It’s been a good summer for spending half hours standing on a beach with no shoes. Back in July, while I was in San Diego for an annual conference, I managed to stop by the Pacific the day before I left. I hadn’t planned out the beach trip at all and was wildly overdressed. But […]
Interview: Exvangelical and Keisha
Earlier this fall, I had an extended conversation with Blake Chastain, host of the podcast Exvangelical. Exvangelical is a weekly podcast that shares stories of people who grew up or converted into Evangelical Christianity and have since built lives of faith and beyond faith outside of the subculture. Episode 14, “A Safe Place for Questions,” runs a […]
We leave no one behind
In the book Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, Angel Kyodo Williams explores spiritually grounded and grounding ways to live in a world where all is not well. Chapter 3 includes an analysis of the Three Pure Precepts: “to not create evil, to practice good, and to practice good for others.” These […]
Leadership as the assumption of risk
I completed my last Sunday service shift as a staff member at Unity of Gaithersburg today. The senior minister, Rev. Sheryl Myers, allowed me to talk to the community about my time with them and what’s next for me. I thought back to the first book study group I facilitated there: Brené Brown’s 2013 book on wholeheartedness in workplaces, relationships, and families, Daring […]
Thanks, Twitter (2013 ed.)—Part 1
The people I’ve met on Twitter have been offering up 140-character jolts of wisdom, insight, and provocation all year long. I don’t follow all of them but they’ve intersected with my network and contributed to my thinking regardless. I’ve broken down the compilation into 3 categories: Seeing the Real: on religion, spirituality, morality, and the […]
Reading scriptures with a little humility
If you’re in a church service with me (or a non-religious lecture otherwise), you might see me tapping on my phone. It’s not because I’m not paying attention, but because I am: I use a bible app, take digital notes, and if something’s well said, I’ll tweet it immediately. This is a few steps ahead […]
