God is only capable of love

Have you ever heard it said that life events are God's will or part of God's plan? That's all well and good if God's plan is to bring nice things into my life. It's an easy explanation to abide when God's will nicely aligns with my wishes. It tends to fall short when used to explain or justify some tragedy, heartbreak or injustice. Luckily there are other ways of understanding the nature of the divine. What if God is all loving, capable only of love, (or compassion if you prefer)? If God can only love then God can't seek revenge, demand sacrifice, change the weather, and certainly can't take the life of your loved one. This sort of God finds power in the way Jesus exemplified power, in an inverted way, through self emptying.

Until now I could recommend many books to you on this sort of theology but this is the first time there's been a book that is strictly practical. I'm excited to share it with you! "Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God" is a beautiful new book packed with sermons, prayers, and essays on the craft of preaching. I have a couple contributions within its pages. It's an excellent resource for preachers but I think it will really resonate with anyone who is looking for perspectives on the Christian faith that truly resonate with their lives. It will even resonate with some who have given up on a God who is no longer relevant.

That's the thing about the process and open/relational theological perspective, and what has drawn me into it deeply: it resonates. Most people don't want to study theology to find a God who could be real. This book fills a void, it offers reflections on life and human experience and brings those into conversation with a God who actually makes sense.

The term progressive Christianity has become popular in recent years, as a distinction from something more traditional or orthodox. Process and open/relational theology is distinct from progressive theology, it stands alone, a way of understanding God, sin, redemption, grace, etc., that is distinct. For a more thorough introduction, visit my friend Jay McDaniel's site Open Horizons: https://www.openhorizons.org/christian-process-theology-introductions.html

Think of this as a collection of essays and prayers that you can keep coming back to, as part of your spiritual practice. I hope you will find it deeply nourishing to read.

I'll leave you with one of the prayers I contributed to the book

Into the heart of Divine Love we are called:

Called to: come and see, touch and know the wondrous blessing of your love.

The invitation is ordinary and awesome:

a soft whisper breathed into a tired heart,

an open hand gently waiting to be clasped.

With every breath we seek to open to the invitation.

Knowing that it leads to places:

unexpected, unsettling and uplifting beyond compare.

May we hear and know the promise of your love. Amen

You can purchase the book on Amazon.