I began this blog in 2007 as my family was moving to Dallas to begin our church start-up work.
At that time, posting to a blog made sense because we had a number of supporters and friends (probably three) for whom reading a blog was an easy way to stay updated on our work.
When Storyline, the church we helped to start, became “self-sustaining” in 2013, the dynamics changed: we no longer needed to update our supporters as often, and so the blog sat on the shelf.
Since then I’ve been wondering: what will be the new purpose of this blog? Who do we want to read it?
The new purpose we’ll pursue here is captured in two words:
Everyday discipleship.
This blog is for everyday disciples – for those who are trying to figure out what it means to follow Jesus day in, day out. In the mundane and the mystical moments of life. For those who want to have a conversation about how following Jesus impacts raising children, the kind of food we eat, the clothes we buy, how we spend our money, who we date, planning for retirement, our leisure time, and our sex lives.
Which means it’s not primarily geared for church leaders anymore, so we won’t talk a whole lot of “shop” about church.
However, church leaders, don’t check out – this blog catches you, too; especially if you share the conviction (and you should!) that your spiritual leadership flows from your personal discipleship.
And for our three supporters who still follow this blog, we hope you’ll continue to benefit from this blog as well. Perhaps less as a reporting function and more of a renewal function – something that will challenge you and bless your soul to read.
Expect to hear from more than just me, too. We’ve got a cadre of capable writers who have valuable perspectives to share about the way of Jesus.
So help shape this blog, would you?
What everyday discipleship topic do you want to have a conversation about?
In the Storyline 
Hit me with some reflections from Essentialism. What does it look like to honor God by how we steward our time?
You got it! Thanks for the request, Porche!
How to be in the world but not of the world. Mind renewed and not conformed to the ways of the world. and 1 John 2:15. It seems that worldliness and carnality are spiritual cancers that go unnoticed.
Sounds great, John!
Congrats on the renewed purpose of the blog!
– One of the 3 🙂
Holla Jeremy! Thanks for being one of three!
I submit to you that in order to excel as an everyday disciple a person needs a useful frame of reference. The Bible calls those who are reborn to follow Jesus daily by faith. It is a narrow path with few fellow pilgrims.
We live in an era where there is lots of gray and nearly zero black and white.
The Politically Correct thinking and situational ethics has made it taboo to call anything good or bad. The concept of right or wrong is washed out in the fog of all this hyper tolerance.
Yet what has helped me to get grounded in reality is what they called the Seven Deadly Sins centuries ago. Those are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Some monks paired those with the Seven Heavenly Virtues of chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, forgiveness, kindness and humility.
I will grant you that the 7 deadly sins and 7 heavenly virtues are not strictly biblical in the proof text kind of way. But when navigating these troubled waters in the fog they are a great help. These are not just words for philosophical thinking they can have very practical applications personally as well as a parent and grandparent.
I wrote this one page article offering my views on why this is important for us in this generation.
Click to access 7DeadlySins7HheavenlyVirtues.pdf
For further study on these matters consider the following.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues
http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/
And if you really want food for thought then consider the 7 deadly sins according to Gandhi
• Wealth without Work
• Pleasure without Conscience
• Science without Humanity
• Knowledge without Character
• Politics without Principle
• Commerce without Morality
• Worship without Sacrifice
http://www.deadlysins.com/features/gandhi.htm
Shalom
John S Oliver