The articles found on this page are more expansive than the devotionals that you will find in the Principle Approach Devotionals section. However, they are still very devotional in nature.
There are a couple of these articles that are highly focused on the ideals of Asymmetric Faith that we encourage you to read first:
Beyond that, we encourage you to enjoy the read…
As I’ve navigated the life of asymmetric faith, I’ve wondered about something. If churches really are focused on a relationship with Jesus, and leading their people to do the same, why wouldn’t they be asymmetric? Why aren’t they focused on the things that produce that fruit […]
I’m at a conference this week for Bible colleges. The conversation, naturally, includes aspects of preparation for ministers. There is just one problem: The focus is entirely on traditional models of ministry where they are connected with a church or institutional ministry. I do get it. […]
This post is shared with the permission of Dr. David Ryser, one of the contributors to this site. Dr. Ryser has been walking the path of asymmetric faith for some time. You may have seen this article on social media in the past. That’s where I […]
This thought hit me the other day. God can’t love you or me any more than He already does. I’ve been thinking about (meditating on) that for the last several days. I know He loves me perfectly and infinitely. But to think that He can’t love […]
My church experience growing up was, primarily, not a bad one. I had good Sunday school teachers (thanks Paul, Steve, and others that I can see the faces of in my head but can’t pull the names). I had a dear youth pastor. I had some […]
As I have been traveling the path of Asymmetric Faith, one thing that has aroused my attention is the state of my perception of all things Christendom. That is to say, I’ve struggled with finding a balance of being “wise as a serpent and harmless as […]
Whenever I hear someone talking about meditation, I go into lockdown mode to find out what they mean. Meditation in pop culture is huge these days. I was even taking a continuing education course on a totally unrelated topic and the person doing the course had […]
I recently watched “Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman” on Disney+. If you get the chance to view it, I highly recommend it. While it seemed that David Letterman was grappling with what he was observing from an outsider to the faith, it […]
Severe Peace: I’d never said it that way before when telling the story but the phrase came out when I was describing a period of clearest direction from God in my life to a colleague. After I said it, it struck both of us as a unique […]
I woke up this morning with a sense of “ending.” That is, I was thinking of “this is the last time this year I will. . .” It wasn’t a bad thought process but one of focus. Yes, there were a few silly things: the last […]
This morning, I’m struck with how much praise God deserves. He deserves praise for things on a big scale. He is God of all creation. . .creating it so that He could show love to creation. He is the God who made the earth that I […]
This past week, I visited a client institution and spoke to their board of directors. They asked me, as part of their board meetings, to bring a devotional to them. This is that devotional: The Greek word for Talents is: τάλαντον The transliteration to English is […]
I was taking my daughter to school today (for the last day of school before summer break – WOOHOOO!). Shasta the dog was along for the ride. (She LOVES to go for a ride in the car and gets annoyed when she can’t go.) Usually, after […]
While it wasn’t tied to a traditional semester term like those ending around the country right now, I finished up my last dissertation student when she successfully defended her research on Tuesday evening. That means I’m officially retired from being a faculty member. I had been […]
Today I was working out on the elliptical for the first time in a long time because I was not feeling like dodging the thunderstorm that the news said was on the way. I was doing a 30-minute workout. In the last five minutes, I cranked […]
I’m sitting in the airport on my way home from a trip to meet up with clients at a Leadership Conference. As I think about going home, it warms my heart. I’m a complete homebody. I could spend all week holed up at home without going […]
I commented to a friend once that, growing up, I never felt like my parents played favorites. I always felt that they consistently loved each of us kids and weren’t partial to any of us. (I could insert a funny comment about them loving me more […]
Halfheartedness (noun): (Ironic Definition) The state of being halfhearted. See Websters for a better definition. ;-D I was out for a short run this morning (too short, really, given that there is a half-marathon looming a week from Sunday). As I was running through an intersection […]
I’ve been thinking for several years about the concept of my frailty as a human. I’m not smart enough (I’ll put in print, just don’t tell my wife. . .but she’s smarter than me). I’m not strong enough (as I am getting older, I’ve gone from […]
Do you ever get reminded of the “still, small voice?” That is, do you ever recall, suddenly, that there was that fleeting thought, that hunch, that mental image that popped when something was happening? Then you’re reminded that it happened later. . .usually when things didn’t […]
Quite by “accident,” I did a fast at the beginning of the year several years ago. At the time, I was not in the practice of fasting much (well, except for beets, rutabagas, and okra). However, one of the volunteer groups that I served on was, […]
For a while now, my view of how we (the supposed body and bride of Christ) are functioning and should function, has been changing. I recognize that should anyone ever find this blog, I will have immediate naysayers and “ifs” and “buts” that come up to […]