Christian School to Secular School...

It would seem to me that many colleges & universities started by churches have, over time, parted from their Christian roots and eventually divorced themselves from the church.

**WARNING: Intense waves of sarcasm to follow...**

I'd like to propose a few ways to change a Christian school into a secular school (and there is a difference between the two)...

1) If you have chapel services five days a weak; change it to three. If you have it three days a week; change it to one. Too much "church" is a turn-off to unbelievers (not to mention the fact that it could hurt enrollment/finances to require chapel). Finally make chapel optional before being a good steward of the school's finances and doing away with chapel all together. (Remember, do it slowly so no zealous Christians will cause a fuss.)

2) Strive for intellectual and academic excellence to the neglect of the spiritual state of the campus. Certainly you could probably focus on some one's spiritual health and academic performance, but their spiritual state is just another thing to be juggling and the 'academy' has a different function than the church. You are, after all, a college/university!

3) When you advertise on TV, billboards, or secular periodicals make sure you do not mention your Christian foundation. It is a turn-off and you will lose many prospective students that way. (They might find out if they come to your school anyway, so why mention it?). Even if they don't ever realize they attended a Christian school, you've just done a great job of helping them be Christians even though they may not realize it!

4) Lower the standards for your sports teams. If it makes you feel better you can convince yourself that having a winning basketball team will make a better name for Jesus than a mediocre basketball team that lives a holy life.

5) Hire faculty, staff, & administrators that are not Christians. As long as they do their jobs well, who really cares?

6) Consistently raise your tuition so that you are one of the most expensive schools to attend in your state or region. This is a good way to get rid of some of the more religious students who are studying to be preachers (preachers won't be able to afford to go to your school). It is definitely positive if you can prevent ordinary people from the denomination you are a part of to come to your school because of financial hurdles, this takes away from the close minded Christian influence. Plus you can increase your salary and be more prestigious in the academic world with higher tuition rates and more upscale students!

7) Do away with any kind of rules you might have on your campus. Those include curfew, dress code, required chapel attendance, and any other rules students often complain about. You certainly do not want to be viewed as legalistic. If you have any rules and, for denominational reasons, are not able to do away with them, just leave them in print but ignore them.

8) Change your school motto from something like: "Christlike in all we do" to something that uses some Latin and is translated to say something more general like: "We are nice and we like everybody."

9) Take down all crosses and religious imagery from your campus. It was all probably graven images any way. Put up peace signs, lots of posters on what we can do to help the environment, and weekly fliers about how much more important it is to not litter than take the life of an unborn infant.

10) Replace some of the religious requirements (either chapel or some Bible course) with community service (playing hop-scotch with homeless kids or some kind of non-committal activity that pushes toward little to no change is best). It will fool the Christians into believing you are still a part of the Christian church and convince the rest of the world you want to make a difference without "pushing your beliefs" on anyone else.

11) In your Bible, Theology, or religion department (whatever you might call it) hire a Jew, an atheist, and some other professors who are so smart they think they've figured out why Mary really wasn't a virgin. Your students probably need a larger worldview (narrative if you want to talk like a post-modern) than the narrow, exclusivistic worldview of Jesus/Christianity/the Church.

12) Finally, measure your success by how much money your graduates make or how many books they publish. If someone becomes a denominational leader you can take credit for it within the denomination but do not talk about it outside of the church. (You may be able to take credit for sports stars who thought about coming to your school.)

Extra note: If part of a denomination, you may want to continue to tap into the enormous amount of financial resources available from the many lay people who have no earthly idea what is really going on at your school. To do so, talk a lot about what God is doing at your school (even if you have to exaggerate or even make things up). All some lay people care about is whether or not the young people are serving the Lord and living for Him (how short-sighted they must be)!

Stay Focused...

This is a video I was directed to that is kind of interesting. It is about how we can be focused on some stuff and miss the "big picture" sometimes.

I hope I don't miss the most important things in ministry because I am worried about getting the newsletter out on time or the 'order of service' organized well. There are people who are lost (do not know Jesus Christ) in this world.

Have you missed the big picture?

I am a liberal!

I've been called a liberal.

I've been called a conservative.

I guess they are relative terms. It depends on your context. In other words, whatever stance that the majority holds is the moderate view and any other view is defined in correlation to the majority.

