Naked

I got "Asked" this week to blog. Actually, I got "Told" to blog. The difference between the two is slight, but unmistakable. One suggests, the other commands.

Why was I "told" to blog? Because part of my role in the Gathering is to blog, and the first time I was asked to blog, I didn't do it. The second time I was asked, and I still didn't get around to it. So this week, I was told, and viola- I am blogging.

Why, you might ask, is this such a chore to me? For a lot of you reading this, you might love to blog. "Blogging isn't a duty, it's a delight", you say. So for you, the idea that someone would be told to blog is hard to imagine.

I realize that I am a bit different when it comes to blogging, but for me, blogging feels a lot like standing naked before a crowd of thousands of total strangers. Blogging, like standing naked in front of a crowd of strangers, takes what is known only to a few (maybe even just yourself), and putting it on stage for thousands to see. I guess when I think of blogging, I think of journaling. Like telling the world why I am depressed about being single, or why I am depressed
about being in a relationship (neither of which is true for me). Just the idea that someone would tell me to be vulnerable feels like a violation of my basic inalienable rights granted to me in the constitution. Call it 'my freedom not to be free' if you will.

Some of you might say I am being a bit extreme. Like, "Mike, blogging is a tool to remain connected to friends, to share ideas on life, to…waste time at work." But for me, blogging is so strange, so unfamiliar, so like being naked.

But you know what? After doing it, I kind of like it. Part of me likes it because I think what I am writing is actually interesting, and another part of me likes it because I think I need to be a bit more naked. I need to realize that what God is doing in my life, whether I think it is worthwhile or not, needs to be shared; That just because something is personal doesn't mean I need keep it private.

I wonder sometimes why we aren't this way in person? Why does it take a blog to share life? I'm not trying to down the blogging thing, but what would it look like if we were personal in person?

I think this is the community of people Jesus wants to create- Those who share the sacred parts of life, just as they are, and are better as a result of it. Oh the bliss and fear all wrapped into one!!

Naked for Our benefit
Mike