Welcome to the Pastor's Desk

Welcome to week one of the Pastor’s Desk blog. For over ten years I’ve been writing a column for the Graceline, the quarterly newsletter of Staunton Grace Covenant Church. Now that we are focusing on our website as our medium of communication, the Pastor’s Desk feature is morphing from a column to a weblog.

So what should you expect from this site?

For one thing, I plan to write more often than quarterly, and my musings will probably cover more turf than the standard Graceline newsletter. In addition to the blog I plan to post previous articles, course notes, and an occasional report, video, or slide show from various ministry engagements around the Shenandoah Valley or from around the world. You will find these reports on this blog or on my website PastorStevePaulus.com

It’s my privilege to communicate with you in this way, and it’s my prayer that we can use this space as a means of spiritual encouragement. On the link to PastorStevePaulus.org there will be a significant archive section including previous Pastor’s Desk articles, notes from courses in Biblical Studies and Church History, and articles on social and cultural issues first published on the op-ed page of the Staunton News Leader, a Gannett paper. I’ve had the privilege of teaching and serving churches and seminaries in Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Romania, and Ukraine. I expect to bring both course content and insights into the state of church and society in post-communist Europe to this page.

I will include a schedule and updates on teaching and ministry activities, trips, and conferences that Jane and I are planning.

I’m also including an interactive feature of the site. I’m not a fan of chat rooms or anonymous reader comments. To be honest, I think they dumb down and crassify the level of public discourse and are thus a real disservice, generally. It will be possible for members of the site to e-mail me directly with opinions, responses, or reactions, but I can’t commit to a response. My time is reserved for my family, friends, and the local congregation here in Staunton. I may select a few e-mails to respond to on occasion. Your best chance of getting a response would mean including your name (first and last). Preference would be given to members of the congregation, and personal friends and acquaintances.

As you can see the site also includes a link to our church webpage StauntonGrace.org. I hope you will visit here often. Better yet, I hope you will find frequent visits to this site and the StaunontGrace.Org website worth your time. In the peace of Christ.