Here is the paper I presented (warts and all) at the St. Sophia Institute Conference on Vladimir Lossky's The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. The conference was excellent and recommend such things to all those interested in such things. The paper may be useful to priests and church lead … [Read more...]
You Can’t Plan for a Funeral
This title is not making a theological statement; of course we can and should prepare for our own funeral. This is about something else. There's a joke that is popular among priests. It goes something like this; Bishop: Father, I need you to come in for an important committee meeting on the … [Read more...]
On the Joy of Service, Well Done
One of the many things I am thankful for in being an Orthodox priest is that the most important thing I do is scripted. As a musician, I was never inclined to jazz (or any kind of improvisation); I found my greatest joy when playing difficult pieces with a group that worked well together. E … [Read more...]
On the Problem of Scientific and Spiritual Validation
As a social scientist, I was trained to test models based on their internal and external validity. A good model would explain a significant portion of the variation within the sample data (i.e. have internal validity) AND have applicability beyond that sample (i.e. in the "real world" or on … [Read more...]
The Priesthood and the Vision Thing
Every priest needs to have a vision for his priesthood and for the parish he serves. Because today's blog is a continuation of yesterday's on leadership, this post will focus on the latter. So... do you have done the hard work of discerning a vision for your parish? Most of us haven't. If we … [Read more...]
“Can’t I Just Serve Well?”
This is a question/conversation that comes up fairly regularly with seminarians and priests. I strongly believe that in most American parishes it is NOT enough to just serve well and that one of the things we are called to do as "fathers" is lead. Yes, we need to strengthen our own life in … [Read more...]
Self-Discipline, Camaraderie, and the Demon of Noonday
Even in the West, where we have built up huge walls to keep it out (and bread and circuses to keep us busy when the siege is strong and infiltrations are many), pain makes its way into our lives. Pain may not be the right word; I'm not talking about the sudden "oops I stubbed my toe" sensation, but … [Read more...]
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