Introduction

Writing helps me process the world. For whatever reason, I have not felt inspired, convicted, or motivated to write anything in about three years, however. Maybe it is the massive amounts of academic writing I do throughout the year. Maybe it is that I have needed time to process al the changes in my life. Maybe I just don't know and am merely asserting possible explanations. I dunno.

Anyway, I finally feel that it is time to begin writing again. The last thing I want from this blog is that it ascend into the ivory tower I seem to live in (though I have my qualms with this metaphor). I want this blog to have legs and feet that land on the ground. I want to be understood rather than merely heard. Moreover, I want to do creative, even artsy things that appreciate the beautiful, true, and good parts of the world. It seems that I focus so much on what is wrong or broken in the world that I ignore the good parts. While I find that we as a culture should attend more seriously (and by that word, I mean "care to the point that we do something to fix it") to the broken parts of the world, I tend to have an autoimmune disorder-esque response to the bad stuff. And that just isn't healthy or helpful.

So that is why I chose the title I chose. My world is formless and void, but I am quite confident in the Spirit of God that hovers over the face of the waters. We will see light come from darkness, order from chaos, and life from the void once more. Here is the remedy for my cynicism: the possibility of healing for the broken parts of the world exists. I am not speaking of some kind of far-off utopia; I am talking about what is here now before us. The mythical phoenix perished in flame periodically only to be reborn from its own ashes. Our world is burning, and the smoke rises for all to see. But don't ignore the traces of newness rising from the charred remains. It rises in each of us and, as if we were conduits of this newness, also in those we live with, love, and care for.

This blog is devoted to life but ultimately to the consideration of what it would mean to practice resurrection. As I have nothing more intelligible than what I have already said on the matter, I must ask for your patience. Like I said, this whole bit is formless and void.