No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Friends.

In Buddhism’s Diamond Sutra we are encouraged to throw away or release 4 different notions so that we can come to understand our True Selves … who we really are.

“Who we are?”, you might ask.

Yes, who we REALLY are beneath …

Who the world says we are.

Who the world says we SHOULD be.

Who our parents or families say we are.

Who we have come to think we are.

Who our friends say we are.

Who our employers say we are.

Who our teachers say we are.

Who our critics say we are!

Etc.

… because beneath all of that and all the many layers of thoughts and opinions about us lies our Truest Self.

Anyways.

Thich Nhat Hanh is (perhaps) one of the most well-known modern-day Buddhists. He passed away in 2022 but before he did he left us with a gold mine of writings and thoughts about Buddhism, life, and discovering our True Selves.

One of the last books he wrote (in 2021) is called “Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet” and it’s one of the most important books I’ve read in a while.

Well.

I’m only halfway through and so I suppose I should say that SO FAR it’s one of the most important books I’ve read in a while - it’s giving me A LOT to think about as I wonder about this life, our reason for being here, and our connectedness to each other and (really) everything in the universe.

Hanh says that according to the Diamond Sutra the first notion we must throw away is “the notion of self” or the idea that we have a “self” that is separated from the rest of the world …

That we are ourselves.

And.

Everyone and everything else in the entire universe is NOT us.

I don’t know about you, but this is what I grew up thinking … right? I’m me. My classmate is my classmate. My other classmate is my other classmate. My teacher is my teacher. My neighbor is my neighbor. Etc.

But then back in 2023 my father passed away.

And.

Honestly?

I think that’s the moment where a lot of my thinking about my “individual self” began to shift as I struggled to see myself as separated from my father. I remember when he passed away I was sitting at his bedside with my mom. The doctors had given him some medicine to relieve his pain and discomfort and they told us that it would only be a matter of minutes before he passed away.

What do you do with that information, right?

I remember feeling like I was holding the last grains of the sand of his life in my hands as they slowly seeped through my fingers. No matter what I did, no matter how tightly I held on … I couldn’t stop what was coming.

His breaths got shorter.

He made some noises.

He squeezed my hand.

And then … that was it.

I remember wishing that we could be connected forever and mulling over how unfair it was that he was taken from us, ripped from our lives and ripped from our arms far, far too soon.

And then it dawned on me.

A year or so beforehand I had read something by Thich Nhat Hanh in another one of his books where he said that the Universe is like a vast ocean and you, me, my dad, your mom, your dad, my classmate … we’re all like waves in that ocean.

As a wave, I rise up from the ocean - still connected to it.

As a wave, you rise up from the ocean - still connected to it.

As waves, we rise up to live our lives and go through a vast amount of experiences. Some of us rise higher than others and some of us rise up along the coastlines of the US while others in Europe, Austrailia, etc.

As waves, we’re always connected to the ocean - right? Even though the wave is a wave, it’s still the ocean. Each wave might be different, but as part of the ocean - each wave is the same.

Mind-boggling, isn’t it?

Anyways.

Regardless of where we rise up to live our lives.

Regardless of how long we soar along the ocean’s surface.

Regardless of how fast we travel.

… regardless of any of that, we all (eventually) meet the same fate - we either crash up against the sandy shore, hit up against a rock, meet an iceburg, or just slowly melt back into the ocean.

In other words.

We all die.

BUT.

When we do?

We simply fall back into the ocean from which we came in the first place, the very same ocean that we rose out of (and always remained connected to) during our wave-like-lives.

This helped me when my dad passed away because even though I (as a wave) still had more soaring to do and even though my dad had crashed up against a sandy beach to fall back into the ocean … I (as a wave) still remained connected to (and held up by!) the ocean into which my father sank back into after he took his last wave-like-breath.

In that sense we were still connected.

AND.

He wasn’t just soaring alongside of me - him a wave, and me a wave; now he would be holding me up as part of the ocean.

Do you see what I’m getting at? This, I think, is the first notion we have to let go of in regards to the Diamond Sutra - I am not a wave that is separate from other waves; instead, I am a wave that is connected to all other waves and connected to the ocean from which we all stand upon.

In other words, we are all connected - we are all one. I may be a wave and you may be a wave, but we are the ocean. I may be a wave and you may be a wave and the trees out in my woods may be waves and my cat might be a wave and the spiders in my shed might be waves and Donald Trump might be a wave … but we are all the ocean, we are all connected.

You.

Me.

My cat.

Spiders.

Donald Trump.

Your mom.

My dad.

My daughter.

Your child.

We are all one - we are all the Universe. You contain the Universe and I contain the Universe. There is no place where I stop and you begin just as there is no place where one wave ends and another begins.

The waves are waves and yet the waves are the ocean, they are one.

I am me and you are you and yet we are the Universe, we are one.

Perhaps this is why Jesus told us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” … because I (a wave) and my neighbor (another wave) are both the ocean. I am my neighbor and my neighbor is me and so whatever I do to my neighbor and whatever my neighbor does to me - we do that same thing to ourselves.

Or.

Maybe this is why Jesus said that super confusing thing in John 14:20 (that, now, maybe isn’t so confusing) - "on that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."

Jesus is in God.

God is in Jesus.

I am in Jesus.

You are in Jesus.

My dad is in Jesus.

Donald Trump is in Jesus.

Joe Biden is in Jesus.

My neighbor is in Jesus.

Jesus is in God.

Yes, we are all connected, we are all the ocean … we all forever live in the Ocean of the Divine, we are never disconnected from it or each other - not at our highest wave-like moment or our lowest moment of crashing upon a beach.

We’re always connected.

We’re forever One.

And “on that day” in the hospital room while holding my father’s hand and feeling his breath leave his body - that’s the day I realized the depth behind Jesus’ words in John 14:20 … depth that I will ponder for the rest of my days, all the more in these days where everything and everyone feels so divided.

Much love.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

This week we are talking to Dr. Richard Beck about his incredible book, “The Book of Love: A Better Way to Read the Bible”. The reality is that we all have a particular lens through which we read the Bible along with a set of experiences we bring with us to the text. In his book, Richard helps us realize that and then suggests a different lens or prism through which to read it - love.

In these divided days that we are in where (let’s face it!) lots of us are using the Bible to support our values or our beliefs or our candidates ... this book is a breath of fresh air and a challenge to let the Bible be what it is.

🎧 - LISTEN HERE

📺 - WATCH HERE

Enjoy!

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

“Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even between the best of friends! Each of us believes that what he has to say is much more important than anything the other might have to contribute!”

- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Friends.

Unpopular thoughts and ponderings are coming in this post as I’ve been thinking a lot about AI lately - it’s in the media, it’s all over the Internet, and people are feeling more and more pressure to use it.

For instance.

Over the last 6 months or so I have had various clients request that I make them an image for their book or podcast or whatnot and that I include some sort of intricate detail(s) that “AI would be good for” or that “AI could easily make”.

AI would be good for?

AI could easily make?

Sigh.

After having this happen a bunch of times I’ve come to realize that it bothers me.

A lot.

For many reasons.

AND.

It happens way more than you might think.

Now - I’m not here today to convice you not to use AI. Hear me out on that, OK? If you want to use ChatGPT or Google Gemini or whatever, knock yourself out - all good. It DOES have some good, helpful uses.

Much like religion and politics, I really don’t care what you believe, think, etc. I might disagree and be curious as to why you see things the way you do, but I’m OK with you using something (whether that be something like AI or something like alcohol) even if I choose not to. I think that approach to life, religion, politics, etc. is one of the many paths forward in these divided times.

But.

For me?

I am aiming to us AI as little as possible in my life and in my work.

Why?

