Hey, everybody! Welcome to 2024!
In recent months I’ve experimented with this newsletter. Many of you have already discovered this and have supported the little attention I’ve been able to put into it. (Thank you for that, by the way!) This year I am committing to writing here consistently. I want to share things I'm thinking about in my studies and teaching, and whatever else doesn't fit into those.
In this article I want to express the purpose for this newsletter. For my current subscribers, I hope this encourages you to continue following. For potential subscribers, I hope this explains a bit about what I’m about. And I hope you join the journey.
Two Realities
Have you ever created something you want people to see? If you have, you know the anxiety of sending your creation into the world. I feel that every time I write. The problems in this world are overwhelming. What makes me think anything I do or say could be of any help?
Here’s what I know:
1. The world is made better by imperceptibly significant acts.
Looking at history, we notice countless chain reactions of cause and effect. Take any major event and trace the causal chain. It’s not long before you find events that seemed insignificant when they happened. But considered in the greater context, they were necessary for world-changing events.
It has been said, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” That’s interesting because Jesus described his kingdom as a tiny seed that grows into a massive tree. (Matthew 13:31-32) Any given day, the best thing any of us followers of Jesus can hope for is to plant seeds—even as we sit in the shade of previously planted trees.
2. God expects me to use the abilities he has given me for his glory and for people’s good.
If your car breaks down or your computer crashes, I’m not much help. God has not gifted me in that way. What he did give me is an incessant curiosity, a penchant for ideas, and an aptitude for explaining things. That’s how I help. I take top-shelf goods and bring them down where anyone can reach them.
I have the immense privilege of doing this every day as a teacher. That privilege has expanded into invitations to speak elsewhere. I do not take any of it lightly.
Like the boy with his bread and fish, I don’t have much to offer. So, I just give what I have to Jesus and let him decide how much he wants to multiply it.
One Purpose, Three Ways
What is the purpose of this newsletter? In a word, the purpose is to help. As I see it, this happens three ways.
1. To help you think.
I want to serve my readers by helping them think through life’s big questions.
The smallest questions have the greatest implications. For example, my students recently asked me if a hot dog was a sandwich. That question is really just a conversation about the difference between accidental and essential properties. We ended the conversation discussing what it means to be a human person.
The biggest questions are more accessible than most people realize. For a long time, philosophers have noted that children make the best philosophers. Children wonder about things that adults take for granted. This is because thinking through deep questions is not a matter of capability as much as it is curiosity. We have the ability to think big thoughts; we just don’t have the interest.
I’ve been thinking about life’s big questions for a while now. I’d love to share what I’ve found.
2. To help me produce.
I want to be consistent in my output.
This a personal problem. I have tried several platforms to help get my work out there. Too often I found myself spending more time and effort producing content than developing substance. The most productivity I have seen in my work was during the golden era of blogging.
I’m not against social media platforms, YouTube channels, and podcasts. I have friends who are doing excellent work with all of them. I’ve made appearances on many of them—and hopefully will continue to do so!
But for the time being, my creative energies will be directed mostly here. Outside of my classroom, the written word is where I find myself broadcasting my best work most consistently. So, I’ll be here until I find a more efficient way to do otherwise.
3. To help us be accountable
I want us all to do better with the beliefs we hold and the dispositions with which we hold them.
By “us” I mean whatever community is built here. Too often we think of ourselves as members in a network, reducing every interaction to a transaction. I would like to foster an awareness of community, becoming intentionally interpersonal.
Our age of social media has brought about the terrible effect of people not having to be accountable for the things they say and the way they say them. I want to remain accountable to my readers by "going on the record" with my ideas. I also want to practice compassionate exhortation for my readers.
We are all on a journey. Journeys are usually better when taken together.
As we move into the year ahead, I have some requests for you.
First, I would like to make this a dialogue, not a monologue. You feedback is my fuel. I’m eager to hear from you about the topics that resonate, the questions that perplex, and the ideas that illuminate.
Second, the more the merrier! If there’s someone you think would enjoy the conversation, be a good friend and bring them in on it.
Thank you for reading!