Nathan Daniel Blake
@storyofndblake.bsky.social
Appalachian writer & post-evangelical wildling. Comforting the troubled & troubling the comfortable. New monastic. Keeper of the wild. Aspiring hiker trash. 🌿➕📿
www.storyofndblake.com
www.storyofndblake.com
Pinned
Okay … let’s give Bluesky a real go.
I’m talking about …
* Post-Evangelical Christianity
* Wilderness as Spiritual Discipline
* Rewilding Christianity
* Theology of Place
* Appalachia
* Liberation Theology
* Practical & Contextual Theology
* Empire vs The Kingdom of God
* New Monasticism
I’m talking about …
* Post-Evangelical Christianity
* Wilderness as Spiritual Discipline
* Rewilding Christianity
* Theology of Place
* Appalachia
* Liberation Theology
* Practical & Contextual Theology
* Empire vs The Kingdom of God
* New Monasticism
Let's normalize listening to albums again instead of playlists.
Today, I'm starting my morning off with The Gorillaz eponymously named debut album from 2001.
open.spotify.com/album/0YvYmL...
Today, I'm starting my morning off with The Gorillaz eponymously named debut album from 2001.
open.spotify.com/album/0YvYmL...
Gorillaz
Gorillaz · Album · 2001 · 18 songs
open.spotify.com
August 18, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Let's normalize listening to albums again instead of playlists.
Today, I'm starting my morning off with The Gorillaz eponymously named debut album from 2001.
open.spotify.com/album/0YvYmL...
Today, I'm starting my morning off with The Gorillaz eponymously named debut album from 2001.
open.spotify.com/album/0YvYmL...
What would it look like for the Church to confront the daily injustices in our world while also reclaiming its role as prophet & pastor in the valleys of dry bones that produced these dark days in the first place?
We have to avoid the trap of treating only the symptoms of the sickness.
We have to avoid the trap of treating only the symptoms of the sickness.
August 3, 2025 at 2:27 PM
What would it look like for the Church to confront the daily injustices in our world while also reclaiming its role as prophet & pastor in the valleys of dry bones that produced these dark days in the first place?
We have to avoid the trap of treating only the symptoms of the sickness.
We have to avoid the trap of treating only the symptoms of the sickness.
From a scriptural point of view, an argument can be made that using people as props as you write your own story is one of the most egregious things we can do in the eyes of God.
August 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
From a scriptural point of view, an argument can be made that using people as props as you write your own story is one of the most egregious things we can do in the eyes of God.
If your country is funding policies that end with children holding empty pots and dishes through a fence hoping for some rice or stew, you’re NOT on the right side of history.
July 23, 2025 at 3:03 PM
If your country is funding policies that end with children holding empty pots and dishes through a fence hoping for some rice or stew, you’re NOT on the right side of history.
So, how many of you went back to Twitter eventually because engagement was abysmal everywhere else?
July 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM
So, how many of you went back to Twitter eventually because engagement was abysmal everywhere else?
Modernity taught us to eschew the mystery in exchange for scientific methods.
You can’t find the beauty of birdsong by dissecting the bird.
You can’t find the beauty of birdsong by dissecting the bird.
July 23, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Modernity taught us to eschew the mystery in exchange for scientific methods.
You can’t find the beauty of birdsong by dissecting the bird.
You can’t find the beauty of birdsong by dissecting the bird.
I’ve taken to wearing suspenders. I think they are superior to belts in every way except when you want to wear a shirt untucked.
My wife said, “Oh man, you’re firmly entering your old man phase.”
But I ask you, what gives more elderly vibes … suspenders or moo-moos?
My wife said, “Oh man, you’re firmly entering your old man phase.”
But I ask you, what gives more elderly vibes … suspenders or moo-moos?
July 20, 2025 at 12:17 PM
I’ve taken to wearing suspenders. I think they are superior to belts in every way except when you want to wear a shirt untucked.
My wife said, “Oh man, you’re firmly entering your old man phase.”
But I ask you, what gives more elderly vibes … suspenders or moo-moos?
My wife said, “Oh man, you’re firmly entering your old man phase.”
But I ask you, what gives more elderly vibes … suspenders or moo-moos?
Generational “sin” is actually generational trauma.
A rose by any name still has thorns.
Talk amongst yourselves.
A rose by any name still has thorns.
Talk amongst yourselves.
July 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Generational “sin” is actually generational trauma.
A rose by any name still has thorns.
Talk amongst yourselves.
A rose by any name still has thorns.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Side note: I put suspenders on this morning with my dress clothes, and I’ve never felt more confident.
Take that pants. You’re not going nowhere!
