For much of his life, Daniel Noe doodled on napkins, receipts, scrap paper, in the columns of his school papers, and in several other places that shall remain unmentioned. He would start each with a random line and then literally make them up as he went along. Most ended up becoming alien creatures that he would then create physiological traits for. One day his father said, “You can draw. Why don’t you buy some good paper and put some effort into it?” Thus, InkDoodler was born.
Do You Need Any New Friends???
Do You Ever Want To Get Married?
Do You Need Any New Reading Material?
Do You Want To Change The World?
I keep hearing in the news that loneliness is an epidemic, that ostracized individuals are turning to violence, and that directionless youths are finding purpose in cults or radical ideological groups. I don’t know what to do about this other than introduce myself to random people to see if they need any friends or if they know of anybody that needs any friends. I know I won’t have time for everybody, but maybe I can introduce you to others I meet. Maybe you can reach out yourself and do what I’m doing.
I also hear on the news that depression is a growing problem in modern societies. I’ve had some relevant experiences that might help others on that front. I’d be happy to talk about them, or you could read my book, No Longer I Who Live.
I Need Some Help:
I’m also looking to help myself. While I currently have a small group of friends, I know from experience that these groups never last, and there have been years in the past that I had no friends at all. I’d like to have someone I can count on to spend some time with without having to work so hard on the relationship. I’d like someone to return my calls and not twist everything I say into something they know I don’t mean. I’d like to have someone who I share a purpose with and can conspire with. I’d like to have somebody I can meet with for coffee on a regular basis and discuss the big ideas. It would be nice to keep in contact for decades so I have someone to give me rides when I’m finally too old to drive. Let's talk.
The Friendship Project:
I’d like to spread friendship and normalize the idea of talking to strangers and checking on neighbors in the real world. The internet is rigged. Every algorithm is designed to keep you online where advertisers can get to you. People are grouped with others that reinforce their prejudices instead of challenging them. Certain strains of thought are suppressed. Creators are shadowbanned. Maybe you’d like to start your own group or simply do what I’m doing by talking to strangers one at a time. Let’s talk.
Redemption Narratives:
I’d also like to make people feel good about themselves and their lives by interviewing them, distilling their story down to the essentials, and writing a fictional story based on them. I’d like to talk to the depressed, the disabled, and the elderly, and give them the new identity of a crime-fighting superhero with superpowers. These stories (with changed names) could later be collected into a book. Would you like to write stories about others? Would you like to write your own story? Let's talk.
The Understanding Project:
I’d also like to satisfy my curiosity by interviewing those of different political persuasions and learning how it was that they came to the conclusions they did, and how they came to deem some news sources more reliable than others. It has always been utterly baffling to me why others don’t see the world the way I do. Getting to the truth could also be part of their superhero story and being a failed activist can give us something to bond over. If successful in understanding where people are coming from, I might put my findings in a book that will help others to be more patient with those on the other side. Let's talk.
The Romance Project:
I once saw a woman driving behind me in the Wendy’s drive-through. Of course I knew nothing about her, whether she was annoying or funny, rigid or forgiving, nurturing or destructive. I only knew that she was very pretty and that she hadn’t driven to Wendy’s to be bothered by me.
Then I started to wonder: What if she’s had many of the same problems I’ve had? What if she has been single and lonely for years? What if all her old friends are too busy for her or have moved out of state? What if every guy at her workplace is already married? What if she has no other way to meet people? What if she goes out in public in the desperate hope that someone will stop to talk to her? What if we were very compatible? By the time I had considered these questions, the moment was gone. It was too late. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with you. I know that chances are we aren’t compatible, but if we never hang out, we’ll never know.
I’m the most interesting guy I know. I write fiction and non-fiction. I have published seven books and I am currently writing two more. I draw alien creatures. I like to explore parks and follow trails. I like art museums. I like pizza. I like sushi. I have memorized pi to 56 digits. I grew up in New Hampshire and briefly lived in Rhode Island. I’ve been watching Doctor Who since 1989 and in spite of all its flaws it is still my favorite show. I have big projects planned for the next couple of years and every great man needs a great woman, both to support him and to keep his ego in check. Give me a call.
