Gathering In Light

Featured

Jesus, God’s Wrath and the Merchants of Truth (John 2)

“In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and

Featured

The Truth of Becoming (Mark 8)

“…He asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered

Reviews

‘I Am Continually With You’ : A Review of L. Callid Keefe-Perry’s “Way to Water: A Theopoetics Primer”

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js Church services are poetry from beginning to end; they just are poetry. …Religion is serious poetry — which is not to say religion cannot be light- hearted. But at its highest it turns important; and important involvement with language, use of language for significant

Blog Entries

A Convergent Model of Renewal is Ready for Order

My first book to be published is printed and ready for order. You can order it directly from the publisher and received a 20% discount off the retail price. The book will be available as an e-book and through local bookstores, Amazon and other services in the next 3-6 weeks.

Featured

Is the Empire Striking Back? (Mark 1)

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You

Uncategorized

The Green of Renewal

The book cover is in so that means that we’ve very close to printing! Stay tuned. You can also visit the book page for more information.

Featured

Sketchnotes for Nursery of Truth

These are the sketchnotes from my recent message “The Nursery of Truth” based on John 15. I’ve been using this much larger size of paper and loving how much I can fit onto one page. I like this approach because it helps to get the whole picture. Once I

Quotations

‘it defines itself in terms of the growing edge’ -H. Thurman

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ reminds us once again of the penalty which any highly organized society exacts of those who violate its laws. The social resistors fall into two general groups – those who resist the established order by doing the things that are in opposition to accepted standards of

Featured

The Nursery of Truth (John 15)

From the very beginning of the Quaker movement, Friends have liked asking questions. Part of this is because they got rid of the creeds, and something need to take their place. So they used queries. We could have t-shirts made up that says something like “The church of questions.” (Q:

Teaching

Convers(at)ions in Community: On Creating Space for Dialogue Around the Sermon

This is a third post in a series of reflections on the nature of dialogue and transformation, or “convers(at)ion” as I am referring to it as for a little playfulness (see a and b). These are some ideas of how we try to inhabit some of the ideas

Featured

The Taste of Truth (John 18:33-38)

“Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is

Blog Entries

3 Reasons I Love to Blog

“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” -Flannery O’Connor /ht color turtle I’ve been following John Saddington’s 10 day blog challenge as a means of both getting into the groove of writing more and developing my site here.

Blog Entries

▶ Marshawn Lynch and the Theater of Disobedience

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUI54niIfl8] via ▶ Marshawn Lynch and the Theater of Disobedience – YouTube. A powerful commentary by Jay Smooth not just on the game but on a number of critical issues that present themselves within the NFL. /ht Shelly F.

Blog Entries

The Contours of Convers(at)ions

Yesterday I began to sketch out some thoughts on how my approach to teaching the Bible has shifted towards a participatory understanding of learning and community. (This is no small part is influenced by the research of my dissertation and is reflected in much greater detail there and in my

Blog Entries

Convers(at)ions With Scripture

There has been an evolution of thought for me when it comes to understanding how to read, interpret and teach Scripture within community. That evolution has taken place over the course the last 18 years or so (I’ve been leading bible studies since I was in High School myself)

Featured

The Maze Dull Truth (Mark 1:21-28)

Expectations and Maze Dull Rats Robert Rosenthal was a psychologist who is famous for his experiment with rats in a maze. The experiment looked at “expectancy effects” and how our expectations have a direct effect on the outcome of what we are doing (link). In 1963, Rosenthal took two groups

The Pastorate

Writing the Ending Is Always Hard

One of the things I struggle with the most are endings. Whether it is writing endings, envisioning the ending of a project, or saying goodbye. I struggle with exit strategies. I have no problem getting started. I love a good opening story. A hearty laugh or a compelling metaphor. I

Convergent Friends

Convergent Friends: A Handbook Part 2 – Starting Your Own Convergent Friends Worship Group

Three years ago we started a monthly convergent Friends worship gathering in the Camas/Portland Metro area. The goal of the meeting was to bring those Friends who desire to worship together, build relationships and create an open and flexible worship liturgy that can be adapted according to those who

Convergent Friends

Convergent Friends: A Handbook – An Introduction to Convergence (Pt. 1)

In this online handbook you will find a variety of articles written by convergent Friends. This is by no means an exhaustive collection of writings but rather it is meant to function as an introduction to the concept of convergent Friends and part two of the handbook is meant to

The Pastorate

Holding Tension in Community

There are many “tensions” or differences that we run into when building and existing within community. A faith community is no different. I think Camas Friends Church excels at doing this kind of work together. Here are some of the things I have learned from the way this meeting does

Featured

The Plush Silence of Heaven (Psalm 82)

This is the message I gave this past Sunday based on Psalm 82. God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and

Blog Entries

Endorsements for my Upcoming Book

Here are some endorsements from fine folks in the academic and Quaker world who have had an opportunity to read my book, A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the Quaker Tradition in a Participatory Culture (2015). This is what they are saying about it: Dr. Ryan K. Bolger, PHD. Associate

Blog Entries

Books I Loved Reading In 2014

I love books and I love to read. This past year I started keeping a little better track of the books I read using a simple reading log at the back of one of my notebooks. This makes it a lot easier to not only remember the books I read,

Teaching

Building a Participatory Pedagogy

Given my love for teaching, and my forced time off this winter semester, a time I would typically be teaching, and the various teaching opportunities I have with Camas Friends, I have been reflecting a lot on what it means for me to be an educator. I want to share

Blog Entries

A “Convergent Model” Book is Coming

One of the editors from Pickwick Publications sent me the uncorrected proofs of my soon-to-be published book, “A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the Quaker Tradition in  a Participatory Culture.” It is amazing how much work goes into making this happen, from the research, writing and countless hours editing, I