Christopher Brown
@brwnchrstpher.bsky.social
Coach and Spiritual Director at https://www.icf-coaching.org/stillmountain/
Pastor at firstpresberthoud.org
Writer at https://stillmountain.substack.com/
Pastor at firstpresberthoud.org
Writer at https://stillmountain.substack.com/
Today I completed a draft of a writing project that I've been working on for over a year. Now it's time to edit and revise. What advice and tips about revision do the writers out there have?
#writing #amwriting #revision
#writing #amwriting #revision
October 30, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Today I completed a draft of a writing project that I've been working on for over a year. Now it's time to edit and revise. What advice and tips about revision do the writers out there have?
#writing #amwriting #revision
#writing #amwriting #revision
Are you clear on your true purpose, or do distractions keep pulling you away? I reflected on this with help from a hawk and Thomas Merton in my latest essay on inner simplicity:
open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
The Hawk Knows His Business
Lessons in Inner Simplicity
open.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Are you clear on your true purpose, or do distractions keep pulling you away? I reflected on this with help from a hawk and Thomas Merton in my latest essay on inner simplicity:
open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
I bet I am the only parent at this swim meet who's reading Julian of Norwich between events.
September 2, 2025 at 11:48 PM
I bet I am the only parent at this swim meet who's reading Julian of Norwich between events.
A month ago, I ran a 55k trail race in Western Colorado. Today, I wrote about that experience and how it illustrates the power the people around us have to shape our lives: open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
Who Sets Your Pace?
How Those Around You Shape Your Life
open.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 10:16 PM
A month ago, I ran a 55k trail race in Western Colorado. Today, I wrote about that experience and how it illustrates the power the people around us have to shape our lives: open.substack.com/pub/stillmou...
This feels satisfying: My ACC credential from @icfheadquarters.bsky.social was just renewed. 🙂
August 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
This feels satisfying: My ACC credential from @icfheadquarters.bsky.social was just renewed. 🙂
Would you rather have a happy, meaningful, or "psychologically rich" life? I think the three pursuits can overlap, but seeking to be psychologically rich seems to add depth to the search for happiness and playfulness to the search for meaning. www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
August 26, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Would you rather have a happy, meaningful, or "psychologically rich" life? I think the three pursuits can overlap, but seeking to be psychologically rich seems to add depth to the search for happiness and playfulness to the search for meaning. www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
I had a dozen things on my to-do list today. Only a few got done. But what happened was better: I got to sit with several different individuals and hear sacred stories from their lives. I will take listening to faith journeys over crossing off to-do lists any day.
June 9, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I had a dozen things on my to-do list today. Only a few got done. But what happened was better: I got to sit with several different individuals and hear sacred stories from their lives. I will take listening to faith journeys over crossing off to-do lists any day.
I was asked today to write to a group of church leaders about the value of #coaching for leaders of new worshiping communities and church plants. Here's what I shared:
May 22, 2025 at 8:44 PM
I was asked today to write to a group of church leaders about the value of #coaching for leaders of new worshiping communities and church plants. Here's what I shared:
Made significant progress on my sabbatical writing project today. It feels good to get unstuck. #amwriting
Here are three things that helped me regain my momentum:
Here are three things that helped me regain my momentum:
May 17, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Made significant progress on my sabbatical writing project today. It feels good to get unstuck. #amwriting
Here are three things that helped me regain my momentum:
Here are three things that helped me regain my momentum:
In my latest Substack post, I share how systems of accountability—from a program at my seminary, to a local writing group, to registering for a 55k trail race—are enabling real growth in my life. If you’re seeking progress, don’t go it alone. Read more at the link below:
May 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
In my latest Substack post, I share how systems of accountability—from a program at my seminary, to a local writing group, to registering for a 55k trail race—are enabling real growth in my life. If you’re seeking progress, don’t go it alone. Read more at the link below:
Last week I travelled to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to join the inaugural cohort of their Preaching in a Post-Christian Age Initiative. Here’s what I learned about the challenges and opportunities facing the church today:
May 6, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Last week I travelled to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to join the inaugural cohort of their Preaching in a Post-Christian Age Initiative. Here’s what I learned about the challenges and opportunities facing the church today:
I spent Earth Day working with a group of faith leaders to discern the future of a camp with amazing potential in the Rocky Mountains. Their work is a beautiful example of how hope in the resurrection can overflow into action to protect the environment. . . .
April 23, 2025 at 2:29 AM
I spent Earth Day working with a group of faith leaders to discern the future of a camp with amazing potential in the Rocky Mountains. Their work is a beautiful example of how hope in the resurrection can overflow into action to protect the environment. . . .
A chance encounter with a charred log inspired a poem in me while I was on the High Sierra Trail last summer. I'm sharing it today because it's fitting for Ash Wednesday. As we remember that "Dust we are and to dust we shall return," may we also pray for God to breathe new life into us.
Imposition - A Poem for Ash Wednesday
“The fields, in the sun, in the mud, in the clay, in the wind: these are our spiritual directors.” - Thomas Merton -
open.substack.com
March 5, 2025 at 12:55 PM
A chance encounter with a charred log inspired a poem in me while I was on the High Sierra Trail last summer. I'm sharing it today because it's fitting for Ash Wednesday. As we remember that "Dust we are and to dust we shall return," may we also pray for God to breathe new life into us.
