A Start

So, I've decided to write a blog.

Now, you may be saying, "Xan, you fool, why would you do something ridiculous like that? Aren't you going to be too busy reading and writing stuff for seminary to waste time on blogging?" Or perhaps you are saying "I predict 3 posts, maybe 4 before he gets busy and stops posting." Then again, perhaps you're saying "Who the heck is this guy?" if you have stumbled on my blog by accident. As I believe that's unlikely, I'll just go ahead and assume only my family and friends are likely to read whatever silliness I end up writing.

So, why blog? Well, I've been considering starting up a blog just to let people know how things are going for me at seminary, maybe share some things I'm learning. However, I decided that I didn't really have time, and I would probably rarely update it anyway. What changed my mind was a book I was assigned to read for my Intro to Preaching class called Why Johnny Can't Preach, by T. David Gordon. It's a fantastic and interesting read, a succinct 100 pages on how modern media and culture has created generations of people who don't have the basic skills necessary to be good preachers.

Gordon's assertion is that people who have grown up with telephone's rarely write letters anymore, so they don't naturally learn how to organize their thoughts. Similarly, people who grow up with television are used to a kinetic media that largely conveys inconsequential things, and so they don't read anymore, or when they do read, they don't read deep things and engage the text. Those who grow up with the internet are constantly bombarded with even more visuals and surface-level text. Everything is news, tidbits of information to be scanned over. There is no more laboring over volumes when you can simple "Google it". People nowadays, when they actually do read, only care about what is said, and not how it is said. The result of all this is that basic skills like how to write clearly and how to engage a text and appreciate good writing are lost on this current age (insert joke about popularity of Twilight here). That lack of verbal skills has led to preachers who, even if they have excellent theological knowledge, simply don't have the foundation to put together a coherent sermon.

I agree wholeheartedly with Gordon's argument, and I can definitely feel the effects of it in myself. I used to be an avid reader, but the more internet and television-dependent I become, the less interested I am in reading deep, challenging literature. I've been rereading Jim Elliot's writings in Shadow of the Almighty recently, and to see the radical difference in writing quality for someone who corresponded entirely (and often) in letters is jarring. Elliot read poetry, wrote letters and journaled prolifically, and it shows.

So, to that end, I've resolved to write more. Hence, this blog. The reading more often will happen whether I like it or not with the book list I've got for school. Through this blog though, I'm hoping to sharpen my writing skills, and write about the things I'm reading so that I engage them in an even deeper way. Maybe it'll make me a better speaker down the road. Maybe not. Maybe I'll get overwhelmed and stop posting in a few weeks, but hopefully not. I'm also planning on trying to email my friends and family more often. I've realized that between Facebook chat, Skype and my cell phone, almost all my correspondence these days is done in short, twitter-like bursts. I can't even remember the last time I sat down and wrote out a long, thought-out letter or email to someone.

So that's the plan. I'm pretty gung-ho for it right now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. If I stop posting and anyone still cares, badger me about it and maybe you can guilt me into being more consistent. Hopefully I stay dedicated, and hopefully I write something worth reading on here. I'm planning to write about my life here in Charlotte, the books I'm reading, maybe even some of the movies I watch. If nothing else, I'll try to post a verse or a quote that I like every day to keep things interesting. I hope you keep reading, and I hope I can write some things that make it worth your time.

"Now we live in the age of electronic wherein we cultivate the sensibility (if it can be called that) of distracted multitasking." - T. David Gordon