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With new discoveries right and left, more and more people are asking bigger and bigger questions about just what kind of world we’re living in and what that means for our hearts, our souls, and our spirits. On the Everything Is Spiritual tour, Rob Bell does what he does best, making surprising connections between the universe you’re living in and the life you’re living, showing us how science and spirituality are long lost dance partners. Wherever you’re coming from and whatever you’re wrestling with, let the Everything Is Spiritual tour experience inspire, provoke, challenge, and give you hope as we together explore and enjoy this beautiful, mysterious, and endlessly fascinating world we call home.

6/24 Los Angeles, CA � The Regent

6/25 Los Angeles, CA � The Regent

US Tour Dates Will Be Announced Soon.

Keep Going

A 2Day Event with Rob Bell

Peter Rollins

Vicky Beeching

Carlton Cuse

Pete Holmes

and Kristen Bell

When is it?

June 15-16, 2015.

So Rob, why are you doing this event?

I’m doing this event for all of you who are growing and learning and changing and evolving and you’re discovering that not everyone around you is seeing what you’re seeing. Friends, family, spouses, coworkers, employers-what do you do when you’re more alive than ever, and yet all this new life is also bringing with it all kinds of disruption and grief and criticism and even loneliness? For some of you who are leaders, your growth has direct implications for your employment. For others, the new life you’re experiencing is deeply unsettling for some of your most significant relationships.

This event is designed to help you walk this path with peace and integrity and even joy. I’ll be giving some new talks on courage and fear and the science of the soul, and I’ve invited some of my friends to speak from their own experience and expertise�

Pete Rollins and I have been friends since we met in the summer of 2008 and talked for two days straight. Pete is a philosopher, storyteller, and author from Belfast, and he’s taught me so much about what’s often hidden in the heartbreak and ambiguity and disruptions of life. 

Vicky Beeching will be here as well and I’m thrilled. She’s a musician, a public theologian and social commentator-did I mention that she’s British and went to Oxford? Vicky will be talking, among other things, about how doing your interior work is so integrally related to having the courage to keep going.

Carlton Cuse is a beloved friend who has taught me a world of wisdom about perseverance, faith, and being true to yourself. He also happens to make television shows. Like LOST. And Bates Motel. And The Strain. 

Pete Holmes. Whether you’re fan of his stand up or his podcast or the now legendary The Pete Holmes Show, to say that Pete is a comedian is only the start. For so many of us, his relentless curiosity about the world and more specifically the soul is endlessly inspiring. And, of course, he’s funny. 

Kristen Bell! is the New York Times Best Selling co-author of The Zimzum of Love and the mother of three and-seriously, how do I begin to explain what Kristen brings to an event like this? She has a grounded, centered wisdom that I’ve relied on for 20 years�

At the heart of the these two days is the conviction that you can keep going, that you can do your inner work, becoming more courageous and kind and open and compassionate in the process. You are not alone, and if we get a group of us-400 or so-in the same room and talk about these things, who knows what will happen?

Where is the event?

The Laguna Playhouse

606 Laguna Canyon Rd

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Where do we stay?

There are a number of hotels within walking distance of the theatre in Laguna Beach. You can also find one 10-20 minutes away in Irvine, Aliso Viejo, or Laguna Niguel.

Where do we park?

The venue has a number of parking spots across the street, and there there are also metered spots in either direction.

Where is the nearest airport?

John Wayne/Santa Ana/Orange County is the closest, there’s also Long Beach, LAX and San Diego within an hour or two depending on traffic.

Where do we eat?

There are lots of restaurants within walking distance, from fast food to Wahoo’s to vegetarian to a place that makes a potato taco to a place four blocks away that serves duck tacos. There’s also a grocery store a ten minute walk away and a Whole Foods down the street.

What are the times of the event?

9am to 9pm both days, with breaks for lunch (12-2) and dinner (5-7).

Cost?

$300. .

What if I purchase a spot but then can’t make it?

You can get a refund up until 10 days before the event at which point it becomes a credit for a future event with the same price.

Will there be surfing?

