My first ever blog---THE CENTER!

So today I decided on the whim to start blogging for the first time.  I've spoken to people about doing this, but I never really considered doing it until last night.  As I prepared to go to sleep, I began to considering the missions trip I just returned from and how difficult it was for me to gather my thoughts and experiences and to write them out.  I guess the thing that made blogging unappealing to me is that I often have much to say and spend time considering my life and faith, but articulating them in a way that makes them tangible seems to be a difficult task for me.  So I guess my writing tends to be like my music was, if I can't articulate it so clearly that the listener is experiencing it with me, I don't see the point of recording it.  It sort of reminds me of my favorite Switchfoot line "There's a song that's inside of my soul. It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again."  I plan to change my approach to this blogging thing.  I definitely desire to make sure my thoughts are clear and descriptive, but I won't let what's lacking rob me of my zeal to continue writing.


Now for the explanation of the title:  the center.  There's so much I could say about this title.  It's pretty simple but so full of meaning.  Anyone who knows me or has asked me for advise in the past year or so knows that there is a statement that I often make.  It goes sort of like this.  The Gospel is everything and without it, Christianity will never make sense, biblical principles become more dangerous then helpful because they simply become a means to modify behavior, and ultimately Christ becomes a means to an end rather than the glorious end of salvation.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not simply where salvation begins, IT IS EVERYTHING!  But sadly, in my observation, many who claim to be believers do not understand it, and many preachers don't either.  The evidence is seen in the preaching of a culturally/psychology driven Gospel that aims to raise self esteem, not realizing that the Gospel aims to do the exact opposite by putting Christ at the center rather than man, and take men low so that grace becomes amazing and the good news actually becomes good news to them.  I was in the same position for the first 10 years of my walk with Christ until through a painful/glorious set of circumstances sovereignly orchestrated by God, everything changed (I'll share more details in the future).


As I'm considering the Gospel, I'm thinking of a troubling realization I faced that I think many can relate to.  I remember a time when I came to a realization that I didn't understand the cross...the cross!  It's easy to simply read over that last sentence, but take a moment to linger there....  Think about it...how could I be saved for almost 10 years, listen to countless sermons supposedly aimed at drawing me closer to the Lord and not understand the cross and what was accomplished on it?  Now ask yourself if you get it.  In fact, think of some of the hymns you sing and consider the same question.  Do you get what you're singing or even mean the words you're saying?  Many of you know exactly what I mean.  It's living out your Christianity with a feeling like you are moving forward in years, but there is something foundational, significant and infinitely substantial that is lacking yet you can't quite grasp it.  You know the cross as what Christ died on and that it was where our sins were forgiven and that's about it.  The cross is just one example, but in general, there seems to be a plethora of things pertaining to our faith that we believe but we don't know why we believe them.  There is no substance or depth.  To be frank, if God is really God and his word is really true, to have a shallow, assumed understanding of these things but to have never had them carefully defined is not okay.  If he is God and his word is infallible, inspired,  and adequate objective truth for every generation, that demands a radical response from all who claim to believe.  So for me, everything in life, every decision, every relationship must overflow with meaning and that meaning must be shaped by the Gospel (and NOT simply our experiences or reflections which are not always correct).  The Gospel is the center and I desire everything to be clearly and definitively shaped by, driven from and connected to it....including this blog.  So every blog will have one thing in common just like every book of the bible has one thing in common...the center, the Gospel, the Christ.


So on that note, I pray that this blog grows, inspires, and challenges you and me to the glory of God. 


Sol Deo Gloria! (look it up ;-)