When I first started doing ministry and chaplaincy work, I was faced with my own mortality. It didn’t take long for me to learn that death was real. My first funeral I officiated was my baptism into this new reality. I didn’t realize that the person we were honoring that day–that even their death–they were […]
Read More The Art of DyingScott Peck was a psychiatrist and spiritual director for many years. I’ve enjoyed his readings immensely. I periodically struggle with my vocation–my sense of calling and purpose in this world. On my best days, I have a sense that I have a gift to listen, care, and be a healing presence to others. On my […]
Read More The Myth of GreatnessCan you and I just confess that we need instruction and direction? That we get stuck in life, need direction, or just some plain encouragement to keep doing good? My morning times are a means for me to pull myself together and “get into” God’s presence. Sometimes there is a sense of God’s nearness and […]
Read More Morning Meditation: 6.12.2020Yoke of slavery. I don’t like using that S word for obvious reasons. Maybe a truer expression is to be controlled, oppressed. A yoke of being controlled, manipulated, or made to do something out of threat. In all four passages for today’s liturgical readings, there is a whiff of being controlled or manipulated to be […]
Read More Morning Meditation 6.10.2020There are numerous instances in my life where things (an event, musical piece, relationship, school paper, work situation, a basketball game) seem to be spinning of out control. Chalk it up to things like unknown variables, high emotions and tempers, fears or concerns, or multiple voices. Whatever it is, I feel like I’m spinning. Usually, […]
Read More Our God ReignsSince the pain and hurt we feel as a nation is caused by un-wielded power, empower others. How? Here’s an example. A wealthy, white business man took a chance to empower me for a new service at his company. I provide corporate chaplaincy services to a dealer group because someone believed in me and gave […]
Read More Mutual Empowerment“Evasion is directly related to both the closeness of God’s approach to us and to our instinctive withdrawal from God‘s presence. Experiences of God as mystery evoke awe, even fear, in the face of the numinous and uncontrollable otherness of God….T.S. Elliot [says]… ‘if you’ve never run away from God, I wonder who your God […]
Read More Spiritual Formation: on EvasionThroughout the last few weeks, I’ve been trying my best to listen to each word, inflection, and ways employees are communicating. I’m convinced that it’s in these words and communion that something holy is happening. Yes, there is pain and loss. But there is also marks of God’s presence nearby. Just gotta look underneath the […]
Read More Words I Hear as a ChaplainI’ve wondered how and why so many rumors are believed, shared, and talked about. We are “story” natured so we tend to make meaning through storytelling. These “stories” serve to express feelings and maybe even repressed anxieties we’ve had along the way. Rumors work in much the same way. We’re trying to make sense of […]
Read More Rumors During a Crisis RepostPsalm Reading: Psalm 38: 9-11, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22Silence 30 secondsGospel Reading: Matthew 3:13-17Silence 15 secondsDevotional ReadingSilence 15 secondsSelf-Examination QuestionPrayers of the PeopleOur Father PrayerBenediction Psalm 38: 9-11, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22 9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord;my sighing is not hidden from you.10 My heart pounds, my strength fails […]
Read More Midday Prayers 4.29.2020I wrote this piece for SquarePatch.org today. I’ve been thinking about what is essential during this pandemic and crisis. Curiosity is essential to survival. Grazer uses the example of early life tribes that had to use the power of story to share experiences of new discoveries. Fire. Water. Discovering that you can boil potatoes. Or […]
Read More Curiosity is Essential to SurvivalI guess if I think hard enough, looking back, I most experience joy when I’m not pretending. When I live in the reality that I am not whole or perfect, I can enter into the possibility acceptance and hope. When I play drums or have to track a song, I am most alive when I […]
Read More The Entry to JoyAs chaplains, our call (not our job) is to come alongside others and point them to bigger realities, even a transcendent one. The last three weeks have been heavy conversations of anxiety, questions, and uncertainties. Visiting an empty shop with tools sitting around and racks not being used was heavy. But it made me think […]
Read More Worthiness in CrisisHosted by Rafee JajouPsalm Reading: Psalm 130Silence 30 secondsGospel Reading: Mark 10:13-16 Silence 30 secondsDevotional ReadingsSilence 15 seconds2 minutes of Self-Examination3 Minutes Supplication Prayers for the World Our Father Prayer Benediction
Read More Midday Prayers for 4.1.2020Life can be very unpredictable. It can change very quickly. When the rhythm changes, we improvise. Like the text, we can be hard pressed, perplexed, or feel like we’re struck down. In these moments of disruption, we are all improvising. Jazz is the art of disciplined improvisation: adapting to change and creating on demand.