ONE: (TO ME) AI IS INSULTING

The request to include an element in a design that “AI would be good for” or that “AI could easily make” is … well … insulting. Not so much because I could easily make it (I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not proficient in design programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. and so I’m a bit limited in what I can create) but more so because I’m capable of coming up with very good design ideas even if I don’t have the proficiency of a trained graphic designer.

I mean.

Not to brag, but I have a pretty colorful and eclectic portfolio with ideas ranging from bright and trippy to sophisticated and scholarly that I’ve built over the last 7 years or so.

I also find it insulting as an artist because even if I can’t make the thing you want me to make, someone in the art community can; and so why not hire them? Why not reach out to someone who is trained in those programs and who would welcome the challenge to sit at their computer screen over a pot of coffee to tinker with an idea until they nail it?

Ah, because … money.

Right?

And time.

You see, AI has allowed us to get relatively decent results FAST and CHEAP. For instance, a design idea that might take a graphic designer 10 hours at $50/hour to produce will take ChatGPT or Google Gemini 30 seconds to make for free or for a very low cost per month.

The problem, though is …

Phew.

Where do I begin?

The first problem is that getting that quick result from ChatGPT is taking work away from creative, artistic people … people like me. Back when I started doing social media graphics for people, for instance, I had so many requests that I could barely keep up. 3 years ago I was having to pick and choose who I could help because I had so many people asking for help …

Authors.

Podcasters.

Creatives.

Businesses.

Etc.

At one point I was managing a total of 20 different social media accounts for 5 different authors/podcasters/businesses and was designing the images for all of them along with random images and websites and logos for people who would reach out for help.

Images for Instagram.

Graphics for Facebook.

Reels for Instagram.

TikToks.

Packages of graphics for book releases.

Websites.

Logos.

Merch (t-shirts, stickers, etc.)

But.

Then?

AI became more of a thing and the need to hire someone with an eye for design to sit and tinker with Canva or Illustrator or Adobe Express has become less and less and less important. A lot of those people/companies are still posting content, but it’s very often content that is very clearly not made by a human.

The reality is that AI made it for them much faster than I could.

AND.

It cost them next to nothing - something that is really nice for (especially) small businesses that don’t have a huge budget as well as larger businesses that are looking to cut costs here and there so money can be allocated to larger projects.

So, yeah - I get it. It’s appealing and helpful. It saves time. It saves money. And in these crazy times we’re in - how can you say “NO” to saving time and saving money?

This is the appeal, sure ... but the appeal comes with (I think) problems.

Another problem is that it’s robbing us of the high we get when we “figure something out”.

Do you know that high?

The other day I was working on an image for someone and no matter what I did I couldn’t get it to look the way I wanted. I was getting super frustrated and so I went to Starbucks for a bit to grab a coffee and stretch my legs and get some fresh air.

And then?

When I came back?

Something clicked and I moved a few things around in ways I hadn’t previously considered and before I knew it the idea I had in my head started to take shape on the screen and within an hour or so it was ready to go.

I love that feeling.

Don’t you? Whether you do art or make music or write books or give talks - when that perfect note or perfect sentence or perfect phrase or perfect color hits the canvas … there’s a rush of dopamine that runs through your body as you look back and realize, “I did that!”

AI, I fear, is stealing that from us as we figure out how to rely on it more and make it do things for us that we/other creative people used to do, things that used to give us (or creatives we could ask/hire) that deep sense of satisfaction.

“I did that!” or “Wow, you made that? I love it!” is quickly becoming replaced with “I created the perfect prompt to make AI do that!” … and the 2, for me, are not the same.

TWO: AI MAKES CHEAP KNOCK-OFFS

The reality is that AI is creating these images and essays or whatever else we ask it to create by pulling from whatever information and content is already on the Internet.

And so.

If I ask it to, for example, make an image of a landscape that looks like an oil painting and I want certain colors with a certain vibe and I want it to have a Pop Art theme to it.

Well.

Then it’s going to scan the Internet to find pictures that already exist with those elements …

Paintings painted by artists.

Photos taken by photographers.

Etc.

… and it will merge various elements of those images together to make a brand new image.

Now.

At first? That might not seem like a big deal.

BUT.

I mean - think about out. Because what’s really happening (I think) is that it’s STEALING the ideas from artists who spent hours crafting their piece so it can present you with (in my opinion) a cheap knock-off.

THREE: AI IS OFTEN USED IN DISHONEST WAYS

I‘ve come across this a few times, where people are using AI to design stuff and then selling it as their own without any indication or asterisk letting potential buyers know that it’s AI generated.

Wait.

WHAT?

I’ve seen (MANY TIMES) people create AI images and then SELL THEM on Etsy, eBay, etc. as their own art - sell prints, sell the digital file, etc. without really telling people (other than in the fine print) that they designed it with an AI program.

Yes.

They are creating images using AI (that, admittingly, do look pretty cool) and then selling them as their own.

And.

For me?

That just doesn’t feel very good. It feels dishonest. I mean, it’s one thing to design something cool in AI and let people know it was designed in AI and that you’re selling it as such - that’s great. Maybe they will want to buy it. Maybe they will want to hang it on their wall. Maybe that’s right up their alley.

BUT.

To post the picture to my socials as “my art” or something “I made” and then when people ask me what Adobe program I used to make it or what medium I used and I STILL don’t tell them it was AI … the motives no longer feel artistic or honest (again, in my opinion).

In short, I think AI makes it easier for us to be dishonest even if being dishonest isn’t our original intention.

Big deal, right? “Who cares! It’s just an image.”

Sure - but if this is the “lie” we’re starting with while AI is still relatively new and small … what kind of lies will grow as AI grows? This feels like something (to me) that can get wildly out control very quickly.

FOUR: AI HAS MADE ME LAZY

For 3 months, for example, I used it to generate “show notes” for my podcast. I would download the transcript of the episode, upload it to ChatGPT and ask it to give me an SEO-friendly, short description of the episode that would capture the attention of people and draw them into wanting to listen.

And.

Honestly?

It gave me some pretty great stuff that I would tweak so it was in my voice - it gave me a great description, saved me a lot of time of having to think about how to describe a 45-minute conversation in a short paragraph, AND it made it SEO-friendly so that it had a greater chance of showing up in people’s Google searches.

Excellent!

Or.

Is it?

Because one day I was sending the transcript into ChatGPT and copy/pasting my edited version into the show notes of the podcast when I found myself wondering what other tasks ChatGPT could help me with to save time …

Could it help me brainstorm questions to ask my guests?

Could it help me edit the podcast?

Could it help me create YouTube thumbnails?

Could it help me edit my blog posts?

Could it WRITE a blog post for me that I could edit?

Etc.

Etc.

Etc.

In other words, I found myself wondering what other tasks (that do take time, but that I actually enjoy) ChatGPT could take over for me so that I could save time and wouldn’t have to do anything else other than sit in my chair, hit a button, and tweak it’s work.

Hm.

And although that might save time, is it helpful? Is it making me a better podcaster? A better writer? A better interviewer? A better reader? A better thinker? A better communicator? A stronger creative?

Like …

What am I sacrificing on the altar of “saving time” and “being more effecient”?

And.

At what point does the podcast become less of me and more of ChatGPT?

And.

At what point does my voice become so muddied that the show is more AI produced than Glenn produced?

And.

Is that fair to my listeners? To my Patreon supporters? To ME?

Lots of questions, right?

And I’m not alone in this, because even college professors are struggling with students using ChatGPT and other AI sofware to write their term papers and essays as it (again) pulls from millions of pieces of information available on the Internet (that has been written and compiled by HUMANS) to write a paper for a college student who waited until the last minute to write their paper or, maybe, just doesn’t feel like doing the work.

Sigh.

How much AI is too much AI?

At what point does AI shift from a brainstorm partner to a cheap employee?

