Barnabas File

In the last few years, religion scholars and the popular press have written much about the “Nones”—people who profess no religious faith.     Ryan Burge and Tony Jones have found that it is not that simple.    The Nones are often thought of as a single group, but Jones and Burge have found they’re not. There are the Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), Spiritual but Not Religious, the Dones and the Zealous Atheists.  There not discreet boxes but gradients.   What this means for coaches is that we may find ourselves coaching about existential or faith issues when we least expect it.  Our clients may say that they have no particular religious views, but some are more spiritual than they think!   All coaches—Christian or not—can their support clients in authentic meaning-making by exploring their inner world, uncovering  and integrating their true selves.  Faith coaching acknowledges and accepts the inherent ambiguities and tensions ...

“Over 85% of the world population identifies with an organized religion while millions more practice folk religions and spiritual beliefs. Humans may be innately spiritual, learning existential views early through family traditions, community practices, and cultural narratives.”   You may be surprised to know that this quote comes from a study by the International Coaching Federation Thought Leadership Institute.  The study points out that it is typical for individuals to ask existential questions, often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, and meaning. Religion and spirituality enrich the human experience through meaning-making and help find one’s place in the word.   For those coaches who follow the Christian faith, the opportunity to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV) is a given in our lives and will inform our coaching as well.  However, ho...

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14, NIV)   We often sing “Jesus loves me, this I know” and “Jesus loves the little children” to our grandchildren.  This is a rudimentary form of Christian nurture planting the core idea that a simple, childlike faith is basic to one’s spiritual formation.  Children are open, eager to learn, and hopefully raised in an environment of trust and love that encourages a healthy faith.  However, as a child grows, the challenge is to build upon that simple, childlike faith.   In our lives, we experience events, people, and circumstances that provide the incentive for growth in our faith.  Although we don’t always seize those opportunities, they are there, nonetheless.  We can only benefit from them if we not only experience them but see them through the eyes of a faith that seeks to grow. ...

When I grow up, I want to be like Barbara Brown Taylor.     I long ago realized that Taylor is one of the finest Christian writers of our time but reading Holy Envy:    Finding God in the Faith of Others reminded me of the humility and inquisitiveness that makes her work engaging.   This book recounts not only Taylor’s experience of teaching world religions to undergraduate students in a liberal arts college, but her own growing understanding of what it means to learn from other faiths, embrace truths that enrich one’s own spiritual journey, and wonder how far “holy envy” can be indulged without becoming covetous!  Simply put, holy envy is discovering that another’s faith tradition may provide something that is missing in one’s own.   Early in the book, Taylor quotes the late Krister Stendahl’s three rules of religious engagement:   When trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies....

On a recent Sunday, I had the opportunity to lead a presentation for adults and youth on “The Spiritual Dimensions of Star Wars.”     Much of the content has been published here in blog format. After the session, one of the adults texted me with this comment: “I always enjoy any chance to tie pop culture to Christian faith and beliefs, and I know it helps me find new ways to witness in conversations not directly faith-related.”   This was a great insight.  Those of us who call ourselves “moderate Baptists” often struggle with the term “evangelism,” but my friend had discovered one of the most effective ways we can engage with the culture in order to communicate our faith. There are three levels to the Star Wars films or what we now call the Skywalker Saga. First, there is  the  Commercial/Entertainment/Pop Culture level.  The studios continue to make these movies because they make money, but George Lucas made the first fil...

Usually when the topic of faith-based coaching comes up, the immediate response is, “Oh, you mean Christian coaching.”     In recent days, I have started to ask myself, “Is this what it really means for me?”     To put this in perspective, let me first share three observations. First, I am a person of faith.  I am a follower of Jesus Christ.  Even though I am probably better at it on some days that others, the relationship is there and the strength of it is more dependent on God’s grace than my faithfulness.  Second, I am a Christian who is also a coach (life coach or leadership coach) and that means I want to be a good coach.  Martin Luther said,  “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”  If we do our work well, that in itself is a witness to what is of value to us. Whether I am coac...

The latest entry in the Star Wars canon is an entertaining visual treat.  Although it basically follows the structure of The Empire Strikes Back , it gives us as fans a solid second act in this new trilogy.  In this blog, however, I don’t intend to provide a review, but reflections on a couple of main themes in this episode. In the interplay of old and new characters, several key ideas emerge or are clarified.  (I will try to provide as few spoilers as possible.) First, after viewing The Last Jedi , we discover that the Force seems to be more egalitarian than we were previously led to believe.  In The Last Jedi , Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) provides a much more engaging and informative explanation of the Force than Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) did in The Phantom Menace .  He explained it as something in the blood that provided the potential to manipulate the Force.  In some fan literature, the statement is made that you can tell if someon...

“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.   “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” --Acts 7:55-56, NIV In the Book of Acts, Stephen is known for several things.  He was chosen as one of the deacons of the church at Jerusalem.  He performed significant ministry.  He was very articulate in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.  He was martyred for his faith. Most Bible studies related to Stephen emphasize his role as a deacon in the church and his death as a precursor to the conversion of Saul (Paul).  In doing so, we miss something very significant about this early leader of the church. First, the role of deacon was more a function than an office.  Deacons were not administrators but servants who cared for the needs of church members; in this case, the Greek-spea...