Renovaré Weekly

September 3, 2021 The Church as We Know It As with any time of cultural shaking and shifting, there will be losses to grieve, old ways of doing things that we miss. There is also the potential to recenter, rebuild, and refocus on what matters…

Renovaré Weekly

August 13, 2021 Does God Laugh at Our Plans? It's possible to make grace-empowered progress in the spiritual life. But we do need an openhanded, God-surrendered plan.

Renovaré Weekly

July 30, 2021 Prioritizing People Over Plans But there is also a healthy way to approach intentional Christian community, a way that prioritizes people above plans. Whenever I see someone doing that—especially if they’ve been living in…

Renovaré Weekly

July 23, 2021 Afraid of the Quiet Many of us live an inverted version of this. We’re afraid of the monsters inside of us that may appear if we become quiet. So we stay noisy, if not through words, at least though busyness or…

Renovaré Weekly

July 16, 2021 When a Leader’s Soul Is Uncared For But eventually there are things one simply can’t push through, as anyone who’s slammed into the brick wall of human limitation will tell you. In reality, true rest leads to resilience. Sabbath…

Renovaré Weekly

June 25, 2021 Which I Don’t Pretend to Understand at All This line from Leonard Cohen’s song “Democracy” expresses what many throughout the ages have felt about Jesus’ most famous sermon: awe-filled recognition of its beauty and power mixed with…

Renovaré Weekly

June 18, 2021 How Beautiful It Is When… The Ministry Team has modeled to me healthy ecumenism. Its members have shown me how to listen to other perspectives, how to come together even if there are secondary matters of disagreement, and…

Renovaré Weekly

June 11, 2021 Anxiety and Spiritual Formation This time, sensing God's invitation to a learning pilgrimage, he devoured dozens of books on anxiety and spiritual formation, and prayerfully put into practice what he learned. Gradually, new habits…

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June 4, 2021 Why Isn’t God More Obvious? God is love, and love does not coerce. God has no compulsive need to be seen or heard. Instead, God wants to be noticed.

Renovaré Weekly

May 28, 2021 Where Is This Going? The spiritual director’s office is small but inviting. He welcomes me and we sit facing each other around a coffee table. He lights a candle and finally breaks the silence, “How is it with your soul?”

Renovaré Weekly

May 14, 2021 The Gift of Good Theology While it's tempting to "move on" from theological reflection, something is lost when we stop thinking big ideas about God. Our world can become small, our thoughts consumed with temporary things.