Archives For writing

I’ve had the pleasure to write in a few other places in 2013. If you are looking for a guest poster, drop me a line.

Recently, my writing has been featured on Explore God, an online resource for those with spiritual questions. While the website offers a variety of information, my work has focused on basic Christian ideas and comparative religion.

The Despised Ones is a new collective of writers and bloggers trying to describe what it means to follow Christ. The group was inspired by the 1 Corinthians 1:28, “He has chosen the despised ones and those who are not to bring to nothing the things that are.”

Despised

The group grew out of the discussions of Zach Hoag, Morgan Guyton (who Zach refers to as “Master Splinter”) and T.C. Moore. Guyton likens the proclamation of being despised to a shift in the life of John Wesley.

When John Wesley decided on April 2, 1739 to preach outside of the official Anglican pulpit in the streets and fields of England, he wrote in his journal: “At four in the afternoon I submitted to be more vile, and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation.” Wesley was a despised one; there have been many others.

This week kicked off the first ever Despised One’s Syncroblog. Zach suggested we all respond to Philippians 2:6-11. Check out my response and these others:

 

After a bit of an absence I’m returning to the blogging world.  In order to help push myself to more regular creative offering, you’ll also see that the page has undergone a complete overhaul.  Here’s a few of the changes you’ll notice:

  • Standard Theme
    The new site is build on 8Bit’s Standard Theme.  I chose it because it’s clean and professional, and had stellar reviews.  It wasn’t as easy to set up as everyone said, but I’m pretty happy with the look and feel.  I’m looking forward to utilizing it’s different types of posts, like quotes links.
  • Better Social Interface
    In line with my new career as a Social Media Coordinator, I’ve tried to make the page more socially friendly.  If we’re not connected on any of the social media outlets, add me today!
  • Updated Bio
    Just a few tweaks noting my new job, and some good series I’ve written and wanted to draw attention to. 
  • Resume Infographic
    When I heard about the guys over at Visualize.me, I had to give it a try.  They’ll change your LinkedIn account into an infographic.  It makes me feel super professional and hip.
  • Pictorial Navigation
    One of the strengths of standard theme is fantastic pictorial navigation. I feel like it really makes the stories pop.
  • Facebook Page
    I struggled about whether or not to make this, but the fact is, you only publish if you want people to know about it.  I hope this will help get the word out.
  • Listen Section
    I love public speaking, and hope to do it more.  Take a listen, and if you like what you hear, maybe we can do something together.

This is a beta.  I have further ideas as far as visual branding, and I hope to find a way to make this site look professional as well as fun.  There’s still work to be done.

Now, if I could just sit down and write.

 

At some point, somewhere around 1999, people realized that:

1) You could make big money on the Internet.

2) Anyone could publish on the internet.

Social media over has increased #2 trying to accomplish #1 exponentially.

The problem is that, in order to stand out among the voices, we have to convince people that we are smart and should be listened to.  For some this is easy. Seth Godin was the expert on permission marketing long before there were targeted Facebook sidebars.  Rick Warren was already the king of pithy one liners before he became the king of the retweets.

Most of don’t have the authority of Seth Godin or the communication skills of Rick Warren.  And because of the immediacy of social media publishing, we don’t think about what we are saying or edit our words.

The end result is a lot of voicing clamouring to prove to world that they are an authority on something.  Realistically, most of us aren’t authorities.  Even if we are, the chances are that we will never make a living doing this.

What if, instead of trying to sound smart on the internet, we just talked about stuff we know and stuff we like.  Twitter is the new cocktail party, and no one likes standing next to some guy trying to prove how smart he is.

If you’re going to publish online, just talk about what you love and pick your words carefully.  You may never get thousands of followers or make a lot of money, but at least you will be honest and likable.

Why I Blog

Chris —  August 5, 2011

Faith is the navigation between experience and assertation.  Experience is what your senses and your science tell you is true, like the fact that it’s 108º in Austin today or that the speed of light is 186,282 miles per second.  Assertation is the statements that we use to explain our experience, like “all men are created equal” or “the longevity of the Rolling Stones proves that they are the best rock and roll band of all time.”

Faith is the path that we take to get from today to tomorrow, responding to our senses and living out our assertations.  For a scientist, their chief assertation is that the universe has an order, and that order can be discovered.  The scientist’s faith is in the scientific method.  For the buddhist, the assertation is that this world is to be overcome, and faith is in meditation and other processes that separate one from the world.  For the Christian, the assertation is that this world is unfinished, and faith is living in a way that respects how things are but trusts in how things should be.

Jesus taught of the Kingdom that is now but not yet.  The reality is that the world is full of disease and heartbreak and earthquakes and amputees.  The reality is that God is good.  He is in charge and there is healing and wholeness and peace.

Both are true.

Now.  But not yet.

This blog meanders from theology to science fiction to relationships to politics.  But at the core it is a blog about faith. My assertion is that there is something eternal about everything.  The “present” is something recently experienced, like a date or a bike ride or my love for the 2005 revival of Doctor Who.  The eternity is the deep truth, the old magic, behind all of these things. Exploring present eternity just means having faith that there is something to all of this.

Thanks for reading, for commenting and exploring with me.