Making friends is tough. There are levels to intimacy. People have to be moved from stranger to acquaintance, then from acquaintance to friend, then from friend to date, date to steady girlfriend, and then from girlfriend to wife. Traditionally, I have made friends at school or work because we were forced together. More recently, I have tried meetups and church home groups, but they haven’t worked well. I have noticed that ninety percent of people do not want to move as fast as I do, and so we grow very slowly or not at all. The other ten percent want to move much much much faster, so much so that it stands out as extremely unusual and makes me think something isn’t right. All my warning lights go off and I spend all my time trying to figure out what sort of scam they are running. It makes me very distrustful. To top it off, if they sense any resistance from me, they get angry and accuse me of being unusual, proving how thoroughly out of touch with the dominant social norms they are.
Of course, there are people who are mere acquaintances, and I don’t feel comfortable calling them without a specific reason. It is easy to forget about them and let life distract me. If any of them were to call me, I would be glad to talk, but initiating contact without a subject of conversation already in mind is just too hard. We have no relationship history to draw on. The same problem exists with strangers I might see while on errands. I am focused on my errands and they are focused on theirs, so we barely even notice each other. There is nothing to talk about and they never talk to me either. Only under the rarest of circumstances (such as being stuck in a long line together) do I ever converse with strangers, but it never goes anywhere, we never discover any common hobbies, and contact information is never exchanged. In fact, I would have to awkwardly change the course of conversation in order to bring it up. Any relationship that begins with rigid formulas of behavior instead of being sensitive to the needs of the moment is probably one that will stay that way. Ignoring signs that someone is in a rush or not interested because I am following a premeditated script is not a good way to do conversation. In any case, I want friends I will actually like, not friends just for the sake of saying I have friends.
There are those that suggest the problem is me – that I lack confidence and worry too much about coming off as creepy – but this is not true. I am burdened by the feeling that it would be actually inappropriate to move too quickly – not just that others might judge it as inappropriate. I have never been one to follow the social rules when I think them unfair – unless of course there are consequences attached, such as getting fired or going to jail. In any case, nobody has ever asked me for my information either, so it proves it’s not just me.
Even so, the few people who I manage to connect with at all are mostly guys. Rarely, I do make friends with women, but they are always married or otherwise taken. There are no good venues to meet new people. At church, there are no singles. They drop out as teens and only return when they are already married with children of their own. A lot of people show up after the service has started and leave before it ends, meaning I would have to interrupt the service to greet them. Bars are usually too noisy to have a conversation and tend to attract the wrong kind of person (for me). Meetups usually require too much of a commitment to learning a new hobby and do not happen often enough with regular enough attendance to get to know any specific person. I am never invited to parties unless they are family reunions. Nobody I know knows anybody they can fix me up with. Nobody responds to me on dating websites and there is never enough text in their biographies to start a conversation with. Only in the workplace have I been able to get to know someone long enough to believe we are a good match (or not), and I almost always find out they have a boyfriend (or they’re a lesbian).
In my mid-thirties, I suddenly realized there was one thing I had never tried: asking out complete strangers! This was crazy, inappropriate, potentially dangerous, and had always been against the natural flow. I had always heard that it was frowned upon in American society. Even the few exceptions I was dimly aware of “prove the rule,” such as the song lyrics “I just met you, and this is CRAZY, but here’s my number, call me maybe.” My parents had always warned me not to talk to strangers. Coworkers had once expressed annoyance with those trying to engage them in conversation when all they wanted was to make a purchase. “I don’t go to the store to meet people,” she said.
Furthermore, I had always thought that appearance rather than personality was no basis for romance, but with strangers I had nothing to go on except appearance. Could this be enough? After all, it’s not as if I was agreeing to marry her on first sight. By asking her on a date, I could get to know her personality and dump her later if necessary. Besides, since everyone is imperfect, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I should in theory be able to learn to like anybody. Appearance could also form the basis for beginning a conversation when I know nothing else about someone. I had heard my entire life that women hated comments on their appearance, but recently I have heard that at least some women feel bad if they are never admired. What should I do?
