The Bothland

How it all started.

As far as origin stories go, The Bothland’s is surely not the most riveting, BUT, here it is:

I found myself asking over and over whether having a deep personal relationship with God and a deep understanding of theology weren’t mutually exclusive things I had to pick between, but rather whether they could be held in harmonious tension with one another.

Deep down, I believed that, instead of an “either/or” proposition, it could be a “both/and”.

The more I stared at “both/and” the more it began to look like “bothland”, and well, like any good millennial, I secured the Instagram handle, got to work on a minimal, text-based logo, and “The Bothland” was born.

What’s the point?

Originally, it was supposed to be a place for me to wrestle with complex ideas and reflect on the subtleties and nuances of the Christian faith.

My goal still is that it would be a place for that, but thanks be to God, the motivation behind all of my wrestling has shifted.

5-6 years ago, my heart was definitely in the wrong place. I wanted to know as much as I could about the Christian faith purely for the purpose of being able to say “I had all the right ideas” (or worse yet, just to say “I was right”).

I was wrong.

“…you can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with [their] God and Saviour than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct.”

Knowing God, J.I. Packer

So then, true wisdom and knowledge aren’t just intellectual, they’re also behavioural.
(James 3.13,17)

It’s love in action.

And what good is it if I have all understanding and knowledge, even the faith to move mountains, but I don’t have love?
(1 Cor 13.2)

My prayer, my greatest desire, and my hope is that this wrestling and reflection would draw me deeper and closer to Christ. That I would hold fast to the Word of Life more and more day by day. That the way I live my life would be in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. That, above all, I would know Him and the power of His resurrection.
(Philippians)

Second to that it would be that I’d be able to more clearly and faithfully articulate “the bones of what I believe” (1 Peter 3.15-16). To pass it on to my son in such a way that he would deeply desire it for himself (Deut 6.6-7). To be able to boldly articulate and share my faith in an accessible way with my friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else the Lord may bring across my path.

Look, I’m probably not going to say anything new that hasn’t been said before, but I do hope and pray that the things you read here will be communicated in a way that effectively points you to Christ and encourages you as you wrestle through the implications of what you believe.