Sowhatfaith.com launched in June 2009 as a means of sharing my thoughts with those beyond my parish. From the beginning, the blog has focused on contemporary issues and reviews of recently published books by providing a blend of information and questions. Written some time ago, the following words about the purpose of this website remain on the contact/about page:
Individually and as faith communities, true growth is often the result of struggling with the so what questions of faith. This website, So What Faith, is designed to help all of us live into the great challenge of struggling with and responding to that ongoing question as a part of the journey of faith.
Statistically speaking, I averaged writing almost twice a week in 2009 (44 posts in half a year). I started 2010 writing at roughly the twice weekly interval but ended writing on a daily basis, which led to an average of over three posts a week (184). Regardless of how many times I have written, roughly one post (76 overall) a week has been a book review.
So What?
Creating and maintaining this website has taught me a great deal about web design and my faith. Sharing the content with others, especially via Twitter and Facebook, has helped me struggle more fully with the questions I have asked in my writing and others that are raised by my readers. The dialogue, here on this site and elsewhere, has birthed new friendships and given me a richer sense of Christian community and a stronger desire to press onward as an agent of and an advocate for Christian unity.
- To pastors and lay staff in congregational ministry, I encourage you to blog. Share what you write with the world rather than limiting the distribution to those in your parish ministry. Interact with other bloggers, especially those who challenge your thinking and help you reform or refine your views.
- To my readers, I appreciate your presence and encourage your feedback. I read and ponder each remark. When your words are formed into questions that are intended to be answered, I reply in whatever manner (comments, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, etc.) they were conveyed.
What Next?
I look forward to continuing to blog in 2011. After serving as a pastor or lay staff member in five parishes, I begin the new year working in academia. By reading these words, I understand that we belong, to some degree, to a shared “virtual parish.” As the new year unfolds, exploring what virtual community means for Christianity and its implications for ministry in and beyond local congregations is atop my list of research interests.
On my Twitter profile (@sowhatfaith), I tell the short story of who I understand myself to be, a “progressive postmodern postdenominational follower of Jesus.” I hope to hear your story: to know who you are and where you find yourself on the journey of life as well as the journey of faith.