Behind the Music

I love watching and reading biographies of musicians and bands. Their stories usually follow a similar progression. They have an “it” factor. “It” is raw talent, a singular devotion, a stage presence, or a coolness that is just right for the times. More likely, it is a combination of all of… Continue reading

Parting Shot

This post is part of the October 2015 Synchroblog that invites bloggers to imagine what they would say if they were writing their last blog post. Please scroll to the bottom of the page for links to other writers’ contributions. I am feeling both sentimental and hopeful as I leave… Continue reading

The Summer We Thought Would Never Come

Where I live in the upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, we are experiencing a summer we thought would never come. It was a full month late, with the dependably warm weather not kicking in until July. It’s so funny because July and August are crammed full of fairs and outdoor festivals,… Continue reading

Mr. Mellow

This post is a  follow-up to “Preoccupied Pastor.” I’m not there yet, but I have mellowed out tremendously. I wonder why? Well, I couldn’t have been wound much tighter. Mostly, I mellowed out because I had no choice. Things happened, unexpected, unwanted things. Different kinds of people came into my… Continue reading

Things I Don’t Ever Want to Forget

It’s hard to remember, and it’s not just due to my age, or getting so lost in a thought that I forgot which route I took to get home. Our culture is not given to remembering. It’s more about what’s trending on Twitter at very this moment. So, this month’s… Continue reading

Christmas Prayer

God become man. Entering the world in the most humble manner. Defying religious preconceptions. Shocking people with his radical way of loving them in spite of their shortcomings. Suffering constant misunderstanding and persecution. Finally, he was tortured to death. But that was not the end, because… Now, his death is our redemption.… Continue reading

When Mental Illness Strikes Home

I talked to my Dad last Saturday on his eighty-eighth birthday, and he was surprising like his old self, chatty and congenial. What a relief. For so much of his recent years he has lived in a state of agitation. Contentment has been something he rarely experienced. Hence, much of… Continue reading

The Dog Days of Summer

It’s humid, sticky, sultry. It’s summer, the end of summer. For kids, the freedom of June has turned to into the boredom of August. They have resigned themselves to heading back to school. Parents are shelling out money hand-over-fist for clothes, school supplies, and hefty fees for every program imaginable.… Continue reading

On The Drew Marshall Show!

Yeah, I was on the radio, talking about An Irreligious Faith. The radio show host, Drew Marshall is a fun and fascinating guy who asks great questions and runs a fast-paced show, interviewing all manner of authors, musicians, and celebs on “Canada’s most listened to spiritual talk show,” broadcast live to southern… Continue reading

Why You Should Read, “An Irreligious Faith”

You have some questions. You wonder about what it means to live life in the way of Jesus, but haven’t found what you’re looking for in the church. You have honest questions about the faith, but haven’t found them welcomed (or answered.) You are puzzled by the gap between the… Continue reading

The Reluctant Time Lord

Warning: This post involves time travel, which may affect the space-time continuum, thereby, altering the very course of human history forever. Great Scott! My monthly synchroblog assignment  necessitated time travel to answer the question that holds the key to what I have been learning the last twenty years of my life.… Continue reading

Old Love

Patty and I were vendors at the Kenosha Harbor Market last Saturday, which happened to also be our fortieth anniversary. The weekly market is an altogether lovely event in a beautiful location. There are over one hundred white 10×10 tents in a two block area and some side streets flanked by… Continue reading

Dr. Smith’s Prescription

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Here is your assignment. Inspire people who are at a critical juncture in their life with fresh, memorable words from the heart, delivered before a group of several thousand preoccupied people, knowing what you have to say will be critically evaluated by each person present. You have twenty minutes, go!… Continue reading

Am I Illinoising You?

