I've been a Christian Minister for 15 years now. My experience ranges from serving in Evangelical to Mainline Denominations. I have a B.A. in Biblical Literature and an M.Div in Pastoral Ministry and Family Counseling. I've served in small churches and large, as a Missionary to the African Nation of Burkina Faso, ministered to the needs of the homeless in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen and traveled across the country helping local churches better serve their community in the changing world of our 21st century.
What this Blog will not be is a platform for self aggrandizing religious views. I loathe arrogant and inconsiderate people who think they have the answer to all the worlds problems and feel free to share their magnanimous opinion when nobody wants to hear it. I'm pretty laid back and very easy going. Heck when I served in a Conservative Evangelical church in the early 90's one of my best friends was a self proclaimed Satanist. We didn't always see eye to eye on things Theological but we both loved 80's Heavy Metal. I never saw him as a Satanist, and he never saw me as an Evangelical preacher. We just kicked back, rocked out and tried to contact the ghosts that lived in his home. You see it was an very old home that was converted from an early 19th century funeral parlor. He even had parts of an old horse drawn hearse in the basement. It was pretty darn cool. And as it turned out, kind of a paranormal hotbed.
I'm not one of those fanatical Christians who sees a demon around every corner, although I have had formal Seminary training in Demonology and Exorcism. I've been in a few Exorcisms myself but to tell you the truth while I have seen and heard very bizarre things I've seen some ignorant abuses by those who think another is 'possessed' also.
I've seen a lot of unexplained things. I've heard about even more from friends who live on the far ends of the Earth.
The purpose of this blog is to explore current issues of all areas Fortean, and sometimes share some personal experiences.
To those who are not of the Christian faith, those who might have a deep abiding dislike of the religion I would love them to find out here that we all are not ignorant fanatics. Many of us are just trying to synthesis our faith with our reason just as you are with whatever value system or world view you hold dear. While we might not agree on polemics, I think we can agree that we all live in a world of mystery and excitement that fascinates us. And if ever I wander into areas of faith I promise you I will forewarn you at the outset of the post.
To those of the Christian faith I would like to encourage them to not be afraid of the unexplained and view it as the domain of the Devil as some church leaders would have you believe. We live in such a mysterious world and rather than flee the unexplained we should use the brain that our Creator gave us and try to fully understand the world we live in.
And if you don't agree with my views, feel free to call me out. After all the first step to understanding is to acknowledge your ignorance. And as my wife frequently points out I can be pretty ignorant at times.
I hope we can have an interesting time together,
Pastor Swope
