Pastor Ryan Gaffney

Do you ever notice how blogs tend to be filled with angsty prose about how nobody understands the author? I’ve always wondered why that is.

Some of you who are my more consistent readers may have noticed that I’m having trouble keeping up the regularity of this blog. Or maybe (I hope) not. But it’s true. Since I’ve arrived in Kansas I just haven’t had the drive to type I had previously.

So I got to thinking tonight. “I wonder if that’s because I’m happy”

Kansas is beautiful right now, the weather is great, I have a homeish home for the first time in years and the ministry is going really well. Last night I was able to sit in on out IV bible study for the first time and it was incredible, About a third of the group hadn’t made up their minds about Christ but were interested if figuring it out, and all of us from all of our different backgrounds were able to peacefully exegete the passage together.

Earlier tonight I was at a Crew meeting as part of my research in “spying out the land” which was also crazy fun, and everyone’s been generally accepting of me both as a friend and a spiritual leader.

Previously I was writing while in the middle of fund raising in between work as a Youth Pastor and a Campus Minister, and before that in 2008, I had an active blog while between work as a volunteer and a youth pastor. Both times I lacked a church, and had been ousted from my previous community. I wonder If I just needed an outlet, and now that people are listening to me in the meatworld again, I don’t need that outlet so much.

Wouldn’t that be strange? That an entire form of mass communication caters to authors in a particular emotional state? It would certainly explain some things though…

I’m going to try to prevent this blog from atrophying due to my happiness. But I wanted to let you know about it for  three reasons:

1: I think it’s really interesting and I want to hear your comments

2: I may decide to change the format shortly and talk more about my life, or about the subject of this weeks bible study or a chapter of some book I’m writing, and I want you to know why

3: Hey, at least it’s something to say right?

Hello and welcome to the dreaded first blog!

The first blog has got to be the hardest to write because it is the blog that everyone goes back to and reads “how did this get started” and all that. So it needs to epitomize what the rest of the chronicle is going to represent.

At the same time it can’t just be any random old thing… I mean that would be awkward.

“oh and here is Gaffney’s first blog which is about Philemon… because today Gaffney sent a slave back to his master.. or something.

No it can’t work like that, I’m writing a blog today, and so the interesting that happened to day must be the fact that I have started a blog. The problem comes of course from the fact that that in itself is not interesting.

Of course I have the option of talking about what the blog will become some day.

But the truth is I have no idea.

Here’s my guess:

Faithvine has a section for blogs, devotionals, bible studies, and articles. The good stuff I write that I have combed over multiple times will go into articles. Unless it deals with a particular scripture, in which case it will go into bible studies… I never likes devotionals much but I might wind up with something that belongs there sometime, who knows.

The blog then has to be the daily stuff. The stuff that hasn’t been combed out perfectly. The ideas that I haven’t thought through all the way yet.

The blog, if I am to use it as a blog aught to be a window for you to see me in the wrestling match that is the Christian life.

So that’s what I’m going to put here… as far as I know.

The picture you see is of a delicious In-n-Out cheeseburger known as the Double-Double. It is delicious. The reason that I provided you with this image of a cheeseburger is twofold.

First, it is delicious, and so I hope that you may look upon it and read of the Inn-n-Out Double-Double and then go and partake of it’s goodness the next time you are in the southwest.

Second, I needed a picture for a first blog, and this showed up on a Google Image search for “first blog” so I went with it… I figured I would be able to squeeze enough content out of it to help fill a page so that it cannot be said that my first entry is a non-entry.

And as it turns out that is exactly the case because, as a Christian owned chain, inn n out wraps all their burgers with a tiny bible reference on the bottom.

On the Double-Double wrappers in Nahum 1:7

“The LORD is good, in times of trouble he is a strong refuge, and he knows everyone who trusts in him.”

Which is cool and all… but I’ve never been real big on individual verses… Cool… God isn’t bad…Good to know.

But it’s in Nahum!… Let’s face it… Most Christians don’t know the first thing about Nahum.

They put John 3:16 on the bottom of the cup, and then on the big burger they quote Nahum.

::High Five:: Inn-N-Out Burgers! Way to remind people that the book of Nahum exists.

Still that’s not Inn-n-Out’s real triumph.

On their regular burger wrappers they reference Revelation 3:20

“Here I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice, and answer the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with me. ”

Man would I like to grab a cheeseburger with Jesus

If you are going to take a verse out of context for no reason… That’s the way to do it!

Aaaaaannnnndddddd that’s my first blog!

… hopefully you have sampled my writing style. Next time maybe I’ll actually write about something.

1 Samuel 13:1