Christians have began to define things that way. We haphazardly define according to the majority's consensus.

On my fifth grade teachers wall there was a poster that said: "What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular."

So how do we, as Christians, traverse the ever changing landscape? With the Word of an unchanging God! That is our absolute standard. (Yes, you can attack me for using the word absolute.)

So whatever label I might receive, I'm not going to worry about it! I am a Christian and that's all that matters.

But please, whatever you do, just don't call me a post-modern!

Disturbing Trends in the Holiness Movement...

1) Conversion without confession.

2) Regeneration without repentance.

3) Sanctification without surrender.

4) Heaven without holiness.

The Holiness Manifesto!

I know, I know... I'm slow on the draw with this one. I'm nearly two years behind on this point and will probably fail to offer up a fresh opinion, but I must charge in.

You can read the Holiness Manifesto on the Christianity Today website. It just seems really pointless to me. (Not to mention the fact that it took them THREE YEARS to come up with all this.) I mean there is nothing distinctly "holiness" about it. Any reasonable Christian would heartily agree with any of the statements in it whether from the holiness tradition or not. (Maybe that's the point: It's more a call to the lowest common denominator.)

And why do we always have to bash those who have gone before us? I don't think they failed in ministry so much as equipping their children with an appreciation for who they are as part of the holiness movement. I think maybe it's easier to sit around and critique and complain about our forefathers than it would be to get out and do something constructive for the Kingdom of God!

In short, I believe the holiness movement has become another part of the very generic category of 'evangelicals.' Don't get me wrong I agree with the 'biblical vision of Christian mission,' but any church would probably tell you they do these things. We have made a move toward the generic as is often the case with virtually any denomination. But why can we not celebrate our differences from evangelicals at large?

Certainly I am not suggesting that we de-Christianize the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc., but I do think we should return to our message of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with new zeal!

Holiness Manifesto's 'biblical vision of Christian mission':
1. Preach the transforming message of holiness;
2. Teach the principles of Christ-like love and forgiveness;
3. Embody lives that reflect Jesus Christ;
4. Lead in engaging with the cultures of the world; and
5. Partner with others to multiply its effect for the reconciliation of all things.

Sounds generic to me!

What would be helpful would be addressing what kind of transforming holiness we are to preach! How/when does it occur? What does a holiness life look like? What are the fruits of this kind of life? Is it instantaneous or progressive? ...etc...

What are the principles of Christ-like love and forgiveness? Social justice? Personal piety? Repentance? Truth?

What kind of life reflects Jesus? ...Mega churches? Sleeping outdoors? BMW's? Ties or collars?

I guess I'm running in circles because the reality is that those working on the Holiness Manifesto probably wanted to leave it wide open for folks. And that would be a lowering of the bar. Problem is majority does not always accompany truth. The more the merrier some "holiness leaders" would say.

But what if we stopped doing the most popular thing and just became old-fashioned, legalistic, anti-tobacco, anti-Roman Catholic (they pray to and worship/venerate humans), anti-alcohol, anti-movies, anti-dancing holiness people that didn't really care what the Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Methodists thought about us. We just cared about lost people being born-again and seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit so that they might live a holy life that didn't flirt with the "gray" area!

I think holiness has a bright future especially as it acts rather than reacts to church culture fads!

Yes, I like Huckabee...

Mike Huckabee. I just like him! I do. I mean, what's not to like? Here are some reasons I like him!

1) He is a Christian.

2) He is a Christian. (Repetition for emphasis.) You might say all the presidential candidates are Christians, but you'd be wrong... they all claim they are Christians. (BIG difference!)

3) He will stand for Christian values even if unpopular!

4) He deals with issues across the board in a consistent way! From the environment (he says we are to be good stewards of the earth) to abortion (he opposes a woman's, or man's, right to kill).

5) He's witty. Of course I really only like this about him, because I already liked him for the previous four reasons. In other words, you won't get my vote just because you're witty.

6) He's an underdog and doesn't care! (See comments on number five, because Dennis Kucinich is an underdog too.)

7) He said: "My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn’t influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don’t separate my faith from my personal and professional lives."

8) He was (and still is) a Baptist preacher from Arkansas. I like Baptists; they're going to heaven (Mormons aren't).

