Beginnnings

Stepping out into the Internet waters. A blog of my own. Yeah, I can see it now - The trumpets blaring, the timpani crashing.

Seriously, I've toyed with the idea of doing a blog for some time. One of my must reads over the past few years has been a Texas Baptist preacher named Gordon Atkinson. He has created quite a bit of notoriety for himself by writing a blog called Real Live Preacher. As he puts it - "I had this funny picture in my head of a freak-show barker shouting 'Come, and see a Real Live Preacher!'" The blog is so popular that he is published in The Christian Century, which has been required reading for me since I started seminary in the late 1970's.

Gordon talks about many things in his blog and I propose to do that too. There will be times in which I will talk about the church I am currently serving (mostly that) or have served, the United Church of Christ, my theology and the development of it over the years of thinking, about faith matters, about my understanding of how it all works out.

I won't have all the answers any more than you would expect that I would. But I will publish my thoughts, recommendations, challenges, and mostly talk about where I see Christianity, faith, the Church, culture and life intersecting with each other.

BTW, why The frayed Alb? The word alb comes from my first name and last initial, but it also comes from the name of the servant garment that I sometimes wear when I'm leading worship services. I have always preferred it to the clerical robe. The alb is more of a servant garment and the clerical robe more of an academic garment.

The frayed bit comes from the reality that we are all frayed, incomplete, works in progress, maybe a bit rough around the edges - you get the picture.

Anyway, until something better comes along, we'll go with
The frayed Alb.

I hope you enjoy the blog. Til' later.....

The Frayed Alb