Author Archives: NRCC
Toxic Hurry: The High Price of the Unexamined Life (3)
Philosophical pragmatism was hammered out by a bunch of really smart guys in Cambridge, Mass. in the late 1800′s. It has become such a successful, American philosophy that it often bleeds out of the area in which it is so fruitful and effective, into other areas of our humanity in which it is decidedly not helpful – in fact, quite the opposite.
As Americans, if we would heed the warning in Jesus’ parable about not getting caught up in toxic hurry, we have to know what will derail us. Philosophical pragmatism will do it! Continue reading
Posted in Toxic Hurry
Tagged busyness, contemplation, discernment, hurry, Kingdom of God
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Toxic Hurry: The High Price of the Unexamined Life (2)
Pragmatism: if it works, it must be good. Who would argue with that?
However, when we think about making it the central organizing value in our lives (as many Americans do), there are some pretty negative, unintended consequences. If we want to not miss the party Jesus invited us to last week, we do well to rethink how deeply we allow pragmatism to go in our value system. Continue reading
Posted in Toxic Hurry
Tagged busyness, contemplation, discernment, hurry, Kingdom of God
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Toxic Hurry: The High Price of the Unexamined Life (1)
We begin a new lesson today that will take several weeks. We begin with Jesus’ parable about a man who invited a bunch of people to the party of their lives, only to have them miss this golden opportunity because of pragmatic concerns in their lives. Unexamined lives led them to hurried, harried lives that couldn’t see opportunity when it was handed to them.
So it is when we miss reading to our children, miss seeing the mystery and beauty in our jobs, our people, our city, and the rocks and tree that travel on this planet with us.
This lesson is about why we drive ourselves into the blinding toxicity of hurry, and what we can do to step back from the impulses that push us there. Continue reading
What Kind of God Do We Have? (2)
Last week, we looked at how our different views of God affect the kind of Christianity we live. Today we take a deeper look at the implications for spiritual fervor in the emerging worldview. Continue reading
What Kind of God Do We Have? (1)
Scripture gives us mixed messages about God. On the one hand, it tells us stories of a God who is knowable and known. On the other, it tells us God is beyond our capacity to know, contain, or comprehend. For … Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
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Meet My Friend, George
George Fuller is a friend of mine. He’s been a minister here in town for almost 20 years. He finds himself with free time these days, and is getting involved in our community, so I asked him to speak this … Continue reading
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What Has Made NRCC Precious
We’ve had an influx of newcomers this year, so I’m spending a bit of time recounting the things that have made the experience of our community precious to us so we can continue to share those things together as more people become part of us. Have a listen. Continue reading
Examen of Consciousness
This is such an important practice. I hope you have a listen. When our view of God changes, our view of prayer changes. Many simply stop praying… stop having a devotional habit. But that’s just not good for our souls. Better is to go back through history and find ways of “prayer” that feed us in our newly-emerging way of thinking about God. Examen is one of those ancient ways. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, contemplation, examen of consciousness
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Stirring Up Gratitude: Thanksgiving 2011
Gratitude changes us. It makes us happier, healthier, and better people. In this lesson we cite both the ancient wisdom, and current double-blind studies. You’ll be convinced that gratitude will make your life better. However, it’s not easy work. It’s tough! So, we’ll talk about some practical ways to stir thankfulness in our hearts. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, gratitude, thankfulness, Thanksgiving
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Our “Identities” and How We Look at Scripture
Our personal stories influence how we interpret scripture. We need to get rid of our first (false) identity, good or bad. In fact, our “good identity” may be more detrimental because it takes us longer to get to the end of ourselves (our flesh). When these identities die (at the cross), we must draw strength from our “transformed identify” as one who is loved by God. Continue reading