I think I'm going to vote for him!

Christians, Politics, & Big Headaches...

God isn't a Democrat. God isn't a Republican. And he isn't even an Independent!

Now that I got that out of the way...

It's a relatively new debate within the church: Should Christians be involved in the political process? Unfortunately, I believe, that question should be one labeled as rhetorical.

The emphasis in pop-Christianity (by the way, I use Christianity loosely in certain contexts) seems to be on influencing our world through liberating the oppressed, ending poverty, and comforting the down-trodden. Social concerns.

I'm not going here in this post, but have we forgotten that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost? Spiritual concerns. (No, I'm not arguing against social concerns, on the contrary I will be a proponent.)

It seems like a lot of Christians today would rather critique the problems of our fallen world (there is a place for that) rather than do anything about it. My suggestion: Stop whining about the divorce rate and help to build strong marriages (beginning with our own)! Stop complaining about racism and help live out biblical love. Stop lamenting all the lies going around and be a person of truth!

The push to abandon the "political process" is not only politically irresponsible, but it is socially, morally, intellectually, and spiritually irresponsible! Through the political process we are able to influence our world in a positive way. We can influence it socially, morally, and even spiritually! How can a Christian argue against that!?

Did Jesus run for office? No, but that wasn't his specific task! His mission was to provide for our salvation! His life was all about happened on Easter!

Are you called to run for president? Probably not, but I do believe that Christians are called not only to run for office, but to be a part of the political process. It is in the belief of non-involvement towards politics that we seek to divorce our responsibility with what occurs in our world.

When light refuses to shine, darkness always prevails.

I'm for it!

You know what I like about the first fifty years or so years of the Church of the Nazarene?

For the most part, we weren't afraid to be controversial. Nazarenes were willing to "rock the boat."

Sure we (they... before my time) got scared about some silly things. We dropped 'Pentecostal' from the beginning of our name early on (Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene) and a few other things, but for the most part we were unflinching the first few years of our existence.

I mean, we were against tobacco when it wasn't popular to be against tobacco! We knew it was the "devil's weed" before celebrities realized it wasn't cool anymore! That's why we still hold on to our stance against it today. But it's not very controversial anymore (except in some places).

What is troubling though is the fact that in the last few years of our existence we've began to "soften" some of the stands we've taken on issues. Divorce, while still unaccepted in print, has had it's wording changed to give a more neutral feel. So while divorce continues to be a growing problem in the church, not to mention the world, we have cowered away from it. Jesus was very clear about it though and maybe the problem continues to grow because we are mute when it comes to divorce. (By the way, divorcee's should be met with grace, I'm certainly not proposing that we "shoot our wounded." Anything but a response in love, seasoned with grace, is unacceptable.)

Gambling holds true. But that's not real surprising since most denominations are still against it... but what if they weren't? (In Kentucky many politicians are tauting the 'good' that legalized gambling could bring to our commonwealth by funding education.)

Alcohol. Ouch. We have began to falter on this one. No, not in print, but in practice. We believed in prohibition before prohibition in the United States (1920-1933)! It was an out-flow of our concern for those we ministered to. So while a few might argue the Bible doesn't teach absolute abstinence; we Nazarenes have never argued that, so much as the consistent belief that nothing gives us the right to participate in an activity that is so destructive to our community's spiritual, economic, and physical condition.

Most of the changes to our "Covenant of Christian Conduct" (which can be found here) have sought to make it less specific and more open to an individual's interpretation. Still there are many who would wish remove any kind of moral boundaries to a covenant.

Someone who was against some of the stances we've taken as a denomination once said: "But is it easier to get to heaven than into the Church of the Nazarene." Doubtful! But even if it were, the Church of the Nazarene has never claimed that you had to be a Nazarene to get into heaven (or even that being a Nazarene would get you into heaven). To get to heaven you only have to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. But as serious Christians who believe in Holiness, we are about more than just "getting a ticket to heaven."

We're about living as citizens of heaven here on Earth! I guess what I'm thinking is that we need to get this boat rockin' again! Maybe Churches of the Nazarene in communities all over the world should be radically different rather than trying to mimic Willowcreek, Mars Hill, or First Baptist! If that means we have higher standards than some other churches that's okay! (Some of them will make it to heaven too!)

