Intros and Greatest Hits

a grab bag post

Hello Blue Roomies, and happy Friday.

We’ve got a bunch of new subscribers who’ve come to us via other Substacks and also the new Substack Notes feature. (Notes is a place for the Substack community to share short thoughts outside of the formal newsletters. It’s like the place E*** M*** paid $44 billion for, but nicer. If you use the Substack app, you should have access to it.)

Anyway, welcome! It’s been a while since I did any sort of intro here, so I thought I’d combine a tour around the Blue Room with my regular monthly grab bag post.

So hi. 

I’ve been blogging/newslettering for almost twenty years, and writing for a lot longer than that. I used to send the newsletter monthly, but at the beginning of the pandemic I took it weekly and haven’t looked back. After moving to Substack from another platform last fall, I started introducing additional content for paid subscribers, currently two posts per month. This week’s offering is a meditation on toxic positivity. And subscriptions are discounted through April!

Where did the name Blue Room come from? It’s based on a literal place you can read about here. Marketing gurus tell writers that we’re supposed to have a value proposition and a clear niche so people know exactly how the newsletter will make their lives better. I can’t say I’ve been terribly successful at that; in fact the prospect makes me want to go lie down. My tagline is “a place to breathe amid the clamor of everyday life,” but that’s as specific as I get. 

Though I write about real-life stuff, I hope never to raise your blood pressure. I strive to be interesting and occasionally stumble into insightful. I’d rather be wrong than boring; may the moments be few when I am both. I live for your replies; I’ll take a full inbox of comments over any metrics Substack serves up, though I’m grateful for steady growth, even as I don’t understand where it all comes from. A few years ago my son went on a trip with his grandparents to the Grand Tetons, where my mother-in-law got to talking to a pastor from the West Coast. She did the six degrees of separation thing and found out that the guy knew me through my books. My son is fifteen now and it still blows his mind. Mine too.

I’m a Christian pastor of the “God adores gay people” variety. I’m in a perpetual lover’s quarrel with the church, but when it comes down to it I just can’t quit Jesus. I try never to slap a bumper sticker on the complexities of life; if anything I’ll sit with you on the ash heap as long as you need. (That’s a reference to scripture. I try to explain myself when I drop one of those.) I like to say that my theology is as much Lord of the Rings and A Wrinkle in Time as it is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. To paraphrase Wendell Berry, I’m hopeful though I’ve considered all the facts.

I run. A lot.

As for what I write about: well, everything from tea to time management; from mental illness to muffins; from running to racism. (I’m an antiracism coach and facilitator for NEXTChurch.) Before I left Facebook for good, I hosted a weekly post about Ted Lasso which got dozens (sometimes hundreds) of comments. I’ve moved the party here—please join us! Nothing makes me happier than finding spiritual richness in unlikely places. 

Speaking of Ted Lasso, my sermon from last Sunday gives the show a shoutout. I always let folks in the Blue Room know when I’m preaching at the church I serve, and you’re welcome to join us via livestream every Sunday at 10:15 Eastern.

Oh yeah, I’m currently serving as associate pastor 30 hours a week for Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, VA. Before taking on this position, it had been some seven years since I’d worked in a church. You can read about the journey from free-range pastor to my current call here:

I'm Getting Back into Show Business

Here are a few other greatest hits from the archives:

Shift Happens: On Gravity and Anchors

Four Little Words

In Praise of the Sewer Rat

This one reflects on three years of covid:

Year Three.

I also started a podcast last year, which just wrapped its second season. It’s also, creatively, called The Blue Room. Season one was a bunch of reflection on pop culture and where we see hope lurking there. Season two was a series of conversations around the themes in my latest book, Hope: A User’s Manual.

OK, that’s more than enough about me. Most importantly: I’m really glad you’re here. 

~

Link Love

I typically close the newsletter with one or more links:

After a looooong hiatus, the Soundtrack Show podcast is back! This show got me through the early months of pandemic. Latest episode is a deep dive of the score from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. 

R.E.M.’s album Murmur is 40 years old. Feeling decrepit over here.

I was fascinated by this pilot program from the Body Shop in which they hire people without requesting a resume or interview. It actually worked pretty well. 

And finally, I try to close every newsletter with:

Steady on.