Uphill idealist

There are times in life that require some pause. There is news that hits too close to home. There is a darkness that does it's best to remove all memory we have of the light. Today was one of those days. With the death of a mentor and friend and terrible news concerning a colleague's family member... there is too much darkness. In the midst of the darkness, we lit candles, we sang hymns, we anointed heads with oil and laid hands on in a time of prayer and healing. Today was dark, but the darkness does not have the last word. The sun will rise. Hope is hiding around the corner. The light is coming - and this light is the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ - who knows suffering  and continues to walk with us. Thanks be to God... Rest in peace dear Phyllis - I would never have stepped onto this path without your faith in me.   Photo Credit: Teresa Hooper

Prayer is a nonlocative, nongeographic space that one enters at one's own peril, for it houses God during those few moments of one's presence there, and what is there will most surely change everything that comes into it. Prayer, its opal walls polished to transparency by the centuries of hands that have touched them, is the Tabernacle realized and the wayside chapel utilized. Ever traveling as we travel, moving as we move, prayer grips like home, until the heart belongs nowhere else and the body can scarcely function apart from them both. Prayer is dangerous and the entrance way to wholeness. Phillis Tickle The life of prayer is a land of great adventure and discover, only it's not necessary for you to pack a suitcase or acquire a passport. However, cultivation of a prayerful life is something that many folks find daunting. I have often felt frustrated by the challenge of consistent prayer, for it calls for pause and pausing can be challenging. In the last few months, I...

Image of Phyllis Tickle from Commercial Appeal.com . It will be interesting to see how this turns out. I'll be staying tuned. Phyllis Tickle is one of the most highly respected authorities and popular speakers on religion in America today.

Lightening rods It was a year ago this weekend that Phyllis Tickle came to the church I was serving at for a weekend long retreat to discuss the emergent/emerging church and her then upcoming book, "The Great Emergence" . This year there was another weekend gathering in Tennessee called, "The Great Emergence" . They had additional speakers, ( Tony Jones , Doug Pagitt , Nadia Boltz-Weber , Lisa Samson and many more!) but the main focus was on Phyllis's newest book discussing the shifts and changes occurring in the church today. In recalling last year's mini preview event, I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know Phyllis as well as Karen Sloan , (author of "Flirting with Monasticism" ) who attended and led a session last year. It is exciting to have people in our lives that are something like lightning rods. People who challenge us, help us focus on the important things, and help us to remember the importance of joy and...