It used to be that I was looking for someone I could bond with over some shared struggle or goal. Only in my thirties did I realize how easy this could be. We are all on a spiritual journey to better commune with our creator – even if not all of us realize it yet. Most of us are also on a journey to explore our sexual nature. Most of us are also on a journey to enjoy life. Life is an adventure. Life is a party. Have some fun. Explore. Meet people. Learn about them. Anyone turned off by my attempts to make friends is the one with the problem, not me. They need help. They need Jesus.
I also realized that it isn’t only about my needs being met. There are probably a lot of women out there just waiting for someone to give them some attention. It isn’t fair to them to make the decision for them by never asking them out. I know I have much to offer and I believe part of my mission in life is to serve others, making their existence a little more tolerable. I have even read in recent years that women are being taught not to initiate – that this is the man’s job. They are even told that any guy that won’t initiate must be too timid to be a good life partner. This is absurd propaganda, but I get nowhere by complaining about its absurdity; I must reach out and wed a lonely lady.
It is this last point that makes it both justified and worth the effort to go back and interrupt someone’s day even after the moment has passed. It has happened before that I am thinking of talking to a lady, but she is going the opposite direction, I have nowhere to leave my shopping cart so that it won’t roll into the street, and she is surrounded by constantly-babbling friends. It has happened once that I waited in line just to talk to the cashier I met the previous day, and then had to reject the invite to move into the empty queue. Unfortunately, I learned she already had a boyfriend.
Since then, I’ve learned several more things: Women are being taught to play hard-to-get at the same time that men are being taught to immediately back off if she isn’t interested right away. This keeps a lot of people of both sexes single. Some men are also being taught to play hard-to-get. How are people ever supposed to get together? Somebody has to do the pursuing! Get out there.
I’ve also learned that age is just a number. I have seen thirty-year-olds that look sixteen and twelve-year-olds that look eighteen. I have met emotionally mature teenagers and whiny octogenarians. All that matters is whether someone is good-looking and in good health – and these things don’t matter much.
I’ve also learned that boyfriends are not husbands. I can’t even remember how many married couples at church have told me that they left the unserious partners they had at the time for something serious. Growing up, I was always taught to respect monogamy, but is it really worth it if the other guy isn’t willing to commit?
I want to make you happy, but for my efforts to be sustainable, I have just a few standards. So you don’t waste your time, I’ll tell you now. My instincts do not recognize those taller or heavier than me as romantic partners, but as mothers or teachers. I need someone under 5’4” and 180 lbs. Also, tattoos and piercings gross me out a lot. The female body is God’s greatest work of art and defacing it with such things is offensive. Beyond that, very little else bothers me. I just want to know more about you, exploring your mind the way I would a distant planet. Call me.
I once saw a woman driving behind me in the Wendy’s drive-through. Of course I knew nothing about her, whether she was annoying or funny, rigid or forgiving, nurturing or destructive. I only knew that she was very pretty and that she hadn’t driven to Wendy’s to be bothered by me.
Then I started to wonder: What if she’s had many of the same problems I’ve had? What if she has been single and lonely for years? What if all her old friends are too busy for her or have moved out of state? What if every guy at her workplace is already married? What if she has no other way to meet people? What if she goes out in public in the desperate hope that someone will stop to talk to her? What if we were very compatible? By the time I had considered these questions, the moment was gone. It was too late. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with you. I know that chances are we aren’t compatible, but if we never hang out, we’ll never know.
I’m the most interesting guy I know. I write fiction and non-fiction. I have published seven books and I am currently writing two more. I draw alien creatures. I like to explore parks and follow trails. I like art museums. I like pizza. I like sushi. I have memorized pi to 56 digits. I grew up in New Hampshire and briefly lived in Rhode Island. I’ve been watching Doctor Who since 1989 and in spite of all its flaws it is still my favorite show. I have big projects planned for the next couple of years and every great man needs a great woman, both to support him and to keep his ego in check. Give me a call.
Making friends is tough. There are levels to intimacy. People have to be moved from stranger to acquaintance, then from acquaintance to friend, then from friend to date, date to steady girlfriend, and then from girlfriend to wife. Traditionally, I have made friends at school or work because we were forced together. More recently, I have tried meetups and church home groups, but they haven’t worked well. I have noticed that ninety percent of people do not want to move as fast as I do, and so we grow very slowly or not at all. The other ten percent want to move much much much faster, so much so that it stands out as extremely unusual and makes me think something isn’t right. All my warning lights go off and I spend all my time trying to figure out what sort of scam they are running. It makes me very distrustful. To top it off, if they sense any resistance from me, they get angry and accuse me of being unusual, proving how thoroughly out of touch with the dominant social norms they are.
