Change of Place

It’s late, and I actually just climbed myself out of bed, but I’ve been trying to get to a point where I could say things all day. I’m just not able to get thoughts organized and on paper unless I’ve had a few hours of peace and rest behind me. Men are supposed to become like their fathers, like women are supposed to become like their mothers, but at least in this one case, I’m more like my mom: I have to have a few hours solitude (which nearly amounts to boredom in some respects) before I can really be worth anything at all.

Speaking of solitude, I seem to have had enough of it yesterday, for I woke up this morning with my head bursting with ideas. Well, perhaps more “whelming” than “bursting” but still… I had thoughts which seemed to me to be inspired. Some of these were little things, like new enthusiasm for some story ideas I had mostly set aside (ideas which, of course did not get written down). But one idea seemed more fundamental: I think I need a name change.

I’m speaking of web domains, not my personal name.

When I came up with the Puretext “brand” I had a different view of what I’d be doing with this site. I was spending most of my online leisure reading online comics, and so was imagining my web presence mostly in terms of entertainment. I don’t do pictures, I write stories and poems. So I called the site Pure Text.

But Pure Text isn’t really an accurate description, any more, of who I am and what I’m trying to do. Granted, I still don’t do pictures, but neither do most webloggers, so that’s not much of a distinction. Pure Text is interesting in terms of an entertainment site, but says nothing in terms of a unique perspective for a Christian weblog. In fact, it doesn’t really communicate that I’m a Christian. Who’d a thunk that I’d ever find myself facing a personal criticism that I’m not effectively communicating that I’m a Christian?

But the truth is that “effectively communicating that I’m a Christian” wasn’t actually very high on my list of priorities a couple of years ago. I had shunted aside a call to “ministry”, and had embraced the idea that I would be some amalgam of art and business. Unabashedly Christian, no doubt, but not in the traditional form of Christian ministry.

I think I may have gotten it just a little bit backwards. More and more it seems to me that it’s the form which needs to be traditional and the substance which needs to be unique. That is, I need to go ahead and give up on this idea that ministry for me won’t look like a normal pastor in a church, and I need to go ahead and accept the fact that the way I think and the way I present myself will always be a little… odd. Because I am a little odd.

All that to say that, if I’m going to have a blog, it’s not going to be an entertainment blog; it’s going to be a ministry oriented blog, because I’m a minister. And it’s not going to be a showcase of what I can do (or have done) but simply an expression of who I am. There have been any number of things that I haven’t blogged about because they didn’t fit with the original vision and I didn’t have a new vision yet to contain them.

Another reason for wanting to change the name is that, when I started this weblog, it was basically a product of me. I’m not going to be a “me” much longer. In a year or less, I’m going to be a “we”, and frankly “Pure Text” is a terrible description of the other part of “us”. Valerie isn’t particularly verbal, and I want to try to include her in any expression of “us.”

So who am we? (oh dear. This grammar thing is getting confusing. I think I’ll just stick with “I” for now.) First and foremost, I am a Christian, a servant of Jesus Christ. My life is forfeit in comparison with his grace and calling. I don’t say that lightly, or like some kind of masochistic cliché. A long time ago, I laid down everything for Him. I haven’t given up my uniqueness and humanity, and I haven’t become some kind of robot. Nevertheless, if I know that God has said it, I’m doing it. Period, Point-blank, no questions asked.

Secondly, I am an evangelical. That means that I believe that one of the primary callings of the Christian is to declare who Jesus Christ is, and what He has done for us. I believe that telling people that they can be saved from sin is as clear and simple as telling someone to boil impure water. There is no justification on my part for occluding knowledge which could save another person’s life. Understand, I don’t assume an obligation to force people to boil their water, or to boil it for them if they don’t want it boiled. But I must not, under any circumstance, withhold any kind information that could benefit another person’s life.

Third, I am a charismatic. That word gets tossed around a lot, and can mean anything from energetic to maniacal. In terms of Christianity, what it really means is simply that I believe that God is actively, presently involved in the lives of men, sort of the dramatic opposite from the deist position. God is interested and involved in people’s lives, not just in the bland “Providential” sense, but in the particular and in the supernatural. “Charismatic” derives from the Greek word “charismata” meaning “gifts” or “graces,” and I believe that the grace that God has given includes the “spiritual gifts” described in I Corinthians 12-14. (It’s a small point until somebody says God doesn’t do that anymore.)

So, reflecting all this, I’m considering a name change. I’m still in the considering stage, so I would appreciate some feedback. The name I’m thinking about is “neumatikos.org.” “Neumatikos” is the Greek word most often translated “spiritual,” as in ode neumatikos, a spiritual song—from Ephesians 5:19 “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”. I’d probably put that verse at the top somewhere.

The new name would fill 3 major goals: It would be much more blatantly Christian, it would still have an aspect of the creative in it (at least with the “ode” tacked on somehow) and it would be broad enough that I could include other people (i.e. Valerie) and a greater variety of content.

So thems the thoughts. And now I adjourn to bed.

Author: KB French

Formerly many things, including theology student, mime, jr. high Latin teacher, and Army logistics officer. Currently in the National Guard, and employed as a civilian... somewhere View all posts by KB French