A Vision Statement

The vision of this newsletter is to connect directly with readers. Substack author Andrew Sullivan wrote, "There’s something wonderful about writing just for readers. Because your people are there, you have to be accountable, but it’s a very pure relationship.” [emphasis mine]. A blog is accessible for anyone, anywhere, and lacks both the accountability and relational aspects that Sullivan describes. I am excited about this next phase for me as a writer for a whole host of reasons, and it is a huge paradigm shift. It feels like I’m launching a small business —Spurstack— that will require focus and dedication. In my mind, it’s nothing like blogging, which always felt like a guilty pleasure and time I should’ve spent elsewhere. The thing is I need accountability, focus and dedication, and the idea of tying these together in relationship with my people, no matter how few, is ideal.

So first of all, thank you for being here. I am thrilled to have you. And now, I’ll lay out a little about how it will work. Spurstack has four distinct sections. Each section is a different topic and delivered on a different day. As a subscriber, you can receive all four weekly emails, or any combination of the four. Lord willing, on Sunday evening, January 2, 2022, the first Spur Sunday will go out. It will be devotional in nature and aim to get your week (and mine) off to a great start. For me, Sunday nights are special because you are savoring the rest and relaxation and time spent with family, but you are also gearing up for the week ahead. I think it’s the perfect time to be reminded how we can all spur each other on to greater love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

Relational Monday will focus on marriage and family. Who among us has mastered relationships? Certainly not me, but I aim to be ever-learning how I can do better. This is the section where I will pilot doing a podcast in lieu of the email. I am both nervous (because I hate the sound of my own voice) and excited about doing something totally new. The Substack platform allows each post to be either a newsletter or a podcast, so it will vary week to week. Fittingly, there was a recent Babylon Bee headline about the last remaining American without a podcast, so I am certainly late to the game!

Worldview Wednesday will tackle a current issue or event in light of a biblical worldview. I am pumped about this because it justifies taking a deeper dive into some ideas that I find discouraging in our culture right now.

Fiction Friday will be stuff I make up. Many well-known novels of today were originally written via serial installments, and if all goes as planned, the last installment of the my first series-installment novel, Beneath the Juniper Tree, will go out December 2, 2022.