At what point does AI’s voice become elevated over our own voices?

FIVE: AI IS DESTRUCTIVE

You’ve probably heard about all of these “data centers” that are going up around the country. These are gigantic buildings that house millions of dollars worth of computers that house the information that AI pulls from to make whatever it is that we ask it to make.

And these data centers are massive, ranging anywhere from 100,000 square feet to campuses that cover hundreds of acres.

In fact.

The largest campuses cover millions of square feet and might eventually occupy up to 1,000 acres of land.

One building.

With millions of pieces of technology in it.

Covering over 1,000 acres of land (1,000 acres of land, by the way, can be home to around 500,000 trees).

WHAT.

On top of that the primary way that these data centers are cooled is with water. The computers run so hot that they need to be almost SUBMERGED in water, which is accomplished by having water literally fall from the ceilings on to the computers to cool them off.

And how much water do they use?

The average data center uses between 1 milion and 5 million gallons of water a day, which is equivalent to the daily water usage of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 residents.

AND.

If you have noticed, much of the US is in a drought these days and even though water restrictions are being placed on residents, there are little to no restrictions being placed on the data centers.

That’s not to mention - how many people don’t have access to clean water? Are we really OK with water being poured on top of our billion dollar data centers when it could be given to a child or a family who has none? I mean, do we not see any problem with that at all?

Sigh.

It’s literally STEALING land from nature and draining our planet of water. In fact, the UN has recently warned that if we keep building these data centers and AI continues to expand like it is, we could have a planet-wide drinking water ciris by 2030.

That’s alarming, friends.

And so there you have it. I still need to use AI, of course. It’s not 100% avoidable, unfortunately. Even if you do a Google search - AI is involved to an extent as it gives you a “summary” of what is available on the websites it pulls up for you. It’s also being built into programs like …

Zoom.

Canva.

Microsoft Word.

… and many others so much so that it’s difficult to figure out how to avoid it or shut it off.

Even if I don’t want to use it, I find that it sneaks its way into various places that I frequent for my own work. And sometimes people I work for will ask me to use it for something specific and so I will do as much as I can on my own and then use it for whatever part of the task I need it for.

For example.

I use a program called Opus which cuts long form video into smaller clips that can be used for reels. Although it still requires me to adjust the clips, edit the clips, etc. it does some of the heavy lifting of adding captions and whatnot. I use this for my own podcast on occasion as well as for 2 other people I do work for.

BUT.

I’ve deleted the main AI places from my phone and refuse to use them anymore - ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.

If I’m asked to use it to make an image, I inform the person that I can attempt to make something similar without AI or I uggest they find someone else who can make it OR they use AI to make it themselves because I have both personal and moral struggles with AI.

Even though it could save me time with my podcast, I know that doing the work of writing a description, generating a title, brainstorming interview questiins, etc. will only make me a stronger creative person … even if those things do take a considerable amount of time.

Even though everyone seems to be flocking to ChatGPT to make fun memes, get answers to health questions, get help in writing letters, etc. … I’m choosing not to.

Yes, as I shared above …

I find it insulting.

I think it makes cheap knock-offs of art, letters, essays, etc.

I think it makes it way too easy to be dishonest with our work.

I’ve found that it’s made me lazy.

And.

Most of all - it’s desctructive to our planet.

The reality is that we have in our hands a superpower that is developing so fast that we aren’t able to keep up with understanding the (largely unintended) consequences to our planet and to our lives - our brains, bodies, and our souls. I saw someone in congress the other day say that they recently went to an AI convention where they were told that the amount of technological development coming in the next year will outweight what we’ve seen in the last 10+ years.

Phew.

And so I think we need to pump the brakes a bit and really take some time to think about what this technology is, what it’s doing to us, what it’s capable of doing, and how we can best utilize it in ways that are safe for humanity, safe for the environment, and safe for our kids and their kids, and for generations to come.

But.

That’s just me and where I’m at.

Much love,

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

If you see the suffering in the world but you haven’t changed your way of living yet, it means the awakening isn’t strong enough. You haven’t really woken up.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

We have an incredible episode this week featuring John Dominic Crossan and Michael Okinczyc-Cruz talking about their recent book, “Jesus and Justice” - a book that is so, so important for these tense moments that we’re in.

In this episode, Dom and Michael invite us into the world Jesus actually lived in — a world of occupied shores, commercialized lakes, and an empire that called itself divine.

Sound familiar?

They ask what it means to follow a Jew who proclaimed distributive justice under the shadow of Rome, and what that following might demand of us now, when autocracy wears a cross.

This is not a conversation about belief. It is a conversation about becoming — about organizing like rain, walking into the wreckage, and letting the ancient land speak again.

Lots to unpack. Enjoy.

🎧 - LISTEN HERE

📺 - LISTEN HERE

Much love.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Friends.

I started a new community over on Skool, which allows people to create community spaces revolving around whatever kind of work they’re doing in the world.

A podcaster? Make a “Skool” around the topics you explore.

An arists? Make a “Skool” that will help people with their own art.

A writer? Make a “Skool” that will help people become stronger writers.

… You get the idea.

Anyways.

I had this idea to do a little experiment and create a “Skool” revolving around the recent explorations of the What If Project. The Skool is called “What If There’s Another Way to Be?” - a little, quiet place on the big, loud Internet where people can explore and wonder about what it might be like to live as a “united one” in a world that pushes to divide us.

What if we could ask more questions of people we disagree with instead of feeling the need to “set them straight” and “tell them how it is”?

What if we could remember that we are all more than our religious beliefs? Our voting choices? Our values?

What if we could be interested in learning the stories of the people who see things differently than we do?

What if we could look at someone with a MAGA hat on and not immediately judge them?

What if we could remember that buried deep inside of everyone is a Divine spark of goodness?

Yes.

It’s a place to ask questions, share ideas, and talk about ideas and books and practices and life events that have shaped us, softened us, and opened us up. There’s a “feed” similar to Facebook where you can share ideas, thoughts, photos, etc. We might end up doing some Zoom sessions, too, where we gather over video with some coffee and just encourage one another, listen to stories, etc. Maybe even invite a podcast guest to join so people can ask their own questions, share their own stories. There’s a spot called “classroom” where I’m adding some of my favorite What If Project episodes that have shaped me.

Lots of possibilities.

Below is the “Introduction” that I wrote in the community, welcoming people in. This will give you a little more background to the idea and share the heart behind it. It’s currently an “invite only” thing and so if you’d like to be part of it, just send me a DM or email me at whatifproject.net@gmail.com and I’ll send you the link.

Like I said, this is an EXPERIMENT - it may continue, it may not. I figure we’ll give it a go over the Summer and see if we want to continue it in the Fall.

Much love.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

Hello friends.

I’m tired. Are you? Do you feel the exhaustion?

I’ve been “away” from social media since mid-December. When I say “away” I mean that I haven’t posted anything because (honestly) I was tired of competing with an algorithm that promotes content that is divisive and fuels outrage.

And.

If I’m being honest - I miss the interaction that I used to have with people, especially the interaction where we’d encourage each other’s work and encourage one another on our journeys.

But.

I stepped away because I’m working hard at “finding another way to be”, you know? And I think (for me, anyways) that’s super hard to do in the heat of social media.

Back in the middle of the 2024 election season I realized that I “hated” Trump and MAGA and Chrisitan Nationalists in the same way that I once “hated” Obama and Democrats and people who are “woke”.

Sure.

Maybe “hate” is a strong word as I’m not sure I ever “hated” anyone, but “hate” certainly describes the energy I once held towards the Obamas of the world and now found myself holding towards the Trumps of the world.

You know the energy, right?

“I’m right, you’re wrong.”

“Our side is close to God, their side is far from God.”

“God is on OUR side, not THEIR side.”