A reprint of my column in the Kenosha (Wisconsin) News: I have a confession. Brace yourself. I live in Illinois. There, I said it. Please, don’t stop reading. Even though I’m from “south of the border,” it’s only by a block and a half. And that’s how I explain to… Continue reading

Q & A with Glenn Hager (Part2)

What have you got against religion? Religion has a lot of unintended consequences that are very unlike Jesus. It becomes about who is “in” and who is “out.” Therefore, it breeds pride among those who have the “right” doctrinal beliefs. It becomes a brand that you wear; protestant catholic, baptist,… Continue reading

Where the Adventure Begins

Image by dgthekneelo. Creative Commons This post is part of the December synchroblog and part of  Christine Sine’s annual Advent synchroblog focused on the idea of “Coming Home” and how it relates to this season of advent leading up to Christmas. Links to the other writers’ contributions are listed at the end of… Continue reading

Christmas Collision Course

Image by Tim Samoff. Creative Commons. Christmastime is full of expectations. I am not referring to the expectation of a Messiah. I am referring to all of the pressure that we put upon ourselves. We want to have to have festive get-togethers with friends, memory-making family time, a Better Homes and… Continue reading

It makes me feel not so alone. – Jeanne

It means so much to me when people take time to read the advance copy of An Irreligious Faith and jot down their thoughts. This review from Jeanne who describes herself as “just an ordinary person,” was so encouraging! “Glenn Hager describes so much of what I am, where I… Continue reading

David Hayward (aka the nakedpastor) and An Irreligious Faith

I identify strongly with Glenn Hager, having been a pastor who left the ministry and the church. With a mixture of his own experiences, research and conclusions, Glenn weaves a compelling and convincing story that many who struggle with the church will resonate with. David Hayward, ‘nakedpastor’ blog and theLastingSupper.com. Continue reading

Dan Brennan and An Irreligious Faith

An Irreligious Faith is a warm and honest reflection of Glenn Hager’s journey from a young pastor committed to Jesus and the evangelical church to an older, wiser, compassionate, unemployed pastor who still hungers to follow Jesus. Hager invites us into his own passionate story of following Jesus as he discerns… Continue reading

Paul Meier and An Irreligious Faith

  In his book, An Irreligious Faith, Glenn Hager describes the process that moved him beyond the boundaries of the church as an institution and into uncharted territory. He gives voice to the frustrations of many Christians who want to focus on love and the example of Jesus rather than on… Continue reading

Pam Hogeweide and An Irreligious Faith

An Irreligious Life is a portrait of a pastor and his journey from church leader to churchless wanderer.  Breaking out of the cage of religion,  Glenn stumbled  into new discoveries of how to follow Jesus and serve communities apart from churchified codes and rigid traditions. This is his manifesto of how… Continue reading

Doug Worgul and An Irreligious Faith

Glenn Hager’s spiritual journey takes readers through a desolate landscape of religious arrogance, divisiveness, and self-righteousness. It will be an all-too-familiar journey for many who have been alienated or abandoned by American Christianity. However, Hager’s destination is one of hope and healing. He knows that where Christianity has failed is… Continue reading

Jeremy Myers and An Irreligious Faith

Here is another pre-release endorsement of An Irreligious Faith: How to Starve Religion and Feed Life. Using his own personal story as a foundation, Glenn Hager writes insightfully about this thing we call “church.” He shows that while some people may have left the church as an organization, they have… Continue reading

Jim Henderson and An Irreligious Faith

Here’s the first pre-release endorsement of An Irreligious Faith: How to Starve Religion and Feed Life. Try to Imagine this scene. It’s 12 Billion BC. The Father, Son and Spirit are having a beer, planning how Jesus will save the world when The Holy Spirit has an unusual revelation. “Hey… Continue reading

Author’s Resource Kit

Traditional publishing is rapidly giving way to self-publishing, also known as, independent publishing. For the author, independent publishing means total ownership of the entire project, larger royalties, and lots of responsibility for his own success. Guy Kawasaki compares writing, publishing, and marketing a book to beginning a business. If you… Continue reading