Of course, there are people who are mere acquaintances, and I don’t feel comfortable calling them without a specific reason. It is easy to forget about them and let life distract me. If any of them were to call me, I would be glad to talk, but initiating contact without a subject of conversation already in mind is just too hard. We have no relationship history to draw on. The same problem exists with strangers I might see while on errands. I am focused on my errands and they are focused on theirs, so we barely even notice each other. There is nothing to talk about and they never talk to me either. Only under the rarest of circumstances (such as being stuck in a long line together) do I ever converse with strangers, but it never goes anywhere, we never discover any common hobbies, and contact information is never exchanged. In fact, I would have to awkwardly change the course of conversation in order to bring it up. Any relationship that begins with rigid formulas of behavior instead of being sensitive to the needs of the moment is probably one that will stay that way. Ignoring signs that someone is in a rush or not interested because I am following a premeditated script is not a good way to do conversation. In any case, I want friends I will actually like, not friends just for the sake of saying I have friends.
There are those that suggest the problem is me – that I lack confidence and worry too much about coming off as creepy – but this is not true. I am burdened by the feeling that it would be actually inappropriate to move too quickly – not just that others might judge it as inappropriate. I have never been one to follow the social rules when I think them unfair – unless of course there are consequences attached, such as getting fired or going to jail. In any case, nobody has ever asked me for my information either, so it proves it’s not just me.
Even so, the few people who I manage to connect with at all are mostly guys. Rarely, I do make friends with women, but they are always married or otherwise taken. There are no good venues to meet new people. At church, there are no singles. They drop out as teens and only return when they are already married with children of their own. A lot of people show up after the service has started and leave before it ends, meaning I would have to interrupt the service to greet them. Bars are usually too noisy to have a conversation and tend to attract the wrong kind of person (for me). Meetups usually require too much of a commitment to learning a new hobby and do not happen often enough with regular enough attendance to get to know any specific person. I am never invited to parties unless they are family reunions. Nobody I know knows anybody they can fix me up with. Nobody responds to me on dating websites and there is never enough text in their biographies to start a conversation with. Only in the workplace have I been able to get to know someone long enough to believe we are a good match (or not), and I almost always find out they have a boyfriend (or they’re a lesbian).
In my mid-thirties, I suddenly realized there was one thing I had never tried: asking out complete strangers! This was crazy, inappropriate, potentially dangerous, and had always been against the natural flow. I had always heard that it was frowned upon in American society. Even the few exceptions I was dimly aware of “prove the rule,” such as the song lyrics “I just met you, and this is CRAZY, but here’s my number, call me maybe.” My parents had always warned me not to talk to strangers. Coworkers had once expressed annoyance with those trying to engage them in conversation when all they wanted was to make a purchase. “I don’t go to the store to meet people,” she said.
Furthermore, I had always thought that appearance rather than personality was no basis for romance, but with strangers I had nothing to go on except appearance. Could this be enough? After all, it’s not as if I was agreeing to marry her on first sight. By asking her on a date, I could get to know her personality and dump her later if necessary. Besides, since everyone is imperfect, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I should in theory be able to learn to like anybody. Appearance could also form the basis for beginning a conversation when I know nothing else about someone. I had heard my entire life that women hated comments on their appearance, but recently I have heard that at least some women feel bad if they are never admired. What should I do?
It used to be that I was looking for someone I could bond with over some shared struggle or goal. Only in my thirties did I realize how easy this could be. We are all on a spiritual journey to better commune with our creator – even if not all of us realize it yet. Most of us are also on a journey to explore our sexual nature. Most of us are also on a journey to enjoy life. Life is an adventure. Life is a party. Have some fun. Explore. Meet people. Learn about them. Anyone turned off by my attempts to make friends is the one with the problem, not me. They need help. They need Jesus.