“It’s US vs. THEM.”

“WE are the ones wo will make things better!”

It’s an arrogant, cocky, stuck-up kind of energy; and one day when I was in someone’s comment section on Facebook getting ready to annihilate a MAGA supporter with my carefully phrased words, a small voice stirred from within and said ...

“If you aren’t careful you’re going to become the very same energy on the Left that you wanted to leave behind on the Right.”

And.

I don’t know.

But, that has really stuck with me and over this last year or so has really pushed me and challenged me to find another way to be in the world, to hold my energy differently - not in a way where anything goes and I have no opinions and no voice and no willingness to speak out against what I feel is wrong.

No.

Instead, holding my energy differently ... in a way where I (first and foremost) recognize that people are more than their beliefs, more than their voting choices - that behind every person is a long history and a long story and a long series of events that brought them to this moment where they hold these beliefs, value these things, and vote for these candidates.

And.

So do I - we all have a story, we are all more than the things we believe, the people we vote for. We have families, we have friends, we’ve had successes, we’ve had failures, we have a favorite food and sports team and ice cream flavor and movie and TV show.

More than that, we’re all connected (I believe, anyways). I believe that we are all connected by the same Divine breath that is pumping through our bodies, energizing our souls, and giving us life.

You.

Me.

Your MAGA neighbor.

Your WOKE neighbor.

Your Evangelical Uncle.

Donald Trump.

Joe Biden.

People in Iran.

People in the hateful church down the street.

Yeah - deep down inside, underneath all the stupid things we’ve done, said, thought ... underneath it all is a small, Divine spark that refuses to go out. It may be covered up by years of mistakes and baggage and carelessness.

BUT.

It’s still there, I believe, as dim as it may be.

And so I’ve been challenging myself this past year to focus on THAT spark in others ...

Even when they do something I hate.

Even when they vote for something I find revolting.

Even when I read a fear-laced statement on the sign outside the church.

... I try - REALLY HARD - to let my first thought be, “if only he/she/they could remember who they REALLY are and wake up to their full, Divine potential. I might not agree with them. I might not even really like them. BUT. I can love them by hoping the best for them, by refusing to hate them, by letting my words towards them and about them be formed by the Divine I know is deep within them”.

And so this space is an invitation of sorts to explore other ways to be in the world alongside other people who are also searching for other ways to be as well.

Are there books you’ve read that you’ve found helpful? Share them.

Are there spiritual practices you’ve found helpful? We want to hear them.

Are there ideas you have? Share them.

Are there tears you’re shedding? Shed them here.

Are you looking for support? You’ll find it here.

My hope is for this to be a community of sorts AWAY from the algorithms of social media, a place where people can share what’s on their heart without the fear of being crucified by an angry mob who thinks differently than they do. This isn’t an echo chamber where everyone needs to think the same, but a safe place to be yourself and gift that same safety to others. It’s a place to ask more questions, hear the stories of others, and practice seeing the Divine in everyone.

A few things to know:

First, introduce yourself here - tell us who you are, why you’re here, maybe your own story of wanting to find “another way to be”. At the bottom of your post before you hit “post” you’ll see a tab where you can choose what “category” to place your post in. If you’re introducing yourself, choose “Introductions”; if you’re sharing a book you’re reading, choose “Books I”m Reading”; if there’s a category you’d like to see, let me know and I’ll add it.

Second, there might also be Zoom sessions that I schedule where we can hang out for an hour or so over coffee or a meal to talk and dream and share and wonder together. When that time comes, I will suggest a few days/times and then share the Zoom link.

Third, if you hop over to “classroom” I will be sharing some of my favorite podcast episodes from the “What If Project” that have helped me on my journey of finding “another way to be”. I won’t be posting any “courses” or things like that or charging you any money. I’ll just use that space to add helpful conversations and I’ll let you know when more are added.

Fourth, I might schedule time for some of those podcasts guests to come in and talk to all of us - a time when we can all hop on Zoom and you can ask them your own questions about finding “another way to be” and get some insights into the things you’re wrestling with. More details to come.

Fifth, this is free. It costs me $7/month to keep the community open, but I am not charging you to be here. If you’d like to donate, though, you are welcome to sign up on Patreon where you can pledge monthly support for the What If Project. All money made goes towards making a dent in our grocery bill every month. If you already support there - thank you!

Oh.

And this is NOT a public group and so (for now) this is an “invite only” thing. If you know of someone who you think would appreciate a space like this, let me know and I’m happy to send you the invite link. At the end of the day, this is an experiment - it might be helpful, it might not. We’ll see and we’ll go from there.

Much love.

• Glenn

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Friends.

We have entered Summer at the Siepert home - another turn of life’s seasons as Jordan finishes yet ANOTHER year of Elementary School and looks forward to going back as a 4th grader in mid-August.

Crazy.

MY kid?

FOURTH grade!

Where DOES the time go?

I was reflecting the other day, thinking about these NINE years of her life and it struck me:

The What If Project is the SAME age as Jordan.

Wild - they were born (literally) on the same day.

I remember back when she was born, I had a theological crisis in the NICU that (ultimately) led to the creation of the project. When Jordan was born she had trouble breathing and so the doctor’s cleaned her up, handed her off to the nurses, and they rushed her to the NICU with me close behind.

They got her in the tank.

They hooked her up to wires.

They sealed the tank.

They hit a bunch of buttons.

They told me to stick my hands in.

Phew.

And when I did?

My goodness.

The moment she grabbed my finger my heart exploded and my mind raced with theology that had been preached to me for over 30 years as I wondered how a God who we call a “good, good Father” could allow a place like hell to exist where some of his children …

The ones who misbehave?

The ones who believe the wrong things?

The ones who haven’t said the “Sinner’s Prayer”?

… go to be tortured for all of eternity.

As I looked at Jordan I thought to myself, “I would spend eternity using my very limited powers extinguishing the fires of such a place if even the slightest possibility existed that my child would end up there. And yet God (who is supposedly ‘all-powerful’!) allows this place to exist? Allows going there to be a punishment? If that’s true and God is a ‘good Father’ then I must be an infinitely better father. That doesn’t seem to make much sense, though; and so what if everything I’ve been taught about God is … wrong?”

Yes, what if?

Because.

I mean …me?

A better father?

Than GOD?

I didn’t know what to do with that, to be honest, and so I slipped the thought away for another day which came about 6 months later when I was sitting in the last class of my doctoral program at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY. It was an 8-day intensive class on Evangelism (class was every day from 8-5) where we were wondering about things like …

What exactly is Evangelism?

And what is the Gospel?

And what does the Gospel have to do with modern people?

And how might we go about sharing this Gospel in modern ways?

The last assignment for the class was a 10 page paper detailing a “project” we could put together that would help share the Gospel with some sort of modern audience. Our family had already moved to North Carolina at that point and so I was staying in a hotel down the street from the school where I spent my evenings eating pizza and brainstorming ideas for the paper. I got a pack of 10 poster boards from Staples, hung them all over the room, and used different colored Sharpie markers to write out my ideas.

And finally?

After many hours?

And spending many nights up until well after Midnight?

Yes.

I landed on an idea … THE idea - the “What If Project” where I would invite people to wonder about their faith and to ask questions like, “what if there are ways of thinking about God and the Bible and faith that are different than what our traditions have handed us?”

I started to write the paper, which went well beyond 10 pages (I believe it was 25!) as my mind erupted with a freedom to ask questions and wonder about the faith of my youth - wonder if it might be bigger and grander and more beautiful than I ever imaged.

What if hell isn’t real?

What if we have misunderstood the cross?

What if Jesus didn’t “die for our sins”?

What if the Bible isn’t inerrant?

