Weekly Messages
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...
The Holy Spirit: We’re Finding Our Way Again! (8)
As we've seen, we Christians - we lose our way! All the time. Again and again. Bummer. But it is just as much a part of our tradition - to find our way again when we lose it. And today is no exception. We have really lost our way! But across the planet, a movement...
The Holy Spirit: How We Lose Our Way (7)
It's a lesson about good news - and the bad news. The bad news: we've been really successful as a religious tradition. The good news: not so much any more. Picking up where we left off before our community meeting last week. It turns out in Christian history, that...
2015 Community Meeting
We take a break from our current lesson for our annual community meeting. We cover what work we did in 2014 to make NRCC a healthier spiritual community, and why we did it. We also talk about how we'll decide what work we'll do in 2015 (and of course, why we will do...
The Holy Spirit: How We Lose Our Way (6)
You've heard the expression: "nothing breeds success like success." In the case of spiritual acumen, that might not be so. In that case, it could be said that nothing breeds failure - like success. Surprised? Have a listen, Doug
The Holy Spirit: the Perennial Tradition (5)
Here is a quote from Richard Rohr: The Perennial Tradition encompasses the recurring themes in all of the world’s religions and philosophies that continue to say: There is a Divine Reality underneath and inherent in the world of things, There is in the human soul a...
The Holy Spirit: Normalizing Mysticism (4)
If we would participate in the movement afoot in our world today - to move from secondhand, institutional religion to firsthand, direct-encounter spirituality - then it would behoove us to pay attention to the mystics in our tradition. We've tended to honor them only...
The Holy Spirit: Messy, Untidy, Post-Institutional-Religion (3)
Life is messy. Institutional, organized religion would prefer we ignore that inconvenient reality. Institutions work so much better when truth is fixed and expectations are normalized. But organized religion is in trouble. And truth - and wisdom - and the sources we...
The Holy Spirit: the Developmental Journey (2)
In this second lesson on rethinking the Holy Spirit, we examine a couple of developmental models of the spiritual journey - and how they speak to our need to become skilled in discerning and dancing with the Inner Spirit of God. Weird words, I know. But hang in there....
The Holy Spirit: Quarks, and Heisenberg (1)
Of all the religious-jargon sounding parts of our tradition, the term "The Holy Spirit" is right up near the top of the list. We know it's religious (the words "holy" and "spirit" are right in it). But what does it mean? "Spirit," by the very nature of the word is...