The Church's Failure
"The church's failure to deal openly, graciously, and maturely with sexual matters will allow the old patterns of abuse, rejection, sexual discrimination, and homophobia to persist. Sexual intimacy will continue to be a taboo topic; abuse will remain part and parcel of the church experience for some of our women, youth, and children; gay people will continue to be spurned, divorced people will be rejected, and those faithful couples who don't believe a formal church ceremony can make their bond any deeper will continue to be less valued. In the end, the only people comfortable in such a church will be the emotionally and sexually repressed. People searching for fullness of life and joy, for a relevant and reasonable faith, will look elsewhere, probably to those spiritual movements whose world views have advanced beyond puberty."
— If the Church Were Christian
Joy's Presence
"There's a story in the Bible about two disciples trudging down Emmaus Road after Jesus was killed. They were joined by a stranger who walked with them until suppertime. "Eat with us," they invited, "we have plenty." Those were lean years, and a free supper was nothing to sneeze at. So he lingered, gave thanks for the bread, and passed it around. Those disciples had no more than taken a bite when they recognized that stranger as Jesus. After a collective "Wow!" they hustled back to Jerusalem to share the Resurrection news.
"Joy visits when we least expect it — we're ten years old and drinking deep from heaven's bottle, or life has bottomed out and Jesus drops in. Cat-feet quiet. It isn't that God withholds it; joy is always looking to climb into our laps. It's just that joy needs silence and thus seldom settles into the lap of a noisy person. It's only when we stop talking long enough to whisper grace that joy has a way of rubbing against us, curling in our lap, making its presence known."
— Hometown Tales
Evolved Christianity
"The richness of an evolved Christianity won't lie in slavish obedience to antiquated claims but in a vigorous commitment to care for the marginalized and an honest search for meaning and truth, no matter where it might lead. It is exciting beyond words to stand on the threshold of such a movement, to watch it unfold and flower, to watch it not only restore the church — which it just might, though that is not its purpose — but refresh and restore our world."
— The Evolution of Faith
We Can Be Like Jesus
"In a Quaker meeting I once pastored, an elderly woman had committed herself to works of mercy. As I got to know her better, I was astounded at the many ways in which she had blessed hurting people. Though her income was modest, she lived simply so she could give generously. Though her many commitments kept her calendar full, she still found time to be present for those who needed comfort. The longer I knew her, the more I marveled at her charity, given the scarcity of her resources. Because of her humility, she was reluctant to talk with others about her own accomplishments. But one day she let slip the principle that guided her life, when she said to me, 'Little is much when God is in it.'
"I have thought of that many times since, appreciating its truth more and more as the years pass. Little does become much when love is present. Love does magnify our works. Jesus knew this. He knew even the smallest gesture of love could transform the darkest situation and so fully committed himself to divine love that we are still awed by his life. Believe me when I tell you this: we can be like him, and like all the other God-bearers our world has known. It is key to the future of our faith.
"Who was Jesus? One whose awareness of the Divine Presence within him was so keen, and his response to the Divine Presence so full, that he was empowered to live and love so powerfully that those who encountered him were often made whole themselves and more fully equipped to say yes to that same Divine Presence that was also in them. We can be like that Jesus. We can be like him when we say yes to the Divine Presence that is also in us, as thoroughly as we are able. As we do that, our lives, and the lives of others, will be transformed. God's joy will be in us, and our joy will be full."
— The Evolution of Faith
Our Relatioship with God as We Age
"When I was young, God was my parent figure. As moved into independence, I viewed God as my partner, and experienced a mutuality of friendship and responsibility I had never before felt. I wonder if the next step is a return to total dependence on God as I age and weaken, or further independence as my growth in wisdom hopefully accompanies my growth in age. Perhaps then I can be even more useful to God. I hope it is the latter, but I don't yet know. I do know my thoughts about God and suffering have changed and will likely change again as I age. Though I am occasionally anxious about some aspects of aging — the decline of my physical and mental powers — I look forward to my evolving understanding of God, how it might affect me, and whether it will bless others. Perhaps this might also be the answer to the age-old dilemma of suffering and evil. As we mature, we find ourselves looking less and less to a parental God who intervenes on our behalf and instead take more seriously our own roles and responsibilities in a world transformed"
— The Evolution of Faith
The World as My Home
"I wish I had that gift — to see the world as my home, and not just this little corner of it. I'm working on it, but progress is slow. When I'm on the road, I find myself yearning for the familiar, lamenting where I am, wishing I were elsewhere, namely, home. What a waste of the present that is.
" 'This world is not my home,' the old hymn goes. But the song is wrong. It is my home, all of it, everywhere, and yours too. And the sooner we realize that, the better our world will be."
— Porch Talk
Life Coaches
"For as long as I can remember, my mother has been training me to be a life coach. I realize that now, though I was unacquainted with that term until recently. But that what's she's been doing, mostly by setting an example.
" 'Do you want to know what I think?' she would ask me when I was a child. Then she would proceed to tell me, without waiting to hear my answer. That is a mother's prerogative and I never resented it though, I thought it would abate when I flew the coop. But she's still at it, coaching me at every turn, and I'm doing all I can to carry that legacy forward.
"I pass out advice like candy at a parade, tossing it out indiscriminately to whoever will receive it. . . .
"Since I spoke to my pastor friend about hiring a life coach, I've met a number of folks who've employed them. I'm not sure how this trend developed, but I suspect it has something to do with the decline of the neighborhood sage."
— Porch Talk
Front Porch Lessons
"All manner of lessons were learned on the front porch. When the porches went, so did the stories and the wisdom with them. Today, we do our talking during the commercial breaks. This is a profound tragedy, but one we could correct by putting our televisions in the closet and porches on our homes."
— Porch Talk
Small Kindnesses
"A man once showed up on my doorstep to thank me for a small kindness I had shown him years before. My gesture, which seemed trifling at the time, turned out to have had a significant and beneficial effect on his life. So he came to my house to express his gratitude. His appreciation was heartfelt, and I was touched by it."
— Porch Talk
Sanctuary in a Hardware Store
"This is why we men at the Courthouse Grounds still grieve the death of Baker's Hardware these many years later. We know what we have lost and it wasn't just a store; it was our sanctuary. Some of us went there to preach, others to listen, some to heal, others to be healed. Our sins were confessed in her dim corners, our hymns of thanksgiving sung in her aisles. Now it is gone, and we are pilgrims, wandering in the wilderness, seeking our Promised Land, the fading memory of hardware fellowship spurring us on."
— Porch Talk
