Patrick O'Connell

Haunted By The Unsaid

Writers don't write to get published. If this is your motivation you're going to be disappointed. Writers write because they must write. They cannot NOT write.

Writers write for lots of reasons. But the first reason is that they are compelled to create. The only reason to write is because a writer must write. Writers write because they have something to say. Many people have something to say. But for a writer, they must say it. They must get the something into words.

The writer's only hope is to develop discipline around his or her craft. Otherwise there is going to be much left unsaid. And the unsaid words haunt the writer.

A writer must focus on what is before him or her. They cannot look back. Nor can they look forward. To write is to be present. This is hard--very hard.

Writing is valuable, if only to the writer. And that's enough. But on occasion, the words breakout and the writer has said something that resonates with the reader. 

When a writer writers only for an audience they have lost their reason for writing. Good writing is birthed from the deep places of the writer and it must come out and it doesn't matter if anyone reads it. This is writing.

Writing is hard. But not writing is harder.

Write Down What You Know

A friend suggested some months ago that I should write down what I know about church planting. Since I don't have the time to do it all at once I had the idea for this blog. Writing everything at once is too daunting a task. So I'll write it down in small bits and pieces.

This is merely the lens of my experience of following Jesus to the edge and helping start a church.  And if it helps you build a more Jesus-centered community of impact, then it'll be worth my time.

I am interested in dialogue and ideas and processes and best practices and your experience as it relates to church planting and following Jesus to the fringe. Email me. Twitter me, whatever. Let's get going.

Anyone Blogging or Reading Blogs?

Yeah so it's been nearly a year since my last blog post. But enough about me. Are you blogging anymore? Are you reading blogs?

I suspect the Twitter/Facebook revolution is not yet over and so I am wondering if blogging will just be something we did in the 2000s.

I'd like to hear from you on this one--if you're still out there.

Jesus is Everything

I was going through some of my old journals the other day and came across this. I wrote it very soon after I found everything:

One day I am going to write about how I went from believing in NOTHING to believing in everything.

I was once an atheist. I believed in nothing and was of course a terrible sinner. And then it all changed and now I want to spend the rest of my life glorifying Him. How did this happen?

I think I would begin by admitting that my salvation is a gift from God. He gave me everything.

So I plan to write a book about this in the future. Well not just about this because that would boring. So maybe I'll just write a chapter about it in a spiritual autobiography? (Not sure that would be any more exciting actually.) My point: I want to try and understand all of this in an effort to help others. I suspect there are many like me.

For me, Christ is everything. I pray that you come to know that Christ wants to be everything for you no matter where you are in life.

Spiritual Journaling Workshop

On Monday evening I attended a spiritual journaling workshop at CCC. Sue Natello is Spiritual Director there was the instructor. Sue is a mature believer and did a great job of presenting to us some practical advice on the topic. Very helpful to me was to hear about how journaling has helped her and how integral a part of her faith journey it is.

Here are my key take-aways:

1. A spiritual journal is about celebrating me and God.
2. The purpose of journaling is to grow deeper in an intimate love relationship with God.
3. Bible reading and journaling go hand in hand.
4. A spiritual journal is a written record of three things 1) My communication with God 2) Recording the activities in my life and how God is influencing it 3) Reflections and Meditations on the word
5. A spiritual journal is a tool that helps us to: 1) Recognize and respond to the Holy Spirit's transforming work in our lives 2) Helps us remember what's happening 3) Focuses us to listen to God
6. You should journal at the same time everyday, in the same place.

This gives you a pretty good flavor of what we covered. Let me know if you want more details: I took pretty good notes.

How to Write a Blog Post by Seth Godin

Seth Godin tells how to write a blog post (italics are Mr. Godin's words):

An appropriate illustration,
A useful topic, easily broadened to be useful to a large number of readers,
Simple language with no useless jargon,
Not too long,
Focusing on something that people have previously taken for granted,
That initially creates emotional resistance,
Then causes a light bulb go go off
and finally,
Causes the reader to look at the world differently all day long.

Apologies for Blogging

I feel a need to apologize. I cringe after reading some of the posts I've written on this blog. The writing is terrible in some and barely passable in most. I'll be honest, I don't spend a lot of time editing before I hit the 'publish' button and it certainly shows. So that's why I want to apologize.

It's funny this blog writing: a blogger first and foremost wants to communicate with people yet most blogs are never read. But anyone on the planet who has access to the Internet can potentially pull up this blog and read it. There could be someone in Nairobi Kenya who mistaken stumbles across this blog and starts reading. Kind of cool if you think about it. This is why I continue blogging I suppose. I wake up on some days and tell myself that today I will write my last post. But it doesn't stop. I keep writing. Now it's a habit. One of the benefits of blogging is that it forces me to sit down and think about what I want to say. There is plenty that interests me, concerns me, frustrates me, excites me, saddens me, etc. about this world and writing about it, well, helps.

So thank you if you're reading this and again, sorry for the atrocious writing.

(By the way, except for the spell check, I didn't edit this.)

Levenger

Levenger is a store for 'serious readers.'

It is an online store for all things related to reading. I haven't purchased anything yet, but I've spent a ton of time browsing their site. If you're a reader or you share my penchant for anything related to books, you're going to like it.

Enjoy.

World-Views are Based On Words

In early August Jeffry C. Davis wrote about 'writing with purpose' in the Comment series of  the Work Research Foundation. The piece is primarily about the pedagogy Davis uses when teaching his faith-motivated college students about writing. But there is much more because, as Davis argues, world-views are based on words. (I couldn't agree more.)

You should read it for yourself.

Chucking This Blog...

I have spent the last few days trying to decide if I want to continue with Atropica.  I am no longer finding joy in keeping it. Additionally, the work necessary to keep it going is a bit overwhelming for me at this point. I am also being dogged by the question: what the heck is this blog good for? I mean what am I trying to do with it?

I've spent some time reviewing my posts and it's clear to me that  my blog seems confused and unfocused. I call it a miscellany but this no longer justifies the effort. I lament the fact that I've created this hodge-podge when my intent was to create something I could use for nobler purposes.

So here's my plan: I will refocus and re-challenge myself. I will pay stricter attention to the content and not simply create a post on my every whim. I've already changed the design of the blog (actually I've changed it twice in as many days) so that it will feel different. I am no longer going to use canned photographs to 'dress up' the content. Finally, I am going to post more infrequently and keep them focused on content. I am not sure where this is going to lead me, nor if it will be enough to save my blog, but I thought it better than giving-up.