One of the greatest skills to develop is the ability to critique the systems we are a part of. It shows humility, honesty and wisdom to refuse to automatically accept as truth the norms we are given. There are many of you on The Lasting Supper who are developed in and...

Jesus said that if we leave friends and family for his sake… which I believe means for the sake of truth… that we will be given much more in terms of friendship and family. This has been my experience. I have lost some friends and family, but I have gained so much...

Be gentle with yourself. Don't be so hard on yourself. Actually, I'm talking to me too. I had a few glasses of wine last night and ate some junk food. I woke up this morning disappointed in myself. Last Saturday I ran 10K, then 5K yesterday. I've been weight training...

I drew what I hope is a funny cartoon and told some stories this morning on nakedpastor called Call Dexter For a Spatter Analysis. This is one of the stories I told: "I served an older congregation in an old church building. Presbyterian. It was a blistering hot...

Today I drew a cartoon and wrote a post called Garbage for Brains. You might want to take a minute to read it. There's some fascinating links there to an inspiring and insightful video about advertising and women, as well as the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch...

Take a moment to read my cartoon and post on nakedpastor this morning called "Vows of Silence aren't Always Holy". It might be disturbing for you. It might make you sad. It might dredge up memories. It might make you angry. I'm sure it will make you feel something....

When Lisa and I were in the church friendship was automatic. Friends were handed to you on a silver platter, already packaged and ready to go. Especially as the pastor, everyone in the church is your friend whether you like it or not. When we left the church we had to...

I wrote this for the nakedpastor but I wanted to share it with all of you. I'm a little quiet online this weekend. Here's my explanation: Lisa and I are celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary this weekend. We are very proud of our achievement. It has been years of...

Something I hear a lot from people every day is the expression, "This is how I roll". It actually makes sense. I think it is a good thing to recognize how you roll. How you do things. How you think. How you typically respond. How you feel. How you are. It shows a...

Many years ago when I had my first spiritual director, she gave me an assignment. She asked me to write what she called my "spiritual history" from as far back as I could remember. That was a very meaningful exercise with surprising results. One of the stories I told...