We don't want to "make it to heaven;" we want to shake the civilizations we live in! We don't want to survive Satan's attacks; we want to storm the sinful strongholds of this world! We don't want social reform; we want spiritual transformation!

I'm for it!


Call us names, make fun of us, jeer us for ministering to any kind of sinner, but please... don't try to steady the boat!

Some things to remember when blogging!

1) If it is on the Internet, assume the whole world can read it!

2) There are consequences for your opinion-made-public. (For example: Dixie Chicks.)

3) Christianity effects the way that you post. (That means, if you are a Christian, you shouldn't berate others, be rude/ derogatory, personally attack, use profane language, deceive, or write things that you wouldn't say in a normal conversation. That does not mean however, that you cannot disagree with people or attack their ideas.)

4) Use moderation. (In other words, live a complete life that involves more than just sitting on the Internet for days on end.)

5) Use proper grammatical, punctuation, and capitalization mechanics. (Well, maybe this is just my pet peeve, but I hate when people don't capitalize proper nouns or the first word of a sentence and I can't stand it when they make up spellings for their words... like "wuz up" or "ill c u 2 nite")

Maybe somebody could help me with some more blogging reminders...

Legalism...

"You're legalistic!"

"They're into legalism."

The 'buzz-word' for the 90's has managed to hold on for another decade and into a new century. Impressive stamina.

I've always feared being legalistic. But I decided to look it up the other day. Webster's definition seems pretty straightforward and was surprisingly un-Satanic! (You may have to wade through some sarcasm from here.)

After reading the definition I think I've come to the conclusion that it is yet another 'label' you can put on a person to immediately isolate their opinion from others who also have a negative aversion toward "legalists."

I think the pop-theology culture definition of legalism is 'seeking salvation through some kind of legal code (or set of rules).'

However, that borderlines heresy! I don't think I've ever met any sincere Christian who has ever believed in some kind of works righteousness. (Although one could argue that I simply do not know many people.)

Yes, I have met some individuals who were pretty passionate about their convictions (I think we all need more of those, but alas that is an 'old-fashioned' concept), but that is a good thing I believe! Yes, I have met some who were so passionate about their convictions that they tried to push those on others. (Maybe that minority is the accepted definition of legalism.)

There is good news though, if you cannot with a clear conscious describe someone as 'legalistic' then you could always resort to the next best thing: 'fundamentalist.'

Of course Webster's definition of fundamentalist doesn't seem very ominous or threatening to Christianity either.

Maybe the 'buzz-word' curse word should be changed to something that is really scary like: worldly? No, wait, that's old fashioned too!

Oh well.

Pop-Christianity... a stereotype.

I'll admit it, I'm about to stereotype some 'troubling' trends in the universal church today...

The emergent (By the way, what are they emerging from? Has the real church fallen, died, got lost, or submerged?), post-modern, liberal, pop-Christian type might make some of the following comments which I will elaborate on in later posts. (I know I'm going to get some comments for lumping emergent, liberal, worldly adjectives together.)

"I'm a green, open-minded, tolerant, pacifist, cussing Christian and it's okay."

"If you get mad at my lack of moral discernment in the entertainment I take part in, relationships I have (aka community), language that I use, or conversations I have, then you probably have a problem with personal piety and are a modern moralists!"

"God's not a republican! He probably wouldn't even vote because he doesn't care about anything but the poor. Soon we Christians who understand the real problems of the world will end poverty so that God will not have anything to worry about but the environment! So even if God did vote, it would be for some fringe guy tauting a new economic policy that involved recycled money, a ban on vehicles, and vegan diets for all."

"I follow a mystic who lived 2000 years ago and said some cool things about helping people. Some say he was born of a virgin and some say he rose from the dead, but I don't get caught up in that discussion, because the point is: he could tell a good story!"

"I like new-age stuff and hate it when old fashioned Christians say 'born-again.' I know Jesus said it, but why can't they use more open language like 'beginning the journey.' Universalism isn't bad if you really understand it."

"Hurting people's feelings is the greatest sin! Especially if you do it by talking about what the Bible says!"

"On the essentials I am firm, it's the non-essentials that we can disagree on. Of course even the essentials aren't really essential because essentially the essentials cannot absolutely be known. So lets just wonder around in the dark holding hands and talk about what we think even though it isn't essential."

