Author Archives: KevenWinder

About KevenWinder

I'm bi-vocational working in biotech and also serving as an online pastor, author, and un-coach. I'm an avid mountain biker and live in Colorado.

89- Corporate Kool-Aid

 

We all know something about drinking the corporate Kool-Aid, but have you considered just how deep this subject actually goes? In this podcast and post I will show that drinking the corporate Kool-Aid is the price we pay in order to receive the identity and life that our organizations can give us. Unhappiness is the realization that the Kool-Aid is unavoidable and some people think the answer is to become anti-corporate or to go off the grid. Freedom is possible and it is found in a paradoxical way. We need not give up on society, or our dreams, but we must surrender the means. One rule replaces all the rules. One motivation replaces all motivations.  A true identity means we are free from the one the system gives us. Freedom is to be in the world but not of it.

88- Justice: It’s NOT what you think.

 

Based on all the feedback and questions I decided to add one more addition to this series. It will be extremely difficult to expand or alter one’s view of Heaven and Hell unless we get to the bottom of JUSTICE. In this post and podcast, I will prove that justice is not based in retribution as we are all taught, but in restoration. The overarching goal of God is not to get even with us, but to make everyone of us whole. For those who can’t get over injustice, I share a story that destroys retribution and I offer a link with 132 verses from scripture just to prove how predominant this alternative sense of justice really is.

87- The Afterlife

 

What happens when we die? This question has ignited both science and religion. In this post and podcast I will take the best of science, sacred text, and human experience and list eleven key considerations that will widen our understanding. Of course no one knows for sure what is on the other side, but we are left with amazing clues. After assembling the pieces that I have, my best advice is to not make the afterlife your goal. Instead, find humility so you can access the afterlife now. Then, very little will change upon our death.

86 – The Chasm

 

In part three of this series we examine a story that depicts a vast rift between Heaven and Hell called the great chasm. In this podcast and post I will show that this is not a geological feature of a literal Hell, but an aspect of separation within the heart. Furthermore, we discover that the chasm reveals the potentiation of seemingly small things and proves they are actually really big things. I show how all of religion tries to address this problem and I break down the solution to its most basic form that each of us can apply.

 

85-Lake of Fire

 

Is the Lake of Fire a future destination for all evil people to be tormented forever? Is it possible that the Lake of Fire is a metaphor used to illuminate a reality bigger than it’s imagery? In this podcast and post I will weave together a number of vital components in scripture to show that the Lake of Fire is the place for all pseudonyms and is the crucible through which our true self emerges.

84- Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

 

If you’ve seen the movie Constantine or other horror movies, then you understand Hollywood’s conception of Hell. As I grew up, I have to admit that my notion wasn’t much different–until I really started reading the bible. Then my idea of Hell was permanently altered. In this post and podcast we will examine the idiom of “Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth” to learn something very surprising. What if the fires of Hell are not a future of torture, but an illustration of the path we each take when turning loose of our pride?

83- Liberation despite Sin

 

Easter is the time where the Jesus-O-Meter is pegged into the red zone. Pastors focus on the historical aspects of Jesus story in order to elevate substitutionary atonement. We’re told that if we believe, we will be free from our sin. Yet our sins remain. Is it possible that the church has made Easter about the means and not about its purpose? In this podcast and post I will show that the real purpose of Easter is not to remove sin, but to liberate us from the countless systems that imprison us despite our sin.

82- The Three-Sided Cage

 

A dog crate with no door defeats the point of the crate because a dog seeking freedom simply walks away. In this podcast and post I will utilize a metaphor of a three-sided prison to help illustrate the tragic state of so many of us. Why don’t we walk out into the freedom we really want? Why is the prison we know preferred to the freedom for which we long? Once we gain the eyes to see the only thing left is to follow the voice that leads us out into the exile of freedom.

 

81- Confused?

 

I know that I confuse a lot of people. This happens because I bring together seemingly unrelated ideas. Our confusion is often dismissed or skimmed over and in the podcast and post I want to invite you to explore areas of confusion because it is a window into something truly profound. Here I will weave together multiple diverse ingredients as an object lesson that exposes how our pride robs us of learning from others and it robs the world of our unique contribution. This is all hidden beyond our confusion and I’ll help you gain the required categories in order to see it.

 

80- Practice YOUR Practice.

 

Do you see yourself as a spiritual person? If not, then you probably don’t define many of your activities as spiritual practice. If you do, then you likely have a number spiritual practices in which you engage. In this post and podcast I tell my story of how my spiritual practice has evolved over the years. The further we perceive God from our inner reality, the more elaborate the practice will be. Religion has commoditized spiritual practice and too often it diminishes the experience of those who don’t subscribe. I give you a new lens to see spirituality and a menu from which all comers can know a transformative inner experience.