No… End of talk… Just kidding… But maybe asking about why life is or isn’t fair is the wrong question in a lot of ways. Kyle wonders if underneath questions of fairness is the human tendency toward comparison, and offers some suggestions on what we can do about that and some examples of prayer that might help.
Read MoreAs helpful and important as the imagery of God the Father is, what we too often miss is the imagery of God the Mother — just as illuminating of the character of Jesus and the God of the Bible. To mark Mother's Day this year and to learn more about the mothering character of God, various women in the BLV community offered us reflections on their mothers or on motherhood.
Read MoreMost everyone seems to have a knee-jerk reaction against “all talk, no action”, and toward the active, genuine way of Jesus. But in the midst of the demands of Modern American society, how on earth is anyone supposed to live as a halfway-responsible adult AND be consistently active in love and service at the same time? Vince shares some thoughts and suggestions from his experience.
Read MoreWhat’s the difference between bad authority and good authority? Fake news and journalistic integrity? Misappropriation of the Bible and appropriate use of the Bible? It’s the difference between unquestioned authority and interactive authority. Vince unpacks this difference by looking at some personal stories, an episode from the life of Jesus, and the broad brushstrokes of church history.
Read MoreKyle explains from personal experience how conversations about faith, God, or meaning can get very ugly, and how wanting to avoid such conversations like the plague is a very reasonable thing. But he also describes discovering a different, good version of faith conversation, and encourages us to push through the discomfort of going deep with people so we can enjoy and be changed by them.
Read MoreWhen it comes to the benefits that a commitment to honesty has for our lives and for our communities, Kyle wonders if there is a difference between just "not lying" and true honesty, and considers how the old saying "it's not the crime, it's the cover up" seems to be at the heart of some of the words of the Apostle John.
Read MoreArrogance and unteachable-ness are often right at home in religious settings. To protect against this, "humility" is our number one value at BLV. Even though humility means hits to our egos, in Vince's experience, it has given and continues to give gift after gift to him personally. So what does it actually mean or look like for a community or an individual to prioritize humility?
Read MoreWe wonder if the greatest enemy of "belief in God" is not secularism or atheism or religious pluralism -- it is bad "belief in God" -- ugly, cruel versions of "belief in God", or "belief in God" carried out in bad faith. For Easter this year, Kyle leads us in a reflection on the way Jesus' death put to death Bad Faith, and the way Jesus' resurrection invites people into just the opposite: an incredibly magnetic and inviting Good Faith.
Read MoreEveryone wants to change and grow and be a different, better person in the future than they are today. But so much of what we default to doing to try to change and grow just doesn't work. (And, sadly, so much of what churches tend to teach is things that don't work.) Kyle teaches us a helpful way to approach trying to change, and brings us to an incredible promise from God that makes change feel possible.
Read MoreWhat can we learn by tracing a line through Bubbles from HBO's The Wire, Jesus on the Cross, and the writing of St. Paul? That churches at their best are like a 12 Step Meeting. Vince's own experience has taught him that maybe it's worth expanding our understanding of the 12-Steps beyond just Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Sex Addicts Anonymous. Maybe all people need the 12 Steps.
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