Beautiful is good. It’s good to be moved by the beautiful. In fact, I’ve come to believe that when I’m deeply moved by something I think is beautiful, it is indicating to me something that is deeply true. I’ve had many such moments in my life. I remember when I first...
I Love You. I Just Don’t Understand You.
Last year I had a dream in which my father told me I should perhaps come to see him because he wasn’t sure he had much time left. So I did. That week I caught a plane and went, by myself, to see him. I was there for a week. It wasn’t until one of the last nights there...
Vacation and Resources
Hi guys! This letter has 2 purposes: First: Lisa and I are going on a much needed vacation tomorrow. We’ll be gone for a week. Apparently there’s no internet where we’re going, so I’ll be off the radar. Amazing! I think I’ll like it. I love how the community is...
It All Came in a Package
It all came in a package. The abuse I suffered. The control I was under. The theology I was fed. The denomination I was in. The community I was provided. It all came as a package. Some people tried to convince me, and some still do, that it was just the abuse I...
On the one hand thoughts, on the other, actions.
It has always fascinated me how our thoughts can be so detached from our actions. This realization started growing in me when I was a teenager in the church. They would say and do things that shocked me because it was so out of character from the way they proposed to...
The Enormous Pressure to Belong
I have been publicly sharing my work online for over a decade. The name “nakedpastor” originated from my desire to bare my soul as a pastor, to be honest about my journey, my thoughts, my vocation, my life, and to be vulnerable about my weaknesses and struggles as...
A Gift I Got Lisa from David Whyte
I love David Whyte's work. Check him out if you haven't come across him already. A couple months ago he informed us that he'd written another poem, "Sweet Darkness", and collaborated with a woodcut print artist to create this beautiful edition. I ordered one and got...
When I and the Universe Feel Most One
Early this morning I arose. The air was so cold outside that everything was silent. Including the radiant moon and its attendant stars. The only sound was the snow crunching under my boots. We took our second son to the airport at 3:30 am. We took our first yesterday...
Protect Your Inner Child
I do not like it when people mock other religions. I also do not like it when people mock the stages of faith that I have journeyed through. I’m not sure how this happened, but somewhere along the way I learned that it was not only negligent and shortsighted to...
The Mystery of Lost Friendships
I want to write to you today about the mystery of lost friends. What I mean is those people who were your friends, in fact very good friends, who suddenly drop off your radar. I mean online and in offline. I’m talking about people who you would have sworn are your...
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