Saturday, December 31, 2005

For quite some time, I've been fascinated by the world of Blogs, and have thought about creating one of my own. I don't really know what took me so long, but here I go. As a typically early adopter to new ideas, this space is long overdue.

My intentions are pretty simple. As a pastor, I've often thought that I should only teach about or speak on my polished theological ideas and constructs. However, as an outward thinker and processor, I think this self-imposed policy has often put unnecessary constraints on my own personal growth and development. So, I decided to create a blog where I can write about some of my thoughts, and hopefully engage in meaningful dialogue with others who both share some of my thoughts/opinions and also strongly disagree with what I have to say.

One of my favorite authors is Erwin McManus (definitely check out his books). He introduced the idea of friction/traction to me in his book An Unstoppable Force. Basically the idea is this: friction is the very thing that allows us to have traction. Most of us spend a great deal of our lives trying to avoid the friction of life. After all, friction many times brings with it a certain level of pain or discomfort. Unfortuntately, in doing so, we also avoid most of the prime opportunities we are afforded for traction. Just think about it: how often do you really grow as a person when everything is "just fine". That's not the way it tends to work. Friction is what allows us to have traction. Traction is in its simplest form an application of friction for positive purposes.

That's what I want this spot to be. A place where friction is embraced for the purpose of traction. Whether or not anyone reads this posting or not, it certainly will be that for me.

So, this is my disclaimer: if you want to read spiritual thoughts that are the same as you've always heard, this is not the place for you. If you want to have your complacency encouraged and supported, this is not the place for you. If you want to read opinions and thoughts that are completely processed and won't change as dialogue unfolds, this is not the place for you.

This is a place where processing supercedes teaching . . . a place where questions are as valued as answers . . . a place where authentic spiritual seeking is valued.

This is a new thing for me. I don't know how it's going to shape up or pan out. All I know is that it seems like a natural next step for me in my journey of life. Feel free to come along for the adventure. Tell me what you think. Share with me your opinion. Let's process life together.