In my inner search to get back to the deeper passions of my heart–as a clue to what God would have me do with them–I’ve recently had an “a-ha” moment.
Right Under My Nose (part 1)
Categories: changing mindsets, Meanderings (look it up), My Story
Categotry Archives: My Story
Best of LMR: "The View from Here"
Categories: Meanderings (look it up), My Story
Reposted from March 2008.
I spend a lot of time here in the ongoing process of “de-constructing”–in other words, processing my thoughts and discussing the issues about the institutional forms of Christianity that are now in my rear-view mirror. That de-construction is necessary, and a lot of fellow bloggers are documenting their own similar journeys.
The Thing About Boys and Girls, and the Weird, Sort of Twisted Way I Am Able to Tie It In with the Church
Categories: food for thought, My Story
(For those tracking on my series of posts about “Re-Thinking Worship”, fear not; we’ll return to that thread soon. Today, I want to share an excerpt from a book I’m working on. Please don’t copy this without my permission.)
I know there’s a season in the childhood of young boys when they are not supposed to like girls. For me, I can’t remember such a time. Oh, when I was four or five, I bought into the girls-have-cooties thing for awhile, but that was mostly because other boys were saying so. I suppose at that time I could have taken girls or left them, but I never remember a time when I disliked them.
Close Encounters of the First Kind–The Holy Spirit in My Life
Categories: food for thought, My Story, post-charismatic
So I just found out about Robbymac’s synchroblog this morning (via Barb and Sarah)–the one encouraging people (especially post-charismatics) to tell our stories of “how we first became acquainted with, and eager for, the felt presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.” And I was like, “Hey, I wanna do that, too!” 🙂 So here ya go.
I was raised until about age 10 in the Episcopal church. My divorced mom was devout, and I remember she and I being the only attendees many times at early morning Lent services (only one of us actually being a willing participant).
Departing: How I Found Myself Outside the Walls
Categories: food for thought, My Story
After my last blog posting, it’s getting apparent I need to change the subject. 🙂 (Thanks for all the comments, folks.)
I’m sure I’ve covered this previously somewhere in the blog archives, but it’s sort of on my mind today. I’d like to share a little of my story, and how I have wound up outside the walls of institutional Christianity.
Reading the stories of many others out there, it is apparent that many who are among the “disenfranchised” when it comes to the IC have simply walked away. Either they left because they were disillusioned, or they left because they were wounded (and often a bit of both). Either way–they were the ones who did the walking.
Stuff I Learned from U2, and How It Influenced My Current Path
Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, My Story
As I’ve said at other times on this blog, my journey out of institutional Christianity has been a progressive one, but it wasn’t until I had a wake-up call–a public rebuke from a local pastor–that I truly realized how far I had drifted from the culture of the institutional church.
Before that point, I was still trying to belong to “the club” in many ways–still trying to garner acceptance from the mainstream church. After this point, I recognized that wasn’t working. I was clearly outside the walls, and I needed to learn how to embrace that fully.
The Issue of Authority–My Own Journey
Categories: changing mindsets, My Story
In the informal blog-circle in which I’ve found myself–many of whom, like myself, are going through different stages of re-thinking institutional Christianity–recently the issue of authority/leadership has come up. Because so many have been wounded through abusive leadership (or even well-intended leadership operating in a broken system), there are some understandable questions being raised about whether we’ve got the authority issue right. Does Jesus intend us to submit to human spiritual authority, or is He alone our Shepherd and leader?
I have a lot of thoughts on this myself, and right now they are all kind of jumbled. In other words, if I put them down here now, they’d probably look like this:
The Road
Categories: Meanderings (look it up), My Story
Every so often I notice some small thing from my past that I can tell was speaking prophetically to where I am today. Little signposts here and there that God has been walking with me.
I wrote this song over 15 years ago. Every so often I dust it off and ponder the lyric, because it so speaks to me personally, even now. Thought I’d share it with you today.
THE ROAD
by Jeff McQuilkin
I’m looking down a long and dusty road
And it’s leading to a place I long to be
I’ve seen this place so many times before
In my dreams
Somehow I’ve known it is my destiny
The Great Shift–and My Unwitting Part In It
Categories: changing mindsets, church, My Story
(The following entry is part of a synchroblog sponsored by Glenn at Re-Dreaming the Dream.)
Two or three years ago, a national Christian magazine published an article about the growing number of “stay-away saints” in America–millions of professing believers who are not regularly attending organized church anymore, but many of whom still maintain a vibrant faith. The article attempted to cover both sides of the trend, quoting people who expressed concerns about it and those who felt perhaps it is the sign of healthy change. But interestingly, the underlying theme of the article, and indeed the entire issue of the magazine, was this: “Come back to church.” Instead of addressing the issues that caused these Christians to feel disillusioned, discontent, or out-of-place in institutional Christianity, the message was just that these people should return to the very institutions that had alienated them, for more of the same.
The View From Here
Categories: Meanderings (look it up), My Story
I spend a lot of time here in the ongoing process of “de-constructing”–in other words, processing my thoughts and discussing the issues about the institutional forms of Christianity that are now in my rear-view mirror. That de-construction is necessary, and a lot of fellow bloggers are documenting their own similar journeys.
However, I think it’s important to note that this journey is about far more than what is in the rear-view mirror. There is a lot of stuff ahead of me, a whole horizon to explore. Stuff I never knew existed. So I thought I’d talk a little about that today.