Marginal Christianity

Again I interrupt my series on Joy for some further thoughts on dealing with the confinement most of us are and will likely for some time be dealing with. Here I offer ten things each of us can do doing this time. They all begin with “s.” I’m a preacher, so sue me! Slow Down  (Sabbath from Speed) Three-miles-an-hour is the speed at which humans normally walk. It is the “human” speed. But, as Brooks, a character in The Shawshank Redemption said upon release from prison after fifty years, “The world’s gone and gotten itself in a big damn hurry.” By becoming human, Jesus brought “God” to us at a “speed” we could understand and relate to. COVID-19 is forcing us to “slow down.” Perhaps instead of restlessness, anger, boredom, fretting, and anger we could begin to settle into a new speed of life and acclimate 0urselves to it and focus on getting to God at the speed he has chosen to reveal himself to us. If we could do that we might have in place our own “temple i...

We’ve explored our desires a bit in relation to crafting a rule of life. Today we’ll look at our roles and gifts in that process. In the final post on a rule of life I will provide an actual rule of life recently crafted for you to gain a sense of how one person has done it. Again, there are no formulas, templates, or one-size-fits-all form for this rule. They are unique as you and I are. And they will change as our lives change. So be flexible. Use the example I’ll provide as inspiration to spur your imaginative reflection on what kind of rule might best suit you. Roles Your personal rule of life is discerned and framed within the context of your primary relationships and your spiritual community, lived out in service to others. List all your key relationships (names) and the role you play in each (father or mother, brother or sister, boss, colleague, student, friend). Five to seven such roles or key relationships seem to be about as many as most of us can reasonably...