Reentering the blogosphere

At best, I've been a spotty blogger over the past few years. Generally, I am not the sort of person who enjoys spewing random thoughts onto the world wide web for anyone and everyone to read. Why? Perhaps I cling too tightly to the musings of my little brain. Perhaps out of insecurity or a lack of self-identity I fear the reaction of the outside world to those musings. Perhaps I'm not comfortable with "introspection" in the 21st century blog format. Perhaps it's something completely different, like that Monty Python movie. Whatever the reason, blogging hasn't been my thing.

However, as 2008 begins, I feel that my blogging itch needs to be scratched once again. I attempted to keep a blog updated on Xanga for a few years, but I lost interest last April. My final post included three pictures of the yet-to-be-released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows dust jackets. I had just finished reading the series two times in two months. To those of you who haven't read J. K. Rowling's seven-part masterpiece, it is worth your time to pick up the first book and give it a chance.

I've titled my new blog, "Undercover Midwesterner," because presently that's what I am. On July 22 of last year, I married the most wonderful woman in the world, Robin Giberson. A month after our marriage, we moved to Essex, a small town located 45 minutes NE of Boston, Massachusetts. I had lived 23 years and 2 months in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois before the move. The land of Cubs, Bulls and Bears still feels like home, and I'm guessing that it will for a long time. O, to be able to hear a bad word spoken about the Patriots...

New England is... different. The culture here is different. Thus, Christianity is different. The influence that culture can have upon religion is staggering. The self-critical Bible scholar within tries to convince me that I didn't need to look much further than Matthew's portrayal of the Pharisees to figure that out. I retort that hermeneutics is not a worthwhile endeavor if it does not incorporate an element of personal experience.

As the above inner dialogue no doubt reveals, I miss school. I'll be starting at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in June or September of this year. The starting date depends upon the decision to pursue a Masters of Divinity (MDiv) or a Masters of Church History (MA). One sets me on a track towards the pastorate, while the other sets me on a track towards a doctoral program and teaching. I have no idea what to do.

From this point forward, I'll be updating this blog with commentary of a theological, political, and/or cultural nature. I'd like to use this piece of webspace as a safe place for proclamations, discussions, questions, doubts, hypotheses, and the like on a variety of topics - especially topics that arise from my time working with 35 7th-11th graders as their youth pastor. I also wouldn't be surprised if some Chicago sports propaganda made its way into the mix. But in it all and through it all, my prayer is simple: Soli Deo gloria. To God be the glory.