Did you even have to ask? Of course. The day after the event we’ll go surfing together. If you’ve never surfed, this is your moment. Cost is $50 for board, wetsuit, and lesson. Email [email protected] to sign up.

I’ve had a number of conversations recently that somehow led to the Bible. I say somehow because these weren’t conversations with particularly religious friends, and yet what they talked about was their interest in the Bible. 

For some, they readily acknowledge that this particular library of books (Yes, it’s a library. More on that later�) has deeply shaped western civilization in countless ways and yet they haven’t the foggiest notion what it’s actually about other than vague references to David killing Goliath (Although in the book of 2 Samuel it’s written that a man named Elhanan killed Goliath) or ominous warnings about the end of the world (Like in the recent movie This Is The End where Jay Baruchel keeps reading passages from the book of Revelation to Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill and James Franco-as if that’s the book to help you understand why the sinkhole in your front yard just swallowed up Rihanna�) or stories about Jesus doing things like turning water into wine (Really? That’s his first miracle? He makes it possible for people to keep drinking for days on end? Is this why Jesus was accused of being a drunk?)

For others, they’ve heard someone quote the Bible and something about what the person said made them think there’s no way that it actually says that. And yet they don’t have some better or more informed way to counter the explanation they heard other than you can’t be serious, that’s crazy.

And then for others, the Bible caught them off guard. They had an experience, they tasted something, they felt something, they endured something-and they discovered in the Bible language for what they’d experienced. They were wronged by someone and in moments of honesty realized that they wanted that person to die in a violent and gruesome fashion-only to discover these exact impulses described in vivid detail in the Psalms. How is it that someone writing thousands of years ago in a different place in a different language in a different culture could describe with such startling detail exactly what I’m feeling here and now in the modern world? How could something so many have discarded as irrelevant be at times so shockingly relevant?

Good questions.

Questions I’ll get to.

I’ll start with how the bible came to be The Bible,

then I’ll write about

floods

and

fish

and

towers

and

child sacrifice-

all in order to explore what’s going on just below the surface of the stories in the Bible.

Then I’ll address some of the ways many people were taught to think and talk about the Bible-

as God’s word, The Good Book, the living word, principles for living, The Word, the absolute standard, THE INERRANT TRUTH ABOUT WHICH THERE CAN BE NO COMPROMISE, God’s view on things, the ultimate owners manual, and so on

-and why those ways of thinking and talking about the Bible aren’t working like they used to for lots and lots and lots of people.

All of which will lead me to articulate a way of understanding the Bible in which your mind and your heart are both fully engaged as you see it and read it for what it is-a funky, ancient, poetic, revolting, provocative, mysterious, revelatory, scandalous and inspired collection of books called The Bible that tell a story, a story I want you to hear.   

First, then, a bit about how we got the Bible.

Someone wrote something down. 

Obvious, but true. And an important starting point. 

The Bible did not drop out of the sky, it was written by people.

Again, obvious, but it helps ground us in how to begin thinking about what the Bible is. Many of the stories in the Bible began as oral traditions, handed down from generation to generation until someone collected them, edited them, and actually wrote them down, sometimes hundreds of years later. That’s years and years of people sitting around fires and walking along hot dusty roads and gathering together to hear and discuss and debate and wrestle with these stories.

The people who wrote these books had lots of material to choose from. There were lots of stories floating around, lots of accounts being handed down, lots of material to include. Or not include. 

(There’s a line in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 11 where the author writes 

As for the other events of Solomon’s reign-all he did and the wisdom he displayed-are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?

Well, yes, I guess they are…it’s just that we have no idea what the author is referring to. Interesting the assumption on the author’s part that not only do we know this, but that we have access to these annals. Which we don’t. 

We see something similar in the gospel of John where it’s written 

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of disciples, which are not recorded in this book

and then the book ends with this line:

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

It’s as if the writer, just to wrap things up, adds Oh yeah, I left a ton of stuff out.)

The authors of the books of the Bible, then, weren’t just writing, they were selecting and editing and making a multitude of decisions about what material and content furthered their purposes in writing and what didn’t.

These writers had agendas.

