OBSESSION
OBSESSION Okay, I’m going to get personal. I worry a lot about my weight and appearance. I experienced a lot of body-shaming when I was growing up. I possess the notorious “Hayward Gut”… where the Hayward men don’t gain weight anywhere but right underneath their ribs...
Are You Meeting Opposition?
ARE YOU MEETING OPPOSITION? Yesterday I offered to answer questions from my followers on Instagram. They could type their question and I can video my answer. It lasts a day. I didn’t expect to be so busy! There were lots of questions. But I noticed a common theme:...
NO ONE HAS A GUN TO YOUR HEAD
YOU DON”T HAVE A GUN TO YOUR HEAD I remember the first time I said this to myself. I had left the ministry (again) in 2003. After a couple of years I decided to try to plant another church. I gave it a few months, realized I hated it, but refused to feel trapped. So I...
Be Nobody’s Victim, Including Yours!
BE NOBODY'S VICTIM, INCLUDING YOURS Empowering others is important to me. What I mean by this is not that I give them power, but that I help them recognize, tap into, and exercise theirs. Even yesterday I was speaking with someone. They said they were embarrassed by...
WHY TLS IS DIFFERENT
WHY TLS IS DIFFERENT I’m not saying there aren’t other groups out there like TLS. I’m just saying I don’t know of any. I think it’s because our core value is that we entrust each person to their own journeys… whether we call them spiritual or otherwise (when I use the...
STRAY OR STAY
STRAY OR STAY? This last weekend Lisa and I went on a mini-vacation. We visited some good old friends… friends I got ordained with many years ago. They are now all retired or retiring and living off their pensions. At one point I asked one of them, “So what did I walk...
A Book You Gotta Read
A BOOK YOU GOTTA READ Today’s letter is very simple. I want to recommend a lovely book to you. It’s “Search Inside Yourself” by Chade-Meng Tan. The reason I like it is because it is written so simply, clearly, and with a good dose of humor. The humor is already...
What’s TLS Good For?
TLSers have something in common. We are pioneers. Here are the three stages of being a pioneer: You realize you’re not happy where you are. You’re not settled. Everyone else around you seems to be mostly content. But not you! You are restless. Maybe you are even...
Is It Safe?
IS IT SAFE? Some people assume I’ve got my act together because I help others through their deconstruction process. Not! I just returned from visiting my family for over a week. I love them, and they love me. But it became obvious to me that I still haven’t got it...
