Well, this is what being a new dad will do to you. I haven’t posted since July 2008 and I’ve let derekelkins.com lapse for months (even though I’m still paying for it). I promise I’ll try to be better.
Perhaps a good way to get back into this is to synposize the last 6 months of my life:
August: I turned 28!! How did that happen? I got a new job at the Theological School at Drew University. I’m working as the Theological Admissions Officer and I have business cards. Kat and I celebrated 5 years being married! She’s still sexy.
September: I didn’t go to church the whole month. After 28 years of weekly attendance, I needed a break (the break’s not over). This is the first time in YEARS that I haven’t been in school. I decided to take a hiatus from the Master of Divinity program to work full-time and prepare for the baby.
October: Birthing classes. Sweet lord, those were boring. I enjoyed the hospital tour and we met a really nice German couple who had a little girl. Our baby was due on October 26. He was a no-show.
November: Noah is born! Holy moly, labor is intense!! Noah is beautiful and such a blessing. Parenthood is scary and hard as hell.
December: Kat and I committed to go to church during the whole of Advent. We almost made it. Noah’s first Christmas we spent in NC with my family. It was a great holiday bookended by hella-long drives.
January: Kat started back to classes. Noah started daycare. I started going insane from lack-of-sleep. Happy 2009.
February: I bought a banjo! I’m trying to connect Noah with his hillbilly roots. Still no church. Starting to miss parts of it.
March: TBD
Categories: Daddyhood · Life
Don’t ask me how I went without noticing that I never announced our pregnancy on my blog. I spent most of the spring trying to keep the baby a secret for various reasons, so when the time came to announce it to the world, I was tentative. Nevertheless, I’m here now and WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!
I’m going to put up lots of pictures of ultrasounds and other stuff like that. You can see even more info about the baby over at our baby blog.
We are receiving gifts. Rather, the baby is receiving gifts. So, if you feel like purchasing something educational or poop-related, the baby will be very appreciative.
Categories: Life · Littlest Elkins
Wow! It’s been a long time since I posted anything on my blog, and I’ve got a lot to catch you up on. However, I first want to post my most recent sermon. Actually, I’m going to post my (2) most recent sermons. First, “Politics of the Plate,” which I preached at Christ Church in Summit, NJ on July 6, 2008. It’s about the the politically corrupt origins of tithing and the global food crisis 
Check it out!
Categories: Church · Sermonish · Words
George Oates from Flickr has an outstanding article about online community building over at A List Apart. What resonates with me most is the relevance of Oates’ thoughts for those of us building communities in the offline world. In particular, I wonder what the church might look like if we considered the fact that 95% of what people interact with online is generated by other users, not site administrators. We could hardly say the same thing of religious worship services, Bible studies, etc. Here’s a quick taste of what Oates has to say, I hope it wets your appetite:
People don’t like being told what to do. We like to explore, change things around, and make a place our own. Hefty design challenges await the makers of websites where people feel free to engage; both with the system itself and with each other. Embrace the idea that people will warp and stretch your site in ways you can’t predict—they’ll surprise you with their creativity and make something wonderful with what you provide.
–George Oates
Categories: Church · Leadership · Ministry · Worship
Rarely have I been so proud of my North Carolinian heritage than when I read the following excerpt from The Religious History of America:
Everything about the evangelical Baptists and Presbyterians of North Carolina offended one especially acerbic Anglican cleric, Charles Woodmason, who found himself in something of a guerrilla war with backcountry disenters. They mocked him, stole his horse, and noisily disrupted his preaching, “halloing and whooping,” outside the church doors. They tore down the handbills announcing the places and times of his worship services and sometimes even put up fake ones to misdirect the Anglican faithful. At one point some hooligans broke into one of his churches and placed a pile of “their Excrements on the Communion Table.” (Gaustad and Schmidt, 107-108 )
What can I say? I come by it honestly.
Categories: Blogroll · Church · Life · Smarts
From time to time, I get to feeling like I haven’t done anything significant with my life. I have to remind
myself of all that I’ve accomplished in order to shake off that not-so-fresh feeling. In general, I am quite productive and set ridiculously high standards for almost everything I do, and nearly always exceed them. Maybe it’s that perfectionism that leaves me feeling so dissatisfied. Nevertheless, I made a list of the 10 things I’m most proud of from my twenties. The good news is… I’m only 27!
1) Got married, stayed married
2) Started the Jonah Project (with the help of several other people)
3) Completed BA and MA degrees
4) private
5) Released Rain In the Desert
6) Traveled to India
7) Published (2) articles in The Journal of Student Ministries
8 Trained to run 1/4 marathon
9) Served in Colombia with YWAM
10) Developed and maintain lifelong friendships
Categories: Life
Categories: Church · Worship
