Podcast Episode One: When Faith Stops Working

SEASON TWO - EPISODE ONE: WHEN FAITH STOPS WORKING

I never thought I’d be the pastor who would find himself laying on the floor, under his desk, with noise-canceling headphones on, crying.

But within a few years of actually being in full-time ministry, within a few years of actually working for churches, within a few years of actually preaching, and pastoring, and creating programs, I found myself so overwhelmed with life and work that there I was, just chilling under my desk.

At the time, I found myself burnt out. I felt overworked, completely unprepared for ministry, and my soul was aching for something I wasn’t sure was even worth it, longing for something more. My faith wasn’t working the way it once had.

I realized that I needed something new. And what I learned was that the something new I needed was actually something quite old; ancient actually.

And so, from meditation to monasteries, silence to solitude, contemplative practices to centering prayer these ancient spiritual practices changed everything for me. They literally revived my soul and saved my faith. It wasn’t as if I pursued contemplative spiritual practice, it was as if I fell into them, discovering them by human accident but divine purpose.

Contemplative spiritual practices are ways that open me up to God’s presence, ways to be with God rather than things to do for God, and they’re practices that allow God to do things in me while I am simply learning to be; be present and still.

In this episode of the podcast, I share how these ancient practices revived my faith, healed my soul, and allowed me to hear the Divine. Take a listen and be sure to leave a review on iTunes Apple Podcasts.

If you’re looking for more resources, check out: The Emotionally Healthy Leader, by Pete Scazzero; Just This, by Richard Rohr; New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton; Concerning the Inner Life, by Evelyn Underhill

Until then, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN on APPLE PODCASTS, PODBEAN, SPOTIFY, STITCHER, OVERCAST, GOOGLE PLAY, PODCAST REPUBLIC, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

A Theology of Love, Revolution, and Resistance

Thomas Merton is one of my favorite authors. I think you should read everything that man has written. I’m trying my best to do the same.

The following passage is pretty prophetic and shows that, for the Christian, love is more than some sentimental thing we preach and profess. It is, instead, a way of revolution and resistance.

“A theology of love cannot afford to be sentimental. It cannot afford to preach edifying generalities about charity, while identifying ‘peace’ with mere established power and legalized violence against the oppressed. A theology of love cannot be allowed merely to serve the interests of the rich and powerful, justifying their wars, their violence and their bombs, while exhorting the poor and underprivileged to practice patience, meekness, longsuffering, and to solve their problems if at all, non-violently.

"The THEOLOGY OF LOVE must seek to deal realistically with the evil and injustice in the world, and not merely compromise with them...A theology of love may also conceivably turn out to be a THEOLOGY OF REVOLUTION. In any case, it is a THEOLOGY OF RESISTANCE.”

from Faith and Violence (Notre Dame; University of Notre Dame Press, 1968), 8-9

It's Here: Podcast Season Two

IT’S HERE! THE WHY BEHIND THE WHAT, IS BACK!

The trailer for the new season is out now!

Go listen now wherever podcasts are found! I’d be honored if you would subscribe and even share it.

Every two weeks a new episode will drop exploring the theme: ‘Ancient Contemplative Spirituality for Today’s Transformation.’

As I mentioned before, discovering the ancient is what revitalized my spiritual life and faith. It changed everything for me. In these episodes, I’ll invite you into ancient spiritual practices that relieve stress, increase union with the Divine, and lead to personal and spiritual transformation.

A few helpful things you can do to spread the word:

• First, SUBSCRIBE to the podcast on APPLE PODCASTS, PODBEAN, SPOTIFY, STITCHER, OVERCAST, GOOGLE PLAY, PODCAST REPUBLIC, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

• Second, please SHARE it on social media.

• Third, please REVIEW it on Apple Podcasts.

• Be sure to listen to the cutest podcast guest in podcast history HERE.

• Finally, learn more about the podcast in a previous blog post HERE.

As we start this new season together, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

Coming Soon: Podcast Season Two

It’s back!

After a long hiatus, my podcast, The Why Behind the What, is back with all-new episodes, a new logo, new music, and new ideas to share with you! Where have I been for the last few years? Well, not doing a podcast, that’s for sure. But rest assured it is back and ready to go.

Starting January 13th, a new episode will drop every two weeks based on the theme, ‘Ancient Contemplative Spirituality for Today’s Transformation.’

The past few years have brought me on a journey where I realized faith wasn’t working for me as it once had. My Christian life wasn’t what it once was. The prayers I said, the songs I sang, the church services I attended, the Bible I read, it all stopped working. I became disillusioned, bored, tired, and critical. I was burnt out. And, much of this happened while I was working as a pastor.

I needed something new in my faith and something more for my soul. What I discovered was that something ‘new’ was actually something quite old; ancient actually.

That’s what I’ll introduce you to this season. In these episodes, I’ll invite you into ancient spiritual practices that relieve stress, increase union with the Divine, and lead to personal and spiritual transformation. These practices have quite literally revived my faith, healed my soul, increased my passion, and allowed me to hear the still small voice of God.

If you have found yourself on a similar faith journey; one that isn’t working as it once did, one that has led you to become burnt out, cynical, or tired, I hope you will listen. And more than that, I hope you will open yourself up to the Divine and through ancient contemplative spirituality, you might be transformed today.

