For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity at the Little Portion Hermitage. This is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

Even though I spent many hours alone with God, it was only when I encountered my fellow community members that the true fruit of my prayerful labors showed its worth.

If you ask me, I’m a pretty great guy when it’s just me and God in the room. I find it easy to count not only my blessings, but also the many ways I’ve blessed others. However, when I stepped outside my hermitage (or prayer closet, if you need to get religious about it) and saw someone I didn’t like, it was then that the true fruit of my prayer life would show itself. Continue Reading