Why you should stop reading my blog

First rule in blogging: always remember that I’m just not that big of a deal.

This isn’t about any specific commen in particular, but every once in a while, I get responses to post on my blog (or the summarily uploaded facebook note) which remind me that I need to step back and clarify a few things. I get a lot of shots taken at me because of stuff I’ll write- some on blog or Facebook comments, some in person, and some (generally the most vitriolic) in private email.  I get the feeling some people would really love to give me a swift punch to the throat.  And that’s ok to some extent- people have every right to disagree with me.  I’m thankful that much more often than not, people show grace or thank me for provoking a thought that enriched their faith or understanding of the world, but that’s not always the case.  If my writing discourages or angers anyone, I’d simply encourage them to not read.  That last sentence warrants re-reading.  I pretty much write about whatever is stewing on my mind at that time, and I don’t even agree with everything I throw out for thought here.

A few months back, I even felt it was best to delete my whole blog and start over, all over unnecessary drama it had caused me.  And I understand how that happens; it’s human nature to jump to conclusions and label people along “in group and out group” labels.  Everyone does that at some point or another.  In the same way, it seems Web 2.0 nature to say things much more harshly over text than we would ever say face to face.  A lot of people are guilty of that.  I find myself guilty of that.

Epic fail.  Again, I point you to the first rule of blogging: my opinion is really just not that big of a deal.

So with that, I’ll point you back to the very first post I uploaded after my blogging hiatus.  I would prefer to never lose contact with someone over something I write, but such seems to be the nature of baring your soul.  Speaking with any conviction at all is unfortunately a guaranteed ticket to eliciting an angry response sooner or later.  Personally, I’d rather impale my foot with a rusty nail than loose a friend because they get mad at some position I may believe in, but then again, I’m not really in control of that.

If anyone reading this regularly gets angry at something I say, for your own sake, please stop reading.  I know one guy (whom I have respect for) who even felt it was best to “de-friend” me so that he wasn’t tempted to read me and become angry.  And while you can debate whether or not such a thing is a good call in the end, if it’s what you have to do to not become angry, then I support that.

So everyone, bottom line is that my blog is just not that big of a deal, nor do I think I’m a big deal.  I don’t expect to ever have more than a few thousand readers per month (a mere fraction of what a great blog may get in a day).  I’m not aware of anything I’ve ever said that’s outside the realm of Christian orthodoxy, and so often I think that what we label as heretical is actually just something we haven’t really heard or learned about before.  Politically, I’m fairly moderate really, and I don’t know what else to say about that.  But for the love of God, either have face to face conversations with people who are different than you, or stop reading/talking to them if it makes you angry.

One last note: I swear I don’t write negative things about the people I’m in contact with here.  In fact, I (generally) try to stay away from attacking people most of the time.  It doesn’t always work when talking about someone putting themselves out there in the mass media, but I certainly don’t take shots at people I know here.  Mulling decisions, philosophies, or theologies are quite different that making angry accusations about people.  If I’m writing about you, you can rest assured it is about a thought provoking conversation.  If you are getting the vibe that I’m passive-aggressively taking a shot at you, please understand you have just flat-out misinterpreted.

So, my opinion or writing or whatnot… it’s just not that big of a deal.  Really, it isn’t.  Don’t get angry at people online- save that an actual conversation if you have to.

And let’s lighten up, people!  Can’t we all just get along?

Welcome back

Hello All,

I’ve really missed offering my musings here. So I’m back.

Blogging is an odd thing, you know. It’s stereotypically comprised of a lot of criticism, and offers the writer the opportunity to instant worldwide publishing that he may soon regret. I haven’t really ever regretted anything I’ve ever posted in and of itself, but ramifications can be many, good and bad. I’ve only ever written anything with the best of intentions, but I know that I too can often write things that are misunderstood for the worse. Many of you know the circumstances of mine that have changed over the past few months, and I have shared personally with some of you why I felt compelled to stop blogging. In short, I was feeling hurt, and sincerely did not want my prone-to-fight nature to volley a passive-aggressive speil online that I may regret later. But since then, I’ve learned a lot. Here are a few things I’ve learned:

1) I say a lot of things that are misunderstood. Deconstruction and constructive critique are good things, necessary things in every area of life. But criticism is negative and not so helpful. The problem is that deconstruction and critique often look just like criticism. So while you’ve got my word that I’ll always speak as constructively and honestly as possible, I also know that…

2) My language will always be misunderstood …especially misunderstood the more different I am from the reader. I just don’t think you can speak your perspective without offending. I’m passionate about the way of the Christ, but I see myself as post-Protestant, post-Evangelical, post-Conservative. Not better, just “post.” So just as a Roman Catholic would disagree with many of my claims, so will the Protestant church misunderstand the Church in emergence. I’m also not trying to box myself into a label, but there is a certain linguistic usefulness to saying such.

3) You will see my honest opinion and feelings about the things I see. I think constructive provocation is a lost art; not simple, reductionistic provocation, but provocation to think beyond your paradigm, above of left or right, beyond “yes” or “no” answers. I also think mankind at large, and religion in particular, would do well to dump our obsession with ingrouping and outgrouping, counting the saved and damned as so many items on a spreadsheet. My schtik is writing about faith in the Great Emergence, not because its some fad, but because it’s the only faith I know anymore. It is my faith, my perspective, but we are shaped in our respective niches and informed by our subcultures. As such, most of what I write is tuned into the epistemology, theology, philosophy, and implicated politics of the greater Emergence in culture, politics, and religions. I don’t want to get into a faulty pattern of saying “Most people think X, but Y is what the Bible actually says.” What I share is a feeling, an opinion, a perspective. To say my beliefs are unquestionable fact is to commit merely a different form of fundamentalism. I’ll speak with conviction, but please rebut me when I am too sure of things I cannot know. I want dialogue.

Very important note that many commenters don’t seem to get>> I actually don’t agree with a decent amount of the material I link to, and I post many thoughts-in-progress that I will soon move beyond. So when you see me write something you disagree with, there’s a good chance we may agree more than you know. Then again, maybe we don’t. Then yet again, what does it matter?

So let’s not take ourselves too seriously. Comment frequently. Be in dialogue. If something provokes you in a good way, discuss it with somebody. If it is not helpful, let the chaff blow away. But I’m glad to be back writing.

And by the way, I’ve had some pretty provocative ruminations since I last blogged. So stay tuned.