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I’ve been encouraged lately by a group of people to resume the discipline of blogging on this page given that I have been silent here for about 7 months. I must first say I am grateful for their words of encouragement and the ways in which they have helped me regain the confidence to once again put my thoughts on paper for all to see. This came in various forms ranging from friends and family members telling me they liked my blog, to a professor who challenged me in front of an entire class to start writing once again! Most often it came in the form of a simple question, “Do you still blog?” My response usually entailed some sort of excuse about not having enough time to write given the class load I am taking and the amount of writing that I already do. Thankfully, these “simple inquiries” remained with me up until this point when I felt like my excuses had become just that: excuses.
I understand that calling blogging a discipline might sound rather odd to many of you. I mean, lets be honest: everyone has a blog these days (including William Shattner), so for me to break from my so-called busy schedule is not that big of a deal. And yes, you indeed have a point here. However, I have realized that putting my thoughts down on paper as I process and contemplate the various things that are happening in my life truly is a discipline because of how it is forming me – and that in and of itself is something I cannot resist.
You see, discipline has taken on a new meaning for me in this last year. As a theological student (who is very near to graduation!), I’ve become more and more aware that my studies do not suffice for my formation as a child of God. Sure, I am a diligent student of theology and that is part of my act of worship, but this is inadequate if I am not also disciplining myself spiritually both as a member of a community of believers and as an individual. What I am saying is I’ve become really good at activities of horizontal bandwidth acquisition – reading my Bible more diligently, or (as I am more often guilty of) reading about the Bible. But these activities in and of their selves do not make me more faithful or more Christ-like, and that is obviously problematic for a student of theology who is preparing for ministry. As Benjamin Warfield said nearly 100 years ago in addressing the students of Princeton Theological Seminary, “In your case there can be no ‘either—or’ here—either a student or a [child] of God. You must be both.”
Thus, I’ve begun to engage more intentionally in my vertical development through spiritual disciplines. A friend of mine, Ron Martoia, says disciplines (or transformative practices) are designed to foster “long lasting shifts in the way you experience and relate to yourself, others, and the rest of the world.” For me, this has included things like praying the daily office in the morning, reading scripture with the staff at our church through lectio divina, sitting in silence for 30 minutes on a weekly basis (centering prayer), and walking my dog every night before I go to bed. Yes, some of these may sound rather strange and perhaps inconsequential to being Christian, but through intention, attention, and repetition they are making me more aware of the moment and thus more present to how God might be at work and calling for my participation. Isn’t that what being a Christian is all about?
And so today I continue the discipline of blogging, hoping that it will foster into something that I love, and more importantly, something that continues to make me more aware of how God might be calling me to participate in God’s grand mission. I hope you all will continue to read and enjoy, and encourage me along the way.
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