Where have I been? Well, I’m back after a long time of letting this site rot away, unloved… forgotten. Obviously, though I have decided to pick it up again, invest in it, and use it as an outlet to share with the world what matters to me (well to whoever reads it). I expect most of these to be raw, not make a lot of sense, and to be largely unedited (at least by anyone but myself). So good luck with that. To those who are interested, the last year or so have been some of the most formative of my life so far. My theology has evolved, my relationships have changed, and my spirituality has, and is being shaped in ways I never really expected (I expect that this process will go on for some time yet). I’ve been a best man at two different weddings, a groomsman at a third. I’ve had dreams come and dreams go. Allanah and I have joined a new church (we’ve been there for about a year now), we work new jobs with new people and we’re experiencing city life at its best. All in all, life has changed… and I think change is a good thing… it is scary but I think it just means God is working in me for my good even though it’s hard at times to see the forest through the trees.
The biggest challenge for me at the moment is the desire to practice real spirituality. I think my love for theology has at times become an idol… a sort of blockage to actually walking with Jesus. I’d never pit the two against one another as it’s one’s theology that informs how they walk with Jesus. But there are times when the accumulation of knowledge has taken the main stage over legitimate intimacy with God. So think I’m going to cut down on the big and lofty books and stick to the Bible, and just one or two books or podcasts that are immediately relevant to my walk right now.
What am I listening to? At the moment I’m binging The Bible Project’s podcast and I’m loving every minute of it. What’s particularly impacting me is their eschatology and how that affects living out your faith in the here and now. I’ll probably end up writing about it so I won’t get into much but I will say this. If you believe as I do that there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth and Jesus will be king ruling over that newness with us as His people (as He already is in a sense), where there will be no sickness, death, sadness, but pure love, joy and splendour, how do we live in light of that reality? That’s a big question with big answers, and big implications… something we’ll explore in future posts I think.
What have I read recently? Recently I’ve read Rob Bell’s new book “What is the Bible?” I’ll be posting a review on that I’ve already written after this post. I’m also slowly making my way through N. T. Wright’s new book “Paul: A Biography.” One thing that keeps standing out to me time and time again is how important context is when reading Scripture (I’ll probably end up writing about this concept). Wright really makes this clear. Oh, I’ll probably write a review on this book as well. Finally, a book I keep going back to is Donald Miller’s “Scary Close.” Miller is one of my favourite all-time authours. His stuff on relationships, being genuine and his journey in Christian spirituality speaks to me in ways no theology book ever has. I’d love to write a review on this book as well.
Finally, I just want to say how excited I am to start journeying with anyone who wants to on this site. I’m really keen for dialogue and discussion, ideas and stories. Feel free to reach out to me and engage with anything you read or hear that might spark inspiration for you. See you guys in the next one.
Scribbling Theology: 