I also realized that it isn’t only about my needs being met. There are probably a lot of women out there just waiting for someone to give them some attention. It isn’t fair to them to make the decision for them by never asking them out. I know I have much to offer and I believe part of my mission in life is to serve others, making their existence a little more tolerable. I have even read in recent years that women are being taught not to initiate – that this is the man’s job. They are even told that any guy that won’t initiate must be too timid to be a good life partner. This is absurd propaganda, but I get nowhere by complaining about its absurdity; I must reach out and wed a lonely lady.
It is this last point that makes it both justified and worth the effort to go back and interrupt someone’s day even after the moment has passed. It has happened before that I am thinking of talking to a lady, but she is going the opposite direction, I have nowhere to leave my shopping cart so that it won’t roll into the street, and she is surrounded by constantly-babbling friends. It has happened once that I waited in line just to talk to the cashier I met the previous day, and then had to reject the invite to move into the empty queue. Unfortunately, I learned she already had a boyfriend.
Since then, I’ve learned several more things: Women are being taught to play hard-to-get at the same time that men are being taught to immediately back off if she isn’t interested right away. This keeps a lot of people of both sexes single. Some men are also being taught to play hard-to-get. How are people ever supposed to get together? Somebody has to do the pursuing! Get out there.
I’ve also learned that age is just a number. I have seen thirty-year-olds that look sixteen and twelve-year-olds that look eighteen. I have met emotionally mature teenagers and whiny octogenarians. All that matters is whether someone is good-looking and in good health – and these things don’t matter much.
I’ve also learned that boyfriends are not husbands. I can’t even remember how many married couples at church have told me that they left the unserious partners they had at the time for something serious. Growing up, I was always taught to respect monogamy, but is it really worth it if the other guy isn’t willing to commit?
I want to make you happy, but for my efforts to be sustainable, I have just a few standards. So you don’t waste your time, I’ll tell you now. My instincts do not recognize those taller or heavier than me as romantic partners, but as mothers or teachers. I need someone under 5’4” and 180 lbs. Also, tattoos and piercings gross me out a lot. The female body is God’s greatest work of art and defacing it with such things is offensive. Beyond that, very little else bothers me. I just want to know more about you, exploring your mind the way I would a distant planet. Call me.
What I Offer The World:
All I have ever wanted to do since I was in fifth grade was write a science fiction series. The problem was that I could not focus, I tried to over-outline everything, and between school and work and failing to start a business with my father I was very busy. Then I was very depressed for several years. Then, in the aftermath of depression, while trying to figure out if I was even the same person, I got interested in art, travel, nature, and politics. I am just now settling down into my original dream. Unfortunately, I no longer know anyone who reads science fiction. I am desperately looking for readers. So, do you need anything to read?
The Spider, The Witch, And The Spaceship:
This is the story of a man named Nate who finds himself living in a psychiatric health care facility. He does not remember how he got there, but as he starts to remember things from his past life, he realizes that the universe has changed dramatically since he was young. A story of childhood nostalgia, sometimes comically illuminating the differing perceptions adults and children have of the world, The Spider, The Witch, And The Spaceship is also a journey through the memories of a man for clues as to the real reason he is where he is. Filled with tension between opposing claims of the ultimate reality, this is a novel that will keep the reader guessing until the end.
Champion Of The Cosmos:
I am posting short stories to ChampionOfTheCosmos.SubStack.com Each one is an adventure from the life of Nate. I am planning 42 stories per year for 30 years. This will be the most epic series ever made!
Nate has lived for centuries and seen many strange things. He’s seen worlds of fluorescent, wind-carved stone. He’s met beings made of swirling flame. He’s fought an organization of murderous, time-traveling criminals only to live long enough to become one of its founders. More than once he has lived through great ruptures in time as history changed all around him. More than once he has been told these things were all in his mind. Nate has lived many lives. He has been a human, an eagle, a tiger, a dinosaur, and more. Able to reincarnate in a new body when killed, Nate is an eternal pattern – a ripple through time and space, always searching for the next fascinating place and the next adventure. At heart he is an explorer, but when confronted by evil he cannot help to fight. Champion Of The Cosmos is an account of Nate’s life from his origin onward. It is a story of friendships lost and gained. It is a story of individuality versus conformity. It is a story of pride and humility. It is the story of how a typical young boy grew up to become a cosmic hero.
