About this blog: I’ve got a lot of thoughts rattling around in my head at any one given time–more than I can find anyone to discuss with me! I don’t want this to be a place where I complain about everything that’s wrong with the world (in my opinion). Instead, I hope it can be a place where we can dialog about the difficult things we’re facing in the world today. Too many of these topics are discussed in our world at a superficial, sound-bite level, which is a recipe for incomplete understanding of the issue and an over-simplified “solution.” Maybe if we take time to delve into the details in a dialog that expects and respects differences of opinion, we might become better informed, and possibly make a difference.
I am openly Christian, and approach the world from a Christian worldview. That doesn’t mean I’m going to push my faith on you. In fact, the only time you’ll see me getting critical about people’s faith is when I see Christians behaving like boneheads. I won’t shy away from discussions about religion, faith, worldview, or philosophy; I think we’ve made mistakes in the past several hundred years by allowing these foundational aspects of life to become “private and personal” when in reality they affect everything we do.
The title, “Seek-1st” is based on two very important ideas, from two very different sources. The first is a Bible verse, Matthew 6:33, part of Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount” where he teaches his followers what it means for the world when he says “the Kingdom of God is here.” Verse 6:33 tells us to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (referring to the things people worry about, like where they will live, what they will eat, etc). Jesus is saying that if we seek to live in God’s Kingdom, under his leadership and according to his ways, God will provide all that we need. The second idea comes from Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Specifically, it’s Habit #5: ”Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Truthfully, it’s the only habit that I remember, but I think it’s a vital truth for each of us: Before we start trying to make others understand our viewpoint (and why we’re “right”), we need to make a real effort to understand the perspectives of others.
About me: I am a pretty complex person. I’m happily married to my best friend since 1985, and the proud father of two awesome kids. I retired from the Army in 2006, after a 23 year career as an enlisted soldier and an officer. Since that time I’ve worked for a major oil company managing materials and logistics for one of their biggest exploration operations. I’m preeminently qualified to be a stereotypical ultra-conservative, but that’s not me. My political and socio-economic views are complicated by the fact that I believe the big problems aren’t easily solved–it’s the details that make them problems.
I’ve been around the Christian church most of my life, but spent the first 40 or so years avoiding God, because I didn’t understand him. He finally got my attention, and I dedicated my life to serving him in 2004. Then I realized I didn’t really know much about God, so I began studying, eventually deciding to pursue a Master’s Degree in Christian Ministry. I see a lot of misunderstandings about Christianity both in the church and in our society, that are hindering the impact Christians could have on our world. I hope that talking about it can help improve understanding, and make a difference.
