Spiritual Formation

Learning to Be Still in Chaos

2020-10-06T04:54:03+00:00By Joel|Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Stillness|

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 It's safe to say that there is plenty of chaos right now. “Be still and know that I am God.” It sounds great, doesn’t it? But this is more than bumper sticker theology. Something resonates in our hearts when we hear it, but when the reality of life rushes in, there can be a ‘yeah, right?’ response that is like a knee jerk reaction in our heads. “But doesn’t God know what’s going on in my life?!?” “How on earth am I supposed to ‘Be Still’??” “My whole world is falling apart!” Yes. That’s the point right there. In this Psalm, it [...]

Clinging to God

2020-08-02T06:44:10+00:00By Joel|discipleship, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of God, Memoirs, Spiritual Formation, Story, theology, Videos|

"Knowing God's intentions is what we need to hang on to when there's times of pain and suffering." - Dr. Jim Wilder on Susie Larson Live Recently, I shared a message on the posture of 'clinging to God' at the church where I serve. The topic that we are on is "Recalculating: when plans change." As I thought about this in my own life I have been humbled. From the high desert of the Navajo Nation, to sleeping on couches throughout my late teens and early twenties, I am thankful for all those who opened their hearts and homes to me as a young monk-ish nomad, itinerately walking everywhere. I am in awe of the [...]

Minimalism: A Gift To The Word “Simplicity”

2020-02-18T14:29:38+00:00By Joel|Minimalism, Simplicity, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation|

Trends & fads. Society sure does have a way of sifting and sucking the meaning out of words, until all that is left is a mere carcass of letters and sounds, just a shadow of its original meaning. Love, justice, evangelical - the list doesn't stop there, but those are some significant ones that come up a lot in my work that make me have to stop and ask the question, "Wait, when they say that word, what exactly do they mean?" It seems like one of those words has been "simplicity." All things being relative, "simplicity" means different things for different people - I get it. But sometimes it doesn't feel simple at all, and [...]

The Peace of God [Audio]

2019-12-27T16:31:02+00:00By Joel|discipleship, Kingdom of God, memories, prayer, Spiritual Formation, theology, Worldview|

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 "The peace of God is not about the mere absence of conflict, but rather about His abiding presence throughout whatever comes our way." December 8, 2019; Invitation to Peace Peace. It's a topic that I keep coming back to. It's like north on my heart's compass. I may get off-track. I do get off-track, but 'peace' - it keeps leading me back. I never understood why until my feet wore to callouses and, well, my heart did too I guess. I've walked [...]