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comment by jadedog
jadedog  ·  2820 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I do this thing on Thursdays.

I have a question. I'm a bit cynical about the motivation for this project. Sorry if that comes across badly or. . .er. . . thank you for not judging me harshly because you're not, right? (yes, I read one of the archive posts about people saying sorry too much). :p

From a quick skim, it sounds like there's a lot of Christian sentiments in the archives. That doesn't bother me too much, but will there be proselytizing as time goes by?

I had a friend who was an ex-pastor. He would be talking to me like anyone else, but once in a while, he would get to proselytizing out of the blue. It was jarring and annoying and colored what happened before and after it.





levydb  ·  2820 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's a great question and you have great insight. First, thanks for taking a look at the archive – I really appreciate it.

I am a pastor, and I hope thenewgreen would vouch for me that I'm one of the good ones. Since I've been to Divinity School at Duke and have been theologically trained, I see the world through a certain lens (as we all do) and that's going to come out in my writing. It's informed so much of who I am.

But through the Thursday Three, I do not intend in any way to proselytize. Ever. And I try to keep in mind that my audience may have a wide range of beliefs. Maybe I need to be better at this. All this is to say, it really is just meant to be a creative outlet – a place where I can write and share and offer my voice and hopefully provide some meaning and inspiration along the way. That's it. No ulterior motive. No bait and switch.

I'm sorry about your ex-pastor friend. That really sucks.

user-inactivated  ·  2819 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I haven't checked out your site just yet, but do you ever write down your sermons and publish them online? If so, I'd love to read some from time to time.

levydb  ·  2819 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I do have manuscripts. I don't publish them, though. Perhaps it's worth doing. I'll consider it. I do upload select recordings to my personal site: http://brentlevy.com/sermons I am happy to send a manuscript along though if any piques your interest.

user-inactivated  ·  2819 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Wonderful. Thank you so much. I'm listening to "Jesus Isn't Mentioned Once" now. If you don't mind my asking, what denomination are you?

Edit: Just finished "What is Prayer." It's insightful. Thank you.

levydb  ·  2818 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks so much, rd95.

user-inactivated  ·  2818 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Nah. Thank you. I listened to all five in an afternoon. If you ever post more, let me know. You have a pair of open ears over here.

jadedog  ·  2820 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks for the nice words and the assurance.

I really like the layout of your site. It's clean, and the main idea stands out. I also like the idea of 3 things. It's diverse enough to give room for different topics but not so scattered that it loses focus.

I've been thinking of starting a blog to share my voice as well. Thank you for the inspiration in that direction.

levydb  ·  2819 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's so awesome. And thanks for the kind words. That's what I'm going for -- a good range of topics and ideas, but focused. That's why I like theming it, even if it's loose sometimes. Can't wait to read your blog. Glad you are inspired.