Beginning the Journey

What are you truly passionate about?

Hi, I’m Dr. Ryan Fraser and this is HeartPoint.

Welcome to my new podcast. I look forward to sharing encouraging and uplifting ideas with you each week and also receiving your personal feedback.

When I think about some of the things that I am passionate about, I think of ministry, pastoral counseling, Christian care and service, and marriage and family issues.

I also think about Jesus Christ and his powerful, unparalleled approach to ministry. His style was unique, countercultural, and extraordinary. Jesus cut through the complexity of the outer layers of problems to get to the very heart of the matter. The Son of Man loved people with an eternal, uncompromising love—one that traversed gender, race, nationality, and socio-economic status. He felt deeply for others, caring for their souls, and reached out to them with his Father’s unconditional love to touch and transform their lives.

Matthew 9:35-36 says, “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Like Christ, we are also called to swim upstream and make a difference in this world. We are challenged to step out with courage and faith with the purpose of loving as Jesus loved, serving as He served, and caring as He cared. Yes, we are told to have His Heart and use Our Hands to be his tangible presence on earth, while we eagerly await his return.

There are many creative ways in which we can provide effective care and empathetic support to the hurting, the lonely, and the struggling.

HeartPoint is a podcast that is dedicated to honing our skills and motivating us to step out of our comfort zones and make a positive impact.

What have you done today to show Christ’s heart to those around you? I invite you to join me on this journey of self discovery as we talk about tangible ways to show Christ’s compassion to others. Thanks for tuning in.

My First Blog Article

Well, greetings kind readers. I wish to extend a warm welcome to you as you check out my brand new blog. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to do so. I recognize how busy you are and how many other voices out there are vying for your attention. This is hopefully the start of something worthwhile for both you and me. Please know I am humbled and honored to have your initial interest. It is my heartfelt prayer that I will earn your ongoing subscription to my blog.

The concept of blogging is actually quite new to me, so I am pretty nervous about it to be completely honest with you! I have been thinking for some time now about what my unique contribution might be through this online platform or medium for sharing concepts and ideas. On a personal level, it is important to me that I remain true to myself in this novel and exciting endeavor. What would be the point of writing about things that hold little importance in my own life? That would certainly constitute a waste a time and energy. While there are many specific types of conversations I could initiate, there are no doubt certain topics that are more worthy of my attention and your consideration than others. So what are the types of things that I am truly passionate about?

My particular interests lie in areas of Christian living, pastoral theology, practical biblical studies, ministry concerns, pastoral care and counseling, and marriage and family issues. As a preacher, counseling professor, pastoral counselor, husband and father, my interest undoubtedly gravitates to certain related areas. By the way, I also have a great appreciation for the outdoors and especially hiking and camping, which is something I am blessed to do on a regular basis with a number of great male, Christian friends.

So rather than limiting myself in this blog to only one or two topical areas or fields, I want to allow myself the luxury of having sufficient latitude to draw from a variety of thematic interests. However, at the heart of my musings will generally be ideas connected in some tangible way to God's heart and to matters of Christian faith, ministry, and service. As someone who was raised on the mission field in South Africa and who has spent the majority of his adult life in fulltime ministry, I have a deeply ingrained pastoral identity. It is unquestionably a big part of who I am. I find great fulfillment in helping people discover spiritual meaning in their lives and develop (or hone) skills for better serving their fellow human beings in the name of Jesus Christ.

I hope you will find something of spiritual and practical value in my ongoing blog entries that resonates with your own areas of interest, passion, and personal concern. At the bare minimum, I recognize the need for my offerings to remain relevant to our collective contemporary experiences as we strive to live out our faith in a post-modern world, one that is antithetical to Christian values. It is my prayer that you will choose to join me on this great adventure as a fellow sojourner. I also look forward to receiving your honest feedback and personal insights along the way as we strive to sharpen one another.

Let's commit to grow together in knowledge, compassion, and faithful dedication to Christ. Thanks for joining me for this important dialogue. I look very forward to our future conversations together!

Ryan N. Fraser, Ph.D.

Note: This article was originally posted on my former blogsite (www.ryanfraser.org).