Happy Birthday CT!

Sometime midday on October 7, 2012, I did one last proofread, took a deep breath, uttered one final fervent supplication to the Almighty…and launched Challenging Tertullian.

And in my first post, I wrote the following:

“With this blog, I want to challenge Tertullian. Or, more to the point, I want to challenge the system of male privilege. I want to think about it, understand it and then discern how Jesus would have me respond to it. And I invite you to join me.”

One year into this adventure, let me share a couple of reflections.

First, I think I’ve done a pretty thorough job expositing male privilege. What I mean is that I’ve offered plenty of examples of male privilege in action in our culture and in American church culture in particular. A quick look at my dashboard reminds me that “Gimme Some Examples…” category is by far my biggest category. Looking around the blogosphere, I don’t see many people (other than Ryan Gosling) who are trying to call this stuff out. So I’m glad to be serving in this way.

Next, I think I’ve been less helpful offering solutions. Faithful readers will remember my three-fold rubric–Admit, Submit and Commit. Basically, I think I’ve given you good material for the “Admit” step, but I’ve been more sparse with the other two. As Challenging Tertullian rounds the corner on year one and heads boldly into year two, I’d like to balance out this ledger a bit.

Finally, you’ve joined me, but I’d love to have you join me more! Blogging faithfully twice a week has been an interesting enterprise, one thats been simultaneously natural and awkward. Natural, because I remain convinced that I am supposed to be thinking, writing and leading in this area. Simply put, to have fidelity to what God has called me to, I have to take the risk to challenge Tertullian, and this blog is one way I can do that.

And yet it’s also been awkward, because when you blog, you send something out into the world and you know not where (or to whom) it goes. It’s very weird. So, I send off a post and hope it hits the mark somewhere and with someone. All of this makes comments so key. Thanks to those of you who have commented here and on facebook. Please keep them coming. In fact, I’d love it if you’d take a second to comment on this post and let me know what you’ve been learning this year on CT.

Thanks everyone! And here’s to another year of challenging Mr. Tertullian!