The great wisdom traditions of the world all recognize that the main impediment to living a life of meaning is being self-absorbed.

The value for me being in a mainline tradition is history and memory, which is not just Christian tradition but denominational tradition, and characters, you know, with real distinct flavors of ways to be Christian.

I'm leaving out some of the hugely successful megachurches, of which I have very little experience.

Prayer is happening, and it is not necessarily something that I am doing. God is happening, and I am lucky enough to know that I am in The Midst.

I don't miss the ministry, because I'm completely engaged in it. In terms of parish ministry, I miss the intimacy with a group of people.

It's difficult for me to ignore how many conflicts locally and worldwide have religion tagged to them.

When someone asks us where we want to be in our lives, the last thing that occurs to us is to look down at our feet and say, 'Here, I guess, since this is where I am.'