About
Hi, I’m Roland, and my full name is Roland Kuhl.
In expressing who I am, I would say I am a person who tries to live in the way of Jesus in the world, to be human in the way Jesus lived out his humanity in relationship to God and others. I am finding that the term, “Christian” in our present culture no longer really describes me, rather I identify myself as a disciple of Jesus.
I am a husband, father, friend, a community pastor – a pastor not within the walls of a church, but as one who hangs out with people in the neighborhood. My “office” is wherever I can walk alongside with people who are seeking to be open to God so that I might help them in some way see how God is active in their lives.
A little more about me –
Since 1995 I have been on a journey exploring how the Spirit of God is present and active in the world forming how we are to be human with one another. This journey has led me deeper into the life of Jesus – who came to not only reveal God, but in hanging out with us in the everyday places of our lives, to show how we are to be human and humane with one another. This journey has also taken me, finally, to venture outside the privileges of Christendom – stepping out from behind the walls of church and to be in the neighborhood. Here I seek to connect with people that God’s Spirit connects me in serendipitous ways so that we might explore journeying together – growing more fully into what it means to be human in the way of Jesus Christ.
I find myself identifying with an Anabaptist theology. As an Anabaptist follower of Christ, I opt to be radically attached to Jesus Christ and to be stubbornly loyal to his community, wherever they are – many of them are not within the walls of church, many are done with church. In following Jesus, I choose to side with the poor and the marginalized, as he did, in seeking to bring about justice and reconciliation in the world. In seeking to live in the way of Jesus, I choose to renounce violence in resolving human conflict, and in fact seek to get in the way of violence in order to be an instrument of peace.
Because of my hanging out with people who are done with church, but not God, I am also exploring how to do theology non-religiously (meaning, without all the religious language), because if the way of God is real, we ought to be able to talk about who we are, who God is, and what it means to be in a partnership with God in real, non-religious language. In conversing with a number of 20-somethings, they’ve said, “Good luck with that,” yet, we’ve had some deep theological discussions devoid of religious language.
I follow Christ together with other followers of Christ and together we seek to be a sign of what God is doing in the world. As a group of people we try to discern together what it means to participate with God in God’s mission of bringing peace into the world. We realize we are called not to be engaged in our own agendas, but called to join God in what God is doing in our neighborhood.
This journey has been influenced by numerous mentors – some in person, others through their writings: Lesslie Newbigin, Ray S. Anderson, Eugene Peterson, Robert Webber, George Hunsberger, Alan Roxburgh, Stanley Hauerwas, Stanely Grenz, as well as other theologians struggling with the same kind of things that I am.
Currently, I am in my fourth phase of life – some may call this being semi-retired, but I have got another third of my life ahead of me. I am no longer eager to live by the agenda of others, but seek to be open to the adventures that the Spirit of God leads me in. Every day opens up what my daughter as coined, “Spirit-incidences” – the connections with others that the Spirit brings about.
I invite others to join me on this journey of developing ears and eyes to hear and see what God is saying and doing in the world through the way of Jesus, so that we may join what God is up to in our neighborhood as we help each other thrive as human beings created to be fully embraced by God’s presence.
The best way to connect with me is through email. My email address is: rgkuhl@gmail.com
Please email me if you need phone contact or address information.