This past Monday I made a commitment to try and post something each day this week using Kevin Vanhoozer’s “The Drama of Discipleship” essay as a prompt.  I’ve been way too sporadic with the site the last few months and have wanted to try and “get back in the saddle” for some time.  This was my week to give it a try.

One thing the week taught me is that it’s easy to start strong but difficult to finish well.  Part if that is having some weekend to help buffer things.  And then by the time I hit Wednesday, I’m often kind of wiped out.  I found myself doing most of my writing at night for the same night, not for the next morning.  So there is definitely a “lead time” issue for blogging.

I was also reminded that a series on one thing can be both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because you have something consistent to work with, a curse because things don’t always flow as well as you’d like . . . the downside of doing a little bit each day.  On some level, “one and done” posts are much easier: a tv preview here, some concert footage there, and wham-bam-you’re-done.

My hope for next week is to post three thoughtful pieces: one Monday, one Wednesday, and one Friday.  Preferably in the morning.  Maybe post some not-so-thoughtful things the rest of the week.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’ve also been considering a “WordPress Theme” change, but I can’t find one that fits what I’d like for the site (which is always intended to be text-heavy).  I’ve got some essays and articles that I’ve been sitting on for some time that I’d like to write about.

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A few concluding thoughts on Vanhoozer’s essay about the Greatest Commandment.  First, I liked the essay’s comprehensive nature.  A statement like the Greatest Commandment allows for that, of course: heart, soul, mind, and strength can account for a lot of things in the life of faith.  And so he used the framework wisely . . . and all while keeping it relatively short.

Second, I liked the concepts that Vanhoozer built into his thematic spiral.  Yes: vocation, formation, and culture.  But also: sapience and “canon-sense.”  You see these often in Vanhoozer’s longer pieces, so it was good to see him reference them in something shorter.

And speaking of “canon-sense,” the third thing I liked about the essay was how Vanhoozer always came back to Scripture.  I come from a period of time where the biblical text, while not everything, was something essential to understanding and living the Christian life.  I don’t get that sense from many all that much any more.  It is a curiosity at best and an annoyance at worst.  To see him come back around to the text was an affirming thing for me, both as a believer and a teacher.

Finally, it was cool to see Vanhoozer reference writers like James K. A. Smith and N. T. Wright.  They have definitely been “prior” in my experience when compared to Vanhoozer.  This was also an affirmation to me.  It is good to see something like a “web” of connections materialize with the threads I’ve had a chance to follow over these last few years.

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And so tomorrow: this Sunday’s best comic strip.  And then probably a quick review of a couple of movies and some thoughts on James K. A. Smith’s final editorial for Comment Magazine.