A few things you can do to help spread the word about The Why Behind the What:

• First, subscribe to the podcast on APPLE PODCASTS, PODBEAN, SPOTIFY, STITCHER, OVERCAST, google play, podcast republic, or wherever you listen.

• sECOND, please share it on social media (I need your help to spread the word to the masses).

• THIRD, please review it on ITUNES PODCASTS so those silly algorithms will allow more people to find it.

Until then, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

This podcast and blog were written and recorded on Monacan Land. For more about indigenous land and territories where you live and work, check out native-land.ca.

Buying Influence or Being Influential

Thanks to Instagram’s algorithm, I have been seeing a lot of sponsored ads from pastors and preachers. For a while, the algorithm was showing me ads for dentists. Then there were basketball players. I have no interest in dentistry or basketball, so it’s been an interesting change of pace. 

Lately, I’ve been clicking on these ads (which probably messes with the algorithm meaning I’ll have more ads like this show up). These pastors are from evangelical churches all over the country. Most of their posts are short clips from their sermons. They usually all look the same: trendy, somewhat hipster, white, male, and probably church planters. 

Because of these ads, however, I’m quickly becoming convinced that too many pastors believe the lie that they must become social media influencers to have influence. Even more, because these are sponsored posts, they think they must buy their influence rather than be influential within their communities. 

Now, I have to confess, I internally wrestle with this as well. As an author, preacher, and pastor, I have tried to increase my “followers and subscribers,” so I can have more page views on this blog, possibly book another speaking gig, and sell a couple more copies of my book. There was a time where my blog had thousands of more clicks than the few it has now. And as much as that might be a kick in the ego, I’m ok with it.

The one thing I have learned in intentionally spending more time offline and regularly taking time off of social media is that buying influence, increasing subscribers, and having more followers does not make you influential. Influence is not about the number of clicks, downloads, followers, or subscribers. It’s greater than that.

The people who have influenced me the most throughout my life were not on social media. And, they did not influence me through their social media posts.

Instead, their influence came because they were present in my life, not simply on my newsfeed or timeline. 

We are all more influential than we think. Sometimes, we have to get off social media to realize it. 

May it be so of all of us.

I am a Bowl

Almost a decade ago, I received a small wooden bowl as a gift from a coworker. For Christmas, she presented each member of our staff a bowl that was accompanied by a small laminated piece of paper with instructions on how the bowl can be used as an aid in prayer. Since then, that bowl has always been on display in my office and, I confess, I have rarely used it as an aid in prayer. 

However, over the years it has come to drastically impact my understanding and identity of myself as a university chaplain and minister.

I am a bowl. 

Probably not the most flattering identity, but it is one that gives me a great purpose. As a university minister, I am a bowl for our students and campus. There are times when a student needs a place to go and speak their minds. They may simply need a place to vent, or cry, or pour out their frustrations. On other occasions, they may need to bounce an idea off of someone, share a story, or ask for advice. 

I have found that my role is to be a bowl for them. A place that can hold all their thoughts, words, frustrations, or grief. A place that can contain all the thoughts that are swirling around inside their heads. A place to hold any thought or experience so that they might be able to find a sense of peace for a little while. And a place where they can return and fill up the bowl some more at a later time. 

This is often what I tell students, too, as I show them this wooden bowl. That one of my roles on campus is to be a bowl for them, a safe place to contain and hold anything for them. As I share this, what I have found over and over is a sense of great relief comes across their faces. It is as if what they were hoping might be true they discovered to be indeed true. 

I think all of us, however, need a bowl or two in our life. It might be a pastor, best friend, spouse, or colleague. We need that person who will listen, contain all our stuff, hold it safely for us, and let us come back and fill up the bowl again. We all need that place to vent, to let things out, to ask for advice, or simply hear the words, ‘Me too,’ ‘I’ve been there,’ or ‘You’re not alone.’

I hope that today, you are reminded that a part of your role in life is to be a bowl for someone else. It happens to be one of the greatest honors and responsibilities in life. 

Oh God of Peace in the Daily Office

In the last few years, I have practiced the Daily Office, or fixed-hour prayer. Usually four times a day, I stop what I am doing and pray ancient prayers. I have utilized the Book of Common Prayer and most recently have fallen in love with Phyllis Tickle’s book series, The Divine Hours. 

I was taught as an Evangelical to use extemporaneous prayer rather than a rote or boring tradition of reciting written prayers. Eventually, though, extemporaneous prayers fell short and I found I didn’t know what to pray. It even seemed as if I didn’t know how to pray. I shared more about this in my new love for reciting the liturgy.

In desperation, I started praying the Daily Office and it revolutionized my spiritual life. So much so, that I would often cry as I read these ancient prayers out loud. I found these prayers were the words my soul longed to pray that I simply could not voice. Utterly refreshing and restorative, to say the least.

Recently, I was struck again by the following prayer. I even printed it and put it above my desk so I see it, and pray it, regularly. May it allow you to enter into the Divine’s presence and find peace today. 

O God of Peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and trust shall be our strength, by the might of your Spirit lift us to your holy presence where we may be still and know that you are God.