"People don't need to get saved from sin... that's personal piety. They needed to get saved from social injustices! We should all become communists because they are true Christians due to their social justice even though they are athiests! Hey, maybe Christians are the real problem in the world."

Have I ranted long enough? Remember all the quotations are stereotypes. You can decide if I'm being sarcastic...

Growing as a Christian

I want to be a growing Christian.

I have been troubled of late at the lack of a holistic approach toward discipleship. We have minimized it to a rather troubling singular focus... intellect.

I am going to make the assumption that growing as a Christian is growing in our love for God. Of course after we are sanctified wholly we love Him with all of our heart, but I am not talking about a greater "quantity" of love; rather a growing into a more full or "quality" of love. If you disagree at that point then you'll have to ignore everything else I write.

Jesus said in Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

I think the following are four areas that we are to grow as a Christian.

1) Heart: Emotionally
2) Soul: Spiritually
3) Mind: Intellectually
4) Strength: Physically

1) Heart is the seat of our emotion. When is the last time you had an emotional response to God? I'm not proposing 'emotionalism' but a return to a place where emotion plays a role in our worship and relationship with God. We have downplayed it because of those who worship with heart outside of the other three, but I think this is vitally important to us today. If you don't get a little emotional about the fact that Christ died for your sins, then maybe something is wrong!

2) Soul is often used to refer to the substance of who we are. How do we grow spiritually? Romans 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Emphasis added.) Maybe growth in this area has to do with a deeper understanding of surrender as a living sacrifice. Problem with living sacrifices is that they tend to want off the 'uncomfortable' altar!

3) Mind is the one we always emphasis. Is it the ghost of gnosticism? How much do you have to know to be a Christian? Certainly I don't believe ignorance is bliss. I heard the story of a preacher ranting on education who said: "I'm praying that the Lord will make me stupider and stupider every day." I kind of believe that God already answered his prayer.

4) Strength has to do with the physical aspect of our relationship. That faith without works is dead. That we are called not only to have the right answer (Christ), but to live out the right answer (Christian). We have gotten away from the call of Christ to bear fruit spiritual fruit! Strength is not action for the sake of salvation, but action because of salvation!

I'm not trying to divide these things into different categories, but simply make the observation that we often do that very thing by not growing in all four areas! Which one do you think we neglect the most today?

In the Great Commission we are called to make disciples not confession, profession, or big attendance gains (although those will occur as the Great Commission is fulfilled). Jesus commissioned the church to make disciples!

Discipleship is not optional!

Entire Sanctification

I'll try to make this as short as possible, because this could easily become a soap box!

As a pastor and member of the church of the Nazarene I am concerned about some current trends by "post-modern" and "emergent" influences within the Church of the Nazarene.

Some, even those who are leaders in our church, have declared that we are in a theological crisis. My question is: Since when? My proposed response: Maybe the church is not in a theological crisis so much as there are individuals who are having their own experiential crisis.

Christianity Today Article About This...

So the natural response is to change the position of the church to suit my personal preferences and fads (dealt with that yesterday).

What is the "theological crisis" they are talking about? Taking 'Entire' out of the article of faith on Entire Sanctification.

Here is my proposal to those who would actively seek such at a General Assembly or in our colleges, universities, and seminaries: Join the United Methodist.

United Methodist article of faith on 'sanctification.'

Compare United Methodist's article of faith on "sanctification" to Thomas Jay Oord's "Fifteen Changes..." papers.

What's the difference? Answer: Nothing!

If you like that better than the Church of the Nazarene's distinctly holiness approach then leave the Church of the Nazarene, for our sake and yours, and join the United Methodists!

So why do we allow the ordained and especially those who are teaching in our college, universities, and/or seminaries to teach to our future clergy things contrary to our Articles of Faith. Just like the hierarchy of the United Methodist Church we are allowing ourselves to be influenced by worldly philosophies rather than a Biblical world view! (Colossians 2:6)

Another important note: Initially we were the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.

Last important note: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is what occurred at Pentecost, is entire sanctification!

The Great Alcohol Debate

Glasgow, KY recently voted to go "moist" a kind way to say that they have introduced alcohol sells into their community. That means more money! (In small print I would like to add: more crime, more despair, more poverty, more deaths attributed to drunkedness.)

