Weekly Messages
Easter 2015
Death. That's an ugly topic for a happy day like Easter! But don't judge too quickly. Turns out that keeping our death ever before us is part of the ancient wisdom - and is in fact, a pathway into a deepened experience of life. Have a listen, Doug
Palm Sunday 2015
Crushing disappointment. Who wants to celebrate that!? But if we reflect on what happens to us in the seasons of our lives when the inevitability of pain, suffering, and hopelessness washes over our lives. -- we realize they often invite us into seasons of deep...
The Art of Watchfulness: Prayers of Detachment (6)
We've seen in this lesson, that the lives we live in the few years we get on this earth, are deeply affected by a simple pattern... Thoughts create desires. Desires create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create the very lives we live. We've seen that the...
Ahh! The Voices in My Head: Prayers of Detachment (5)
People! Their voices are always in us. Their expectations. Their beliefs. Their values. And those voices run deep! We don't usually recognize them for what they are. We usually just think they're our own minds telling us "The Way Things Are." So, the unexamined life...
High Boots and Yoga Pants: Prayers of Detachment (4)
We assign meaning to our possessions. They tell us who we are. They tell us about the value we assign to one another. How sick is that!? But we do it. Let's think together about how this damages our lives, and what we might do about it. Have a listen, Doug...
Disrupting Our Thought Patterns: Prayers of Detachment (3)
Thoughts create desires. Desires create actions. Actions create habits. Habits create lives. Disrupting this cycle when it does not serve us well is at the center of the ancient practices we call "the prayers of detachment." Have a listen, Doug...
Awakened from the Sleep of Death: Prayers of Detachment (2)
Prayers of detachment slip easily into a religious-masochist-or-martyr vibe. I do harsh things to myself -- in the hope of showing God how serious - or devout -- or pious, I am. God, in turn bestows favor on me. How sick is that!? (But it's how many have prayed the...
"I’m Sick of My False Self:" Prayers of Detachment (1)
Today, we start the first of three lessons on rethinking prayer. This is an introductory lesson addressing the "why" of the prayers of detachment. It goes to freedom. The false self is like a booster rocket. It gets us to where we are -- but it has to be jettisoned if...
Do Sensible People Still Pray? Really? (3)
Most people I know have given up on praying--at least given up on prayer the way most Christians have been taught to pray. We continue this pretty lengthy lesson, reframing prayer in our minds, hoping that we can once again access this ancient life-breath of the...
Do Sensible People Still Pray? Really? (2)
We continue introducing a focus that will take a while for us to go through - rethinking the story we tell ourselves about prayer. Perhaps if we can rethink our story, the many of us who have given up on praying, could pray again. Have a listen, Doug
Do Sensible People Still Pray? Really? (1)
Most people I know have given up on praying--at least given up on prayer the way most Christians have been taught to pray. I'm beginning a pretty lengthy lesson today, reframing prayer in our minds, hoping that we can once again access this ancient life-breath of the...
The "Other" People – Scott Shackleton
Our natural tendency is to "other", but this othering is not without cost, both to ourselves and to our world. Jesus wants us to move toward oneness, including with others. by Scott Shackleton
Jellybeans and Lifespans: A New Year Message
As we enter the new year, let's spend a bit of time reflecting on the lives we want to live. Here is the video I refer to in the lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk Have a listen, Doug
Deep Change — Ya’ It’s A Real Thing
I hear people in their pessimistic moments say things like... "People don't ever really change. They just don't!" When you've been hurt by the same person, doing the same stupid thing, and doing it for the umpteenth time, I can understand the pessimism. However,...
Advent 2014: Loving the Faraway People 4 (Haiti)
Today we tell a story of the history of Haiti - how it got into the horrible state it is in. Love, our theme this Advent, extends beyond those who are nearby. It extends to faraway people. Our community has started a relationship with the village of Ferrier in central...
Advent 2014: Loving Faraway People (2)
Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through the themes of Advent - Peace, Hope, Joy, and Love. This year's theme is "Love." We spoke last week of loving the tough people in our lives. This week we speak of loving the...
Advent 2014: Loving the Tough People (1)
Along with many spiritual communities around the earth, each year at NRCC, we cycle through a triad of themes for Advent - Faith, Hope, and Love. This year's theme is "Love." And we begin this first week, thinking about loving the tough people in our lives. What has...
Giving Thanks After November (2)
Each year we return to the theme of gratitude in some way. It's a powerful construct. It's not just something we do on a holiday. It change our lives, and as you'll see in this lesson, has the capacity to change the world. Have a listen, Doug
Giving Thanks After November (1)
Each year we return to the theme of gratitude in some way. It's a powerful construct. It's not just something we do on a holiday. It change our lives, and as you'll see in this lesson, has the capacity to change the world. Have a listen, Doug
An Ancient Story (2): Finding Our Way Back
If you went to Sunday School, odds are you heard the story of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish and surviving to tell the tale. What you may not have heard is the historical and literary context around the story. It changes how we understand it. Turns out, its...
An Ancient Story (1) A Fear-Driven One
Today we look at one of the darker times in our religion's history - a time of racial hatred, fear, and suspicion of outsiders. It happened 600 years before Jesus, and in our fear and uncertainty, we created a story that defined us - and caused us to lose our way....
The Holy Spirit: Working With Change-Resistant Brains
Today, I conclude a rather lengthy lesson and point toward the next lesson. It's a pretty good recap of the last 10 weeks, and some context-setting for the next lesson. Have a listen, Doug
The Holy Spirit: Our Hard-Wired Resistance (10)
Again and again in this lesson, we've repeated this refrain: It is our way in the Christian tradition, to lose our way. But it is just as much our way, to find our way when we lose it. And that is true. But what is also true, is that when it is time to find our way...
The Holy Spirit: We’re Finding Our Way Again (9)
Continuing from last week, we pick up the refrain that has been recurring throughout this lesson... Yes, it is our way - to lose our way. But is just as much our way - to find it again. We pick up after Wesley and the Holiness folks paved the way for firsthand...