The Rule of Saint Benedict is a set of directions for monastic life written by Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century in Italy. Nearly every week I am drawn to pray Benedict's morning prayer. It has been rewritten in modern English by John McQuiston in his book Always We Begin Again – The BenedictiveContinue reading "One of my favorite morning prayers"

Over the weekend I read the authorized biography of Eugene Peterson by Winn Collier. In A Burning in My Bones [Waterbrook, 2021], Collier paints a picture of a man who wanted to be a saint but was very much a human. Known especially for being the translator of THE MESSAGE (Peterson’s own translation of theContinue reading "Even one of my favorite pastors & writers, wouldn’t you just know, had very clay feet"

One summer when I was in college, I worked on a paint crew that included several guys who one day aspired to be pastors. During our lunch break, we often got into theological discussions. Two guys in particular did most of the talking. One of them always was right.  The other guy always disagreed with him.WhenContinue reading "Here’s a prayer I know I can pray"

https://www.experiencesoulcare.com/podcast/don-follis/ My friend Kelly Skinner runs the Soul Care Urban Retreat Center in Urbana. This is an interview Kelly did with me for her podcast "Everything is Spiritual." We talked about soul care, the rhythms of quiet I strive for in my life and a number of other topics, mostly centered in how I approachContinue reading "Finding rhythms of quiet in my life"

This is Russell Moore interviewing Rachel Denhollander about sexual abuse in the church. Denhollandar was sexually abused by Olympic gymnastic physician Larry Nassar, who now is serving the rest of his life behind bars for sexual assault of minors. This interview seems all the more pertinent now because until recently Russell Moore had served asContinue reading "When we have to take a stand"

Some mornings when I consider the heavens, the vast reaches of the cosmos, the incomprehensible forces at work in each moment, the numberless stories of each life, the countless ancestors – long forgotten – who preceded me, and the immense untold acts of kindness I have received, I can but humble myself and keep quiet.Continue reading "Experiencing the pleasures of each day"

The great Marvin Gaye, popular Motown Artist from the 1970s, asked the same question that many of us are asking today -- especially in light of the COVID pandemic -- "What's going on?" A week ago I led a 3-hour morning seminar on grief for about 100 people. In light of all the emotions soContinue reading "What’s going on? … 50 years later, the questions remain"

This Saturday morning at the WBGL Radio station in west Champaign, IL, I will lead 100 folks in a 3-hour morning seminar I call "Grieving in a Forward Direction." In preparation for the seminar, here I am in a 15-minute segment recorded yesterday with Eric Nichols for a WBGL podcast. It will give you aContinue reading "Grieving in a forward direction"