main cow pic

02.03.12

Father Richard Rohr

Filed under: books,God's movement — 9:52 am

Fr Rohr

The spiritual teacher who has shaped me most in the last few years is Father Richard Rohr.  His books have been a lifeline to a living, mysterious, non-dual reality that has been largely missing from my faith.  Evangelical Christianity has many wonderful strengths that have shaped me profoundly, but it also has some profound blind spots.  And for some reason, this Franciscan Mystic has opened my eyes to a wider and deeper experience of my Christian faith.  I’m deeply, profoundly thankful for Fr Richard and his work.

If you’re interested in learning more, might I recommend a couple ways…

(1) Sign up for his Daily Meditation Email.  I can’t tell you how important and helpful it’s been to have a short thought from Fr Rohr show up in my email list every day.  In the middle of all my work craziness, I just pause and read his words, re-center, pray for a moment, and then dive back into work with a new groundedness.  Such a gift!

(2) Read his books.  My three favorites are “Falling Upward”, “Everything Belongs”, and “The Naked Now”.  His books aren’t very long, but read them slowly and let the teaching sink deeply in.

(3) His blog, etc.  You can visit his new blog Here, follow on Twitter Here, and visit his Facebook page Here.

Finally, I’ll leave you with yesterday’s “Daily Meditation”…

LIVING A WHOLE LIFE

How does one transition from the survival dance to the sacred dance? Let me tell you how it starts. Did you know the first half of life has to fail you? In fact, if you do not recognize an eventual and necessary dissatisfaction (in the form of sadness, restlessness, emptiness, intellectual conflict, spiritual boredom, even loss of faith, etc.), you will not move on to maturity. You see, faith really is about moving outside your comfort zone, trusting God’s lead, instead of just forever shoring up home base. Too often early religious “conditioning” largely substitutes for any real faith.

Usually, without growth being forced on us, few of us go willingly on the spiritual journey. Why would we? The rug has to be pulled out from beneath our game, so we redefine what balance really is. More than anything else, this falling/rising cycle is what moves us into the second half of our own lives. There is a “necessary suffering” to human life, and if we avoid its cycles we remain immature forever. It can take the form of failed relationships, facing our own shadow self, conflicts and contradictions, disappointments, moral lapses, or depression in any number of forms.

All of these have the potential to either edge us forward in life or to dig in our heels even deeper, producing narcissistic and adolescent responses that everybody can see except ourselves. We either “fall upward,” or we just keep falling.

(Adapted from Loving the Two Halves of Life: The Further Journey)

01.20.12

Finishing up Week Two of the Blog Tour

Filed under: A New Liturgy,books — 10:15 am

King Jesus Gospel

[01.20.12] Scot McKnight.  In a culture of increasing polarization, especially in Christian circles, Scot McKnight is doing something incredibly rare:  inviting thoughtful conversation across all kinds of theological lines.  He is one of the smartest New Testament teachers around, and yet is willing to learn from other people – even if they’re from “the other side of the theological tracks”.  And he invites us into this humble learning process together on his blog.  If you don’t read his blog, I highly suggest it.

And if I don’t sound like a big enough Scot McKnight fan yet, he wrote one of my favorite books of 2011:  “The King Jesus Gospel”.  (You can read my review HERE.)

Today’s Blog Tour head’s over to Scot’s blog, with a great post written by Kelly Dolan.  Along with being one of my favorite people on earth, Kelly is a ridiculously gifted creator, storyteller, actor, thinker, and maker-of-all-kinds-of-things.  He is currently pouring his energy into writing and developing multiple film and television projects.  Many thanks to Kelly for such a beautifully-written piece about A New Liturgy, and to Scot for being excited to host it.

12.19.11

Why NT Wright is a better person than me

Filed under: books,God's movement — 3:39 pm

NT Wright

Last month, I had the huge thrill of driving NT Wright to Chicago.  To be honest, I was pretty nervous about spending 45 minutes with one of the world’s leading biblical scholars, but couldn’t pass the opportunity.  My goal:  Learn as much as possible and try not to say anything dumb.

