Camino Diary, Day 27

We were up early in Triacastela. It was a short night but we were ready to get on our way again…after we stopped for first breakfast before leaving town. The day started in early morning light and fog. The sun came out and then disappeared again and played hide and seek with us all the

Lead Like Jesus not like Caesar

If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, then his way of being describes what good shepherding looks like. Let’s sit with that for just another second. If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, then his way of being describes what good shepherding looks like. If Jesus is our king, then his way of being describes what authority

Camino Diary, Day 26

A short walk in the rain landed us in Triacastela for the night. We chose this spot as the place we would begin our final walk to Santiago. Where we would begin our last 100 kilometers of this journey. It’s hard to believe we are this close to the end. As much as I have

Camino Diary, Day 25

Today, according to the guidebook, we’ve crossed over the last of our “mountain tops” and it’s all downhill from here. I can see elevation ahead so I suppose it’s all relative but we won’t return to this same elevation again on the Camino. This morning was a classic Camino morning. A British pilgrim in the

Conflict and Pastors

There are a lot of old jokes that are built on the common experience that churches are places of conflict. The New Testament epistles are nearly all written because churches were in conflict. Sometimes internal, sometimes external but the presence of people seems to always bring with it some conflict. And I think this is

Camino Diary, Day 24

As we left in a drizzle in the early morning darkness we came across the sole of a shoe right outside our albergue. “Someone’s lost their sole on the Camino.” I thought. I didn’t know it then but the walk that day would be one of the most challenging that my soul would experience on

Camino Diary, Day 23

On a morning we could sleep in, we woke up early. The rhythm has become early to bed and early to rise. This isn’t every pilgrim’s rhythm but we have settled into and it was working well for us. So by 7:40 a.m. we were making our way out of Cacabelos and further along the

Brian vs. the Clear Reading of Scripture, pt. 2

I still remember when a man in the church divorcing his wife and marrying another was instant disqualification from ministry. Why were we picking on people whose marriage ended because of divorce? Because we followed the Bible. “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries

Brian vs. the Clear Reading of Scripture

I write for many reasons but one reason, and it’s not a little one, is so that my kids and their kids will understand how their dad got this way. They may or may not ever read this but their confusion won’t be because I didn’t try. And that’s not a bad thing. One thing

Camino Diary, Day 22

Up before dawn, some were gone before we made it down to breakfast and others were still in their bunks. Toast and cereal were what was for breakfast and that counted as a pretty good first breakfast. We found our poles, our packs, got our shoes on (my blisters complained) and started our urban hike