Bridging the Ideal and the Real

The nature of human beings is to be religious and Pittman gives two etymological descriptions of the word religion — to bind back which presumes something is broken and to tie up as in the mooring of a boat (or an anchor). Christianity does not offer any of us safety as it rains on the just and the unjust but it offers us a way to see and listen to something we haven't seen before and grow.  We are all broken, or feel lost and need direction and religion gives us something to drink to quench our thirst, A great place to see how our memory and our imagination have a place in our spiritual unfolding. He also describes the symbolism, the depth of meaning in the movie Children of a Lesser God about two people came together to help each other as they expanded their capacity to see and listen to and through each other to heal. This mp3 is a talk given by Pittman McGehee on 1-3-87 at Christ Church Cathedral Sunday School class in Houston, Texas. 

Pittman tells a poignant story of a childhood experience of the fear based preaching of an Evangelist and a high school friend who had the integrity to not let it affect his choices. The healing he experienced through his parents unconditional love gave him a foundation of a God who loves us all unconditionally, even in our imperfection. And regardless of his disagreement with that kind of hostile take over of Christianity, he could not judge or throw rocks knowing that God works in mysterious ways in all our lives. This mp3 is a talk given by J. Pittman McGehee in 1987 at Christ Church Cathedral Sunday School class in Houston, Texas. 

Starting with a brief history of the evolution of Christianity, from St. Augustine’s original sin, Calvin's approach during the Reformation and then Puritanism, our American Christian  religion has been influenced mainly by the negative father archetype (shame, judgment and rejection/exclusion). Putting it all back together is how Pittman sees the real purpose of religion. Living the archetype of the Wounded Healer after an accident that happened when he was six years old, Pittman believes the religious nature of the psyche is to heal and reunite what has been estranged or alienated. This mp3 is a talk given by Pittman McGehee on 9-27-98 presented at The Women’s Institute in Houston, Texas. 

This mp3 is a talk given by Pittman McGehee on 9-28-96 at Adult Education Class at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. In a world that values above all the rational and material, the spiritual and non rational are considered to be irrational and non productive. This was ushered in with the misunderstanding of Jesus saying "by their fruits you will know them." Pittman describes the rigors and the loneliness of making the spiritual and the mysterious (God) which is unknown and unknowable a central part of your spiritual life. 

Materialism is not what we would call the abundant life. All ISMS are negative. We have more "stuff" than we have ever had before but there is still more dissatisfaction and emptiness than human kind has ever known. Our separation from nature by science and technology have produced a human longing in us for our Mother (Earth) which is one of the primary archetypes as described by Jung in the collective unconscious. There is so much more in the abundance of life for us all where we can find meaning and grace. This mp3 was the Lois Ann Peckham Lecture Series given by J. Pittman McGehee, D.D. at Christ Church Cathedral on 4-7-01. 

Is it the desire to be "nice", to be what everyone expects of you what authenticates? Telling a story about Mrs. Bridge, McGehee reads to us vignettes of an unathenticated cardboard character trapped in mediocrity. Or are you willing to follow your bliss like Jesus did and become the unique creature you are called to be. This mp3 is a talk given on 3-6-88 by Pittman McGehee, D.D. at the Sunday School Class at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. 

This mp3 is a talk given by Pittman McGehee on 2-28-88 at Adult Education Class at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas. We know we cannot judge each others difficult experience because even though their story is different it is also our story. We will all experience desserts, deep dark valleys as no one avoids crisis in this life. It is inevitable that we do not transform unless we come to the narrow gate and experience the wooden cross in our own life. 

Real self worth is something that takes us all a very long time to truly accept but it is easier when we understand that we may all be a combination of characters (some we like and some we do not like) but God loves us just the way we are. This mp3 is a talk given by J. Pittman McGehee, D.D. at Sunday School class on 1-10-88 in Houston, Texas.

There are always more ways to see the individual expression of wholeness than meets the eye of any one person and much more that we can comprehend. This is a talk given by J. Pittman McGehee, D.D. on 1-3-88 at the Sunday School class in Houston, Texas. 

There is no life without struggle, sickness, pain and death. The Priest as Shaman enters the brokenness of everyone including his own. Into humanity he goes in every crisis, every death as a participant to experience life. One must die to live and live to die as an infinity symbol each containing it's opposite. This mp3 is a talk given by Pittman McGehee, D.D. at Christ Church Cathedral Sunday School class on 3-22-87 in Houston, Texas.