We began with a fascinating conversation about the current “us vs. them” mentality in Christianity.  He shared some brilliant insights into how/why this is true and I soaked it up.  It was like driving in the car with a theological Wikipedia…except smarter.  But right when I was finally getting comfortable in the conversation, I asked him, “Do you ever get tired of being the most conservative voice in any liberal room and the most liberal voice in any conservative room?”

He responded with “You know, Aaron, it sounds like you’re reverting to that old, dualistic, ‘us vs. them’ mentality…” and then he paused…

In that seemingly-eternal pause, I remembered that I wasn’t as smart or clever or evolved as I think I am.
And now even NT Wright knows it!  But as I was about to hurl myself out of the car in humiliation, Wright turned to me, with a little smile, and said “…but I know what you’re asking.”

With those 6 words, he made space for me.  Space for me to learn…space to say something dumb…space to not have it all figured out but still stay in the conversation.

Instead of blowing my ignorance out of the water with a freight train of powerful brilliance, he humbly met me where I was at.  And in that gracious space, he invited me into a higher conversation that I’ll remember for a long time.  So many thanks to the good Bishop!  Thanks for teaching me more with an off-the-cuff response than you could have in an hour of lecture.

I want to be more like NT Wright in this way.
How can I help create a space for someone to be who they really are today?

11.08.11

A really important book

Filed under: books,God's movement — 2:47 pm

20111108-154629.jpgI sincerely think that every Christian – especially every evangelical Christian – should read Scot McKnight’s new book The King Jesus Gospel. That’s a big statement, obviously, but here’s why…

Scot asks a seemingly simple question: “What is the gospel”?

We respond with the obvious answer we learned in Sunday School and nearly every church service since: “Jesus died for our sins, and if we accept him as our personal savior, then we can go to heaven some day.”

Scot responds: “What you said is absolutely true. Eternal forgiveness CAN be found in Jesus. But that’s not the gospel that Jesus preached. That is not the core of the good news according to the bible.”

We respond with: “…say what?”

And then McKnight invites us back into the scriptures, back into church history, and back into a fresh interaction with the Epic Story of God. I won’t wreck the surprise of where he eventually leads us, but it’s beautiful and huge and intelligent and so much more compelling than “Just say this prayer so you can go to Heaven some day.”

And the implications for seeing and living the Story in this way are huge. I highly recommend that you read and wrestle and discuss it today. You can dig in much deeper at his blog HERE.

What about you? If you’ve already read The King Jesus Gospel, what do you think?

07.27.11

two new books to check out!

Filed under: books,God's movement — 11:40 am

This month, three friends of mine are launching their first books.  But I’m not posting this simply because we’re friends, I’m posting this because I respect them like crazy and believe they have a ton to say.  Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson wrote “Rumors of God” because they’re not content with what Christianity has become.  But instead of getting cynical and throwing stones, they’re pushing forward into something more beautiful.  Here’s a short video…

And Blaine Hogan is releasing his first book “UNTITLED: Thoughts on the Creative Process” today!  I work with Blaine every day and have learned so much about about being a creative person from him.  I can’t wait to dig into this book.  Again, here’s a short video…

07.25.11

One of the most compelling articles I’ve read in a long time – PLEASE READ IT!

Filed under: books,God's movement — 7:50 pm

Carl and the Sheikh

Yesterday, Carl Medearis contributed an article to CNN.com that has blown up.  It may be quite controversial to some, but he’s wading into a wildly important conversation.  I love his heart and courage and perspective.

I’m not sure if this helps, but I know Carl and he is the real deal.  He doesn’t just talk…he actually risks his life to put his love for Jesus into practice.
(The picture to the right is of Carl and Sheikh Nabil Qawouk, Hezbollah’s number two leader, where Carl said “Hello.  I come in the name of Jesus Christ.  Can I pray for you?”  And the Sheikh said “Yes.”)

If you’re interested in the Christian-Muslim conversation, and want to be a part of peace instead of widening the gap, please read this today.  I’d love to hear your thoughts…

My Take: Why evangelicals should stop evangelizing

Editor’s Note: Carl Medearis is an international expert in Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations and is author of the book Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism.