I went home and started to work on the project, which was due in December. I had another project I had been working on for about 5 years called “Morning Encouragement” (a blog/podcast/YouTube channel that had built up quite a following) and immediately put up a post and sent out an email that it was shutting down to make room for something NEW that would release the next Fall.

From there …

I secured a URL (whatifproject.net).

Created a YouTube Channel.

Secured a space to house the podcast.

Brainstormed topics.

Started writing blog posts.

… and on Palm Sunday 2018 stood out on a local street corner handing out Palm Branches and invite cards to “something new”. The invite card had a link to an old blog I had on Medium where I would announce the “What If Project” later that August.

The project started in the NICU on March 30, 2017 in the form of a question as I held my daughter’s hand for the first time and then it evolved into the podcast, blog, and more over the next year. It was announced in August of 2018 and now as we approach August of 2026, the project is still going.

Does it look different? Sure. But, don’t we all? Just as my daughter has grown and evolved over the last 9 years, so have I … and so has the What If Project.

What once explored topics that were strictly along the lines of faith and Christianity, specifically, now continues to explore those topics while also exploring topics related to art, mental health, politics, the environment, mysticism, and so much more.

Anyways.

So the other day as I was pondering the turn of life’s seasons with Jordan getting ready for the fourth grade in August, I got to thinking about the What If Project as it approaches it’s 9th birthday.

What will year 9 hold for the show?

What topics will we explore?

What new guests will we meet?

What ideas will make their way to the blog?

What sort of color will end up on the canvases?

I’m not sure, to be honest, but I know it will be fun and I know it will help me continue to evolve and grow.

You know, it’s funny. Part of me wonders when the What If Project will end. I mean, how long can it go? How long will it go? But another part of me thinks it might go on for many, many more years as it continues to grow right alongside Jordan. Both, after all, were born in the hosptial that day back in March 2017 and so it only seems fitting that they should both continue to grow and evolve right alongside of me, their dad, who is changed by both of them every single day.

Jordan teaches me something everyday - her outlook on life, her dreams, her imagination, her questions, her innocence, her wonder.

Playing outside.

Watching her at gymnastics.

Listening to her questions about God.

Her own thoughts about God!

Seeing how much she cares.

Listening to her stories about school.

Playing dolls with her.

And the What If Project teaches me something everyday, too, as I encouter new books and new ideas and new voices and new ways of being in the world.

Alexander John Shaia.

Bart Ehrman.

Elaine Pagels.

Rob Bell.

Brian McLaren.

Diana Butler Bass.

Nicole LePera.

… wow; grateful - immense gratitude.

That said, as I mentioned - Summer is here. And that means that my time is a bit more limited as I work from home and Jordan is home from school. Episodes will continue to go out on the first Monday of each month (episodes are already recorded for June, July, and August!) along with Friday Offerings and occasional blog posts.

BUT.

Things might not be as consistent as normal (which TYPICALLY gives me MUCH anxiety, but am learning is OK) as my time and attention are more directed at being present with Jordan than at getting ideas out into the world.

Anyways.

Thanks for being here, friends. I am forever grateful that I get to do this. Links to support the show and view some art are below.

Much love,

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

“America is its best self when it searches its soul and reforms from within. When, that is, it confronts its demons and seeks a better, more inclusive and empathetic future.”

- Daniel A. Sjursen, A True History of the United States

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

“Noah’s role was not just to save himself and his family; he was to preserve the future of humankind and to carry out man’s fundamental task: to protect creation. It is the same task that falls to our generation, but the flood we face today is of a different nature. It issues not from Divine judgment, but from our own actions that have precipitated global warming: melting glaciers, sudden flash floods, rising sea levels.”

- Aldo Cazzullo, The God of Our Fathers

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Hello friends.

I’ve been feeling quiet lately. Quiet, reflecting. Pondering life and the world and getting older and … all the things.

I’m reading a new book called “The God of Our Fathers” by Aldo Cazzullo (who will be coming on the podcast soon). The book is my kind of book - a book of stories where Aldo walks us through various stories in the Bible while also walking us through various stories from his life and our world.

A true gem.

The other day I was reading his thoughts about Noah (and I’ll actually share a quote from the book in this week’s “Friday Offerings”) and something struck me.

You remember the story, right?

God created the world and after so much violence and hatred entered the picture and God “saw that human evil was out of control” (Genesis 6:5, MSG), God decided to destroy the earth and start over again. God would spare Noah and his family and 2 of every kind of animal so that they could repopulate the earth and begin again, but everyone else?

Dead.

Sounds dramatic, I know, but it’s not a cute story - other than Noah, his wife, his 3 sons, and some animals … God literally killed every man, woman, child, animal, and living thing by drowning them in a monsoon of sorts that swallowed up the entire earth.

Like I said - dead.

As the story goes, it rained for 40 days and then the winds died down and the rain stopped and eventually the ark that Noah had built came to rest on dry ground. He opened the doors to set the animals free and the earth began to re-populate.

(*SIDE NOTE: lots of people tell me that this is a historical story, which makes me chuckle. I mean, heck - I used to think it was historical too … that is, until someone asked me how Noah’s 3 sons came to have kids of their own if the only woman to survive the flood was their mom. That’s weird, man.)

Fast forward to present day and although God isn’t killing every living thing on earth with a flood of rain, we’re doing a pretty good job of bringing death and destruction to ourselves and the earth as we (humanity) flood it with …

Hatred.

Wars.

Political Stonewalling.

Coverups.

Injustice.

… merged with an overall lack of care for creation so that as temperatures rise - glaciers melt, sea levels rise, and (yes) floods devastate parts of the country and the world on a regular basis.

I mean - have you read through any of the Epstein Files?

Have you read the grotesque things that have been done by Republicans, Democrats, and the rich and powerful that stand on all sides of the political spectrum, doing all sorts of things in the world - in politics, in religion, in the arts, in business? World leaders are implicated as are famous authors, inventors, and even spiritual leaders who have risen to the top of the world of self-help.

And?

In the United States, anyways.

Not a single arrest.

Not a single consequence.

… nothing.

Yes - we are quite literally destroying the world with hatred for one another, irrelevant wars, billions of dollars spent on weapons of mass destruction, political coverups, (what feels like) a free pass to millionairs and billionairs to do whatever they want, no matter how grotesque or unthinkable - to adults, to children, to animals, to the earth.

AND.

So.

Much.

More.

God continues, though, to hang his (rain)bow in the sky after every storm so as to remind us that he has hung up his weapon against humanity, that he will no longer wage war against his creation … that the only ones we have to blame for the devastation around us is ourselves.

What is the answer?

Phew, I don’t know.

I wish I had one.

I found myself swimming through the story of Noah this week, though, as I read about the War in Iran, the Epstein Files, the tearing down of land to build AI Data Centers around the country, the hatred that the Right has for the Left, the hatred that the Left has for the Right, the ways in which World Leaders speak to each other, the way people are struggling to get health care and pay their rent and mortgages and put food on the table even if they work 1, 2, 3, or 4 different jobs, how teachers are making less and less money while given more and more students to teach.

Sigh.

Not much has changed since the days of Noah, has it? Much like God (in Genesis 7), I see “that human evil is out of control. People think evil, imagine evil - evil, evil, evil, day and night … it breaks my heart.”

And yet?

Much like Noah - it only takes a single person to change everything.

That’s a radical thought, I know … but I believe it. I believe that the key to changing the world is for one person to look in the mirror and decide to be different.

And then for another.

And another.

And another.

And another.

One man changed the world in Genesis 6 and (I believe) that 1 person can spark a change in the world in 2026 - no matter how much evil is raining down around us.