Luke: I too decided to write an orderly account for you�

The Book of Esther: This is what happened�

John: These are written that you may believe�

There were points they wanted to make, things they wanted their readers to see, insights they wanted to share. These writers, it’s important to point out, were real people living in real places at real times. And their purposes and intents and agendas were shaped by their times and places and contexts and economies and politics and religion and technology and countless other factors.

What does it tell us about the world Abraham lived in that when he’s told to offer his son as a sacrifice he sets out to do it as if it’s a natural thing for a god to ask�?

The David and Goliath story starts with technology-the Philistines had a new kind of metal, the Israelites didn’t. The story is undergirded by the primal fear that comes when your neighbor has weapons that you don’t have-like spears. Or guns. Or bombs.

Why does the Apostle Peter use the phrase there is no other name under heaven�? Where did he get this phrase and what images from military propaganda would it have brought to mind for his listeners?

Real people,

writing in real places,

at real times,

with agendas,

choosing to include some material,

choosing to leave out other material,

all because they had stories to tell.

That said, two thoughts to wrap this introduction section up:

First, for some the Bible is just a collection of old books. Books written by people, and nothing more. For others, the Bible is a collection of books, but it’s also more than just a collection of books. They’re books, but they’re more than just books.

We’ll get to words like inspiration and revelation and God-breathed later (which I’m a believer in-but I’m getting ahead of myself), but for now it’s important to begin by stating the obvious: The Bible is first, before anything else, a library of books written by humans.

I say this because there is a stilted literalism that many have encountered in regards to the Bible that makes great claims about its divinity and inspiration and perfection but then doesn’t know what to do with its humanity.

Why do the four resurrection accounts in the gospels differ on basic details?

Why aren’t there any clear denunciations of polygamy? Or slavery? 

Why does Paul say in the New Testament that it’s him speaking, not the Lord�?

When people charge in with great insistence that this is God’s word all the while neglecting the very real humanity of these books, they can inadvertently rob these writings of their sacred power. 

All because of starting in the wrong place.

You start with the human. You ask those questions, you enter there, you direct your energies to understanding why these people wrote theseÌý²ú´Ç´Ç°ì²õ.

Because whatever divine you find in it, you find that divine through the human, not around it.

(I should play my hand here just a bit on where I want to take you: If you let go of the divine nature of the Bible on the front end and immerse yourself in the humanity of it, you find the divine in unexpected ways, ways that can actually transform your heart. Which is the point, right?)

Second, a bit about questions.

Often, especially when people come to a particular strange or gruesome or inexplicable passage, they’ll ask 

Why did God say this?

The problem with this question is that it can leave you tied up in all kinds of knots. (Really? God told them to kill all the women and children? God did? And we’re supposed to accept that, well, that’s just how God is?) 

That sort of thing.

The better question is:

Why did people find it important to tell this story?

Followed by

What was it that moved them to record these words?

Followed by

What was happening in the world at that time?

And then

What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God is at that time?

And then

What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did these people think it was the story worth telling?

Let’s take one of those stories-

the one about a flood-

and ask these sorts of questions.

Next – What is the Bible? .

.

2Days with Rob Bell [London]

What is it?

2 days with Rob Bell in a teaching/interacting/Q&A setting.

When is it?

March 31-April 1

Where is it?

Oasis Hub Waterloo Auditorium

1 Kennington Road, London, SE1 7QP

Rob talks the entire time?

Tuesday 11-2, 3-5, then 7-9, then

Wednesday 9-12, 2-5, and the last

session is 7-9. So, yes.

What will Rob be talking about?

- How to stay inspired.

- What do you do when you’re growing and changing and seeing things in a new way and your friends/family/coworkers/people aren’t going through the same changes? (And they think you’ve lost your way�)

- How do deal with criticism

- When do you stay with the known and safe and when do you leap and risk and start something new?

- Is something massive and historic happening right now with how we understand faith?

Why is Rob doing this?

Because he loves all things British.

Yes, but besides that!

