My story and yours

---

Which path should I take? This picture, taken in Kenya, represents a question many of us face. Needless to say, this image clearly describes my present focus and situation. Midway through life, I am a married man in the midst of a career transition.

By way of introduction, I might mention that I have western roots, an English voice, and a Norwegian soul. My Norwegian ancestors came to Saskatchewan via America in search of good farm land to sustain their families. They were part of the pioneer generation that braved the harsh conditions and built a life on the Prairies.

And while I value my cultural heritage, the Christian conviction connected to this community more accurately, I hope, describes my identity. After much reflection and consideration, the gospel and Christian worldview is fixed in my mind as a basic truth that people everywhere have good reason to accept. If this sounds a bit too dogmatic, consider that many modern people think nothing of expecting everybody to believe in their version of believe-whatever-you-like-ism.

Today I could perhaps most accurately be described as an international, interdenominational, evangelical Christian.

From my perspective, the West does not need any more state-sponsored western liberal orthodoxy. Nobody really believes that all truth claims are equally true and equally valuable anyway. Intolerance is often merely a manipulative word some believers in liberalism use in an attempt to get everybody in a given society to think and talk and act and live just like them.

Why do we hang on to an ideology that we do not believe is true, one that does not really celebrate diversity, and does not ultimately help anybody in the end?

It was supposed to be a way of keeping the peace and a more enlightened alternative to centuries of largely Christian influence. Instead, individuals are now guided by arbitrary and often destructive values. Work is losing its grandeur. Stewardship withers. Laws lack legitimacy. Corruption is rampant. Authentic human rights fade. Human dignity is denied. Relationships are distorted. Beauty is bent. And the worldview that by and large has fueled the free world is suppressed.

What we really need right now is an expansion of authentic Christian influence everywhere in the western world and beyond. Liberaldom is a lost cause. It looked promising to a lot of people. It seemed to have potential. It was better than some of the alternatives. But it did not live up to the hype. To borrow the words of a friend in super-secular Quebec:

“It was an interesting experiment, it is just too bad that it had to involve people.”

My larger goal is to help restore Western civilization as a light in God’s world by encouraging the development of healthy and growing Christian communities and by expanding the influence of Christian individuals and organizations. At the same time, I hope to inspire people everywhere to develop their God-given potential for the common good.

Basically, I am trying to help good things grow.

Clarity is still required in terms of the method. For now, I hope to encourage you to acknowledge that you are not your own; that you have been uniquely created to accomplish something significant; and that getting to know yourself and then getting out there and being yourself could make a really big difference.

Well now, this certainly comes across as being more intense and hard-hitting than I had intended. But this brief introduction still helps, I hope, for you to understand where I am coming from and how you and I can make a difference.

© Career & Life Direction 2012. All rights reserved.