By Carl Medearis, Special to CNN

Let’s do an exercise. I want you to fill in the blank on what you think you know about me based on what I’m about to tell you.

Here goes: Twenty years ago, I became a missionary. My wife and I left our home in Colorado Springs, Colorado to move to Beirut, Lebanon. Our job description was to plant churches and evangelize to Muslims.

Based on what I just said, Carl Medearis is a ______________ .

Depending on your background, the blank may look something like this:

Carl Medearis is a… hero of the Christian faith, a saintly super-man willing to sacrifice the comforts of home in order to share the love of Jesus Christ with those who have never heard the gospel.

Or this:

Carl Medearis is a… right-wing extremist who destroys cultures, tears apart families and paves the way for neo-colonialist crusaders to invade, occupy and plunder the resources of local populations.

Quite a range, isn’t it?

For one group of people, the words…

Read the rest of the article here.

07.24.11

trying to fall upward

Filed under: books,God's movement — 7:58 am

If you only read one spiritual book this summer, I sincerely recommend “Falling Upward” by Fr Richard Rohr.  Read more about it HERE.  This passage resonates with me deeply and captures the central idea…

“Usually, without growth being forced on us, few of us go willingly on the spiritual journey. Why would we? The rug has to be pulled out from beneath our game, so we redefine what balance really is. We eventually get a feel for true balance when we fall and rise a number of times.

More than anything else, this falling/rising cycle is what moves us into the second half of our own lives. All falling, no growth! Always on top, no growth! There is a “necessary suffering” to human life, and if we avoid its cycles we remain immature forever. It can take the form of failed relationships, facing our own shadow self, conflicts and contradictions, disappointments, moral lapses, depression in any number of forms. All of these have the potential to edge us forward in life, or dig in our heels even deeper, producing narcissistic and adolescent responses that everybody can see except ourselves. We either “fall upward”… or we just keep falling.”

 

07.15.11

fresh and deep words about prayer

Filed under: books,God's movement — 3:00 pm

I met Ian Cron on a trip to the middle east and instantly felt a connection with him.  Since he’s about 600 times smarter than me, I loved wading into deep conversations and getting my mind blown…and always looked forward to his next hilariously irreverent comment.  Great guy.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon this short video and can’t stop thinking about it.  His words about “rehearsing our anxieties” (at 3:20) are painfully insightful, and he invites us into a really beautiful alternative.  It’s more than worth the 4 minutes…

And if you haven’t read his new Memoir (of sorts), check it out HERE.

06.11.11

5 challenging books (part 2)

Filed under: books — 11:44 am

…but if you are only going to read one book this summer, may I humbly but highly recommend:

-

(1) “Falling Upward” by Fr Richard Rohr. Father Rohr has been the second most important spiritual teacher in my life over the last 6-7 years.  I’ve never met him, but his books and .mp3s and articles have been a life-line to a deeper way of following God than I could have imagined.  His book “Everything Belongs” literally changed me on the inside.  Powerful stuff.

In Falling Upward, Father Rohr unpacks the two tasks of the two halves of Life.  “In the first half [of life] you’ve got to find your identity, your significance; you create your ego boundaries, your ego structure, what I call “the creating of the container.” But that’s just to get you started. In the second half of life, once you’ve created your ego structure, you finally have the courage to ask: What is this all for? What am I supposed to do with this? Is it just to protect it, to promote it, to defend it, or is there some deeper purpose? The search for meaning is the task of the second half of life.”

And he spends the rest of the book talking about how this happens, what it looks like, and the crucial role of “necessary suffering” in the whole process.  I can’t communicate how moving and profound and foundation shaking and beautiful this book is…at least to me!  I’m right at the intersection of the first and second half of my life, and acutely feel the pain and possibility of the leap.  Honestly, I’ll probably read this book again this summer, and probably again before the rest of the year.

Have any of you read it?  Any Richard Rohr fans out there?  I’d love to hear what you think!

