Articles for tag: Madeleine L’Engle

November 11, 2015

By Jim Tune (This column was first posted November 5, 2014.) To be real is to risk. I know many preachers who feel a deep reluctance (often well-founded) to reveal who they really are to those they lead. Henri Nouwen suggests that pastors are the least confessing people in the church. The expectations demanded of pastors in our Western culture are often unattainable, unsustainable, and soul-withering. I admit that I have sometimes allowed my own fear of vulnerability to push me into hiding. The trouble with life in the shadows is the double life it promotes in the shadow dweller.

February 14, 2011

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation Spiritual Disciplines

Breathing Space in the Spiritual Journey

By Jan Johnson I felt the pressure building as I griped at my son for breaking his lunch box. A few days before, my husband, Greg, had been laid off for the third time, and every time something broke or wore out I felt my tightly bound panic cut loose. I needed to quiet myself before I heaped more shaming, unfeeling words on my family. I felt drawn toward my bedroom, so I finished preparing lunch and slipped on to my bed””not to sleep, but to pull out an untidy spiral notebook and spread my grief before God. God, I”m

May 2, 2010

Christian Standard

Prayer Worship & Prayer

“˜God, I Hate You!”

By John Mark Hicks Dear God, I hate you. Love, Madeleine. I meditated on this brief prayer (in Madeleine L”Engle”sÂ The Weather of the Heart) for months after I read it. Initially, I was horrified by how much I identified with the prayer. My first reaction was, “I get the point.” And so did Mack in William Young”s bestseller,Â The Shack. Mack had become “sick of God” in the years since Missy”s death. But at God”s invitation, he went to the shack where Missy was murdered, doubting whether it really was God who invited him. As he entered the shack for the

September 14, 2008

Christian Standard

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

He Is “˜I AM,” I am “˜I”m Not”

By Mandy Smith We”ve heard about the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials””moments in history when, with the blessing of the church, Christians stood in judgment of one another. But that”s all history, isn”t it? Why is it, then, that in national surveys of young people, the authors of the book UnChristian found that 87 percent believe modern-day Christianity is judgmental? On the other hand, their surveys showed “only a small percentage of outsiders strongly believe the labels “˜respect, love, hope, and trust” describe Christianity.”1 We may not be hunting for witches anymore, but we point out believers who

November 8, 2006

Mark A. Taylor

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation Spiritual Disciplines

From Chaos to Art

As Standard Publishing prepares to relocate, Mark A. Taylor reflects on how office order mirrors spiritual order. Real growth requires discipline and inconvenient change—and confession of sin, though never fun, leads to a more beautiful life.