Be sure to subscribe to the email list so you don’t miss an update!
Charting Possibilities:
My other blog at ChartingPossibilities.SubStack.com is where I put my poetry, drawings, reports on books I read, reports on parks I visit, and my musings and observations on life, love, science, philosophy, religion, art, culture, and politics. Be sure to subscribe to the email list so you don’t miss an update!
More Books:
Don’t like science fiction? I have written many non-fiction books as well.
Living With Gramps is the (sometimes) humorous account of the time I moved in with my grandfather in Rhode Island so I could do the chores.
No Longer I Who Live is an account of my spiritual growth from naïve Christianity, through atheism, through academic Christianity, through the struggles of real-world application, and how I finally found where the true God had been hiding all along.
When Nothing Seems To Work defies classification, but just might be the most important book ever written. I think I have discovered a form of spirituality even atheists can understand, a form of morality even relativists can endorse, and the first step to solving every problem.
The Nutcase Across The Street, Why Civility Failed, and The End Of Government are my three books on the highly-polarized politics seen in America. I started off hopeful, but eventually concluded that there is no political solution.
Visit DanielNoe.com/books to learn more.
In the future, Lord willing, I plan on writing a fantasy/romance series and a series on alien biology. Stay tuned!
All I have ever wanted to do since I was in fifth grade was write a science fiction series. The problem was that I could not focus, I tried to over-outline everything, and between school and work and failing to start a business with my father I was very busy. Then I was very depressed for several years. Then, in the aftermath of depression, while trying to figure out if I was even the same person, I got interested in art, travel, nature, and politics. I am just now settling down into my original dream. Unfortunately, I no longer know anyone who reads science fiction. I am desperately looking for readers. So, do you need anything to read?
The Spider, The Witch, And The Spaceship:
This is the story of a man named Nate who finds himself living in a psychiatric health care facility. He does not remember how he got there, but as he starts to remember things from his past life, he realizes that the universe has changed dramatically since he was young. A story of childhood nostalgia, sometimes comically illuminating the differing perceptions adults and children have of the world, The Spider, The Witch, And The Spaceship is also a journey through the memories of a man for clues as to the real reason he is where he is. Filled with tension between opposing claims of the ultimate reality, this is a novel that will keep the reader guessing until the end.
Champion Of The Cosmos:
I am posting short stories to ChampionOfTheCosmos.SubStack.com Each one is an adventure from the life of Nate. I am planning 42 stories per year for 30 years. This will be the most epic series ever made!
Nate has lived for centuries and seen many strange things. He’s seen worlds of fluorescent, wind-carved stone. He’s met beings made of swirling flame. He’s fought an organization of murderous, time-traveling criminals only to live long enough to become one of its founders. More than once he has lived through great ruptures in time as history changed all around him. More than once he has been told these things were all in his mind. Nate has lived many lives. He has been a human, an eagle, a tiger, a dinosaur, and more. Able to reincarnate in a new body when killed, Nate is an eternal pattern – a ripple through time and space, always searching for the next fascinating place and the next adventure. At heart he is an explorer, but when confronted by evil he cannot help to fight. Champion Of The Cosmos is an account of Nate’s life from his origin onward. It is a story of friendships lost and gained. It is a story of individuality versus conformity. It is a story of pride and humility. It is the story of how a typical young boy grew up to become a cosmic hero.
Be sure to subscribe to the email list so you don’t miss an update!
Charting Possibilities:
My other blog at ChartingPossibilities.SubStack.com is where I put my poetry, drawings, reports on books I read, reports on parks I visit, and my musings and observations on life, love, science, philosophy, religion, art, culture, and politics. Be sure to subscribe to the email list so you don’t miss an update!
More Books:
Don’t like science fiction? I have written many non-fiction books as well.
Living With Gramps is the (sometimes) humorous account of the time I moved in with my grandfather in Rhode Island so I could do the chores.
No Longer I Who Live is an account of my spiritual growth from naïve Christianity, through atheism, through academic Christianity, through the struggles of real-world application, and how I finally found where the true God had been hiding all along.
When Nothing Seems To Work defies classification, but just might be the most important book ever written. I think I have discovered a form of spirituality even atheists can understand, a form of morality even relativists can endorse, and the first step to solving every problem.