Read More Improvise (Jazz) in Times of DisruptionFrom Walter Brueggemann’s Lenten Devotional with the sum of the gospel: *that we are caught in the snares of death; *that we have been rescued by the power of God; *that we are released to a new life of gratitude. We can be on our way with new life and new energy, and new noticing […]
Read More Morning Thoughts 3.16.2020[This is a part of a series I’m doing with a group of people using the “Designing Your Life” Book by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett.] Book Purchase: Amazon When I was in my teens, we belonged to a church denomination that had lots of young leaders. Somewhere along the way, I came to believe that […]
Read More Designing Your Life – Chapter 4 Summary[This is a part of a series I’m doing with a group of people using the “Designing Your Life” Book by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett.] In Ch. 3 of DYL, the authors talk about what they call an ancient art of figuring out our direction in life, even if we don’t know the destination. […]
Read More Designing Your Life – Chapter 3 Summary[This is a part of a series I’m doing with a group of people using the “Designing Your Life” Book by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett.] From mapping out where you may be (find out where you are) with work, play, love, and health. What’s the dashboard gauge like for each of these areas? Once […]
Read More Designing Your Life – Chapter 2 SummaryWhen I was a kid, my teachers told me I had math skills. So I was in the GATE program and thought I was going to be an aeronautical engineer. I was in 4th or 5th grade when I had this idea. I don’t even know how I learned about such a thing! When I […]
Read More Designing Your Life – Chapter 1 SummaryReadings Psalm 103:8-14 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. We receive ashes as a sign of humility (from dust we came, to dust we return). Lent is a time to remember themes like seek, call, forsake, and return. What is Lent but a reminder that God has demands on […]
Read More Ash Wednesday HomilyI’m trying something new. Instead of posting stuff on Facebook that are thought provoking for me, I’m going to post them on my site so that I can reference them later. It’s one reason I post to FB. The other is to share and have some cordial dialogue. This week, I’m thinking about anger and […]
Read More Week #5 Roundup 2020While this week’s podcast is on Gospel of John, it’s a little more “stream of consciousness” where I talk about the text as it relates to what we desire, how habits shape those desires, and about conflict theory and our needs.
Read More Homilia – 02.05.2020 John 1:35-42Part of the Gospel story is for you and I to respond to this news. Much like J.Bap, we are being called to witness the power of Christ to break all forms of sin and shame in our lives. And the more we hide or run from our it, the more it perpetuates. John is […]
Read More Homilia – 1.29.2020 John 1:29-34This gospel, and especially the first chapter of John (and especially the first 8 verses), are saying this: Jesus Christ of Nazareth is indeed God in the flesh. God has become human so that humans might be made in the image of God. John is not just writing, but proclaiming that the long awaited ruler […]
Read More Homilia – 1.22.2020 John 1:19-28The intro to this gospel can conjure up all the big, existential questions we ask ourselves: What is the meaning of life How did we get here Is there something bigger at work What or who is the source of life How did this all begin This is a book a child could read, and […]
Read More Homilia 1.15.2020When I was 12 years old, I started praying for my dad’s reconversion to faith. He was a minister and left the pastorate for reasons that are beyond me. Growing up in a Pentecostal church means that we pray. And when we were done praying, we prayed some more. Prayer was a desperate cry for […]
Read More Longing for Revival pt2Every once in a while, I read a book that provokes, incites, and inspires. It challenges my beliefs and apathy. “Longing for Revival” is one of those books. In the first ch, author James Choung talks about his hatred for the word “revival” and shares why. I had similar feelings and experiences. Growing up in […]
Read More Longing for Revival pt1The work of prayer is to do all the RE’s. I’m also sharing some prayer responses below of I’ve sensed God at work.
Read More The Work of Prayer and MindfulnessMany moments of learning to be faithful lead me back to simple things like God’s desire to be near and close to humanity and creation. The God of the Bible is not one to be distant, full of vengeance, or cold-rigid-frigid. Incarnational, caring, compassionate, just. That’s the God of the Bible. Followers of Jesus are […]
Read More Ten Missiological Principles“God of justice, love, and mercy” are the lyrics to a song. And this God seeks to meet our needs. Jesus says in Matthew 15:32, “I have compassion for these people…” He goes on to meet the needs of the people without them even asking, which can suggest that God sees our needs and longs […]
Read More Compassion and Character DevelopmentLord God Almighty, the One who works on our behalf, Make your face shine on us as we enter into the day’s work. Satisfy us with your loving-kindness that we might praise you as we attend to our daily tasks. Help us not to forget that you are with us in our cubicles, office, showroom […]
Read More Workplace Prayers: Week of November 11-2019Here’s a resource on theology of work by the Fuller Depree Center and the Theology of Work site. It’s a series inviting us to converse about work’s biggest challenges. It covers topics like calling and work-life boundaries. Theology of Work podcast
Read More Making It Work Podcast SeriesIn Nehemiah 9, there are two words that I’m curious about. They’re marked by a transition in the storyline, “But they…”, which signifies a turn. The writer had just recapped all the things the Lord their God had done for them. It should have translated into a life of gratitude and humility. Instead, Nehemiah says […]
Read More Vices To Avoid, Virtues to AdoptHome is still the primary place where we shape and form the future. It’s a great reminder for me to be (and live out) what I want my kids to become in this world (what a tall order!). And it’s also a reminder that the Church is called to be a social communal reality of […]
Read More Lebron James and Home Building“The meek will inherit the earth…” Matthew 5:5 A movie about power, money, and corruption has this two characters that quote this verse. One quotes it in a church after hearing the priest preach about it. The other quotes it after their husband dies and is looking for justice. Both characters were taught that to […]
Read More The Laundromat Movie – Theology ReviewLetter Ethnos Network Global Church Gathering 2019 To My Ethnos Network Fam: Hi! Roy here from Oceanside, CA (San Diego North County). I wanted to say how sad I am that I can’t be there with you this week. Some Family Updates Recently, my mother in law had life saving surgery. She was going into […]
Read More Oceanside Church Planting UpdateBeing in the marketplace is a gift to see how God is shaping and working who you and I are becoming. Most of our becoming is happening in the daily grind.
