Welcome to a new blog!  This post is an introduction.  There are some previous posts as I was trying to get my thoughts together.  Check some of them out after reading this one.

With this blog, I invite you to imagine a new way of doing the work of the spirit.  This is traditionally thought of as the work of theology and ethics and mission (a work I have dedicated my life to as a pastor).

• Theology:  How we think and talk about God, about our relationship with God, and about our lives in this world.
• Ethics:  How we live our lives, both our actions and our character.
• Mission:  How we become a force for good in our world.

I invite you into a new process for doing this work, individually, as part of a community, or as a leader in a community.  To engage in this process you will have to imagine two things:

• Word can become flesh in each of our lives.
• God claims the name, “I am becoming who I am becoming.”  (Exodus 3:14)

If we can imagine that the word can become flesh in our lives, then we don’t have to continue in any sort of hypocrisy; our words can better correspond with our actions, our public presence can flow more freely from our inner identity, our character can more powerfully embody our beliefs.  Once we imagine—and begin to trust—that the word becomes flesh, we approach the scriptures and theology differently.  One question we keep asking is:  “How can I live this out in the world?”  Our spiritual work becomes more experiential and more experimental.  Words and beliefs are no longer primarily for explaining and defending; they are for living.  We strive for what I am calling a living consistency.

If we can imagine that God is becoming who God is becoming, we loosen our dependence on thought patterns which focus on purposes and intentions, plans and designs.  Can we put a hold on imagining God as the Great Architect?  Can we entertain an image of God as timeless  improviser?  Once we catch a glimpse of this, we can begin to transform “Why?” questions into “How?” questions.  “Why do bad things happen to good people?” might be transformed into “How can I become a person who works good in the midst of evil?” (See posts “The Original Error” and “Given until Proven Intended”)  Loosening our dependence on thinking in terms of design and intention is more difficult imaginatively than focusing on how word becomes flesh, though it may not be in practice.

So I invite you to join me into a process of embodiment and becoming new.

Even after 30 years, this is still new territory for me.  I have some trusted guides, but few traveling companions.  So I ask that you be patient and generous with me, and also that you persist with me in this important work.