tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post5029600320222954020..comments2023-09-20T09:39:24.282-04:00Comments on Spirit in the Wild Wood: Why I Think I am Writingdedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-60848332008620936902007-11-29T18:36:00.000-05:002007-11-29T18:36:00.000-05:00Thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful comment and your ...Thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful comment and your encouragement.<BR/><BR/>You use the phrase "level the playing field" and that is an exact estimation on your part.<BR/>Regular folks who never hold positions of influence or power within most groups must be included in the discussion, and more so the communities of believers we build. Without them, the church is doomed to become dead religion.dedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746468652435913462.post-71661228237091159642007-11-29T06:40:00.000-05:002007-11-29T06:40:00.000-05:00I see a great desire in you to level the playing f...I see a great desire in you to level the playing field, to knock down the structures that isolate "ordinary" people from Godly discussions of spiritual thoughts. You see your students as individuals with great worth and you see that the value system of grades does not reflect their worth. Similarly, you see (and participate in) some rather heady discussions of spiritual truths that the common people would not be attracted to or even understand. You want to see an open discussion where everyone feels welcome, where the input of everyone is valued and no one is jockeying for position in the kingdom. Is that right?<BR/><BR/>There is a place for the heady discussions. Some of the concepts we talk about use big words to express mind blowing ideas . I frequently have to read with dictionary.com open in another tab in order to look words up. But these conversations do not make us more spiritual. The conversations are not the kingdom. What we feel and what motivates us as we participate are stirrings that God wants to be a part of. That is frequently uncomfortable, but it's good... when our participation is part of a process of becoming more of who He made us to be and expressing ourselves in love.<BR/><BR/><I>The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ...If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I Cor 12:12, 19; 13:13</I><BR/><BR/>So how do you express your heart on your own blog in a way that welcomes and honors all? How do you measure success on a blog? Good dialog in the comments? Spicy dialog? Agreement? High readership? <BR/><BR/>You express great thoughts here that challenge me as a believer. I, for one, hope you will continue to write what's on your heart. I would like to encourage your line of questioning, "What is my blog about?" Another question is, "Who am I writing to?" On a blog, your audience is whoever in the world wants to read it, but you can have a person or group in mind as your target audience as you write. As much as I cherish comments from my friends on my blog, my family is the target audience. It took me about a year of writing before I nailed that down.Jimazinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10664766059554867723noreply@blogger.com