I don’t know about each one of you personally, but I’m sure many of us grew up and lived in a religious context that was defined by ought and must and should. So many rules! Expectations! Goals! Dangers! Warnings! They weren’t always explicit though. They were...
Goodbye to the Ghetto
Goodbye to the Ghetto Not longer ago in our private Facebook group I shared that I was experiencing some grief. I feel like I’m losing something and moving on to a new place that is unfamiliar but not unpleasant. I appreciate that some of you have reached out to me...
Has spiritual reading fulfilled its role for you?
A very interesting thing happened to me this week. Someone on Facebook asked me which theologian I like to read. I suddenly realized that I don’t read theology. Not anymore. I used to. I used to be obsessed with it. I devoured it. I had thousands of theology books and...
No I Didn’t Need a Sabbatical!
Last week a former member of my last church said to me, “Why didn’t you just take a sabbatical instead of leaving the ministry?” Now, I know this person loves me and wishes I never left the ministry and had continued as their pastor. But there are so many problems...
Spiritual Cross-Training
Last night Lisa and I were invited out to our friends’ cottage on the river. We had a wonderful evening sitting on the deck overlooking the very active river, full of boaters, swimmers, sailors, and even jet-packers, while we drank a fine wine, ate local smoked...
Authenticity with Accountability
This letter’s going to be short. I’ve been busy in many ways over the past 2 weeks. Lisa’s been in Alabama taking care of her brother following his open-heart surgery. She returns tonight. I can’t wait! Today I want to write about something that TLS values very much....
Why there is Swearing in TLS
Last week I asked TLSers in our Facebook group for an explanation I can give to people who ask, “Why is swearing allowed on TLS?” Some people who are no longer with us found it either unnecessary, or rude, or indicative or immaturity or even sinfulness. Some others...
Truth Pushes and Pulls
My spiritual journey is very much an inward one with outward consequences. I have been a hard seeker after truth, and this has forced me to constantly physically move myself to more suitable and sustainable living conditions for this spiritual journey. I believe truth...
The Resources Available to You
Hi everyone! My passion, my mission, and I choose to accept it, is to help people on their journeys of spiritual independence, and to provide safe places for spiritually independent people to gather. The other night Lisa and I went to a wedding. There were a lot of...
Not Down. Not Up. But Across!
I can tell when I’m being talked down to. I can tell when I’m being spoken up to. I can tell when someone is talking to me as an equal. When I was in Toronto attending to the details of my brother’s passing just over a week ago, a pastor and his wife came to visit my...
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