Mark McMinn
The Path of Descent and the Pool of Tears
Trevor Hudson, a South African pastor and author, recently received the inaugural Richard Foster Award in Spiritual Formation. Though...
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Grace Swirls Blog
Mark McMinn
- Oct 26, 2022
- 2 min
Vote Season is Opening
From what I understand, elk hunting season starts soon in Oregon. That's about all I understand about hunting--the one time I went...
Mark McMinn
- Oct 9, 2022
- 4 min
Thirsty
As a 20-something assistant professor beginning my academic career, I attended a weekly worship service hosted by students in the green...
Mark McMinn
- Sep 2, 2022
- 3 min
A River Called Grace
Lisa and I have a habit of taking our kayaks out on a river many Friday mornings -- either the Yamhill or the Willamette. In the...
Mark McMinn
- Jul 23, 2022
- 4 min
Dexter Goes to Church (Again)
Friends, I have posted and removed this blog entry several times now, demonstrating the deep ambivalence I have about publishing it. If...
Mark McMinn
- Jun 30, 2022
- 2 min
These Four
I'm 2300 miles from home this week, for a couple reasons. The first is to take a brief personal retreat in a part of the country that...
Mark McMinn
- Jun 19, 2022
- 1 min
A Nap in Odessa
I once took a nap in the Odessa Opera Theater, maybe in the box just to the right of where the man in the blue shirt is standing. In my...
Mark McMinn
- Jun 12, 2022
- 3 min
How to Live Longer (and Other Thoughts on Community)
The doctoral students in the back row objected when I showed compelling demographic data that regular church attenders live, on the...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 12, 2022
- 2 min
Kindness Comes to Mind
Some nights don't turn out as well as others. I'm not a psychologist who makes much of dream interpretation, but every now and then a...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 9, 2022
- 2 min
Loneliness Alert
When our parents had us eat our vegetables, they probably weren't thinking of French fries. But here are a couple findings from some...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 1, 2022
- 4 min
Chasing Wisdom
Paul showed up in my office a dozen years ago to tell me he wanted to do a dissertation on wisdom. Nodding politely, I tried to break the...
Mark McMinn
- Mar 6, 2022
- 3 min
Lost in Odesa
I’ve never been so lost as in the summer of 1999. Brent (a doctoral student) and I visited Odesa, Ukraine to teach classes on pastoral...
Mark McMinn
- Nov 18, 2021
- 3 min
On Polymaths, Luddite Spreadsheets, and Virtue
I learned a new word while researching Benjamin Franklin. A polymath is a person with wide-ranging knowledge who is able to solve...
Mark McMinn
- Oct 28, 2021
- 3 min
Why I'm Right and You're an Expletive (in 3 easy steps)
Some have likened writing a book to giving birth, but I fear this metaphor trivializes what it's like to actually have a baby. Writing a...
Mark McMinn
- Oct 21, 2021
- 2 min
A Reflection of a Reflection
Like so many others, I find myself in a season of not sleeping well. As a psychologist, I know the sleep hygiene tricks and even follow a...
Mark McMinn
- Sep 12, 2021
- 4 min
Lost and Found
A dear friend, Jeff, whom I have known and loved for many years now, just reminded me of this final section of a book I wrote long ago....
Mark McMinn
- May 15, 2021
- 2 min
Remembering
Lisa and I just finished playing a game of HORSE, but she wanted a handicap so for me it was PIG and for her it was DONKEY. I won't say...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 15, 2021
- 2 min
Redeeming Birch
I love theology, but sometimes it sits too comfortably and passively in my head. Yesterday our friend Karl made it come alive again. When...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 11, 2021
- 3 min
Rupture and Repair
There's nothing in my John Deere lawn tractor manual describing how it can be used to rip siding off a hen house, but I found out a...
Mark McMinn
- Mar 22, 2021
- 4 min
The Purple Bar beyond Dystopia
It's official. Finland is the place to be. For four years in a row it has topped the list as the happiest country in the world, according...
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