Who else is excited it's the weekend?! #friyay #weekendvibes

The church at its essence is a unique relational eco-system of grace in which compassion can be cultivated to thrive. #leadership #churchleadership #cultivate #compassion #grace #church #becompassionate

I think it's important to see beyond the divisive language of politics and to engage theological imagination, something that seems to be missing in our culture. This prayer for migrant children is a tool to do just that. buff.ly/2lsCMqF #migrant #children #prayer

“Not only does a bridge merge the distance to connect points A and B; a bridge holds opposite sides together in tension so a connection can be made” - paraphrase from Adam Taylor, Executive Director of Sojourners #bridge #connection #unity #tension

You're a mess. I'm a mess. We’re a mess, but we’re becoming more and more aware that the Spirit of God works with purpose in that mess. #peoplearemessy #godhaspurpose #beauty #messyspirituality

You are accepted...by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted–Paul Tillich buff.ly/2wawrTc for full quote #favoritequotefriday #grace

The world God loves and invites you to love is not as black-and-white, either-or, who’s-in-and-who’s-out as you once thought. God is moving you into relationships you never dreamed you would have. I write about this and other movements of compassion in my book #herenowwithyou

What’s it like to be a16-year-old serving an adult sentence in a maximum-security prison? You breathe despair. Every promise made to you, broken. Every person you've loved, gone. Resentments and regrets rent space in your head. Still, you hope. Read more buff.ly/2OuFhXC

I’m honored to contribute to this important issue of Circuit Rider. Ministry Matters As we seek to provide pastoral care, we must remember those whose traumas we see but ignore, acknowledge but shy away from, and rush to but quickly forget. buff.ly/2GIaBMl

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do," ANNE LAMOTT Ouch! That stings a little! There’s more where that came from in my blog buff.ly/2YgjAPw #fridayquotes #favoritequote #godsimage

"I was locked up. You came. I was looked upon with disdain, you saw me with dignity. I was treated with cruelty; you saw me with kindness. I was a number, but you said my name..." Read my Ministry Matters article "Meet Jesus in Prison" here buff.ly/2KhZQkT

What’s it like to be a 16-year-old in prison? - eepurl.com/gzh6sj

When compassion sends us outside our comfort zones, it plops us down in a disorienting position. Friends, if we are willing to press on, to stand in places that makes our knees weak, mouth shut, and ears open, we will be surprised by what we encounter. #compassion

Pastoral Care with the Forgotten  - eepurl.com/gz_Pc5

Let them moo in peace - eepurl.com/gAThvj

An elderly woman wh'd done everything she could to raise a healthy family shared with me what incarceration had done to her family. “My son has been in and out of prison for 20 years, and every time he comes home, he returns with a little less of himself.” bit.ly/2ZtbPCy

125 Years! - eepurl.com/gCeWyT

Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America amazon.com/dp/0190846992/…. Thanks ⁦BeResurrection⁩ for recommending ⁦Caleb McDaniel⁩ new book. Can’t wait to read it!! amazon.com/dp/0190846992/…

Planning the REAL Conversation on self #compassion this morning with BeResurrection at LePeep-Houston Rice Village. Join the conversation this Thursday, Sept 12 at First Christian Church Houston, 6:30. More info: bit.ly/2lDqegh

Favorite Quote Friday: "You can have the other words—chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. I'll take grace. I don't know what it is exactly, but I'll take it," Mary Oliver. Read more gregglouistaylor.com/favorite-quote… #grace