Over the next month, we're going to host a few guest voices here at Mere-O. It's summer, which means that things will probably be a bit more relaxed around here. And while I had committed to writing every day in 2010, a monthlong trip to Europe might sidetrack my efforts.
Part of my goal with Mere-O has always been to be a hub for thoughtful Christian engagement with the world from numerous different perspectives. While I've always been the loudest most consistent writer, it's the folks around me that have the real talent--as this year has amply demonstrated.
With that in mind, I'm excited to turn the keys over to Jake Meador for a few weeks while I am out of town. I've been emailing back and forth with Jake for about a year about various issues, and have found him to be everything we're looking for here at Mere-O: thoughtful, a great writer, and interested in recovering a Christian faith that is robust and grounded in Scripture. We don't agree about everything, but then we've always tried to mix it up and be stretched out a little bit.
So, without further ado, here's the funny thing we call "the bio":
Hi, my name is Jake Meador and I'm a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a BA in English and History. I hate writing these sorts of things because it feels like excessive navel-gazing. Then again, seeing as I hail (somewhat reluctantly) from the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition, maybe I'm just embracing one of the defining attributes of my particular Christian group. In any event, when I'm not busy mocking my own denomination, my chief interest is in the idea of place and how it shapes our understanding of history, culture, and literature. This has been especially relevant to me lately since I just moved in May of 2010 from my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska and relocated to the Twin Cities to join a church being planted by my old campus minister with Reformed University Fellowship at UNL. As a result, I'm in that starry-eyed, everything-is-new-and-exciting phase of the move, constantly discovering new places to pass the time and meet interesting people. So far my favorite discoveries have been the St. Paul Cathedral (a great argument for crossing the Tiber), the Blue Door Pub (best burgers in the Twin Cities, my friends tell me) and Ginkgos Coffee House on Monday nights to play board games with a bunch of middle-aged geeks (don't worry, that's how they describe themselves). If you're ever passing through the Twin Cities, give me a ring and I'll show you around. Who knows, as we wander we might even find something new.
You'll be hearing more from Jake as the weeks progress. And as always, thanks for reading.