I’ve been thinking about this blog a lot lately. On the one hand, I find myself more convinced than ever of the value that different social media outlets like this possess to spark conversations…to deepen relationships…and to give potentially interested people at least a small glimpse of what this particular pastor is thinking. On the other hand, it’s sometimes discouraging to see the way that online musings (musings, I suspect, that are not always “finished products” but “works in progress”) are all-too-easily picked apart by those who seek to find fault. It makes the act of selecting material for new reflections a little intimidating. Who knows, after all, when someone’s gong to take something the wrong way? Combine this with the challenge of finding time to write in the first place…and mix in a little discouragement over the fact that so many of my posts were from so long ago…and the end result has been that I’ve venture onto this blog (or onto Facebook or Twitter) to share my life only occasionally.

So I’ve decided that I’m starting over…somewhat. After cleaning out all of my posts from the days before I arrived here in Mount Airy, North Carolina, to become the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church; I’ve resolved to attempt the discipline of posting something on at least a weekly basis. And who knows? If I can get in the habit of being more reflective about life and ministry…and more transparent in sharing the fruits of that reflection…maybe I can encourage a few more folks to share with me the things that God is saying to them.

So let the conversation begin (or start over…somewhat). What kind of reflections (if any) do you wish the pastor would share more frequently? What kind of reflections do you get tired of hearing? What creative uses of this space might help create the kind of interchange that “expands the embrace of God’s kingdom” in us and in the places that we live and work?