of you feel about that word. So deal. We’re going to use it. We’re also going to use another word some of you don’t like: formation. Now that we’re good and grumpy, let’s go for a ride. I’ve been reflecting on the spiritualContinue reading “Blogosphere Spirituality: An Assessment”
Holes in the Soul
Back in the day, I got a psych major in my undergrad work. That’s pretty ironic, believe me, in more ways than you can imagine. I can’t say I learned a great deal, but I did begin a lifelong journey of making observations and drawing tentative conclusions about myself. If I would have paid attentionContinue reading “Holes in the Soul”
Am I the Unbeliever?
A good and dear friend recently updated me on developments in her recent spiritual journey. Let’s stop here. If you’re reading this, here’s a question for you: What do you expect to hear now? Thought about it? Good. Let’s go on. Most of what she told me about would go in the category of signsContinue reading “Am I the Unbeliever?”
Alone, and Not Alone: Meditations From the Evangelical Wilderness
We talk about the evangelical wilderness around here a lot. It’s sometimes academic, and sometimes it’s very personal to all of us. These are some of my thoughts from there today. If God has taught me anything, it’s that you (yes YOU) are out there, and I’m not the only one. This post is forContinue reading “Alone, and Not Alone: Meditations From the Evangelical Wilderness”
Chronicle of the Journey
Back in the day, many of you counted on me to write about my personal journey. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, almost all of that kind of material has gone into storage or been deleted. Hopefully, this piece will recalibrate us all on the journey, but not cause quite the chaos in my environment asContinue reading “Chronicle of the Journey”
The Jonah 4 Club
Here’s a useful question for me right now. (Maybe it will be useful to you, or maybe not.) Can you find places in scripture where someone had to drastically revise their idea of God in order to know and follow the true God? If so, why and how? I’m not asking for places where peopleContinue reading “The Jonah 4 Club”
The Things That Won’t Go Away
They’re back. My sins, that is. Just in case you need to know, my name is Michael Spencer. I’m a Christian minister who has given 33+ years of my life to telling people… My sins, O the bliss of this glorious thought My sins not in part, but the whole Were nailed to the crossContinue reading “The Things That Won’t Go Away”
Peter Rollins on Orthodoxy, Doxology and The End of Religion
In the book Rising from the Ashes, Becky Garrison interviews emerging church leader Peter Rollins, author of How (Not) to Speak of God and the soon to be released The Fidelity of Betrayal: The Ir/Religious Heart of Christianity. Rollins has always intrigued me. Some of his ideas are difficult to grasp, but in this interviewContinue reading “Peter Rollins on Orthodoxy, Doxology and The End of Religion”
The Internet Monk Archives 