First Things First

Greetings and Salutations! As the name of this blog suggests (and my “about me” over on the home page states), my name is Nick and I’m an elder (or pastor) of a church in West, TN. As indicated by the title of this post, I wanted to get all of the “first things” out of the way early. Things such as: who I am, why I started this blog, and what any reader of this blog might expect to find here. Because the “about me” section gives you enough info to go on at this point, let’s jump right into the purpose of this blog.

Purpose

Alright, so, what’s the point here? Why are we here? (This is honestly not and existential question, unless of course the blog is becoming sentient). If anyone knows me personally, you might know this is not the first blog that I have attempted, even since becoming a pastor. My issue is that I apparently can never keep up with a blog, which I have mentioned on other blogs. Therefore, why oh why start another blog?

Well, first and foremost, I am moving on to a new church. My previous attempts at blogging while as a pastor include the previous church’s website blog feature (which went somewhat okay during the COVID19 lockdown) and a book blog (which I may or may not resurrect, but that would defeat one of the purposes of this new blog). On both of these, I have failed to post more than a few times without eventually forgetting to do it. There are many excuses with zero solutions, so let’s simply agree to press forward.

Second, because I am moving to a new church, I wanted a way for my thoughts, theology, book reviews, and even my own writings to be accessible for my fellow church members and possible new comers or curious inquisitors. A brother elder (and dear friend) also has a blog that accomplishes a similar goal. Something that is unique to my new church (at least unique from my own personal experience), is that it is full of folks who enjoy writing, thinking on church history/theology/etc., and who enjoy discussing church history/theology/etc. Therefore, I wanted a way to contribute outside of my own regular duties as the preaching elder. Which leads our current discussion to…

Expectations

Right, so, what can one expect to find here? How often can one expect to find it? These are great questions that deserve to be answered and then those answers deserve to be met… and therein lies the issue.

My previous attempts at blogging (as I noted above) fail only because I either forget to post or I do not feel as though I have anything to contribute on a regular basis. Frankly, this needs to stop. Like many folks in our age, I feel as though I have become too distracted by my smartphone/streaming services/and social media. I’m not okay with this. I personally do not want to go through life as a media zombie. I enjoy great movies and shows. I enjoy taking photos and sharing them. But I want to contribute in more substantive way than a duck faced selfie while standing on a beach or mountainside overlook.

If there are any readers of this blog, I would hope and pray that you will find at least a regular weekly post. Frankly, in past attempts, I have gotten over zealous at times and posted a couple of times a week. But, for the time being, I should simply schedule writing time once a week, contribute here, and post. The best way to keep me accountable to this is for folks not only to subscribe, but to comment and hold me accountable to post. So, if I don’t keep up this blog, it’s basically all your fault. Shame! Shame upon you to the third and fourth generation!

As I mentioned in the purpose section above, my hope is to make posts regarding church history, theology, sermon topics, book reviews, personal thoughts, and even share some of my own writings (such as papers and the like). One would imagine that, with a list such as this, posting would not be an issue. I hope that this blog will be fun as well as a benefit to my new church community. I hope it causes us to grow closer, not only as elder/church member, but as friends and fellow Christians. I hope that we can have healthy discussion and debate while avoiding the cancer that is “cancel culture” and the hate and vitriol brought on by social media. Good and healthy debate is necessary for all voices and opinions to be heard. More than that, it is necessary for the respect of others. And, as a pastor and a Christian, if I understand and believe that all men and women have been created in the Imago Dei, then I must approach them and treat them as such.

So, I hope you’ll join me on this little adventure. I hope you’ll subscribe and comment to help hold me accountable – because, if this fails, this is totally on you. I wash my hands of it. Seriously though, let me know in the comments on this post what kind of things you would enjoy reading from a pastor of a liturgical Baptist church. What kinds of things are you curious about? If you’re not a Christian, what things do you want to know? Let’s make this blog about something. In the wilderness that is our present age, let’s make this blog a place of rest and respite.

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“For a while the hobbits continued to talk and think of the past journey and of the perils that lay ahead; but such was the virtue of the land of Rivendell that soon all fear and anxiety was lifted from their minds. The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song.“

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring