Confessions of a Recovering Prayer Fanatic

Prayer. The hardest thing in the world. Fifteen years ago, I was a prayer fanatic. Having grown up in a holiness tradition in a Korean church, I was all about the early rising, the long hours logged in prayer, the moaning and the groaning and the angst, the knobby knees, the undecipherable words that only

What Exactly Is Christian Fasting All About?

I was recently asked about fasting: What exactly is it? Why do religious people do it? What purpose does it serve? I do not claim to be an expert; but I do practice the discipline once a week. So I might be able to give a few ideas but claim no authority; thus I’m opening

When Prayer Is Like Pounding On A Silent Door

In the spiritual journey… each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we have to do is to stop pounding on the door. Palmer — Pete Scazzero (@petescazzero) March 19, 2014 I’ve been preaching a series through Mark this season at my church. Truthfully it’s been a difficult process –

(When) The Hamster Wheel Is (Not) Heaven

As a minister, people oft-assume I deal with strictly ethereal matters, things “other-worldly” and “spiritual”. Nothing could be further from the truth, and more theologically errant. I think of the time I engaged in the “spiritual practice” of spending the night with heroine junkies and going in the morning to deliver a death notification of

Here Among The Hinterlands And Its Residents

This past Saturday I showed up to facilitate an art therapy class for disabled / autistic people. It had been a few months since the last class and getting back into the swing for winter semester was no easy task; truth be told, it was quite difficult. I had come into the day with a