Because he’s been doing these 2Day events for three years now and a few Brits have come and they always say “You should do this in London!�

Yes, but besides that�

Because we want to live inspired, focused lives of meaning and joy and sometimes we need to step back for a day or two and reflect on who we are and what we’re doing here and what matters�

Happy New Year friends! So much for us to talk about. My wife Kristen and I recently released our book , my eCourse is up and running (it’s a series of films and lessons on finding joy and meaning in everyday life), an episode of my new television show recently premiered on the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (I’ll give you a heads up if it becomes available online), , and of course we’re at part 75 of the ²õ±ð°ù¾±±ð²õ.Ìý

75 parts. It went by so fast. 

First, a number of you have been asking if this series will be available at some point in a more easily accessible form, like a PDF or a book. The answer is yes. We’re working on it, and we will have some news for you shortly. 

Second, I’ve learned so much from your questions. You people are fascinating! I’ve tried to respond personally through Tumblr to each of you, but keeping up has been next to impossible. What I’ve observed interacting with you here on Tumblr is that there are generally two kinds of questions you are asking. 

The first kind deals with the Bible itself-specific verses and words and concepts and passages and characters and sayings, the gist usually being something along the lines of 

When it says ______, what does that mean? 

These are great questions, and many of them I’ve found myself asking over the years, but here’s the thing: they’re endless. We’ll never get to the end of them. (I gave you a reading list of books and resources [] that can give you a ton of guidance in reading the Bible in a new way, I highly recommend trying some of theÌý²ú´Ç´Ç°ì²õ.)

The second kind of questions you’re asking are less about the Bible and more about what it looks like to have a vibrant, humming spiritual life. They’re questions about faith, God, spirituality, meaning, transcendence, growth, how to deal with people who aren’t on the same journey that you are on, that sort of thing. Which, of course, means it’s time to start a podcast. 

Or, if you’d like, a RobCast. (Please tell me you’re laughing. Be honest, at first you were like RobCast and you rolled your eyes. But it’s starting to grow on you, isn’t it? Say it with me now, RobCast.) 

One of my intentions with this new podcast is to deal with these exact sort of questions you’re asking about what the spiritual life looks like in the modern world we find ourselves in. You can . You can also to get episodes automatically.

and you can send your questions for me to talk about on the podcast (RobCast!) to [email protected]

I am so excited about this podcast. I continue to hear from so many of you who either used to listen to my teachings on the Mars Hill podcast or you simply feel alone, like you’re seeing things in a new way and you aren’t surrounded by people who are having the same kinds of insights. I want you to know that you are not alone, you’re not crazy, we’re in this together, and you really can have the kind of full and joyful life Jesus said we can have. 

Rob Bell and Richard Rohr

The New Thing in the Air

A 2Day Event

March 10/11, 2015

Richard Rohr and Rob Bell together?

Yep.

What will they be doing?

Teaching and interacting with each other and taking questions and just generally enjoying themselves immensely.

What will they be teaching on?

God, Jesus, expanding consciousness, your true self, and the sense many people have that a new expression of faith is arising that is fully capable of thriving in the new world we find ourselves in�

Where is the event?

Bridge Hall

340 St. Ann’s Drive

Laguna Beach, California

What are the exact times of the event?

Tuesday night the 10th from 7-9pm

Wednesday the 11th from 9am-Noon and then 2-5pm.

Where do we stay?

There are a number of hotels within walking distance of the venue, we recommend .

Where do we park?

The venue has a number of parking spots and there are metered spots on the street. Ideally you take a shuttle from the airport to your hotel and then you can easily walk everywhere.

Where is the nearest airport?

John Wayne/Santa Ana/Orange County is the closest, there’s also Long Beach and LAX and San Diego within an hour or two depending on traffic.

Where do we eat?

There are many restaurants close by, from fast food to Wahoo’s to vegetarian to a place two blocks away that makes a potato taco to a place four blocks away that serves duck tacos. There’s also a grocery store across the street and a Whole Foods a few blocks away.

Cost?

$300. .

Will there be surfing?

Of course. On day the event starts(Tuesday) we’ll go surfing together. If you’ve never surfed, this is your moment. Cost is $50 for board, wetsuit, and lesson. Email [email protected] to sign up.

