Hi friends and readers and random folks who dropped by. It's been a while since I last posted. Back in July to be exact. I have had some changes happen since I last posted. I am currently teaching at a great school east of Sioux City. It's a small school in a small town with great people. The Principal is great, the Superintendent is great, the other teachers and staff are all great. The students are fun and I love being in the classroom with them, and all the parents have been supportive. It's been a great experience. It has been busy, along with teaching for my first year, I'm still in class. I'm in a non-traditional education program, so I teach my first year as an intern while taking classes and writing papers. It's been busy and a little stressful, hence my reason for not blogging much. . . or at all.
The other reason for my lack of blogging has been content a little. If you have been a reader of mine, you know that I blog about faith, the church, theology, and other topics of a Christian nature. You also know that the last 10 years have been difficult for me, coming to the Midwest has been an adjustment, more than just the weather and climate. The churches here are very different, and I haven't adapted well. I will hold off on elaborating, but I am less connected to a church at this point in my life than I have ever been in my previous 42 years. I don't want to just write post after post on all the problems that I see but at this point, I believe the church in America and the Midwest needs some major changes.
It's not that I've lost my faith, or that I don't believe the church to be valuable. I believe the church is the physical representation of the incarnate Christ on earth, with Christ as the head. This is core to my beliefs but also a large part of my struggle. Being in the midwest I have had some rejection by the church to various degrees. I was told point blank I wasn't good enough. The church, which is the body of Christ, is informing me I'm not sufficient. This has been pretty hard for me to deal with. The church was the one place I was able to find my place, to serve, to work, and to be successful. It was quickly taken away.
The point is, being disconnected has changed the nature of what I can and should write about. It has led me to the question of blogging at all. Do I just change the nature of my posts? Do I continue to blog but move away from the topic from the last 10 years? It's been a struggle to be sure, and I'm not exactly sure what direction I will go. I know I miss blogging and writing posts, but simply enjoying the process may not be reason enough for it to continue. I will give it time, see what direction fate swings me, and if I can think of interesting things to write to publish on a blog. If you have any input, feel free to share.
Oh Dan, that anyone would say you are not good enough! None of us are good enough except thru Christ. People need to love on us. Please follow your heart and do what God leads you to do. If I am not good enough please help me be. Amen.
ReplyDeleteI always thought you were more than good enough. I am glad to be a dissenter from the few critics that were around. I have stopped blogging too. I don't Tweet anymore. I Facebook and that is enough for me. Have a great day and enjoy your students and classroom. Richard Nations
ReplyDeleteDan, I'm sincerely glad you are back on line. The Lord has been tugging at my heart to begin blogging again as well. I love you and I love your family. Yes, the Church is a messy place right now. Not just there, but everywhere. I encourage you just to stay focused on your relationship with Christ as you blog, the things that He is speaking to your heart, even in the dry places, and encouraging others in their faith. I think we are moving very quickly to a place where the faithful are going to be moving back to the home churches. American Christianity today is focused more on building the "brand" than building the Kingdom. You have much to share. We may not always agree, but I will always respect what you have to say.
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