The Nutcase Across The Street, Why Civility Failed, and The End Of Government are my three books on the highly-polarized politics seen in America. I started off hopeful, but eventually concluded that there is no political solution.
Visit DanielNoe.com/books to learn more.
In the future, Lord willing, I plan on writing a fantasy/romance series and a series on alien biology. Stay tuned!
Do You Want To Change The World?
There is no political solution to our problems. This is because any finitely-described system must necessarily be either incomplete or inconsistent, creating loopholes that the forces of evil can use to bring the whole thing down. What is necessary is an ongoing, eternal relationship with something transcendent. Fortunately, just such a thing exists and is already working on solving our problems. While I don’t have the answers, one thing I feel guided to pursue at this time is to disciple others in the way, and to encourage them to disciple each other.
Mission Statement:
The purpose of this group is mutual discipleship, helping people to trust in their creator and to bond over our mutual life struggle. Trust is the highest form of worship, and God is worthy of worship. When people trust God, they stress less about their temporary circumstances. When people trust God, they avoid temptation and can make the decisions necessary to do great things. We grow heroes. We support, nurture, and challenge. It is not enough to simply increase our number of members. Quality is as important as quantity. Discipleship is as important as evangelism.
This is not a church in the modern, institutional sense, but a gathering of believers from around the local area. Some of us may attend other churches. Some may not. We will meet on weekdays and sometimes more than once a week. We do not collect tithes. We are not ritualistic, though we will not stand in the way of a spontaneous prayer, baptism, or communion meal.
Vision Statement:
What if church was more than just a convention center to listen to a boring preacher and a mediocre band? What if it was open 24/7 for those who needed a companion to share life with for a while? A place where everybody knows your name and everyone was family?
What if conflicts could be resolved without the use of courts? What if we focused on communication, restoration, and reconciliation in a spirit of love for our worst enemies, so that on the other side we might be friends? What if we could reduce crime and reduce the burden on government?
What if needs could be met without the use of welfare? What if employers and employees could be introduced informally, with talents paired with resources without going through a formal application process for a specifically defined job? What if we could reduce poverty and reduce the burden on government?
What if sermons focused not on sin, but on the greatness of the creator and the goodness of the world he has left? What if Sunday messages were science documentaries? What if sermons were not lectures of what God had done in the distant past, but the mic was left open for anyone present to report on what God was doing in their lives right now? What if there was true worship?
What We Believe:
We believe first in truth and open inquiry. If an issue is unsettled in your mind, there is probably a reason for it. Ignoring doubts do not make them go away. Curiosity is the spice of life and we would love to hear your humbly presented theories, no matter how heretical.
We believe that no one has a complete grasp of all truth and that we are all on a journey of spiritual growth. Therefore, the line between true believers and those merely curious is a fuzzy one. All are welcome.
We believe that the universe was ordered and designed by an incredible intelligence that for lack of a better term we call God. This God is the master of physics and can perform any miracle that the human mind is capable of imagining. Nothing exists apart from him, and therefore trusting in any lesser thing is idolatry.
We believe that God lives within every person, expressing his will through a combination of our conscience, our other instincts, and our reason, and granting us wisdom when we need it.
We believe that God loves every person and is the source of all love. We believe that when we love others and are loved by others, it is God within us loving himself.
We believe that God will ultimately redeem every person and situation. For those things that do not require our involvement, we are powerless to stop him. For those things that do, it will eventually happen that we submit. This happens when we finally trust him.
We believe that no finite mind is capable of understanding itself, let alone managing its own competing impulses. Thus, all have sinned, failing at whatever standard they attempt to adhere to. Spiritual life is impossible without outside help. Even the greatest among us needs a savior. Only that which is itself infinite can truly fill this role. To be true salvation, it must be a free gift. It cannot be contingent on good works or on believing the right things “hard enough.” God saves us for no other reason than that he loves us.
We believe that Jesus is the person God chose to express himself through in a historically special way, raising him up as priest, king, model, and missionary, drawing all men to himself. Much can be debated about the difference between Father and Son, but in all the ways that matter, Jesus is God.
