So I mentioned in my last blog that there are times when it is hard to come up with the words or ideas for regular new posts. That happens in preaching, too. It is more than possible to sit down to prepare a sermon and be hit by a terrific case of writer’s block and the sneaking suspicion that you have literally said it all before.

The way I combat that in preaching is to work in series: 4-6 week thematic or topical progressions. That way there is always a meta-narrative to touch upon, an over-arching idea from which to begin that week’s conversation. My easiest seasons of blogging follow a similar pattern: working through the season of Advent or Lent, and continually touching on the themes and events of those seasons.

But what to do when it isn’t Advent, when it isn’t Lent? When the inability to decide upon a topic leads to the inability to write a post?

Sometime in the past several months of not blogging, it occurred to me that I needed to come up with a project for those “off seasons.” Then it occurred to me that it should probably be a Bible-based project. Then it occurred to me that the simple thing would be to choose a book of the Bible and work through each verse – one verse, one post.

So, I give you the Jude Project. I chose The Epistle of Jude because it’s a book I don’t know that well (yes, even ministers have books of the Bible we don’t know that well…there are 66 of them, and some of them are really long…it’s a big book of books and we don’t have it memorized!). I thought I should choose something that would benefit me as much as my readers. Because when I am blogging regularly, it really does become a spiritual practice in my life. And getting to know an unfamiliar book of Scripture sounds like a very good spiritual practice to me.

So – The Jude Project will start this week. I expect I will also blog about other things alongside of The Jude Project. I don’t want to be tied to this project, ahem, religiously. But I do think it will help me in the practice and discipline of regular blogging. And I’m very much looking forward to it.

The Jude Project: it’s coming, people. But for now, I will leave you with this verse, which I believe to be true and which has always been a guiding principle in my life and vocation:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ NLT