Catacomb Resident Blog

Be the Message

09 December 2023

I'm just a little concerned that old habits are holding things back.

People have told me they are praying for this ministry, and I am grateful beyond words. I received an outpouring of support after the fracas with Substack. I'm truly blessed. How do we get this message to the rest of the world, so that they have a shot at the blessings, too?

The whole point in taking up the shield of anonymity (a thin shield indeed) was to put the emphasis on the message. The first thing I wrote way back when I started this ministry on Blogger:

It doesn't matter who I am.

The name is bogus and symbolic. I'm not hiding from anyone, but nothing about the purpose of this blog requires knowing about me. The message is everything.

My motives aren't that hard to figure out: I have no interest in leading or being led. Nobody else is doing what I'm doing, and I'm unable to remain silent.

Please, don't make this about me when you pray. Make this about the message, a message that could easily outlive me, and should outlive me. It has been around since long before I entered the world.

I'm not suggesting that you all just jump right into this ministry with me. The whole point is that you would learn to express the same kind of faith in your own way. But if you should doubt your ability to say these things, how hard is it to share quotes from my work? Nothing substantial, just the stuff you find that speaks your own heart.

The whole point is to call people to Christ. All I'm doing is trying to find a different angle for that, raising issues many don't discuss. I suppose it's because they don't think about things the way I do. Yes, this may well be a unique mission. It's about asking better questions to provoke searching, to drive you back to your knees before the Lord. Some people are never going to hear what I say, but they might listen to you if you say it your way.

The best way to support this ministry is to engage your own, using what you've learned.

The biggest explosion in following for this ministry came when this blog stood in a very obscure place on the Net (crez.strob.us), the old static HTML stuff. But it wasn't the technology; it was something else. It was the Lord drawing people. I didn't advertise much. Yes, we got a lot of support from Synlogos, and the admin of that site has picked up the URL for this most recent change. Still, I didn't seek him out; that was someone else.

That's how it should work: some plow, some plant, some water, but the Lord takes the harvest. It should never be a one-man show, except that Christ is the One to whom we all pay attention. Stop looking at me; I'm pointing at Him.

Here's a little secret: For several years I've held a conviction that the Lord would call forth another servant better positioned to carry the message into places I could never go. I'll go anywhere the Lord allows, but I already know there are limits. By now you should be aware that the nickname "Catacomb Resident" is already persona non grata in most of the public technology space. It would now require a genuine miracle to change that. But I honestly believe that's what this nickname was for, to burn it out in the process of burning the message into the public awareness.

I think we are getting close to that, as much as we are going to do so. But if people believe the message, then they become the new spokesmen for it. You can breathe life into that message. Just act on it; be the message.

I'm still praying for some kind of powerful move of the Spirit, something that starts with burning away sin. I'm praying that it start with me, that the Lord would pour His wrath on my sin first. This is how we should proceed. Losing the exposure of Substack is nothing. Our God has plans, and it's best if we seek His face about that. What does He want to do with us? What part can we play in His work.

My plan for now is to keep writing and posting here where we can better control what happens. Given time, as things keep getting crazier, "they" will come after this, too. We'll handle that when it comes. But it will all be a complete waste of effort if the readers aren't changed and empowered to manifest the gospel message of Covenant and conviction. Don't be passive about this.


This document is public domain; spread the message.