Speaking at the "Bringing Orthodoxy to America" Conference
I really like to write and I enjoy public speaking, but I had a hint of my tendency to wordiness when my first time in seminary produced a comment from one of my favorite professors. I had just finished a fairly intensive philosophy paper for his class and…
I've heard this all my life "God will provide." I remember hearing it when me and my brother and my mom were near poverty when I was young, and He did. I remember hearing it when I watched my family go through a shattering crisis, and He did. I remember hearing it again when I…
He told me "Never say 'never.'" Of course, at the time I missed the humor in that contradictory command. But, still, there is wisdom there. Whenever I counsel couples or anyone having challenges in their relationships (aren't we all?), I tell them "Avoid the words 'always' and 'never.'" And that's because those statements are "usually"…
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Bishop Athanasios of Kenya and Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco
I am just back from the "Bringing Orthodoxy to America" Evangelism Conference in Portland, OR. This First Ever Evangelism Conference sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese from a generous grant from Leadership 100 brought together a capacity crowd to St.…
"Count your blessings. Name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done." When I sang that old hymn as a boy, I wondered what it could mean. After all, how can you count your blessings. There are so many. All you'd do is count all day long. But maybe that's…
She said this to me with such painful expression. I had really let her down by wondering aloud if another one of our mutual friends was really going to follow through on what he promised to do. I can still hear the pain and disappointment in her voice "you 'doubting Thomas!'"
So what is it about…
A great man once said that "The Greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." We so often deceive ourselves not because we want to be deceived but because we stop short of learning all we can to form an opinion that is full and well informed. Our deception comes from a hurry to…
"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones, after all." So says the author of Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder. And I love this old Shaker Hymn: "Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free. Tis a gift to come down where we…
What provokes you? Politics? Religion? Race? Inequity? Violence? Chaos (OK, this one is a personal provocation!)? No matter what might provoke you to action, if you allow the provocation to be your primary motivation, you are sure to always be provoked. You see, provocation is a "result", not a motive. And learning what is behind…
It seems we've been focusing on being awake this week and today is no exception. In fact, I want to really dive deep today in the central wisdom of the Church that teaches you and me to "BE" awake to what is most important in life.
And that's because it seems in our modern world there…