introduceyourself - larryrant - politics, public life, and Christian spirituality

  Hi. I’m Larry, a.k.a. 

• Papa Larry, 
• Grandpa Larry, 
• Uncle Larry, 
• Pastor, 
• Georgeous (Take that, you cynics!), 
• Hey You, and 
• Stupid. 

I’ve been on this planet since about a month before FDR died. That was awhile back.

  I’ve been a clarinetist for the USArmy, a dairyman (milking 80 cows twice a day), a rural mail carrier (99.8 miles a day, 440 clients), a teacher in junior high, high school, and community college (history, philosophy, ethics, and religion). That involved living in Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Los Angeles, Alberta, and Korea – not in that order; and in 3 of those states I have been a pastor, as I am currently.

  My interests center in issues of spiritual experience, practice, and growth, primarily from the perspective of a Christ-follower, but with some helpful insight from other perspectives, especially Hindu, Buddist, Native American, and Muslim. It is of considerable concern to me how American Christians variously view their roles in public life, and the Biblical and spiritual foundations they work from or, in some cases, imagine or pretend that they work from.

  Since about 2003 I’ve blogged intermittently at PublicChristian, focusing largely on those kinds of issues.

  I am smarter and better looking than both of my brothers – though that is not a universally accepted evalution. My wife and I have 6 kids, plus spouses, and more than a dozen grandchildren scattered across three states. They all are smarter and better looking than I. Well, one 30-year-old daughter who is severely handicapped may not technically be smarter than I, but is probably more gregarious and possessor of a more acute sense of physical irony and humor. And she loves books, as do I, though she can neither read nor talk.

  After poking around for a few days I find this steem thing intriguing, and the people and articles here quite an interesting assortment. I look forward to making some new friends and maybe even figuring out what’s going on here. It is possible to figure that out, right?