And so today, that’s what I do - I choose to look in the mirror and instead of obsessing over everything that’s wrong, I will do my best to do (what I sense is) right - to live a life of love and grace and compassion and kindness; and hope that it might be contagious enough to catch on to one person, and then to another, and another, and another so that humankind will float atop the flood waters, ride out this storm, and re-populate the world with the love that we all have buried deep inside of us.

May it be so.

Much love,

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

Popular forms of Christianity appeal to the false self and offer beliefs that purport to make the false self better in God’s sight than our neighbors and our enemies who lack such beliefs. Of course, Jesus never tells us what to believe, but rather how to be if we are to bring his kingdom to earth. Jesus’ words to his followers, therefore, are not compatible with that level of consciousness we have developed by being in the world.

- James Danaher, The Spiritual Journey and the Deeper Life

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

Most of us were handed a script, right? THIS is what success looks like. THIS is what a good life is. THIS is what it means to be normal.

BUT.

What happens when that script starts to crack, when it just doesn’t work anymore?

In this episode, I’m joined by , author of the amazing book, Better Than Normal; and we talk about what it means to step off that script - especially when that might be scary, costly, or misunderstood.

We get into topics like anxiety, parenting, deconstruction, and the quiet courage it takes to live a life that actually fits and reflects who you are… instead of who you may have been told to be.

Yes.

What if “better than normal” isn’t out there somewhere, but begins the moment we stop trying to be what we think everyone expects us to be?

🎧 - CLICK HERE

📺 - CLICK HERE

Enjoy.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

“Mysticism invites us beyond the normal boundaries of human thought, logic, rationality, and knowing. It takes us beyond the limits of philosophy, theology, psychology, and science. This may sound like a flight of fancy, a kind of spiritual make believe; but mysticism points to something that countless witnesses, in cultures all across the world and in every age from the dawn of recorded history, insist is utterly real - maybe even more real than the universe and consciousness we inhabit without a second thought.”

- , The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

No paywalls here; but if you have the means to support, it helps pay the grocery bill and keep the lights on - thank you for your encouragement and support!

Subscribe now

There may be spelling / grammar mistakes in my articles that make it through my editing, and that’s on purpose. I’m a recovering perfectionist (who was once VERY hard on himself) and one of the ways I’m learning to be compassionate on myself is by allowing mistakes to just … be.

Friends.

A while back I had Julia O’Brien on the podcast to talk to me about her book, “Prophets Beyond Activism” where she argues that the “progressive orthodoxy” that the prophets of the Bible were primarily concerned with issues of social justice causes those writings to carry a weight that they are, perhaps, not all that equipped to bear.

Why?

Because our assumption that the prophets were primarily (first and foremost, more so than anything else) concerned with issues of social justice suggests that we (as modern readers) can know exactly who they were and what they did.

And that?

That’s rather impossible, really, for these books are complex with language and ideas that speak to (and from) a variety of cultures and circumstances that are far, far removed from our own.

You can listen more to the episode HERE, but this past week I went back into her book because as I was reflecting on our conversation (along with my recent read of Richard Beck’s upcoming book, “The Book of Love”)and I got to thinking how I have spent the majority of my 40-ish years with the Bible trying desperately to jam it into the boxes of my personal worldviews, insisting that it …

Is always on my side.

Always sees things as I see them.

Always supports my beliefs.

Always supports my values.

Always supports my voting choices.

Etc.

… so much so that when I was on both the RIGHT and the LEFT I had my collection of go-to verses that I would toss into conversations to support my ideas, defend my beliefs, and argue others into the ground.

And the prophets? They were a major resource for me - always, yes, but all the more as a progressive-minded person … as someone who (still, today) advocates for and believes in rights for everyone, especially people who are typically pushed to the margins of our society.

Verses like …

“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” - Amos 5:24

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8

"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” - Isaiah 1:17

"Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice. …" - Isaiah 10:1-2

… and more were common on my Facebook page as I would post day after day and share my belief that “just like the prophets of old, we need to be a voice for those who are trampled by society”.

Anyways.

So, I went back to Julia’s book this past week because I wanted to be reminded that the books of the Bible (the prophets, for sure, but all of the writings, honestly) aren’t as black and white and as simple to understand and/or apply to modern circumstances as we might wish them to be.

AND.

When we make them out to be black and white, insisting they they fit into the boxes of our modern day worldviews, addressing our modern day values (whether they be conservative, progressive, etc.).

Well.

I think we do them a great, great disservice.

And Julia’s book? It magnfies this point beautifully as it challenges us to expand our understanding and think deeper about the texts of the Bible - no matter how familar with them we may be.

For example.

In the book one of the things she talks about is a field of study called “redaction criticism”. I’m no Bible scholar, but to sum it up as simply as I can - redaction criticism deals with how the Biblical writings changed over time and includes studying the “modification and addition of content by editors”.

(Read more about redaction criticism HERE.)

What does that mean?

Many things, but for one - it means that what the prophetic writings might have originally said isn’t necessarily what you and I have in our Bibles today because later editors modified and recontexualized and merged materials together for their specific audiences who were going through a specific set of circumstances.

And this?

This is really interesting (to me, anyways) because at one time, Julia says, it was common for scholars to try and undo the edits in an effort to get back to what the prophets originally said before any changes were made.

This is the idea of the “Historical Jesus”, right? The question of, “who was Jesus REALLY?” And “what did Jesus REALLY do and REALLY say?”

These scholars would try to trace back through various copies of a text, pinpoint what edits were made, and aim to peel back all the layers so as to discover what the orginal text likely said or what was historically true or accurate about the person the text is speaking of.

Now, though?

A more recent interest is to “read the books within the context of their redactors, trying to understand what the book may have meant to those who put it into the books we have today [in our Bibles].”

That might sound strange, but it’s really not something most of us are unfamilar with. Think of the 4 Gospels, right? It’s widely accepted (by conservative and progressive scholars, alike) that Mark’s Gospel is the earliest and that Matthew and Luke had Mark as a “source” of sorts.

BUT.

Matthew and Luke are much different from one another AND are much, much different from Mark - they tell lots of the same stories, yes, but very, very differently. If you look at this through the lens of “redaction criticism”, Matthew and Luke were redactors of Mark - they modified and recontextualized his material for their audiences.

And?

If we didn’t have Mark’s Gospel, we’d never be exactly sure of what he said.

AND.

To take it further.

Can we ever be really sure what Mark said anyways? Especially since an ending that was not original to Mark was added to the text centuries later AND appears in most of our Bible’s today? I mean, if that’s the case - what else was changed or edited or added or substracted?

Hm.

Back to the prophets.

Most of the redactions in the prophetic books took place during the “postexilic period”, which is around 550-350 BCE when the decendants of Judea who had been exiled by the Babylonian Empire returned to their land under the protection of the Persian Empire.

What does this mean?

It means that when we read these productions that were created DURING this Perian period, we have to realize that although the texts might read like they are being written as transcripts or play by play biographies of what happened in and leading up to Babylonian captivity, they are actually “theological documents in which the prophets are discerning the Divine perspective on the truth of the past and the future”.

In other words:

They are writing REFLECTIVELY about the past - reflecting on what happened and wondering about why it happened.

AND.

They are writing DISCERNINGLY about their present and future - reflecting on where they are and dreaming of where they could go from there, having learned from their past mistakes.

ALL of which, I think, is a gift to their generation and genrations to come. Among other things, redaction criticism helps us see that the prophetic books aren’t simply made up of actions and speeches of heroes who fought on behalf of the downtrodden (although sometimes they MAY BE that), but are more so “literary productions of communities who were seeking to understand the workings of YHWH and thereby find a way forward from disaster.”

Phew.

So why I am sharing this with you?

First of all, because I think that all “sides” have “orthodoxies”.

Right?

In other words, there are certain things on both the conservative AND the progressive side that you are taught NOT to question in regards to theology, the Bible, etc.

