A Writers Wrestle

I have been on a blogging hiatus. I’ve had to focus on the work that we have been doing at Vertical Church and writing my second book. This is a reintroduction for some and an introduction for my new friends and followers. Hello, my name is Damian. Occupationally, I am a pastor, speaker, leader, and a writer. It’s funny because all of those different categorizations have embraced in my story except Writer.

I truthfully have a hard time calling myself a writer. All good pastors are at some level writers, as we have to write messages for our weekend gatherings. But, the average person will not read those notes. I have been writing pieces that are intended for broader audiences. I’ve even struggled with that designation as a blogger.

This is probably because I was mostly illiterate until 3rd or 4th grade. I was slow to grasp the power of the written word. I hid it well as to not give my friends’ fuel for jokes (which they could do well). Reading aloud almost gave me panic attacks. My older sister and I were recently talking about how bad my reading and writing was. It’s interesting how painful experiences can transport you back to those specific moments in time. Even in college, I wrestled through the thought of writing papers. I was always shocked to receive high marks for my writing. I still have some lingering technical issues, but it’s become amazingly clear that writing is apart of my life’s work.

So, outside of regular messages and blogs, I have written my first book, College Impact: Empowering Collegiate Christians for Campus Impact (click here). Last year the sales have gone crazy, and we were pleased, relieved, and surprised. A student from a local college campus read it and came to tell me how much she enjoyed it. I felt like a writer that day.

A couple years ago, I wrote about our challenging experiences starting a church, in a book called Sifted. I recently completed an essay in a new book called, Dads of Disability (click here), chronicling my experience as a father of a special son who has significant disabilities. Add to that I just finished the first draft of a book written for a large eBook publisher (more details to come).

I am settling the fact that I am a writer. I, like many others, have to overcome my past to embrace my future. Just because I once was illiterate doesn’t mean that I can’t be a writer, like because I was poor doesn’t mean I can’t be wealthy. Too often we allow our former challenges and failures to inhibit our current and future possibilities. Allow my story to encourage you to become who you need to become. I can say, I am a writer…what are you?