davidleong.info

My name is David Leong and this is my personal blog.  It has no real cohesive theme unless you happen to see some commonality in my semi-weekly rants and raves reflecting the random mess in my head, which fluctuates from activism and urbanism to faith and family.  I’ve been told by numerous people that my blog is “too angry” or “too political” or “too arrogant” or “not nice enough” or “not Christian enough” or not whatever enough.  And while I still don’t have a real response to those complaints, I can give this advice: relax, it’s just a blog.

I started blogging “way back” in 2004, and when I began, I honestly just thought it could be a good tool for archiving my thoughts in the process of writing a masters thesis.  But along the way, I got distracted, lost my train of thought, and picked up a small audience, all of which changed things, at least a little bit.  I do still maintain that I blog primarily for myself, and think of it often as preaching mini-sermons to my own conscience, but I also know that sharing these words and thoughts with others has become part of the process as well.

If there is a set of convictions that guides or frames most of my writing, it’s probably something along the lines of this:

1. We (myself included) rarely pause to consider the larger cultural implications of the simple choices we make everyday, and that’s a shame.
2. In many ways, the world is really screwed up, so we should be doing things to make it better and not worse.
3. The Christian tradition (broadly speaking) has been effectively marginalized in the West for its inability to engage in constructive cultural critique, and we should try to understand the significance of that  problem.
4. The redemptive work of cultivating justice, peacemaking, and love of neighbor in our communities, cities, and world is not simply a task for Christians; it is a fundamental responsibility for all of us.
5. Life is too short to waste time and resources on the empty pursuits of consumerism and narcissism, which generally tend to preoccupy our void of imagination and our lack of creativity in embodying alternative narratives.

Vocationally, I’m a professor at Seattle Pacific University and I direct the Global and Urban Ministry minor in the School of Theology.  I’m also finishing up my PhD (writing the dissertation) in intercultural studies from Fuller in Pasadena while doing field research in my neighborhood.  In my dreams, I can crank out dissertation chapters quickly with one hand and change my son Jonas’ diapers with the other (all while being a loving husband to Chris), but in reality I’m just trying to live life faithfully with depth and meaning as I move towards attempting to, as Gandhi said so aptly, “be the change I want to see in the world.”

* Lastly, it’s probably important to put one of those ubiquitous disclaimers that says what’s written here does not officially represent the views of my church, my school, my employer, my wife, my son, my community group, or anyone else.