At Radiant Church we are people of the Word of God and the Spirit of God. We believe that when together we pursue the Living Word (Jesus Christ) through the Written Word (the Bible) in humble dependence on the Spirit of God, our lives will shine with grace and truth, just like Jesus (John 1:14). We want to be what our name claims--radiant. Just as Jesus himself is the radiance of the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3), we want to be the out-shining of Jesus (Psalm 34:5).

Our blog, this little light, is one small effort to do that--to shine the beauty of Jesus.

Now, starting a blog is one of the more difficult beginnings. I should know, I did it several times between 2006 and 2014. You begin with lots of ideas and feel like you have a lot to say. You plan out a disciplined schedule, although you have so much enthusiasm it seems like this thing will practically write itself. Then you get about 2 months into it and begin to experience the sheer tyranny of solo blogging: silent days turn into empty weeks, and your avid readership of 11 people falls a little short of what you envisioned. You wonder if it's worth the effort.

So how will this little light be different? Let's set some guardrails and expectations at the outset, ok?

The goal is not to:

• be an expert on everything. As a pastor, my priorities have been set for me: prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4) and shepherding God's flock (1 Peter 5:1-2). Writing here will serve as a way for me to keep the main thing the main thing. As such, I’m choosing not to try to be an expert on everything. It would be foolish for me to offer an opinion on everything that people are discussing these days. I'll focus on biblical, theological, and cultural reflections that I think will be helpful for my church family and are within my capacity to address.
• be the lone voice or build a brand. This is not about building a following for me or even my church. After a while I will begin inviting friends to contribute as well. For now, this little light is an outlet for me to begin writing again after 9 years of not writing much of anything. At this point, it's something the Lord has impressed me to do.
• provide a forum for discussion & debate. I'm still undecided about having comments at all. They easily become time-consuming debates. I gave up trying to debate things online many years ago, and I have regretted breaking that commitment almost every time I've tried it since. At Radiant Church we will be a people who discuss and debate things in person, at my house or yours, preferably over coffee or another delicious beverage, and not with the carnal anonymity and distance provided by the internet.

Instead, let's:

• talk about and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether in great theological/exegetical detail or in the simplest of application, we want to be people who understand, love, and obey King Jesus. Like our gatherings on Sunday, we want Jesus to be the central character on this little light.
• build up the body of Christ. That doesn't mean I won't say critical things, but the end (and the means!) will always be to love Jesus and his people with words of grace and truth so that we will grow together into maturity in Christ (Ephesians 4:13-16).
• learn, practice, and change. Growing as disciples of Jesus means 1) learning more about God, ourselves, and the world he made, 2) building the gospel into daily rhythms of life, and 3) changing more and more into the image of Christ through ongoing repentance (Ephesians 4:20-24).

My promises, like my abilities, are modest: I'll use this space to reflect on the gospel for the edification of the church as I walk the path God has ordained for me in life and ministry. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."