Much more is unsettled. Is God male? Is he a trinity? Is the Bible inerrant? Is the Bible literal history or allegory? Where do hate and sin come from? What happens after we die? Are angels and demons real? How do we balance science and faith? On these, we each voice our own opinions but have no official group position.
Can you help make this a reality? Call me.
There is no political solution to our problems. This is because any finitely-described system must necessarily be either incomplete or inconsistent, creating loopholes that the forces of evil can use to bring the whole thing down. What is necessary is an ongoing, eternal relationship with something transcendent. Fortunately, just such a thing exists and is already working on solving our problems. While I don’t have the answers, one thing I feel guided to pursue at this time is to disciple others in the way, and to encourage them to disciple each other.
Mission Statement:
The purpose of this group is mutual discipleship, helping people to trust in their creator and to bond over our mutual life struggle. Trust is the highest form of worship, and God is worthy of worship. When people trust God, they stress less about their temporary circumstances. When people trust God, they avoid temptation and can make the decisions necessary to do great things. We grow heroes. We support, nurture, and challenge. It is not enough to simply increase our number of members. Quality is as important as quantity. Discipleship is as important as evangelism.
This is not a church in the modern, institutional sense, but a gathering of believers from around the local area. Some of us may attend other churches. Some may not. We will meet on weekdays and sometimes more than once a week. We do not collect tithes. We are not ritualistic, though we will not stand in the way of a spontaneous prayer, baptism, or communion meal.
Vision Statement:
What if church was more than just a convention center to listen to a boring preacher and a mediocre band? What if it was open 24/7 for those who needed a companion to share life with for a while? A place where everybody knows your name and everyone was family?
What if conflicts could be resolved without the use of courts? What if we focused on communication, restoration, and reconciliation in a spirit of love for our worst enemies, so that on the other side we might be friends? What if we could reduce crime and reduce the burden on government?
What if needs could be met without the use of welfare? What if employers and employees could be introduced informally, with talents paired with resources without going through a formal application process for a specifically defined job? What if we could reduce poverty and reduce the burden on government?
What if sermons focused not on sin, but on the greatness of the creator and the goodness of the world he has left? What if Sunday messages were science documentaries? What if sermons were not lectures of what God had done in the distant past, but the mic was left open for anyone present to report on what God was doing in their lives right now? What if there was true worship?
What We Believe:
We believe first in truth and open inquiry. If an issue is unsettled in your mind, there is probably a reason for it. Ignoring doubts do not make them go away. Curiosity is the spice of life and we would love to hear your humbly presented theories, no matter how heretical.
We believe that no one has a complete grasp of all truth and that we are all on a journey of spiritual growth. Therefore, the line between true believers and those merely curious is a fuzzy one. All are welcome.
We believe that the universe was ordered and designed by an incredible intelligence that for lack of a better term we call God. This God is the master of physics and can perform any miracle that the human mind is capable of imagining. Nothing exists apart from him, and therefore trusting in any lesser thing is idolatry.
We believe that God lives within every person, expressing his will through a combination of our conscience, our other instincts, and our reason, and granting us wisdom when we need it.
We believe that God loves every person and is the source of all love. We believe that when we love others and are loved by others, it is God within us loving himself.
We believe that God will ultimately redeem every person and situation. For those things that do not require our involvement, we are powerless to stop him. For those things that do, it will eventually happen that we submit. This happens when we finally trust him.
We believe that no finite mind is capable of understanding itself, let alone managing its own competing impulses. Thus, all have sinned, failing at whatever standard they attempt to adhere to. Spiritual life is impossible without outside help. Even the greatest among us needs a savior. Only that which is itself infinite can truly fill this role. To be true salvation, it must be a free gift. It cannot be contingent on good works or on believing the right things “hard enough.” God saves us for no other reason than that he loves us.
We believe that Jesus is the person God chose to express himself through in a historically special way, raising him up as priest, king, model, and missionary, drawing all men to himself. Much can be debated about the difference between Father and Son, but in all the ways that matter, Jesus is God.
Much more is unsettled. Is God male? Is he a trinity? Is the Bible inerrant? Is the Bible literal history or allegory? Where do hate and sin come from? What happens after we die? Are angels and demons real? How do we balance science and faith? On these, we each voice our own opinions but have no official group position.
Can you help make this a reality? Call me.