Can a Christian honestly convince himself/herself of their "right" to drink at the costs of all the despair alcohol brings? I know, I know the Bible does not address "social drinking", just "being drunk."

Click Here for Keith Drury's solution to that problem!

I can certainly hear the critic declaring the problems of the Christian "moralist." Label me if you would like, but for the sake of the lost world around me I am glad that in some KY counties the government has done what the "church" (used loosely) was too blind and self-centered to do.

A New Fad...

We Christians tend to be slow on the draw. It has been said that the only difference between the church and the world is about ten years. Unfortunate. And not because I think it should be fifteen or fifty years either.

We tend to be reactionists. The newest fads are what we embrace to try to twist and mold them into something that can fit into the ministry of the church both morally and, often more importantly, pragmatically.

So it is with each "new" idea that comes along in Christian ministry. We fall victim to reactionary behaviour rather than pro-active proclamation.

I'll give an example from the ministry God has called me to...

Pastor, Preacher, Reverened, Clergy, Brother/Sister, etc. Lot's of names and titles that go in and out of style. Some may be more descriptive of what the congregation's expectations for the pastor are (like preacher or pastor). Right now the Christian Fad we have adopted is no title. Just refer to the minister by his/her first name (I'm not trying to make a moral/ethical call on these issues, just observances).

There is always a 'new' and 'popular' new style of preaching. From inductive or deductive to narrative or expository ministers, and especially those honing the gifts God has given them through the educational/ discipleship process, are victim to the "going style."

What is a minister to wear? A robe, a suit, a toga, a pair of cut off shorts? Casual is the fad right now.

And most dangerous of all is the theological tossing to and fro that takes place in denominations (especially those that can most easily change their doctrinal statements and polity).

Maybe the church is too busy with it's ear to the ground. Maybe we are too busy checking the barometer for the winds of the newest fads.

So the churches that "do the best" are those churches that have learned to adapt best to "new ways of thinking" and, in reality, the newest fad on the market at your local Christian book store.

What happened to the foundation that was a solid rock? Or am I a lone voice trying to comfort my stubbornness and resistance to change?

Is that Christian?

So my question is, how do Christians justify their actions?

I'm not speaking of the vast difference between the call to holiness and the call to worldly living; I'm talking about what it means to act like a Christian. Why is that so many "Christians" don't act like Christians?

The easy answer would be that they are not Christians. Certainly that is probably true for a great deal of people who have no idea what it means to be born-again and walk through life as a disciple of Jesus the Christ! But I can hardly categorize every individual that I could be thinking of in that category.

As a pastor, what do you do about behaviours, actions, & attitudes that, simply put, contradict God's written Word?

Hmmm...

Some of these attitudes can be extremely destructive to the unity and "being of one accord" that the church should experience. (I hesitate to use the word 'community' because the incessant over use in the pop-theology culture.)

God calls us to something different than the world, but why is it so rarely realized in the lives of people that make up the church here on Earth? Maybe I'm on to something when I say: We give very little room for growth. And I may be to the fulcrum of the issue when I say: Maybe I am guilty of the same thing.

But, I digress.

Why Blog?

I am just about to enter the world of blogging for the very first time.

I know, I know... I should have been about this a long time ago if I was trying to keep up with the times. But, I am the kind of person who likes to let the dust settle a little bit before I go rushing into something. It gives me a chance to think and pray through it before I dive right in.

So, why blog?

There are a number of reason why an individual would or does. Mine probably are not that far away from the norm. (1) Because I think clearer when I am able to 'talk' my ideas out... in this case 'blog' my ideas out. (2) It's a good way to connect with other people through a relatively new means of communication. (3) Like a great deal of people in the world today, I am nagged by the idea that someone may value my opinion, advice, or thoughts on some subject, situation, or passage of scripture. (4) Entertainment.

Number three may be tainted with a bit of narcissism, but it occurred to me that people I do not know would probably not be interested in this blog nearly as much as someone that does know. (Although both categories of people may have no desire to read these posts.) Maybe blogs serve as more of a self-description of people than a way to communicate their own opinions and information.

So, here I am. I am preparing to publish my first post and journey into a new artificial world...