Some things are really important to only a few people. In this case probably only one person. But to have published over 1,000 articles is exciting to me. It’s a testimony to the grace of God in continuing to help me work through ideas and thoughts. Today I want not only to highlight such grace, but to feature a new blog design and look to the future of this website. Today I am self-indulging, thanks for humoring me.
I was not a good student in high school. Adjectives that describe me might include: lazy, undisciplined, and selfish. I was not a reader, not a thinker, and most certainly not a studier. I watched a lot of television, listened to a lot of music. I wasn’t a troubled kid. No drugs or alcohol, no fighting at school, no failing grades. I just coasted through life without much concern for anything that I didn’t want to do. I was often ungrateful to my parents, and often uninterested in what my teachers had to say. Even my interest in the things of God was sporadic at best. But God put great people in my life.
God used faithful, passionate, and disciplined people to draw me closer to him throughout my life. I had some great friends in high school who would not let me go unaccountable. Many prayed for me, encouraged me, and pulled me along. I recall with fondness studying Paul’s missionary journey with two friends my junior year of high school. In college God brought a great pastor into my life who taught me how to think, how to interpret Scripture, and why I should be involved in the community of the church. It changed my life forever. It was at First Baptist Church in Athens, OH that I began to read books on philosophy, theology, and ethics. It was there that I first began to think and write about the things I was wrestling through. It was there that I learned to discipline myself for godliness. In many ways this blog is a testimony to the work that God began in my life there and has continued to do here.
My writing is largely for myself. If others benefit from it I am glad for it, but I write to synthesize and critique the things I am thinking through. I try to find holes in my thought. I try to understand it in light of God’s Word. I try to make sure that I use nuance where necessary and that communicate concisely and clearly. This has proved invaluable to me and, I believe, has made me a better theologian and pastor. If I am still at times insensitive, uncritical, and irrelevant in my communication I can only imagine how much worse it would be if I didn’t discipline myself to write daily. God continues to work on me in this area, and this blog is one of the means He uses.
As the blog continues to grow, and as does my readership, I want to work harder on producing better quality material. I’ve switched to doing more in-depth series, instead of single topic posts, because good thought takes time to develop. As I work through these long-term ideas I find time to write more condensed and simple single topic articles for various websites around the Internet. I feature those articles under the “Writings” tab. For those who are regular readers you can expect that trend to continue.
One area where I want to devote some more attention is that of interviewing others. I believe that it is important and healthy for me and for the church to hear from a myriad of voices. I have been blessed to build some great relationships with a variety of pastors and theologians across denominations and theological “camps,” and each of them has something valuable to say. I want to hear from more women theologians and benefit from their perspectives. I want to hear the testimonies of more Christians and rejoice at the grace of God in their lives. So in the coming year you can expect to see more of that.
I don’t know what all God will allow me to do with this blog. But if all my readership disappeared tomorrow, and if I never wrote another piece for any major publication I would still continue to blog. This has been a tremendous blessing to me. I am not smart enough to just process things in my own brain. I have to write to make sense of what I study and read. This blog, the 1,000 posts, are the product of that effort to understand God, myself, my church, and my world better. They are not all good posts, I recognize that. Some posts are poorly written, others are completely ridiculous. That’s the downside of having written 1,000 blogs! But I am grateful, nonetheless, for the opportunity to write like this and think critically. 1,000 posts is really just a testimony to God’ loving kindness on me.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 