I remember exactly where I was sitting.

I had come for a pick-me-up, not a smack in the face. "No one is more transient than American pastors. They're like rocks with no moss." The room was still. We all knew it was true. Michael Frost wasn't just an Aussie speaking to American church leaders that day; he was a prophet. We have lost a theology of place.

I originally moved to Colorado for a work vacation. I had no long-term commitment to my city. It was more like "friends with benefits." I moved here for what the mountains offered me. But nine years later I can say if God wills it, I'm staying.

I often connect with transplants who are planting churches in our city. They are usually in the honeymoon stage, naively positive and fiery. A few sips into my coffee I ask them, "If this church fails are you going to stay?"

Spiritual homelessness

Our eyes are constantly lifting from our communities and people right around us to find the next place "God will call us." Sociologist Peter Berger refers to ...