Is there an event the day after this event?

Yes, there is, Rob will be doing a 1Day event the next day (Thursday the 12th) dealing with the challenges and joys of the creative process-from how it works to dealing with criticism to learning to enjoying your work more.

What are the times of this 1Day event?

9am to 9pm with breaks for lunch (12-2) and dinner (5-7).

How much does it cost?

$200. .

Can you tell us more about the content of this 1Day?

Sure. We all have work we’re doing, things we’re making, something we’re creating in the world, from a home to a business to a nonprofit organization to a piece of art to a sermon or talk.

All work is, at some level, creative work. And, as we all know, sometimes it can be joyous and euphoric and other times maddening, frustrating, and really, really difficult, not to mention lonely. There are the obvious questions, like 

Where do new ideas come from?

and

How do you stay focused on your vision when the people around you don’t see what you see?

and

How do you deal with critics and setbacks and obstacles?

to

How do you stay patient and let things come into being in their own time?

And those questions inevitably take you deeper into questions of soul and spirit, questions like

How do you stay inspired year after year?

to

How do you know which risks to take?

to

How can you become the kind of person is who more alive and adventurous and grounded and centered the older you get?

to

When do you leave the work you’re doing and go do something else?

to

How do you know which of those still small voices in your head is ego and which is your true self?

These are the questions Rob will be teaching on in this 1Day event. 

So, to be clear-Tuesday evening and Wednesday with Richard and Rob followed by a day with Rob teaching on how to live a creative life in whatever it is that you do?

Yep.

Hi friends, 

Earlier this year I did a 2Day event for people in business-entrepeneurs, people in health care and law and education, artists, activists-in other words, people who don’t work in explicitly spiritual or religious environments. I talked about the holiness and sacred nature of all work, the loneliness of innovation, healthy rhythms of work and play and rest, what to do when you were trained for a world that no longer exists, how to stay inspired when your job is to inspire others, what to do when you know you’re supposed to make a change but you don’t know where to start, how to give a compelling talk that comes from your heart. I loved it. The questions, the discussion, the interaction-it was unlike any event I’ve ever done. So, naturally, let’s do it again! I’d love for you to join me in January for another 2Day [Business Edition]. My hope is that you are awakened and inspired to the power and wonder of the work you’re doing. If you’ve been in a rut lately, feeling like it’s a grind, like you’re stuck on a treadmill, like you know there’s something more, this event is for you.

See you in January,

rob

Hello friends, 

We’ve got a few things cooking, so how about an update? First, I’m halfway through The -we’ve been to Detroit and D.C. and Atlanta and Newark so far,and next we head to Houston and Miami and then Seattle and San Jose. It’s been an incredible event to a part of, and if you can make it to .

Speaking of the tour, we’ve also released with expanded content and a new cover.

And then I’m thrilled to let you know you can on finding meaning and joy in everyday life. The course is on demand so you can watch it whenever you’d like, there are over 30 clips and exercises and quotes and links and group discussion-it’s massive. And I’m hoping it changes the way you see…everything. 

And while we’re at it, how about another 2Day? for people in business and art and law and medicine and media and education and moms-and yes,

we’ll go surfing as well.

My series continues to be updated on tumblr, and while we’re on a roll, a new book is coming out in the next few weeks, .

And then there’s a few more things-let’s wait on those, shall we? Stay tuned. We’re just getting started.

rob

May 14th we’re taping the first two episodes of my new television show in Los Angeles and I’d love for you to be there.

.

Hi friends,

a few things I’d love to tell you about�

April 29/30 , a 2Day event focused on becoming more compelling communicators. I’ll be teaching on everything from how to memorize an outline to figuring out how to take the ideas rattling around in your head and heart and put them into words. 

And then in June I’ll be doing a , medicine, education, law, and creative fields. A number of you have asked for basically a nonpastor 2Day so here you go!

One more thing: I’ve been doing a writing series on tumblr called What is the Bible? since November. I generally post a new writing each day, and if you want to jump in, .

±ð²ÔÂá´Ç²â.Ìý

grace and peace,

rob