On the conservative side, for example, you don’t question whether or not the Bible teaches that you must “believe in Jesus” in order to be saved from God’s wrath or saved from hell or whatever.

“Of course it does!”

AND.

On the progressive side, for example, you don’t question whether or not the Bible (the prophets, in particular) puts forth a consistent message of “social justice”, arguing that God is always for the poor, women, LGBTQ people … and anyone who is marginalized.

“Of course it does!”

Yes.

Both sides have their set of values or beliefs and boxes that they squeeze the Bible into that people on that side are not supposed to question.

And secondly, more importantly for myself, because these are all ideas that are swirling around in my head as I have recently picked my Bible back up to explore it amidst yet another season of my spiritual journey.

A season where I’m not …

Seeking to use it to win arguments.

Seeking to force it into supporting my political opinions.

Seeking to point out all the ways God agrees with me.

… but where I’m seeking to let the Bible be what it is.

Rather than come to it with an agenda of all the ways it backs up my beliefs or supports my politics or values what I value, I’m trying to read it while keeping at the forefront of my mind that …

It’s not as black and white as I might like it to be.

It contains documents and writings that span the course of thousands of years and were written in languages and by people who were far removed from my modern day worldviews.

The writers were writing to make sense of their times and their days and their problems.

They were trying to figure out what it looked like to make their way through all of those very visible things while maintaining faith in a very invisible God who (they believed) was much different and grander and bigger than any other God anyone could ever imagine.

And.

Maybe?

To go back to “redaction criticism” - maybe just as those prophetic writers and Gospel writers “redacted” or edited or expanded on earlier writings to make sense of their times, maybe that’s the ultimate invitation that the Bible extends to you and me:

Much love.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

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Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

“The instant we believe that our personal and hard-won certainties are the truth for anyone other than ourselves, we have fallen prey to this temptation [he’s speaking of the 3rd temptation of Jesus, here] and have, in effect, begun to ‘worship’ the Devil. Why? Because we have allied ourselves with the Devil of division, who thrives when we diminish the experience and inner wisdom of others.”

- Alexander John Shaia, Heart and Mind: The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

Friends.

I’ve started to read my Bible again.

“Again?”

Yes. I recently stopped reading it for a long while just as I had stopped reading it for a long while about 9 years ago, shortly after Jordan was born.

9 years ago I began to realize how much I was struggling to read the Bible apart from the conservative narrative that I had grown up with. You know THAT narrative, don’t you?

It’s some variation of …

God created everything.

Adam and Eve sinned.

The “Fall” happened.

Everyone was born with a “sin nature”.

God hates sin.

God was mad.

Someone needed to pay for the sin.

God sent Jesus.

Jesus took my punishment.

Believe that, go to heaven when I do.

Don’t believe, go to hell when I die.

The End.

Even though I had begun to “deconstruct” and “rethink” what I believed regarding all of those things, I struggled SO. MUCH. to read the Bible through a different lens. No matter how many books, for example, I read regarding John 3:16 or how many books I read about alternate understandings of Revelation … I couldn’t read the Bible ANY other way than the ways in which I had been taught - God was ticked and unless I shape up and believe the right things, I’m headed for hell.

Sigh.

And so I closed my Bible and put it on my shelf where it sat for 6, 7, 8 months until one day I had the urge to pick it up and read it. And when I did? It was like the time away from it helped my mind and heart reset so that I could read it differently, through a different lens than I ever had before.

John 3:16.

Revelation.

The story of creation.

The birth and death of Jesus.

… it ALL looked so much different than it ever had before and I fell back in love with it again.

But.

Then?

As time went on … I don’t know; but a new shift began to take place inside of me where I realized that although I was no longer reading the Bible as a “conservative” I was now reading the Bible as a “progressive” - a shift that brought a lot of good, of course, but also a lot of the “same old, same old” in terms of …

“I’m reading the Bible better than THEY are.”

“My reading of the Bible is the RIGHT reading.”

“This is the RIGHT way to read the Bible.”

… and I started to realize that although my values had shifted from conservative to progressive, the energy with which I read the Bible remained exactly the same.

Just as I thought I was reading the Bible RIGHT as a conservative, I now thought I was reading it RIGHT as a progressive.

Instead of me and my conservative friends having the right reading, now me and my progressive friends had the right reading.

Instead of reading it through the beforementioned narrative, I was now reading it through a lens of social justice where I tried to make (if I’m being honest) every story and every passage address that topic.

Again:

WE were right.

EVERYONE else was wrong.

(Especially “those conservatives” or “those Christian nationalists”, etc.)

And so I tried to begin reading it differently. I read a book by Julia O’Brien called “Prophets Beyond Activism” (highly recommended, by the way, if you really wanna be challenged) where she sort of critiques the progressive tendency to read the stories of the prophets heavily through a lens of social justice when (in reality) they were addressing things relevant to their time and place that are (often times) far removed from modern day activism and social justice.

Phew.

I brought her on the podcast and remember ending the call feeling very “convicted” that I was commandeering Scripture as a progressive in the same ways I used to as a conservative - I was just using a new set of verses to back up a new set of values and principles, forcing them into the shiny new boxes that my side and my team and our gate keepers insisted were most important.

And.

So?

I put my Bible away again. That conversation took place back in October 2025 and I really haven’t picked up my Bible much since then.

Not because I don’t like the Bible.

Not because I don’t want to read it.

Not because I don’t find value in it.

BUT.

Because I struggled to read it any differently than I was taught to read it as a progressive thinker who has a heart for things like social justice that, I think, are really important … but maybe (perhaps) not as “all over the pages of the Bible” as I assumed they were.

The other day, though, I finished reading a book by Richard Beck called “The Book of Love: A Better Way to Read the Bible” where he shares how we all bring a hermeneutic to our reading of the Bible (like me bringing my hermeneutic of social justice) and that perhaps it’s possible to read it through a different hermeneutic or lens or prism, through a prism of love whereby we acknowledge that no matter how great of a love we can imagine - God’s love is infinitely greater, an acknowledgment that allows the Bible to breathe and expand in ways that it can’t really do when we stuff it into our pre-packaged understandings and assumptions (as good or thoughtful or righteous as those assumptions may be).

Yeah.

And so that got me to pick my Bible up again and I’m excited to say that I’m seeing things I never saw before, reading the Bible again as if I’m reading it for the first time.

Where will that lead?

Who knows!

More thoughts to come over the upcoming months and years, I’m sure, as this next leg of the journey is just beginning.

I highly recommend the book. You can pre-order it HERE, and my conversation with him will drop in June - don’t miss it.

Much love.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

Friends,

Today I talked to about his upcoming book, “The Book of Love: A Better Way to Read the Bible”.

And.

Can I tell you something? This is one of the most helpful books about the Bible that I have ever read as Richard walks us through how to read the Bible through a prism of love.

Have you read “How the Bible Actually Works” by Pete Enns?

How about “What Is the Bible?” by Rob Bell?

“Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg?

“Heart and Mind” by Alexander John Shaia?

Those are all books that have RADICALLY shaped how I think about the Bible; and this book by Richard is on that list, for sure.

In the episode we talk about how we all read the Bible with a particular hermeneutic and how reading it as a “book of love” pushes up against the comfort zones of conservatives and progressives, alike.

If you have a complicated relationship with the Bible due to how you were taught to think about it and read it in the past, this book will be balm for your soul that will bring healing all the while it challenges you to put your assumptions about the Bible aside to let it breathe and be what it is.

You can pre-order it HERE on Amazon - you won’t be sorry! The episode will drop on June 1.

Oh.

And dropping on May 4 is my chat with where we talked about her book, “Better Than Normal”.

Until then …

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

Friends.

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for my “Friday Offering” where I give you a quote from a book that I’m reading with no commentary from me.

