More Thoughts on Post 4000

I only realized what was in the offing a few days ago, but last night, this blog reached something of a milestone: the 4000th posted item. It happened with the posting of a sermon I preached last night called, What Servants Do.

Now, for bloggers who are better writers and quicker studies than I am and who post frequently during the course of a day, that number isn't such a big deal. And while I do post simple pieces pointing readers to other things on the web, the lion's share of those 4000 posts have been columns, essays (on a whole lot of different topics from history and politics to art, sports, and music), sermons, or Bible studies. (If Glen Reynolds, Ann Althouse, or Andrew Sullivan are the Albert Einsteins of the blogging world, I'm probably best described as its Forrest Gump.)

Some of my posts have been re-runs, too, and others are reworkings of old posts. But there's a lot of original stuff.

Of the 4000 pieces that have appeared, there are some I don't like very much these days and others of which I think, "Not bad."

But all this blogging--I posted the first piece on May 26, 2002----has been a labor of love.

I blog for several reasons, but mostly: (1) Because I love to write; (2) Because I want to convey to the stray reader who may run across my blog that while Christians have beliefs, that doesn't make them closed-minded, bigoted, or bound by a particular political ideology.

In the mix, I hope to convince people that as one considers life and looks for explanations, the most intellectually honest and defensible is faith in the God revealed fully in Jesus Christ. My former religious stance, atheism, certainly doesn't hold up to intellectual scrutiny. And while there are plenty of reasons to dismiss Christians, I know of none for dismissing Jesus, the Christ. In my experience, I have found him to be in fact just who he claims to be: the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the way to the Father Who made us, Who loves us. We see God most clearly in the cross experiences Christ shares with us, the place where Christ meets us and transforms us into partners in his new creation. This new creation is the kingdom in which Christ answers our deepest yearnings for love, for justice, for peace, and for meaning.

I mentioned politics earlier, I find myself thinking about it a lot less these days. Part of that no doubt is that it's gotten fairly crowded out of my life. There's a lot going on in the parish I serve as pastor, for one thing. For another, on my days off this winter, I've been taking a class at a nearby branch campus of Ohio University. Between my sixty-plus hour work weeks and keeping up with the reading, there hasn't been much time to consider politics.

Even when I do find time for political blogging in the future, you can be sure that I won't be expressing opinions about who to vote for or to engage in the mindless kabuki dance of right/left argumentation that renders most of our political debates laughably irrelevant.

I like to take a longer-term view, which may explain why at this time, the blog averages just under 300 hits a day, small by blogging standards, but enough to afford rich and enjoyable interaction with readers.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone who has ever read, linked to, written about, or commented on the blog. Thanks.

God bless.

Mark