Take that pants. You’re not going nowhere!
July 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Side note: I put suspenders on this morning with my dress clothes, and I’ve never felt more confident.
Take that pants. You’re not going nowhere!
Take that pants. You’re not going nowhere!
History is going to condemn to our generation. They will look at the data and wonder how we ever got here, and why we stood by complicity and watched it happen.
There's a chance we will be judged more harshly than Nazi Germany. I don't believe we're there yet, but we're pacing ahead of the curve.
There's a chance we will be judged more harshly than Nazi Germany. I don't believe we're there yet, but we're pacing ahead of the curve.
July 4, 2025 at 5:05 AM
History is going to condemn to our generation. They will look at the data and wonder how we ever got here, and why we stood by complicity and watched it happen.
There's a chance we will be judged more harshly than Nazi Germany. I don't believe we're there yet, but we're pacing ahead of the curve.
There's a chance we will be judged more harshly than Nazi Germany. I don't believe we're there yet, but we're pacing ahead of the curve.
Man, I’ve really neglected this space. When engagement drops, it takes all the fun out of it.
But I keep collecting followers somehow, so maybe it’s time to spend more time here.
Are my post-evangelical, parish-focused, new monastic friends still here?
But I keep collecting followers somehow, so maybe it’s time to spend more time here.
Are my post-evangelical, parish-focused, new monastic friends still here?
July 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Man, I’ve really neglected this space. When engagement drops, it takes all the fun out of it.
But I keep collecting followers somehow, so maybe it’s time to spend more time here.
Are my post-evangelical, parish-focused, new monastic friends still here?
But I keep collecting followers somehow, so maybe it’s time to spend more time here.
Are my post-evangelical, parish-focused, new monastic friends still here?
The irony of what is happening in LA, the makeup of ICE as far right extremists, and the reaction of the population is that THIS is the true meaning of “Don’t Tread on Me”.
No flag needed.
No flag needed.
June 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The irony of what is happening in LA, the makeup of ICE as far right extremists, and the reaction of the population is that THIS is the true meaning of “Don’t Tread on Me”.
No flag needed.
No flag needed.
The most profoundly deep and spiritually impactful books in my life have been “little books”— Merton, Schmemann, many of the Desert Fathers.
So, why does everyone want to write big books?
Let’s write smaller books with fewer words, focused deeply on one singular thing.
So, why does everyone want to write big books?
Let’s write smaller books with fewer words, focused deeply on one singular thing.
June 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The most profoundly deep and spiritually impactful books in my life have been “little books”— Merton, Schmemann, many of the Desert Fathers.
So, why does everyone want to write big books?
Let’s write smaller books with fewer words, focused deeply on one singular thing.
So, why does everyone want to write big books?
Let’s write smaller books with fewer words, focused deeply on one singular thing.
Here's a universal fact about story, and I don't care if the narrative is spiritual, professional, relational, or about what happened last weekend.
No story gets good. No story becomes transformational to the listener. No story becomes worth hearing ...
... until something goes terribly wrong.
No story gets good. No story becomes transformational to the listener. No story becomes worth hearing ...
... until something goes terribly wrong.
May 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Here's a universal fact about story, and I don't care if the narrative is spiritual, professional, relational, or about what happened last weekend.
No story gets good. No story becomes transformational to the listener. No story becomes worth hearing ...
... until something goes terribly wrong.
No story gets good. No story becomes transformational to the listener. No story becomes worth hearing ...
... until something goes terribly wrong.
Dear TikTok ... I want to thank you for making me sing, "I ain't got no panties on, ain't got no panties on. I ain't got no panties on, on the dance floor." Over and over again. This is not an ideal situation for someone in ministry and under public scrutiny.
May 29, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Dear TikTok ... I want to thank you for making me sing, "I ain't got no panties on, ain't got no panties on. I ain't got no panties on, on the dance floor." Over and over again. This is not an ideal situation for someone in ministry and under public scrutiny.
Happy to be a part of this team.
👏we have some “new” team members that have been working behind the scenes with our blogs already, but now are working in a more official capacity in editing and contributing to our written content: @buddywalkwithjesus.bsky.social @joelabowmansr.bsky.social @storyofndblake.bsky.social
May 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Happy to be a part of this team.
When the government tries to limit the dyes in our food because they're unhealthy at the same time it rolls back almost all of the regulations surrounding industrial dumping into our water, you're being bamboozled.
May 15, 2025 at 1:48 PM
When the government tries to limit the dyes in our food because they're unhealthy at the same time it rolls back almost all of the regulations surrounding industrial dumping into our water, you're being bamboozled.
