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Tag Archives: sacred space

Sacred Space in a Divided World

The anger and fears unleashed after the USA Presidential election last week took a lot of us by surprise – especially as it now bleeds into the church. I speak daily to my 21-year-old daughter, a college senior, protesting Trump’s win on the streets of Manhattan, as well as to my older brother, a professor in the Midwest, boasting about the end of the Democratic Party’s arrogance and elitism. How are we to respond? I am not fully sure, but I am sure of one thing: Loving well is the essence of true spirituality, requiring that we practice the presence of people within an awareness of His presence. But learning this is no small task. Martin Buber, however, a Jewish German theologian, can serve us here. In the early years of his life, the “religious” for Buber was the mystical experiences that lifted him out of the so-called earthly, ordinary experiences of life. Buber. Read more.

Emotionally Healthy Skills and Transformation

Geri and I have been leading a research and development small group on emotionally healthy skills (or practices) that we have been writing for the past year. So we invited 15 people, singles and marrieds, from a variety of ethnic and age groups to gather in our basement and be our “guinea pigs” Last Sunday we did our 12th practice (triggers that cause us to react immaturely rather than pausing in order to maturely respond). The power of this small group and transformation continues to both astound me and raise theological/pastoral issues for me.  Every time Geri and I lead one of these experiential skill groups, people truly are changed – deeply. What is it? We also did a pre-conference on emotionally healthy skills at our pastors/leaders conference last week and that too was very impactful for them.  A former rabbi once told me sermons are like dropping a drop of water from the Empire State Building and. Read more.