Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, all in one blog post

When I started blogging in December of 2002 on another site, it was a means of finding for myself a sense of community at a time when I mistakenly felt I had none. Eventually I found myself in trouble at least partially concerning that blog. After a break from blogging, I decided that it wasn't blogging itself that was the problem, but rather that I was not really using a blog as purposefully as I could. That's when I started this blog. The purpose was two-fold. First, I wanted to spend my time in exile productively, writing theologically--keeping my hand in, so to speak. Second, I wanted to keep writing. Period. I enjoy writing, and writing begets writing. Though my first blog was instrumental in my vocational troubles, it helped me to strengthen the flow of my creative juices, which before that point had slowed unacceptably. I did not want that flow to abate. My new hobby of writing hymns--good or not, I'll let others decide--is a direct product of my work on this blog.

I did not start writing on this blog for community or for recognition. Nonetheless, two things have come to pass in the past few weeks that have shown me both. First, on August 6 I was chosen by Todd Wilken of Issues Etc. as "Blog of the Week". (Right click that second link and save the file to listen to the segment.) This is the second time I've been selected, the first being two years ago. Of course, the pick this time was sort of a fluke. Nonetheless, the two times I've been selected as Blog of the Week, the selection has brought with it the other unintended product: community. More people read my blog after each selection than had read it before. Suddenly my blog has today passed the 10,000 viewer mark. That's not much compared to Pastor Weedon's blog, and I wouldn't expect it to be. Pastor Weedon is well-known, beloved, and a frequent guest on Issues Etc. I am only one of the three. Nonetheless, I am honored that so many people have come to see what's going on in my corner of Christ's world. (By the way, Pastor Weedon's blog is well worth the read. Click that link and follow the joy.)

If you're responsible for any of the 10,000 ticks on the site counter of this blog, thank you for stopping by. I hope you'll introduce yourself and comment on what you find here. Though I wasn't seeking community in this blog, I'm glad I've found it. May God bless you richly, no matter what you've come here to find.

An Exile No More?

Since I received the Call to serve as pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Campbell Hill, Illinois, the one question that I have received most frequently is this: "Are you going to change the name of your blog?"

Louisiana is not Patmos--and I am certainly not St. John. It is neither Assyria nor Babylon--though I imagine Pat Robertson and the "God Hates Fags" people might be inclined to disagree regarding the latter. It is not even Elba--and I don't like pointy hats, anyway. Yet for the past four years and more, Louisiana has been the place of my exile from parish ministry.

What is exile? How does one become exiled? The Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the noun "exile" as "the state or a period of forced absence from one's country or home". In my case, rather selfishly, I gave the blog its name because of my departure from parish ministry. I've told the story before. I don't need to do so again.

Now my time outside of parish ministry is coming to an end. Do I change the name or not? Since I received the Call, that question has crossed my mind from time to time--usually when someone asks me, but sometimes on its own when I have a free moment in my head that isn't echoing the refrain, "I'm returning to parish ministry! I'm returning to parish ministry!" My first instinct is to keep it the way it is, and there's a number of reasons for it.

First, heaven is my home. I am in the world but not of it. Until the Lord calls me home, I am an alien and stranger, as Peter says in chapter 2 of his first epistle. Second, as a matter of practicality, this is how the blog started, and changing the name and how it appears in blogrolls is just a big pain in the behind. Besides, the subtitle of the blog reads, "A Confessional Lutheran blog begun from the place of my exile".

But third--and most important--in the Bible, usually God's children were sent into exile because of their sinfulness. Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden because of their disobedience to the Word. Cain was exiled for the murder of his brother, Abel. Judah and Israel were exiled to Babylon and Assyria because they had fallen away from the Word of God and into apostasy. In my case, no matter what the motives of others might have been, I sinned in writing negatively about certain aspects of my congregation in my original blog. Whether or not it was the reason I was asked to resign, it was the reason I was given. And whether or not it was the reason I was asked to resign, my sinfulness in posting what I did gave me enough reason to acquiesce to the demand. Keeping this name has served and will continue to serve as a reminder that I must continue to love, thank God for, and speak well of the flock entrusted to my care, no matter the circumstances. God help me to do so.

What do you think? Keep it? Change it? If so, to what?

An Unexpected Honor

I was informed on Friday that this blog, and specifically the "Fatherhood" post, was chosen by Issues, Etc., as one of its Blogs of the Week! Jeff even read the post on the air!

Issues, Etc. is a radio program that used to be on the LCMS radio station until the program became too Lutheran for our current leadership. Now they are an independent radio program, and they're no longer censored by those who don't want them to speak the truth. If you're at all interested in learning what it is to be truly Lutheran--and thus, truly Christian--listen to these guys. The above link at "Issues, Etc." takes you to their "On Demand" page, and you can also subscribe to their podcasts on iTunes. Take the time to listen. It's worth it!