My feed is filled with hot takes & responses to the current administration.
while I agree it’s important to be informed & prophetic in our response, I also believe we can lose sight of the forest for the trees.
These days are symptoms of a larger sickness. The church must address the sickness.
while I agree it’s important to be informed & prophetic in our response, I also believe we can lose sight of the forest for the trees.
These days are symptoms of a larger sickness. The church must address the sickness.
May 15, 2025 at 12:16 PM
My feed is filled with hot takes & responses to the current administration.
while I agree it’s important to be informed & prophetic in our response, I also believe we can lose sight of the forest for the trees.
These days are symptoms of a larger sickness. The church must address the sickness.
while I agree it’s important to be informed & prophetic in our response, I also believe we can lose sight of the forest for the trees.
These days are symptoms of a larger sickness. The church must address the sickness.
We removed the church from the boundaries of "place", but in doing so, we also removed the context by which "church" is lived.
A group of individuals, no matter how large or small that group is, can not be called a "church" if they experience their faith in a vacuum of individual(ized) salvation.
A group of individuals, no matter how large or small that group is, can not be called a "church" if they experience their faith in a vacuum of individual(ized) salvation.
May 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
We removed the church from the boundaries of "place", but in doing so, we also removed the context by which "church" is lived.
A group of individuals, no matter how large or small that group is, can not be called a "church" if they experience their faith in a vacuum of individual(ized) salvation.
A group of individuals, no matter how large or small that group is, can not be called a "church" if they experience their faith in a vacuum of individual(ized) salvation.
Scripture doesn’t attempt to answer every question.
The goal of study isn’t to master the text, it’s to be mastered by the Spirit through it.
We don’t study to know, but to be formed—not for better apologetics but for better attunement.
New Post Drop Below. 👇
open.substack.com/pub/storyofn...
The goal of study isn’t to master the text, it’s to be mastered by the Spirit through it.
We don’t study to know, but to be formed—not for better apologetics but for better attunement.
New Post Drop Below. 👇
open.substack.com/pub/storyofn...
May 8, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Scripture doesn’t attempt to answer every question.
The goal of study isn’t to master the text, it’s to be mastered by the Spirit through it.
We don’t study to know, but to be formed—not for better apologetics but for better attunement.
New Post Drop Below. 👇
open.substack.com/pub/storyofn...
The goal of study isn’t to master the text, it’s to be mastered by the Spirit through it.
We don’t study to know, but to be formed—not for better apologetics but for better attunement.
New Post Drop Below. 👇
open.substack.com/pub/storyofn...
Learning to love the place God has rooted me for what it is presently and not for it’s potential is helping to teach me to love my neighbor (and myself) fully in the present instead of measured against some imagined potential.
May 8, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Learning to love the place God has rooted me for what it is presently and not for it’s potential is helping to teach me to love my neighbor (and myself) fully in the present instead of measured against some imagined potential.
Most of what I know about Alcatraz I learned from playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2.
May 5, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Most of what I know about Alcatraz I learned from playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2.
New Post Just Dropped!
There is a kind of mercy to a daily rhythm rooted in prayer.
The body knows it. The land knows it. Our souls remember it too.
Praying modified hours may not fit our way of life, but that might entirely be the point.
www.storyofndblake.com/p/simplified...
There is a kind of mercy to a daily rhythm rooted in prayer.
The body knows it. The land knows it. Our souls remember it too.
Praying modified hours may not fit our way of life, but that might entirely be the point.
www.storyofndblake.com/p/simplified...
May 1, 2025 at 6:36 PM
New Post Just Dropped!
There is a kind of mercy to a daily rhythm rooted in prayer.
The body knows it. The land knows it. Our souls remember it too.
Praying modified hours may not fit our way of life, but that might entirely be the point.
www.storyofndblake.com/p/simplified...
There is a kind of mercy to a daily rhythm rooted in prayer.
The body knows it. The land knows it. Our souls remember it too.
Praying modified hours may not fit our way of life, but that might entirely be the point.
www.storyofndblake.com/p/simplified...
Lots of plates spinning right now. Bandwidth meter is blinking red. But God is moving, and there is nowhere I’d rather be than in that presence & opportunity.
But all of that calls me into the wild to recalibrate and quiet myself for the week ahead.
But all of that calls me into the wild to recalibrate and quiet myself for the week ahead.
April 27, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Lots of plates spinning right now. Bandwidth meter is blinking red. But God is moving, and there is nowhere I’d rather be than in that presence & opportunity.
But all of that calls me into the wild to recalibrate and quiet myself for the week ahead.
But all of that calls me into the wild to recalibrate and quiet myself for the week ahead.