Here you go …

When you extend beyond your own comfort to tend the wounds of the world, the sense of quiet gratification that warms you like a cup of tea on a snowy day is meant for you. It is a gift delivered by the hands of the holy. Open it.

- Mirabai Starr, Ordinary Mysticism

Much love, my friend. May the Spirit or God or the Universe or your own Amazing Intution use these words to stir up something radical inside of you.

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

Want more books? Here’s what’s next on my list …

Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark by James K.A. Smith

The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr

Friends.

Jordan is 9 and over the last few years she’s been asking more and more questions about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.

Usually her questions revolve around the topics of “how”, you know?

Like …

How does Santa make it around the world in one night?

How do reindeer fly?

How does the Easter Bunny get in the house?

How big is the Tooth Fairy?

… things like that. And our answer? Usually we turn it back on her and say something like, “that’s a super good question - what do YOU think?” Then she’ll share what she thinks, we’ll expand on her ideas, and the conversation will eventualy turn to something else.

(*NOTE - we use that response with A LOT of her questions, especially her more spiritual questions as we believe that even at a young age the answers to our deepest questions about life can be found within - something I’ll come back to towards the end of this post.)

Recently, though, her questions about Santa have been getting a little bit too direct for us to turn the question back to her.

Do you know what I mean?

Like the other day, for instance, we were finishing up dinner and she said …

“Is Santa real? Because Jimmy in class says the parents put the presents under the tree. And what about the Tooth Fairy? He says parents put the money under the pillow. Do you?”

Phew.

She had tears in her eyes as if she already knew the answer and Dana and I looked at each other and knew it was time to tell her the truth because although we played along over the years and helped engage her imagination with the story of Santa, we never want to lie to her when she asks a direct question like that.

She sat on Dana’s lap and looked at me with her bottom lip quivering, and I said, “listen my dude. So, I am going to tell you the truth, OK? Are you ready?”

She nodded her head.

I took a deep breath.

“So, mommy and daddy DO put your presents under the tree. We buy them, wrap them, and put them under the tree when you go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I usually eat the cookies and drink the milk, mommy writes your letter from Santa. We also buy the stuff for your Easter basket and hide it. And we put money under your pillow when you lose a tooth and I keep your teeth in a little box along with all the notes you’ve written to Santa. So, yes. Jimmy is right - the parents do it.”

By this time she was crying pretty hard and rather than tell her not to cry or try to make the pain go away, we told her to take as long as she needed to feel what she was feeling; and when she was ready to hear some more, I had more to tell her.

She cried and said she was disappointed …

“I want the North Pole to be real!”

“I thought the Easter Bunny flew around in a pink car!”

“I thought the Tooth Fairy collected my teeth!”

“I want it to be real!”

… She thanked us for not lying to her, but said now “everything felt different” as she felt all of these magical things in her mind crashing down; and after about 5 minutes of letting her feelings out she said she was ready to hear some more.

“OK, so this is also the truth. A long time ago there lived a man who became known as St. Nicholas. He was real - just as real as you and me. I have a book about him downstairs and although I don’t know everything about him, I know that his parents died when he was younger and left him a TON of money - so much money, in fact, that he didn’t know what to do with it!

Now.

Nicholas lived in a time and place where most people didn’t have a lot of money and so what he decided to do was to secretly give his money away - he wanted to help those who had less than him.

One of the things he did (and this is my favorite story abouth him) is … back then before people went to bed, they would sometimes leave their shoes by the window or hang their socks by the window to dry over night; and so he would sneak around while everyone was sleeping and leave coins in people’s shoes and socks so that they would wake up the next day to find money to pay their bills.

That’s just one story, but the point is that Nicholas was a very generous man … so generous that stories started to spread around about him; and over time more and more stories developed, legends formed, and the story of Santa Claus (or “Jolly Old St. Nick”, as the song calls him) with his North Pole, Sleigh, Reindeer, Elves, etc. came to be.

Those stories and his generous spirit, I believe, stir up the generosity of parents all year long, but a little extra during the Christmas Season to make the dreams of their children come true.

And so even though Santa Claus and the North Pole might not be “real”, the stories about him are “true” in that they inspire us to be kind and generous and compassionate - they speak to something that is buried deep inside of us all.

For example, Mommy and Daddy saved up money for a long time to buy you your Switch 2 for Christmas this year and the Barbie Dream House a few years ago and all the other big presents you were hoping for at Christmas time over the years. We could have spent that money on other things, but we wanted to use it to bring YOU joy.

We would plan and save and wrap the presents and hide them and we had so much fun - we loved using the money we worked hard for to make your hopes and dreams come true; and the Spirit of St. Nick inspired us to do just that.

Does that make sense?”

She nodded her head, “yes”, and then I said, “can I tell you one more thing? For me, I believe in Santa Claus in the same way that I believe in Jesus.”

We talk about Jesus a lot and so her eyes got really big and she said, “yeah, but Jesus is real!” And I said, “yes - I believe he is! But so is Santa Claus, so is St. Nick. Just like Jesus inspired people with his kindness and generosity and stories developed about him, the same is true of Santa - St. Nick inspired people with his kindness and generosity and stories developed about him too. Just because I don’t believe that Jesus really walked on the water, I do believe in Jesus; and his generosity and kindness and love inspire me. And just because St. Nick doesn’t really have a North Pole with elves, I do believe in St. Nick; and his generosity and kidness and love inspire me - especially at Christmas time.”

At this point her brain started to make the connections and I said something I wasn’t really planning to say, but it came to be like a lightning bolt of a thought.

I said …

“Just because you know how the magic of Christmas works, that doesn’t mean that the magic has to end. You see, what’s really cool is that for the last bunch of years, you thought the magic of Christmas existed OUTSIDE of you, in some far away place - in Santa, in the North Pole, in the Elves, etc. The reality, though, is that the magic of Christmas existed INSIDE of me and mommy and grandma and all the people who try to make your Christmases magical. And THAT means that the magic of Christmas also exists inside of YOU.

You see.

For me, that’s the true magic of Christmas - realizing that the magic of the North Pole and all the joy it brings to kids around the world doesn’t exist in some far away place that’s impossible to find, but exists inside of all of us.

And that magic?

Once we find it.

Once we tap into it.

Once we believe it.

… It has the power to change the world and make life better for people not just at Christmastime, but all year long.”

I’m not sure how much of that stuck with her; and I might have even went a little too deep into it. BUT. My hope was that I would say some things about Christmas that have parallels to life so that as the days turn into weeks, into months, into years we can return back to that conversation as I remind her that as she grows the world will tell her that the answers to life’s biggests questions exist outside of herself, in …

People who know better.

Pastors.

Teachers.

Books.

Gurus.

Conferences.

Pocasts.

Etc.

… and although those things might be helpful, the reality is that the answers to life’s biggest questions exists inside of her - in the still, small, magical voice of her God-given intuition; and that voice can always be trusted, it will never (ever) steer her wrong.

And maybe that might encourage you too?

I hope so.

Oh - and we’ll still be doing Santa at Christmastime (the Easter Bunny for Easter, Tooth Fairy for lost teeth, etc.). Why? “Just because we know how the magic works, that doesn’t mean the magic has to end!” I told Jordan that even in high school and college and when me and Mommy were married - grandma and grandpa would put our Christmas presents out at night or when we weren’t around … and it’s always felt magical to walk into the room and see the gifts they poured their hearts into getting for us. The magic doesn’t need to end and this year when Christmas rolls around (in 8 months!) she’ll get to help make some magic too.

Much love,

• Glenn || SUPPORT / ART STUDIO

PS - here are some interesting books about St. Nicholas and the legends of Santa Claus.

The True Saint Nicholas by William J. Bennett

When Santa Was a Shaman by Tony van Renterghem