Michael Rose :: Spiritual Care Specialist |

Jesus, The Sex Pistols & Deconstruction

It’s been almost 20 years since my BIG deconstruction, and since then, it has been a journey focused on reconstruction. Let me be a little more precise; it is more of a rhythm of gaining new insights, trying them out, and deciding whether I keep them or keep looking. Whether I keep them or jettison…

Demons? I suppose in the context of this story, folks in a specific place and time, who knew little about various illnesses, physical and especially mental illness and trauma. Demons could have been the only tool in their toolbox to explain certain behaviours of a person who is really struggling.

Wow! More than a few years ago, we were visiting a Church in Arizona on Easter Sunday. The Pastor, an acquaintance, was tremendously creative with sharing the Gospel through pop culture and his Easter Sunday message was no exception. He was presenting the Easter story using various media and was at the part in Matthew…

Their loved one was palliative with only a couple of days to live. Everything medical that could be done had been done and her cancer-ravaged body was plain worn out. The goals of care were to keep her comfortable. Her husband vacillated from ‘this is Gods will’, “fighting the enemy to the end” and “staying…

[This is a segment of ideas written by Michael Hardin which is helpful for us to untangle the imagery of Revelations' Lion and Lamb. I have reorganized and added to improve flow.] Lion & The Lamb (Rev. 5) Maybe you have heard “He came first as a Lamb, but he is coming back as a…

A Theology of Love: Open and Relational Theology and Spiritual Direction

Open and relational theology (ORT) is a theological framework that emphasizes the relational nature of God, other people, and with all of creation. Open and Relational is not a denomination/label like Baptist, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, etc. Open and Relational Theology is in fact a Big Tent term that includes a number of perspectives, including Open…

Once upon a time, there were two carpenters; framers to be precise. Each day they would arrive at the building site to pound nails, erect walls. The first, a glum man, was asked what he was doing. “I hammer nails,” he replied, looking sour. “Every day, hammer nails and more nails. Day in, day out,…

You may have heard the phrase Open & Relational Theology more these days, but maybe you aren't sure what it's all about. The following is a good summary of Open & Relational Theology based on the ideas of Thomas Jay Oord. It also does an excellent job of Oord’s solution to the problem of evil.

ometimes, what we generally accept as the loving thing to do (with the best of intentions) can, in fact, be unloving. When we start with what love is, it helps shape the ways we choose to love.

Agape is an interesting Greek term. Ask five people; you'll get seven different definitions. Most agree that it is a unique kind of Love. However, a survey of the New Testament and one soon discovers that Agape wasn’t the special word it would later become. Agape (and its conjugates) were used in various contexts and…

Blog

Jesus, The Sex Pistols & Deconstruction

Demons, Trauma and Bad Stories

Easter: Good News for Zombies!

What is Spiritual Bypassing?

Mistaking a Lion for the Lamb

A Theology of Love: Open and Relational Theology and Spiritual Direction

Faith of the Everyday

What is Open and Relational Theology?

Love Is and Why it Matters

Agape: An Evolution of Love