This is the time of year we’re all thinking about ways we’d like the upcoming year to be better than the last. And in order to see these differences take wing, many of us are in the mood for our annual ritual of resolution-making.

Some desire to quit smoking while others (once again) aim to lose weight. That last one was my resolution for 2009 – I’m down 75lbs and feeling great – all of which has put me in the mood for yet another, even more aggressive challenge.

There are resolutions of all kinds for all ages – study harder, make better grades, be more consistent in arriving to work on time, make that needed career change, begin or cease going to church, on and on.

My new resolution, which may sound a bit strange at first, is to quit… God. Continue reading…

I would think that most of us are familiar with the song What the World Needs Now. And of course what that is, according to the song, is “love, sweet love… that’s the only thing there’s just too little of.”

Who wouldn’t agree that ‘more love’ amongst a humanity seemingly always involved in (or poised for) some sort of conflict isn’t exactly what’s needed? But how do we get there?

Some would say via religion or a heightened sense of spirituality – valid as that may be on some levels, I don’t think it’s the starting point. Just witnessing the internal conflicts among and within religion(s) sort of shoots that idea down. We as a species just seem to be a cantankerous lot: Drive slow in front of me on the freeway and, much to my chagrin, you’ll soon learn that about me.  (Personality type is a bear to overcome!) Continue reading…

I’ve been reading widely lately, enjoying the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz; it’s amazing how looking at shared life experiences from the life of another can help re-focus your lenses in powerful new ways. I’m experiencing this same phenomenon with a contemporary writer, Samir Selmanovic, and his provocative book It’s Really All About God. Samir has walked in many shoes across his life. Ethnically he is Croatian. In faith, he is a Christian – a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor to be exact. But these labels don’t tell the whole story; there is more: At different times in his life, he has also been Muslim, and Atheist – and with strong affinities for Judaism – all lived out, these days, in the melting pot of New York City (see his work at Faith House Manhattan). In the crucible of these different identities he’s been able to hold all identity lightly and focus on what unites rather than divides us – what I’ve come to call meeting at the intersection of humility and mystery. Samir says it differently than I do, and I celebrate this difference as I’m reading his story.

As my friend Mike Morrell recently said on his blog regarding It’s Really All About God,

Do yourself a favor and read it. If you’re too cheap to immediately spring for a copy merely on my recommendation, listen to this recent talk he gave. And hear him read excerpts from his book. But then buy it! You’ll be glad you did.

Here’s Samir in his own words:

What are you reading right now that’s giving you life?

So much of the Christian world today seemingly puts more emphasis on ‘right’ (rote?) thinking than anything else. ‘Getting it right’ is, for many, still what matters most. It’s important to believe the right doctrines and say the right phrases in the right ways – maybe like the recitation of the ‘sinners prayer,’ learning certain creedal statements, or creating ‘statements of faith’ that are as precise, complete and as ‘biblical’ as possible. Meanwhile as these core teachings are crafted and a multitude of cleverly-written tracts are being published, the surrounding community is responding with massive indifference; they’re longing for relief from debt, poverty, poor daycare and healthcare options, and deficient educational opportunities for themselves and their children.

Too bad things like conducting ourselves according to the Fruit of the Spirit (passing tradition on the other side of the road instead of the person in need), all too often places a distant second to our dogma(s). Continue reading…

I love the ebb and flow of nature. As a matter of fact, I’d be hard-pressed to choose my favorite season of the year. A while back I really got into investigating what takes place during each successive stage of the equinox: winter to spring, summer to fall, and back to winter again.

In this season of falling leaves and scurrying animals in search of goodies for their winter storehouses, I find myself in a reflective mood regarding the entire idea of ‘change.’ I wonder why it is such a natural part of nature and yet so often resisted in my own life and those with whom I hold conversation. Continue reading…