Ruminations

When fishing you don’t use a log for pole, chain for line and lobster for bait while screaming “bite or go to hell” The wise win souls  –Tommy Tenney Tweet, January 30,2010

I’ve become an observer.
I don’t know when this occurred; it probably didn’t just “occur,” but rather “developed.” Perhaps it has something to do with age, experience or both. Perhaps it has to do with a mental transformational process that evolved. “Evolved” in the sense that I intentionally pursued it.
Maybe the evolution of the mental transformation [...]

I’m finding it interesting to see how our environment so colors what we read in the Word.
We tend to interpret our world based on our experiences. While that works relatively well in our normal environment, it typically works poorly in a foreign environment. I learned that the hard way many years ago on my first [...]

You cannot meet the Creator of the universe and remain the same. If the God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present comes to dwell within your soul, you would expect at least some minor disruption. I think there’s a problem when people talk about meeting God or knowing God and yet remain unchanged by God. [...]

So, as I entered into the world of pastorship (is that a word?), I had completed my indoctrination in one of the most pharisaical seminaries in the U.S.
I could quote every proof text necessary to bolster my position (in Greek, Hebrew and English), I could definitively tell you why your position was wrong, I could [...]

Many years ago, I dealt with intellectual honesty in a dishonest manner and it changed my life.
In a class called “Denominational Dogmas,” my professor assigned me a term paper topic that was, in all candor, a fascinating spiritual topic. As he handed me back my finished product and I saw a big, red “D-” emblazoned [...]

What a weekend at River of Leland! Here are some of the highlights:

Timothy Berry from Global Awakening was in town to provide training for our volunteers — eye-opening and life-changing are two terms that describe it. Look for the volunteers who seem to be walking in a new confidence and you’ll probably see the ones [...]

The things that are out there…

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Biblical citations inscribed on U.S.-manufactured weapon sights used by New Zealand’s troops in Afghanistan will be removed because they are inappropriate and could stoke religious tensions, said Thursday.
Markings included “JN8:12,” a reference to John 8:12: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light [...]

I’ve been rediscovering the Jesus story by way of John the last several weeks.
I’m actually trying to read it “differently.” That is, I’m trying to read it for what it says, not what I think it says, not for “distance” (how far or fast I can go), not via programed reading. I might read a [...]

There are time when I wished the Spirit played by my rules.
He tends to make me uncomfortable. He actually seems to think that all of my preconceived and misconceived ideas about things aren’t as good as his ideas. He even seems to delight in doing exactly that which I don’t want done.
Who does he think [...]