Or, Blog On

When I began this blog on January 26, 2005, I had no fully-developed idea why.  I thought it would be a place to put my bulletin articles, a few insights on life and scripture, family stories, and entertainment recommendations.

I figured a few people from church would read it, along with some family and friends.

One vow that I made early on was that I would not be political or controversial.  This would be a neutral site on all of those matters.

By June, I couldn’t take it anymore:  I blogged about Darfur and the risk that we face of repeating the Rwanda catastrophe.  Afterwards, I began to write out more of my feelings on poverty and being Christ-like.  Comments began to trickle in.

Then I wrote about my opposition to the Iraq war.  Crickets began to chirp.  No comments.  Not a one.  But people began to read.
The direction of my blog had changed.  I began to blog more and more about my struggles with the issues of the day.

The benefit of this was that I began to think more about where I stood.  By journaling my journey I began to force myself to reflect more, to go deeper in my understanding.

This blog became the avenue through which I processed God’s leading me.  It is where I grappled with God’s answering of my prayer to love more.

For example, when I began this series two weeks ago, I envisioned a 2 or 3 part summary of how I got here.  But sitting down and writing it out, I realized the story was bigger than that.  Even now, I could add 10 more chapters. I’m even considering drafting a book proposal from this.
Therefore, this blog is the final piece that got me to where I am today.  I imagine it will be an integral part of where I am going.  It has disciplined me to write and to reflect more than I would typically do.

Where do I stand right now?

  • Completely alienated from my Republican past.
  • Completely unwilling to embrace a Democratic “solution”
  • No longer will politics determine my faith.  Faith will determine my politics.
  • No longer will I be guided by one or two “issues.”
  • At the core, I will be directed by two “laws:”  How I love Him, and how I love His.
  • Knowing that I must not ultimately seek political solutions but that I must be the in-breaking of the Kingdom of the world I inhabit.
  • My nation is that Kingdom.  It knows no borders or secular entity.  It is neither slave nor free, male nor female, American nor Iraqi.
  • I must be a voice for the voiceless, hope for the hopeless and a reminder to seek the forgotten.
  • I must be a “red-letter” Christian.  No longer will I be content to embrace “Jesus Excepted”
  • I love Jesus Christ more now than I ever have, although I understand Him a whole lot less.

This series ends now.  Replacing it will be a semi-regular series entitled “Where I Am At Right Now.”  It will be a look at where I stand on current issues that stand before us.

The title acknowledges both the journey and the struggle. It understands that, although the journey to this point is finished, the journey to where God is calling me is just beginning.

I look forward to the next chapters. I hope you will continue to walk with me.