I'll be quoting this in my sermon on Sunday.
If I were the pastor of a congregation, this would be my challenge to them for Lent: Track the number of minutes you spend consuming news media, and spend an equal or greater number of minutes reading the gospels. I really believe the world would be different if folks did that.
March 4, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I'll be quoting this in my sermon on Sunday.
Grateful to participate in the ordination service for the Rev. Jordan Shive at First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Collins this afternoon.
February 15, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Grateful to participate in the ordination service for the Rev. Jordan Shive at First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Collins this afternoon.
"Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them." - Thomas Merton
February 7, 2025 at 8:48 PM
"Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them." - Thomas Merton
How nature writer Barry Lopez defined prayer: "a continuous, respectful attendance to the presence of the divine." (Embrace Fearlessly This Burning World, p. 216)
February 7, 2025 at 6:41 PM
How nature writer Barry Lopez defined prayer: "a continuous, respectful attendance to the presence of the divine." (Embrace Fearlessly This Burning World, p. 216)
Today is a Day of Giving for Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and I'm giving to support the Center for Adaptive and Innovative Ministry. I've had the joy of coaching several AIM students over the years and I am amazed and inspired by their creativity and passion. (1/2)
February 5, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Today is a Day of Giving for Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and I'm giving to support the Center for Adaptive and Innovative Ministry. I've had the joy of coaching several AIM students over the years and I am amazed and inspired by their creativity and passion. (1/2)
I did some writing today about how the world's oldest bristlecone pine tree, Thomas Merton, and bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle all teach us to bravely be the unique individuals God created us to be. Link below.
February 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I did some writing today about how the world's oldest bristlecone pine tree, Thomas Merton, and bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle all teach us to bravely be the unique individuals God created us to be. Link below.
These are wise words. I share the sadness because I was formed for ministry through the Company of New Pastors program that the Office of Theology and Worship supported.
Grief and gratitude: Celebrating the work of the Office of Theology and Worship
The closure of the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship marks the end of an era. Charles Aden Wiley, III and Martha Moore-Keish mark the office's 40-year legacy.
@pcusa.bsky.social @charlesawiley.bsky.social
The closure of the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship marks the end of an era. Charles Aden Wiley, III and Martha Moore-Keish mark the office's 40-year legacy.
@pcusa.bsky.social @charlesawiley.bsky.social
Celebrating the work of the Office of Theology and Worship - The Presbyterian Outlook
The closure of the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship marks the end of an era. Mark the office's 40-year legacy.
buff.ly
February 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM
These are wise words. I share the sadness because I was formed for ministry through the Company of New Pastors program that the Office of Theology and Worship supported.
Three years ago, I moved from full-time to part-time pastoral ministry and launched my own practice as a coach and spiritual director for other Christian leaders. Today I started a new round of mentor coaching and training to renew my ACC credential from the International Coaching Federation.
January 29, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Three years ago, I moved from full-time to part-time pastoral ministry and launched my own practice as a coach and spiritual director for other Christian leaders. Today I started a new round of mentor coaching and training to renew my ACC credential from the International Coaching Federation.
#PCUSA friends: Is anyone tracking which amendments to the Book of Order are being approved by Presbyteries? The Presbytery of Plains and Peaks (where I am) votes this weekend.
January 28, 2025 at 7:30 PM
#PCUSA friends: Is anyone tracking which amendments to the Book of Order are being approved by Presbyteries? The Presbytery of Plains and Peaks (where I am) votes this weekend.
Need some peace for your soul? Listen to my friend John talk about mountaineer monks and dendrites:
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Climbing Upper Wolfjaw Mountain | John and Alyssa Creasy
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January 22, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Need some peace for your soul? Listen to my friend John talk about mountaineer monks and dendrites:
As both a coach and spiritual director, I appreciate that this article tries to explain the distinction between the two disciplines. But the "coaching" described here sounds more like consulting. My ICF training was much less business-oriented and definitely not about dispensing advice. (1/2)
Finding the right support in ministry: Coaching vs. spiritual direction
Should pastors seek a coach or a spiritual director? Spiritual Director/Clergy Coach Kerra Becker English offers her thoughts.
Should pastors seek a coach or a spiritual director? Spiritual Director/Clergy Coach Kerra Becker English offers her thoughts.
Finding the right support in ministry: Coaching vs. spiritual direction - The Presbyterian Outlook
Should pastors seek a coach or a spiritual director? Spiritual Director/Clergy Coach Kerra Becker English offers her thoughts.
buff.ly
January 17, 2025 at 10:49 PM
As both a coach and spiritual director, I appreciate that this article tries to explain the distinction between the two disciplines. But the "coaching" described here sounds more like consulting. My ICF training was much less business-oriented and definitely not about dispensing advice. (1/2)
A new year brings new opportunities. What will you attempt in 2025?
December 31, 2024 at 11:50 PM
A new year brings new opportunities. What will you attempt in 2025?