Abba Anthony, Henri Nouwen and CCDA
Last week I attended and spoke at the Christian Community Development Association conference (CCDA) in Miami. Over 2000 people were in attendance. The work of John Perkins and CCDA, along with their...
View ArticleFour Days with the Trappists: Part 2
While I am a high extrovert who gathers energy from being with people, I love silence. So the highlight, up till now on my yearly visits to the Trappists has been the rhythms of the Daily Office,...
View ArticlePracticing Silence
Last Sunday was a historic moment at New Life as had our first ever “Silent Sermon.” The following is a sheet I handed out to our congregation to provide guidelines for them to practice silence as a...
View ArticleMessage to New Life Fellowship about Sabbatical 2011
Geri and I had a very impactful time with God during our time away since June. Last Sunday we attempted to summarize that to our New Life Family. Take a look: Surrender, Silence, And Sabbatical from...
View ArticlePastoral Gleanings from the Trappists -2012
At the end of my summer vacation each year, I take a week for a retreat on the lovely grounds of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. About 60-70 men live there, dedicated to a life of...
View ArticleSabbath and the False Self
Henri Nouwen writes in The Way of the Heart that “solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false...
View ArticleRelaxing in the Deep Center
I preached a sermon last Sunday called: Relaxing In The Deep Center at New Life Fellowship. It brought together weeks of wrestling with the the key to unlocking how Jesus lived and breathed out of a...
View ArticleSilence, Mindfulness, and the Buddhists
I recently attended a seminar on mental health/personality disorders in which the leader taught about the need to teach patients “mindfulness.” She defined it as stillness, openness, and silence,...
View ArticleMidday Prayer: Solitude, Community, and Ministry
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes) Scripture Reading – Luke 6:12-18 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning...
View ArticleMidday Prayer: Forgiveness and Celebration
Silence, Stillness, and Centering before God (2 minutes) Scripture Reading – Luke 6:12-18 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning...
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