06.10.11

5 challenging books about faith

Filed under: books — 11:18 am

A few books have really been messing with me (in a good way!) over the last couple months.
Here are the top five…

-

(5) “Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me:  A Memoir, of sorts…” by Ian Morgan Cron.  Beyond having the greatest title ever, this gripping spiritual memoir is fantastic.  In fact, I read it nearly strait through on a flight…I couldn’t put it down!  Ian is funny, brutally honest, engaging, deeply insightful, and above all, phenomenal with words.  He’s not just a pastor with some things to say, he’s writer with a capital “W”.  (In fact, he reminds me a lot of my wife in this way.  The big difference is that she’s really pretty, and he’s certainly not.  Not even a little.  Ha.)  If you have had a rocky relationship with religion and a meandering spiritual journey (as almost all of us have!), or if you’ve had a rough family situation that
you’re trying to emerge from…this is your book.

-

(4) “Love Wins” by Rob Bell.  I know that the hype is over and the media has moved on, but if you haven’t yet read this book…please do.  You may agree with some parts and disagree with others, but in my opinion, Rob is raising questions that every spiritually-minded person should wrestle with.  I personally found chapter 1 to be one of the most challenging, inspiring, heart-expanding chapters I’ve read in a long time.  The gospel really is good, good news.

(3) Any book by Dallas Willard.  After hearing Dallas speak last month, I’m on a huge Dallas Willard kick.  His perspective on the Kingdom and spiritual transformation and the gospel is literally one of the main reasons I’m still a Christian.  (read more HERE)  I’m currently re-reading “Renovation of the Heart” right now, which is absolutely stunning.  His biggest books are “Divine Conspiracy” and “Spirit of the Disciplines”, but nearly everything he has written is worth reading.  Be prepared to work hard (his writing is dense and deep), but also be prepared to have your life changed.

-

(2) “Allah: A Christian Response” by Miroslav Volf.  This is a challenging, controversial, brilliant, important book.  Basically, Christian scholar Miroslav Volf is suggesting that while beliefs about God may differ, the object of worship for both Christians and Muslims is the same.  The religions have huge, important differences, but they are ultimately pointing to the same, ONE GOD.  Like I said, very controversial stuff.  But critically important to wrestle with…especially in our day and age.  Before you write off this perspective, check it out!

I’m only about half way through reading this book, and I still have tons of questions, but Volf’s brilliant scholarship, probing questions, and gracious perspective are really helping me wrestle with this big, complicated issue.  Very interested in hearing what you think.

(1) And the number one book is…drum roll please…coming tomorrow!

05.05.11

crying in the bathroom

Filed under: books,God's movement,willow — 5:48 pm

In one of Sufjan Steven’s greatest songs (Casimir Pulaski Day), he sings a haunting line admitting “I was crying in the bathroom.”  Well, I did that today.

This week, I’ve had the thrill of leading worship at the WCA’s Transformation Intensive conference.  In many ways, it’s been an un-conference….unplugged, understated, and all about the content.  I couldn’t love it more.

Dallas Willard

The first teacher was Dallas Willard, one of my heroes.  He gave a lecture about transformation that shook me to my core and reminded me again why the invitation of Jesus really is the greatest news on earth.  (I’ll post the notes on my blog soon).

But this morning, I got to nervously share with him the 60 second version of my story:  “Dallas, I got cynical in college and my faith stopped working for me.  Christianity as “how to go to Heaven some day” was no longer compelling and I was thinking about leaving the whole thing.  But then someone recommended your book, The Divine Conspiracy, and while reading chapter 2, I was born again again.”

He got a little embarrassed and looked down, but I kept going.  “Dallas, I’ve never met you, but you’ve been one of the primary voices for why I’m a Christian…and why I still want to be.  Thank you.” He sheepishly said thanks and I shuffled out the room.

But as I walked down the hall, I could feel something building inside me…and so I walked over to the downstairs bathroom, sat back by the empty showers, and bawled my eyes out.

