Quiet Too Long

Last fall, God began to speak to me about writing more. One specific application He spoke to me about was making this blog more active again. Aside from the occasional book review or repost of an update regarding Circle City Village there has been very little content written for this site. I can give a number of reasons why the content has been limited for a few years. Everything from a hectic pace of life with ministry responsibilities to keeping teenagers motivated for their virtual charter school and COVID-era e-learning can be seen as a reason why I haven’t had time for this. Still, the world continues to pass by at a rapid pace and the thoughts God has been stirring in me stay shut in, other than what I am able to say through the limited medium of social media. Some of these thoughts are so nuanced, they require mediums that give readers and hearers the opportunity to catch the nuances and see a bigger context of where these ideas come from.

Another motivation I have for engaging in blogging again is the three young women in our house who are entering and approaching adulthood. They are coming of age in a challenging time for those who seek to follow Jesus with their whole hearts. It is not only the challenges from the political left and the increasingly permissive moral standards of our popular culture that concern me about the world my daughters are coming of age in. There are political compromises that have been made by those on the right who overlook the un-Christ-like aspects of their party politics for the sake of holding a place at the table of political power. They see how many strain gnats while ignoring “the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith.” (Matthew 23:23-24) They need to hear the voices of those that are committed to orthodox faith who recognize that there are areas where the American form of Christianity (both conservative and liberal) has strayed from the core message of Jesus and created a “god” in their own image that looks very little like the God that was revealed to us through Jesus Christ. It is for their and their friends’ sakes that I am committed to representing Jesus as best as I can through this blog. It’s also why I need to speak more, lest they are lead to believe that the only people who challenge these shortcomings are the cynics hostile to a Christian worldview that challenge us at our weak points of compromise.

As I begin to make use of this blog more again, it is good for me to reaffirm the faith values that drive much of my thinking. It can be summarized the short, seven-point, belief list I have adopted through my association with Communitas International. Though it is written in contemporary language, it is very grounded in the creed statements of the early church. These are the core principles by which I evaluate all other teachings and beliefs.