Simply Shalom

I have an idea. For something bigger than this Simply Shalom blog. Lately I have been fascinated by the stories I hear about the miraculous ways God interacts with the world. I have also, for quite some time, been disillusioned with the standard structure of church in terms of its relevancy for our generation. Yet, despite my skepticism for God’s movement in the world, I know he still moves and acts in surprising and life changing ways. But do we hear about it enough? If you were honest with yourself, do you actually believe that God is all-powerful? Does he use his power in ways that actually benefits humanity? I want to start a new website, with a journalistic flair. I have a degree in journalism, so I might as well put it to good use. Part journalistic reporting, part community submitted personal stories, this new blog would be a sharing space for examples of God’s “inbreaking” into the world and into our lives in unignorable ways. So here’s my pitch:

 The Inbreaking is the answer to the questions Millenials are asking about the relevancy of a Christian faith. It is an exploration of Ultimate Reality in a raw, human-experience kind of way. In an increasingly pantheistic, agnostic, and pluralistic society, young people are sick of religion. You’ve probably seen this video “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus”, and the flurry of responses that have come from it.  (Here’s one I particularly enjoyed.) For Christians who were raised in the church, or non-Christians who were raised in a Church saturated culture, religion has become a synonym for blind ritual practice or stiff theology with rules that seem disconnected from the lives of real people today. And, to take it a step further, religion can sometimes seem the opposite of a real, present Divine force. But that doesn’t mean religion doesn’t have a place. In fact, religion is just our human response to God’s interaction with us.

The Inbreaking is an online collection of stories from people who have interacted with the Divine in surprising ways. There won’t be many sermons or theological treatises here, no political commentaries or critiques of pop culture. Instead, it is a proverbial campfire where those who have met Jesus can share with the community about their experience. It will be firsthand accounts of the spiritual world interacting with our own, interviews with people who felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to do something radical, and reports on ways the church is manifesting the body of Christ.

The above description is just a working “vision” and I expect the topics and form will change as it develops. What do you think? Would you read this? Would you contribute? Should I pursue this “idea” I have? Comment below, or send me an email to theinbreaking@gmail.com (the idea has been with me for a while. I already have the domain name and the email address… just need to make the rest of it happen now.)