Starting a website has been a dream of mine for some time. It feels daunting and my unhealthy fear of failure has prevented me from pursuing this dream for quite some time. That said, it is time. I want to share with you what my goal is for this website and specifically for the "Thoughts (blog)" page.
I have not only dreamed of starting a website but also I have really wanted to write a book for even longer. I already have a title, "The Radical Middle." I find myself alone some times, or at least, I think I am. I am not okay with blindly following the conservative right or the liberal left, but I want to follow a third way. I believe this is the way that Jesus showed us. John Wesley would call it the "via media." The middle road does NOT mean there are no absolutes, but it does mean that I can no longer simply believe something without examining the truth. It also means that often these absolutes are well beyond me; they belong to God and I have to very humbly realize that I won't always get it right and that I do not have a monopoly on the truth.
Jesus both shows us and tells us how to live in this "radical middle." Six times in Matthew 5, Jesus says, "You've heard it said, but I say to you...". That is the premise of living life in the radical middle. The best way is not to the left or right, but in the middle. The problem with this has become evident to me over the years, in large part thanks to social media and COVID. See, when you are on the left, you only get attacked from the right. When you are on the right, you only get attacked from the left. When you are in the middle, taking every issue to heart, neither side can "count" on your vote and you end up getting attacked from both sides. Maybe that is why the middle road is "difficult and narrow." However, that also means there is plenty of room for people to join me.
Truth is, many of you are already living here. Maybe you just didn't have a name for it or call it something else. Many of my friends are calling it "deconstruction." Whatever name you use, know that you will find a safe place here to wrestle with, question, and doubt whatever comes up on the path. I hope you will join me on this road, this "radical middle."
Grace and Peace,
David
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