Bob, a gentleman who was probably in his 70s, had been quiet and attentive throughout the evening. I was teaching about the story of the prodigal son. When I finished speaking, Bob was the first one out of his chair. I could tell, as he made his way to the front of the classroom, that he was upset. “What about the bath,” he demanded. “You didn’t say anything about the bath.” I had no idea what he was talking about and told him that I did not understand his comment. He became more agitated the longer he talked. “You know where he had been!” “Yes,” I said, “in the pig pen.” “And you know what he would have smelled like and what was on him.” “Pig...

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In a recent conversation, the Rev. Mary Earle and Sylvia Maddox – both of whom are actively involved in speaking, writing, teaching, and leading retreats on spiritual formation – talked about three stages of conversion. “Three stages?” we said. “Yes,” said Mary, “although it’s not linear; more like three aspects of conversion – intellectual, moral, and spiritual.” And so our discussion began. Join in as Mary and Sylvia speak about their own experiences in living a converted life.  Mary:  My first experience with intellectual conversion was in a junior high school chemistry class. Mr. Mickey was teaching about the periodic table of elements. All of sudden, I saw it. I saw that there is a design to the world that we humans had nothing...

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They went fishing. The coup had failed, the revolution was over, their leader had been killed, and they had to do something, so they did what they knew how to do – they went fishing. (See John 21:3-8 for the full report.) They spent all night at it and – more misery – caught nothing. Then this stranger showed up on the shore to give them advice: “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.” Oh, sure. It was John who recognized him. At some heart-level, gut-level, John knew him and proclaimed it to the others: “It is the Lord!” Peter got so excited he jumped into the sea. Scripture does not record what Jesus looked like at that point. Had...

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I almost got converted at the old Majestic Theater in downtown Brownsville when I was a high school. Can’t remember how I came to be there, but it was a special screening of The Cross and the Switchblade, a true-life movie about a gang leader, Nicky Cruz, who gives his life to Jesus and becomes an evangelist. Erik “Ponch” Estrada plays Cruz, and Pat Boone plays the preacher who leads him to Christ. When the movie ended, someone walked to the front of the theater, talked for a few minutes, and then invited us to come forward and, like Nicky, repent and give our lives to Jesus. So I’m sitting there in the dark with all these other teenagers when I...

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I have no idea when my “conversion” took place. Like most of us who are lifelong Episcopalians, I was baptized as an infant and have more or less gone to church my entire life – sometimes regularly for years and sometimes not at all.  From what I can tell, that part of my story is not unique. Another part of my story is not unique. My “faith” has grown over time as friends have given themselves generously to disciple me in the ways of Christ and to help me recognize those special moments when God’s life-giving power breaks into the present time. Through my friends’ careful planting, watering, pruning, fertilizing, and nurturing, my once ever-so-tiny mustard seed of “faith” has grown...

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What happens in baptism? Is it the great conversion moment of our lives? The Rev. Jay George, church planter for the congregation of Grace Church in San Antonio, Texas, thinks that’s only part of it.  One of the really exciting things about planting a new church is that you get to make up traditions as you go along. There is no one to say, “We’ve always done it that way,” because the “we” is only about six people and “always” only goes back to last Thursday. A new tradition we’ve started at Grace Church centers around baptism. When we have a baptism we add something at the end. After everyone has been dunked and sealed, while my thumb is still slick with...

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The poet Rilke, in his book Letters to a Young Poet, is famously quoted: “I beg you . . . to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked doors or books written in a very foreign language.”  This quote has followed me over the years, showing up at times when I least expect it and often when I am answer-hunting the most.  When it appears I am always infuriated: “What, again?” Today, a little interior snicker comes with it:  “Yep, again,” and I know it’s time for me to get out of the way, to let go and trust.  A spirituality of questioning is a tough pill to swallow.  I want...

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