Read More Practicing Becoming Like Jesus in the WorkplaceWhen I was a young kid (into my late teens), I belonged to a church community. From the ages of 10 until I was 20, I attended the same church. A predominantly Latino American church, we had three services: 830am, Sunday school, 11am, and Spanish service at 2pm. This is where I learned about Jesus, […]
Read More Church MemoriesAs a Chaplain, I’ve visited employees’ parents and have prayed with the family as they work through health issues requiring more caregiving from the adult-children. Stability Undone Imagine that you have a way of living, set routines that allow you to connect with your immediate family, work at your own pace, and a sense of […]
Read More Caring for Aging Parents“they followed worthless idols and became worthless”“They lived a “nothing” life and became “nothings” 2 kings 17 (NIV, MSG) Before I exposit my deep knowledge, I’ve been trying out different ways to read the bible on a daily basis. I’m not the best at it but I’ve been trying different lectionaries. The Daily Lectionary is […]
Read More Becoming Intentionally WorthlessAs I’ve been working on church planting, one thing I’ve realized is that the concept of church has to start with God’s heart (mission) for humanity and this world. If you’ve grown up in church, then sometimes the language of what church is about seems familiar and “known”. But I’ve noticed that I’ve taken the […]
Read More Taking the Reality of the Church for GrantedMany times as I’m about to pray or read the bible, I’m anticipating and hoping for a life changing experience. I want the feels, the revelation insights, or the sweet moments of inspiration. I pray and read thinking that I will find a new insight that will transform my life. If you’ve been in christian […]
Read More This Little GirlLately, I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams and listening to others about their dreams. When Brene Brown (famous TEDx speaker and therapist researcher) speaks, it’s like God herself spoke through the prophet! In one of her books, she makes the case that when we squander our gifts and dreams, we become depressed and anxious. […]
Read More Day Dreaming or Daily DepressionThe other day, I played at a worship night event and had lots of fun. I used the house kit: a Ludwig Keystone. I loved this kit. But this isn’t the point. The worship set was a mixture of some gospel (not hard core, but some), African, and CCM. In all, it was a multi-genre […]
Read More CCM Drumming. Lord, Help MeThe voice of shame distracts. Insecurities, self doubt, and fear hijack my brain, triggering an emotional spin cycle of depression, withdrawing, and infidelity. Yes, in my hijacked state, I become unfaithful to God’s purposes, vision, and call on my life. I fantasize about other ways to live my life, trying to run away from God. […]
Read More Faithful Beyond ShameDeep Work by Cal Newport is a book that has been circulating in my network for the last two years. The book is about creating rituals and rhythms to have focused time on working and focusing deeply on things that matter, while removing distractions. Reducing shallow thinking times, disconnecting from social media and online surfing […]
Read More (Review of Deep Work) Rule 1 Work Deeply“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%205&version=MSG;NIV It reminds me of the first step in AA – “We admitted we were powerless”. There are a few times I’ve been at the end of my rope. And in many of […]
Read More Sermon On the Mount – More of GodI’m doing this Ignatian Spirituality Daily Devotional this month. It’s been great! Today’s was especially encouraging. I was listening to it on my run through the neighborhood. A prayer I needed this morning. What I have (and offer) is enough…because it loves You! “Lord, I am a precious container of love, genuine and costly. When […]
Read More A Precious Container of EnoughHendrix says that negativity is a wish in disguise. This means behind the negative or hurtful thoughts, there’s an unmet desire.
Read More Making Marriage Simple: Negativity is a wish in disguise (ch.7)6.16.2020 Morning Meditation Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents…For they come weeping to me…I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at […]
Read More Weeping as a Spiritual DisciplineDuring my training as a spiritual director, I was fascinated with how much Ignatian spirituality was focused on exploring desires. It’s one of Jesus’ primary questions: “What do you want?” This was life changing for me because we are basically a big mess of desires! And who doesn’t care deeply about their desires, their wants! […]
Read More Progression of Desires