Saturday, September 21, 2013

Reinventing my blog

I started this blog in 2004 with the name "Schenck Thoughts," a riff off of Jack Handy's Deep Thoughts. Then in 2008 I renamed it "Quadrilateral Thoughts," in honor of Wesley's Quadrilateral.

I hinted last week on the 9th anniversary of the blog that I've often felt whiplash here.
  • Some posts are specific to my denomination, which can at times seem bizarre to broader friends and scholars.  You have two tiers of membership? You don't allow members to drink moderately?
  • Some posts are mostly for fellow scholar bloggers, which can be alarming to lay people.  What do you mean the NT reads the OT in a fuller sense?  
  • Some posts are shared by some Wesleyans but even more by my broader Christian friends.  You think that about immigration, Ken?  
It has caused me not a little whiplash over the years.

So here's my strategy:
  • There is plenty opportunity on Facebook now to have inner Wesleyan type discussions.  I think I will mostly take those sorts of posts there.
  • I more and more think that there's a reason for a lot of scholarly conversation to take place among people who understand where the conversation is coming from (and who don't have designer pitchforks in their sheds).  I think I'll try to do more of my scholarly work the old fashion way... in Microsoft Word.
That leaves the blog for broader Christian discussion.  Yes, that includes kingdom oriented discussions of politics.  It leaves discussions about what's going on in American Christianity.  What I hope it doesn't leave is "brand confusion." :-)

I look forward to your thoughts and feedback.  We'll see how it works!

11 comments:

Susan Moore said...

Yea, this is good!!!
I want to learn more about Wesleyan, though. I'm open to suggestions about how to do that. It seems the doctrine I read on most of the main denominations almost all read the same -the Apostles Creed. And yet they are all different. It's their inner philosophies, for want of a better word, that's hard to figure out (like about drinking alcohol, for instance).
Most Christian blogs are for one denomination, it would be good to have one that is multi-denominational, and facilitated by someone like yourself who has an intellectual understanding of them all, and politics, too. A better understanding of politics, inside the church and outside, would have helped me in that hospital situation.
Thanks much! In case I've kicked back to hard once or twice, please be patient with me and remember that God isn't done with me, yet. And I'll do my best to remember that He's not done with you, either. :-)
Love in Christ,
Susan

Ken Schenck said...

No worries... I'm used to people disagreeing with me :-)

I'm not saying the bulk of content will change, only that I have a better picture in my mind of who I'm writing to and the tone I want to have.

Susan Moore said...

Cool. Let's keep doing Acts. I love Acts.
Are you intrigued at all by The Common Language of God?
Susan

Susan Moore said...

One more thing, while we are clearing the air. I've noticed that you support several blogs that at times support 'believing' in evolution as the way God allows creation to be formed.
I woke up this morning understanding the real issue with ‘believing’ in evolution.
Christians believe that God’s works authenticate His words. All through the Bible, beginning in Genesis 1:1, God spoke, and things happened as He said they would. This consistency on His part allows us to have faith in His Word, which is faithful and true, as time plays out the fulfilled promises of God.
The issue with evolution is this: if one believes that His creation is formed through His randomly mutated works, then one must also believe that His words mutate randomly as well. If that is true, then there is no absolute truth.
Instead of absolute truth there would remain a truth that is relative only to the mutated situation, and defined by the one effected by the mutation.
If that is the case, then for these believers who look to creation to define their god, any behavior may end up being acceptable as the whole of the Bible is nullified by their choice.
Is this your belief or a Wesleyan belief?
Susan

Ken Schenck said...

I re-titled my blog roll on the side, "spy glass" hoping that you and other readers would know that these are friends and others who I like to read. They certainly wouldn't agree with everything I post here and I wouldn't agree with everything they post there.

Evolution is not an issue I delve into much here. I do occasionally mention my sense that Christians should take it seriously. You don't hear of any good scientists who think it is beyond reasonable doubt. If that is the case, then it seems to me at the very least we should take it seriously as Christians. The Wesleyan Church believes God created the world but has no other official position. Most individual Wesleyans probably do not accept evolution.

Anonymous said...

Can you recommend some Facebook groups discussing the Wesleyan Church and holiness?

John

Ken Schenck said...

I don't know of a lay Wesleyan discussion group, other than the fact that a lot of Wesleyans are friends on Facebook. There is a Wesleyan Pastors group, but as you would suspect it is mostly for Wesleyan Pastors.

Anonymous said...

I have been greatly appreciative of your thoughts and resources made available to a "Galilean" pastor such as me (2nd career pastor with some Bible College). My congregation benefited from having a pastor better prepared in the pulpit because of you. Thanks so much and I will keep on reading your thoughts both on the web and in your books. May God bless you.

Christopher C. Schrock said...

Dr. Schenck,

"Designer Pictchforks." Classic.

Thanks for letting us know where you are going to take the blog. I look forward to it.

Chuck said...

I've been reading your blog for years and I'm one Wesleyan who will be sad to see you take denominational discussions to Facebook because I'm not on Facebook anymore and don't plan to go back. In other words, I'd be happy if you left your blog the way it was. Oh, well.

There is, by the way, a Wesleyan theology group on Google+. Craig Adams (who sometimes comments here) runs it. There isn't a lot of discussion on it but he posts some very interesting quotes. It's Wesleyan in the sense of Wesleyan-Methodist, not denominational.

Ken Schenck said...

No doubt I will try to smuggle in some Wesleyan theology under the guise of "this is what any Christians with any sense would think" :-)