The other day a clergy woman friend confessed to a group of us that she finds that she’s shy, even embarrassed these days about fessing up to being a Christian in groups of non-Christians. We all understood. If all you know about Christianity is what you’ve seen in the media in recent years, then of course you paint all Christians with the same brush: politically and socially conservative, more interested in saving souls than saving real people’s lives, more interested in trying to convert people than listening to them and learning from them. But one among us challenged us: If we don’t speak up, actual Christian clergy for crying out loud, then who will?

On my walk the next day, that challenge blossomed into this blog. “Solvitur ambulando” means “it is solved by walking,” a quotation attributed to the 5th century bishop, St. Augustine of Hippo. Augustine apparently found that walking gave him time away from distractions and the rushed pace of life, and this inspired ideas and alternatives he hadn’t previously considered. The phrase has a double meaning for me in terms of this blog. Like Augustine, I do my best thinking on my walks; in fact, I just learned in a blog how-to-video that for most people, creative output increases 60% just by walking.

But in addition, my approach to my Christian faith is that what Jesus had in mind was not so much that we are to believe the right beliefs, but that by living his teachings day by day we participate with God in bringing about the world God intends for all of us. That’s why the early Christians described themselves as being on the Way. So, for me, Christianity is a path. It isn’t the only path. Many central features of Christianity aren’t unique to Christianity, and I have tremendous respect for those who choose other paths, other faiths. And if you got stuck on the word “God,” I’m okay if you substitute Higher Power, Holy Mystery, Creative Source, whatever works for you. But Christianity is my path, the path I have chosen, or, perhaps, the path which has chosen me.

As many have said in one way or another, we make the path by walking. Christians make the path by walking together, bringing along our doubts and our questions as well as our best hopes. My intention with this blog is to raise questions, confess doubts, explore faithful responses to some of the world’s challenges, and encourage conversation, all toward the end of making the path by walking.

I’ll make this blog by walking, as well. I’m new to blogging and will learn as I go. Among other things, I plan to post stories that put flesh on some Bible passages. If people can’t imagine how those old Bible stories might speak to their lives here and now, they can’t be blamed for wondering why they should bother with them. Each week I’ll look at one of the passages in the Revised Common Lectionary, a list from which many preachers choose the passage for Sunday’s sermon. But I want to be very clear that I do not claim to be a Biblical scholar, I’m a preacher, so don’t expect me to tell you what the Greek or Hebrew really means or to dive deep into the history of the passage. I’m just interested in showing how a timeless story can be true for our lives regardless of what you believe about whether it’s fact or inerrant or any of the other words people plaster on the Bible mostly to prove they are right and someone else is wrong.

So here goes. Solvitur ambulando. Welcome to the journey.