I cried because I almost missed out on LIFE to the full.
I cried because I was so thankful that someone like Dallas could show the gospel to be as beautiful as it really is – when all I could see was ugliness.
I cried out of thankfulness that God didn’t leave me to wallow in my cynicism, but rescued me.

If you know me, you know how rare this kind of thing is.  My Scandinavian male ability to bury my emotions is usually spectacular.  But today, I’m just so thankful to be a part of such a great Story:  getting to join God in what God is doing to restore all things.

“When we are invited into life in Christ Jesus, we are offered the
greatest opportunity of our lives – the opportunity of a vivid companionship
with Him, in which we will learn to be like Him and live as He lived.”

-Dallas Willard

04.13.11

the strangest and most inspiring story…

Filed under: books,leadership,life — 8:09 pm

future golf pro?

I just had to share this.

On his 30th birthday (in 2009), Dan McLaughlin quit his job as a photographer to become a professional golfer.  But here’s the thing:  Dan didn’t play or really even like golf. However, inspired by the 10,000-hour theory from Malcolm Gladwell’s brilliant book Outliers, he decided to test this theory (that anyone can become great at something by putting in 10,000 hours) and create “The Dan Plan.”  Dan will practice golf six hours a day, six days a week, for six years…and then attempt to join the PGA tour.  Seriously.  Read the story here.

Dan is either a genius or certifiably insane.
But either way, I must admit, his commitment is both inspiring and challenging.

Just imagine what your life could be 10,000 hours of disciplined work from now….

03.18.11

another must-read book…

Filed under: books — 6:40 pm

Last Tuesday, two of my favorite progressive Christian thinkers (and friends) released new books. 
Rob obviously caused a bit of a stir, so I read his first, but then I dove into Brian Mclaren’s new book “Naked Spirituality“.  Only a few chapters in, it’s already moving me in deep, deep ways.  Like water in the desert.  I’m not sure what you think of Brian and his beliefs, but I can tell you that he is the real deal – in a thousand ways – who consistently helps me follow Jesus.  Here’s a two minute video about the book…

03.16.11

Rob Bell and the controversy about his new book

Filed under: books,God's movement — 10:04 pm

rob bell

I’ve been fascinated, nauseated, angered, and inspired by the drama surrounding Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins.  Not wanting to add to the conflict, I almost didn’t say anything, but one thought has been burning inside me:  I can’t believe how quickly this devolved into us vs. them…who’s in and who’s out?…who’s 100% orthodox (a.k.a. “believes what I believe”) and who’s a heretic (a.k.a. “believes something different than me”)?

It has sounded more like a cable news show where two extremists shout across the table at each other…where the point is not to discover Truth together, the point is to demonize and delegitimize the other side.  Either that, or simply yell louder.

No wonder so many people are disillusioned with politics… and disillusioned with religion.

In the sea of twitter name-calling, gloating, and unbelievable self-certainty, I stumbled upon precious few perspectives that appealed for a more open approach.  Fuller Seminary president Richard Mouw wrote about Rob and the concept of “salvific generosity” and “salvific stinginess” here.  Mathew Paul Turner insightfully appeals for unity here in a really honest post.  I loved Mason’s perspective of “when everyone’s a heretic, no one is” here.  And David Fitch talks about the end of Evangelicalism here.

I wish the Christian community was known for our love of each other, not our militant need to expose what is wrong.  (Especially because it’s so easy to confuse “wrong” with “what I happen to disagree with”).  I wish there was WAY more room for different perspectives, respectful disagreements, curiosity, and learning from “the other”.  To be honest, I’m not always good at this – my fear and pride get in the way all the time – but I want to grow more open and more humble every year.

So, friends, let’s be the kinds of people who are learners in the widest possible sense.  Let’s become experts at finding God’s Truth in the most unexpected places.

“. . all the beauty of the world, the beauty that calls our admiration, our gratitude, our worth-ship at the earthly level, is meant as a set of hints, of conspiratorial whispers, of clues and suggestions and flickers of light, all nudging us into believing that behind the beautiful world is not random chance but the loving God.”

N.T. Wright, For All God’s Worth

Older Posts »