Tag Archives: ancient spiritual paths
Don’t Waste Your Time Going to Church (conclusion)
Today, we conclude this lesson on the ancient exercises we do together on Sundays. We look at the exercise that includes stilling our hearts, becoming attentive, interpreting, and discerning.
This may be one of the only times you’ll ever hear a minister tell you to argue with him or her. Continue reading
Don’t Waste Your Time Going to Church (part 4)
We continue looking at the Sunday exercises, thinking about these ancient spiritual exercises.
Today, we think about the exercise of invoking in one another, sensitivity to Spirit. Continue reading
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Tagged ancient spiritual paths, church, invocation
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Don’t Waste Your Time Going to Church (part 3)
We’re looking at the exercises we’ve been doing together on Sundays for centuries and centuries. As anything we do for an extend period, they can become rote, and we can begin to practice them without understanding or without a vested interest.
So we’re thinking together about the ancient practices, the ancient spiritual exercises.
Today, we think about the radicalized version of hospitality practiced in the first few centuries of the church, and how it served as political and social dissent against the norms of Roman society. Continue reading
Don’t Waste Your Time Going to Church (part 2)
Today, we begin looking at the exercises that in aggregate, constitute the Sunday morning Christian experience. Looking at the word “liturgy,” we realize that what we’re doing is closer to going to a gym-for-the-soul, than it is to many of our understandings of “going to church.”
So have a listen. Today we talk about two exercises Christian people have been doing Sunday mornings for centuries; getting ready, and getting there (there’s more to it than you would think). Continue reading
Don’t Waste Your Time Going to Church (part 1)
Notice, I did not title this lesson; ”Don’t go to church. It’s a waste of time.”
No, a better title would have been, “When you go to church, don’t waste your time.” (But it’s not nearly as catchy, is it?)
The exercises many Christians do on Sunday mornings have an ancient heritage. They wouldn’t have lasted this long if they didn’t have a profound power to transform us. However, many people find organized religion and Sunday services in particular, to be decidedly un-transformative.
So, in this lesson, we’ll look at the ancient communal practices we Christians do on Sunday mornings, and see if we can’t find the life and vitality that has been in them all these years. Continue reading
Friends for the Fray: The Lost Art of Confession (part 4)
We conclude looking at the art of confession with this lesson on two themes…
1. what is penance, and what is it’s value to our souls?
2. how do we receive a confession well? Continue reading
Posted in Friends for the Fray
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, community, confession, penance, spiritual friends
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Friends for the Fray: The Lost Art of Confession (part 3)
So, after a few weeks championing the benefits confession affords our souls, we come today, to the practical “how-to’s” of this ancient practice.
We look at making a good confession in three parts,
1) self-awareness,
2) thoroughness, and
3) penance
(Only some beginning remarks on penance; just enough to let you know it is probably not what you think it is. We’ll finish up next week)
Have a listen. Continue reading
Posted in Friends for the Fray
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, character, community, confession, courage, journaling, pain/suffering, penance, prayer, spiritual friends
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Friends for The Fray: The Lost Art of Confession (part 2)
After last week’s digression to reinforce the importance of making for ourselves a healthy spiritual community, today we resume looking at the practicality of this ancient spiritual spiritual practice, confession.
The themes of this lesson are very personal for me. The bulk of last week’s digression-lesson was a personal story, and this week is too. It was embarrassing 15 years ago, now it is one of my most cherished memories. Continue reading
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Tagged ancient spiritual paths, community, confession, greed, Love, lust, pride, spiritual friends
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Friends For The Fray: A Digression to Reinforce
This digression will expand what I said last week, and I’ll spend the lion’s share of our time telling you a story from my own life. It’s a story of love for people, and how without it, we cannot give our gifts to one another, and consequently, we fall short of our destinies. Continue reading
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Tagged ancient spiritual paths, breathing groups, community, confession, greed, Love, lust, pride, spiritual friends
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Friends for the Fray: The Lost Art of Confession (part 1)
The ancient art of confession is lost to most Christians today. It is a loss that causes great peril to our souls. In this lesson, we talk about the importance of this ancient practice, and some of the reasons we tend to resist it. Continue reading
Posted in Friends for the Fray
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, breathing groups, confession, forgiveness, grace, greed, lust, prayer, pride, self-awareness, shame, sin, spiritual friends
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