Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian

2022-04-08T06:01:37-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Discussing ’50 Ways To Pray’ on the ‘Pew and Beyond’ Podcast

Last updated on: April 8, 2022 at 6:01 am By Teresa Blythe

I was on with Rev. Canon Lisa Vaughn and Rev. Neil Mancor on their Pew and Beyond podcast — and we discussed my book, “50 Ways To Pray”! This podcast aired live on Facebook, March 29, 2022. I hope you enjoy it! Looking for more ways to pray? To learn more and purchase the book, please check it out on my website. Teresa Blythe is a Phoenix based spiritual director, author and trainer of apprentice spiritual directors. To learn more... Read more

contemplative Christianity

2022-02-25T08:43:24-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Consent in Spirituality – Confronting Abuse by Religious Leaders

Last updated on: February 25, 2022 at 8:43 am By Teresa Blythe

How do we have a relationship with God that is truly consensual? I’ve been thinking a lot about this in light of all the cases of religious teachers and leaders who preyed on parishioners, abusing them sexually without a single thought to the power dynamic at play. These abusive religious leaders may think the relationship is consensual, but how much consent does a person really have if the one pursuing them is a trusted, powerful force in their life? How... Read more

2022-01-20T13:39:12-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Learning at the Feet of Elders: A Return to Apprenticeships

Last updated on: January 20, 2022 at 1:39 pm By Teresa Blythe

Learning doesn’t just happen in classrooms. Apprenticing — the ancient practice of learning a trade or philosophy from one-on-one interaction with someone experienced in the subject — is on the rise. In November of 2019, I gave up classroom instruction in the art of spiritual direction and began taking on apprentices. Earlier that year, Shaleen Kendrick, a young woman whose life situation didn’t allow her to attend any of the traditional training programs asked if I would take her on... Read more

2021-12-05T15:10:47-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Unitarian Universalist Spiritual Direction – for the Spiritual but not Religious

Last updated on: December 5, 2021 at 3:10 pm By Teresa Blythe

People who are spiritual but not religious seek spiritual directors who can be attentive to them without attempting to put them in an institutional box. While spiritual directors of all backgrounds are supposed to have this sort of openness, there is one religious tradition that has a history of not forcing seekers into a box: Unitarian Universalism (UU). That’s why when referring people who call themselves spiritual but not religious to spiritual directors, I many times steer them toward directors... Read more

Spiritual Direction 101

teresa blythe

tradition

Unitarian

Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalist

Universal

Universalism

Universalist

2021-10-12T08:08:59-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Discernment Challenge: How Do We Know It’s God?

Last updated on: October 12, 2021 at 8:08 am By Teresa Blythe

One of the most prominent questions in spiritual direction and discernment is this: When I have a spiritual experience, how do I know it’s God and not my imagination or wishful thinking? I’d like to be able to give an iron clad answer to that question, but it’s just not possible, given the nature of God (as in, invisible). However, there are guides we can use to test our impulses, desires and insights. And those guides come in many forms,... Read more

contemplation

discernment

spiritual discernment

Spiritual Direction 101

teresa blythe

walk

wisdom

2021-09-02T17:00:08-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Biblical Perspectives in Spiritual Direction: What is an Experience of God?

Last updated on: September 2, 2021 at 5:00 pm By Teresa Blythe

In spiritual direction, we explore a person’s experience of God. What we discover is that God loves showing up in really diverse ways! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that an experience of the Spirit always or only happens in a way they find acceptable. Just look at all these ways we find people in the Bible encountering God. Jacob’s dream at Bethel. Genesis 28: 10-17. This is Jacob’s first experience of God, and it includes a promise. God makes... Read more

Spiritual Direction 101

2021-07-19T18:24:08-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Contemplative Practice in UCC: Becoming Still to Encounter the Still-Speaking God

Last updated on: July 19, 2021 at 6:24 pm By Teresa Blythe

The denomination I am ordained in, United Church of Christ (UCC), has a catchphrase: “God is still speaking.” That means God continues, throughout all of time, to reveal Godself to us, just as God did to the people of Israel in the ancient near-east and in the time of Jesus. For a long time, the motto was mostly used to counter those brands of Christianity that tried to say the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God and... Read more

church leadership

contemplative Christianity

United Church of Christ

2021-04-15T12:40:06-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Cool to be Kind: Bruce Reyes-Chow’s new book “In Defense of Kindness”

Last updated on: April 15, 2021 at 12:40 pm By Teresa Blythe

Kindness might need a defender. From the 2016 presidential election on, there’s been a debate about effective responses to racism, sexism, heterosexism, questions of immigration reform, systemic injustice — and even just plain rudeness. Do we meet “fire with fire” in our response, do we walk away, or do we handle such dialogue with kindness? Self-proclaimed “kindness enthusiast” and Presbyterian pastor Bruce Reyes-Chow explores those options and more in his new book, “In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How... Read more

In Defense of Kindness

2021-03-14T11:58:24-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Inclining our Ear Toward God: Listening As A Church

Last updated on: March 14, 2021 at 11:58 am By Teresa Blythe

In a world full of solutions, opinions, and advice, listening is one of the most important gifts we can offer one another. It is an act of healing and vision. For people of faith and their communities, the gift of listening both to one another and God offers a path to spiritual renewal and grants congregations a vision of their identity. In a time when congregations are experiencing a steep decline in membership and facing significant uncertainty, learning to... Read more

United Church of Christ UCC

vision

witness

yoga

2021-02-08T14:07:20-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

e-Spiritual Direction: How Long, O Lord (Will We Always Be Online)?

Last updated on: February 8, 2021 at 2:07 pm By Teresa Blythe

We’re stuck online for now. Are Zoom, Skype, or Doxy the way we’ll do spiritual direction forever? This is the question for spiritual directors and their clients after 10 months of pandemic social distancing. There are pros and cons to the online life, and tricks to doing it with style that I will address here. Some spiritual directors have decided that working from their home computer via online video has opened a new world for them. Prior to the pandemic,... Read more

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What root attitude does Paul say is the "root of all kinds of evil"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Love of animals Love of money Love of music Love of wisdom

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent angels Anne Lamott Christmas church leadership clergy contemplation contemplative Christianity Desert Fathers and Mothers discernment election evangelicalism faith freedom guru healing interfaith dialogue Lent love Martin Luther King Jr media mind body spirit mystic Nativity nature new year's resolutions parables peace pluralism prayer prayer practices religious diversity resurrection Rules for Prayer Rumi saints sexual abuse spirit spiritual direction spiritual discernment spiritual mentor spiritual path spirituality stewardship Super Bowl terrorism theology transgender Uncategorized violence visioning vocation

Select a Month February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 September 2022 August 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012

TRENDING AT PATHEOS General Christian