As I sit at my keyboard on this fine, clear and cold day, I have what seems to be a million ideas for blog posts running through my head.
"I could write about thinking theologically about.."
"I should challenge us to consider..."
"I might share..."
I want to get it right, set the right tone for this space of ongoing reflection on the church website, and I want it to be impressive/exciting/mind-blowing enough that it will keep you coming back every week for fresh content.
But there's a question that first must be asked...a question that must be answered before any amazing or mind blowing posts can ever be even conceived.
Why?
It's an important question, I think, for any person or organization to be asking about all of the things that they do. Why do we do the things that we do? What do they mean to us?
It is a question that, if it goes unasked or unanswered, can undermine any venture or program or idea...because it is always out there, lingering, haunting, nagging us to dig deeper into what it is that we are doing and plaguing us with doubt about our purpose.
But it is a question that, if asked and answered, helps us to understand and know our purpose and our reason, to fire up passions and energies, and to give us the encouragement to keep on.
It's a question that we have to be continually asking and answering about everything that we do in the life of the church (universal), an organization that, like many others, has forgotten the "Why?" and has all too often reduced the work of the church to a list of tasks and duties to be checked off of a list...things to do in order to get them done.
When that happens, we get stuck in a rut, doing things only simply because they are what we think we should be doing, either because we've always done them or because someone has told us that it's a good idea or what we should be doing.
In asking the "Why?", we get to the heart of it all, and find meaning and reason and purpose to the things that we do (and when we don't, it is easier to set them aside).
In that spirit, it is important to ask: Why have a Pastor's Blog?
The answer is because I think that it is important to have space for reflection and thought and conversation about the things that are on our hearts and our minds. It is vital to carve out space for that reflection and conversation in a way that is comfortable and accessible to a variety of people when they are available to engage...
Especially as we continue to live in an ever expanding digital age, this seems like a good avenue to engage in those conversations.
And so, here we are...in a place where I will surely offer greatly profound and insightful thoughts (said with a heavy dose of self-deprecation), as I offer up weekly reflections and thoughts about whatever I'm thinking about, whether that's what I'm reading or watching, or what's going on in the world, in our society, or our culture.
It's likely to be a joyfully eclectic space.
So I invite you to pull up to the internet, grab a cup of coffee, and join me in conversation.
**Thoughts published here are mine and mine alone, and may or may not represent the thoughts or opinions of Southern Heights Presbyterian Church, Homestead Presbytery, Synod of Lakes and Prairies, or the Presbyterian Church (USA)**
**Comments will be moderated for civility. Remember to discuss ideas, and not people...and never type anything here that you wouldn't say to your grandmother**