Geoffrey Holsclaw
In discipleship, we need less education theory and more neuro-socio-emotional practice. Focusing on education assumes that discipleship is primarily about learning information. But discipleship is about transformation. And the transformation of the person—as the best relational and affective neuroscience is showing—comes through our embodied socio-emotional relationships. This transformation simultaneously rewire our neural pathways (in us) […]
During the pandemic, physical church attendance is seen as optional at best. And because of the understandable deconstruction and disgust, many are repulsed at the thought of church. And that’s why idea of “church as mother” elicits a strong response from people (for and against) (See my recent post and all the response). This is […]
We don’t need to focus so much on balancing faith and doubt. We need to GET OUT OF OUR BRAINS and back into OUR BODIES. Or better, we need to realize that every brain is essentially embodied, flowing with emotions and embedded in relationships. Isn’t Enough Saying that we need a little more doubt […]
What does it really mean to say that humans are social beings? How does it really affect us that we are embedded in our relationship? And what does this mean for discipleship? I’m continuing with Barrett’s new book, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain (I’m working through chapters as part of the […]
The church so often numbs and ignores emotions. Is it any wonder people leave when they learn to feel, attend to, and even trust their emotions, when being “emotional” stops being, by definition, wrong? Do you see this happening? What are the consequences you see? And in 2020 people experienced multiple societal traumas. If churches […]
Two weeks ago I made a rather strong statement about the “Christian Nationalism” on display during the Capitol Assault that I deemed to be an idolatrous folk religion. Since then I have read two other statements that I think gives helpful context for what I argued (although I don’t entire agree with them). […]
Discipleship in the West is Broken. More INFORMATION doesn’t mean we have more KNOWLEDGE. And more knowledge doesn’t mean we have grown in WISDOM. Too many Christians in the West think that information leads to wisdom. But it doesn’t work that way. We have TOO MANY Christians reveling in their information and knowledge (about the […]
Following Jesus isn’t complicated. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. Some want to make Jesus complicate so that they don’t really have follow him closely. It’s an excuse for not really wanting to do the hard work of following Jesus. Others want to make following Jesus easy because they want to pretend that life […]
Ancient wisdom and the received science says we have three brains. But we don’t. So says Lisa Feldman Barrett. Or do we? This is what we are talking about as we continue with Barrett’s new book, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain (I’ll be going through one lesson a week building up to the launch […]
Sometimes God works fast in my life. Sometimes slow. Sometimes God works like fire. Sometimes like a mountain. Sometimes like an ocean. Like a Fire Growing up in California I knew all about forest fires—like the ones that blazed last summer. They would come fast and furious, overwhelming whatever was before them, consuming everything. Sometimes […]