Applied Pastoral Reformed Theology

The forest for the trees type thingy... ok. I am particular about being specific. I am also verbose. Writing helps to manage and mature both issues. I have often prided myself on being myopic in certain disciplines, even dogmatic about important things. We should be, honestly, when it comes to our convictions, our health, our families, etc. But we are not to throw out the rest of the truth (an er, people in our lives) in the name of being focused. I think myopic and focused are neighbors, but they can also be enemies. While focus and confidence in our ideas are paramount, these are worthless if we become blind to other people in the process. Sometimes we think we are certain in our understanding of things but our unwillingness to engage with alternative ideas without being triggered reveals a deeper problem. Namely, that our passions are mostly emotionalism rather than sound and reasoned beliefs. We have to be willing, able, and desirous of learning and discovering not only what other people t