Randy Elrod's Blog, page 18

Why Are We So Divided?

America is a fragmented country. Her people are divided. Why? An opposite of division is wholeness. As I continue to travel inward and expand my Quest for wholeness, I realize once again that most people want easy answers—sequential steps to a better life. But what if life is more like a meander, not a sequence? […]

I Defy You, Oh Church (Notes from a Rebellious Ass)

And now I, at long last, know why I can’t stand religious people. They try to take away my wholeness: my sensuality, my curiosity, my intimacy, and my freedom. For how can any person be free without an illimitable life? Yet religion tries to imprison me in a sterile sanctuary and make me sing boring […]

Rewriting the Rules (The Ten Commandments)

Do I Regret 30 Years of My Life As A Christian Minister?

Over the past seventeen years, I’ve had several social media comments asking how I reconcile spending thirty years in Evangelical ministry and, in their words, “deceiving people.” These comments deeply wounded me as I struggled with the first half of my life spent making a career in a religion I have renounced. Was all that […]

Everybody Wants Rules

But what if there aren’t any? Really? I’ve found life is too damn messy to be simplified into a list of rules. But everybody wants them. They lap up the next big list of rules. Why? Everyone wants easy answers. See Twitter’s 140 characters. See T***p. See religion. See fundamentalists. See five or ten steps […]

The Frustration of Being a Man in America

Joe Rogan, Donald T***p, Jason Aldean, Josh Hawley, Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, Bronze Age Pervert, Tucker Carlson, Mark Driscoll, White Evangelicals, Republicans, and their ilk say that they have the answers to being a real man in America. Watch UFC, buy big guns, buy bigger trucks, learn self-defense, wave big flags, treat women like property, […]

Unlike Jason Aldean, I Grew Up In A Small Town

His new country song “Try That In A Small Town” is, at best, deceptive propaganda and, at worst, a blatant dog whistle (a coded message communicated through words or phrases commonly understood by a particular group of people but not by others). Fact: Aldean grew up in Macon, Georgia, one of the largest cities in […]

My Weekly Wholeness Assessment

Body (My essential is: Sensuality) —Hour-long workout with weights (2 days) —Runs of 5.5 miles (2 Days) —Advanced one-hour spin class (1 day) —Limited alcohol to one cocktail per day (5 days) —Sex (5 days) —Sleep eight hours (7 days) —Mediterranean diet (5 days) Mind (My essential is: Curiosity) —Finished “Once Upon A Tome” by […]

The Quest Essentials Handwritten

Autonomy

For me, autonomy means freedom—to make choices not determined by prior causes or divine intervention. It is one of my four essentials of being (see The Quest) and connected to the spiritual aspect of who I am. As I pursue wholeness and joy in the second half of life, I am making more frequent autonomous […]