Let me introduce myself: My name is Rupert Ward ... and I am ...

A Follower of Jesus, Husband, Father of two very boisterous boys, Church Leader. Enjoyer of wine, good food, most sports, books, current affairs, conversation and learning ...

I enjoy candles, hands in air, passionate preaching, silence, bells n smells (very occasionally), liturgy, free flowing worship, chairs, cushions, the floor, late mornings or early nights, one to ones, big crowds, simplicity, complexity, revelation, mystery, presence, absence, water, desert, transcendence, immanence, theology that makes sense, hills and mountains, cities and bustle, people, getting away from people, jesus, god, holy spirit, the world we live in, a hope for the future, paradox, clarity...

I am learning that the more I learn, the less I know. I tolerate pretty much most things, except intolerance. I fundamentally hate fundamentalism. I am confused, yet clearer than I have ever been.  It would be great to have on part of my journey ...

Now this would be your stereotypical emergent. More often than not he will have a name followed by a list of social roles he plays—capriciously capitalized and punctuated—in the Geat Postmodern Dance of Blended Identity. These people are great with name tags: "Hi, My Name Is". I like to think of it as a first gambit in striking up a "conversation".

This introduction should be followed by an impromptu list of paired opposites. This shows a) how complicated you are, how conflicted your thinking can be, and b) that you do own a thesaurus.

It is often helpful to include some sort of formal Declaration Of Enemies; these will be your bona fides. Drag out a list of people who haven't quite made it (no matter how loving of diversity you might be) onto your Christmas Card Mailing List. Overused devil words might include, evangelical, fundamentalist, republican, gun-owner, Rush Limbaugh listener, Supporter of Israel...

If you have a blog, it is always nice to do photo-sharing via Flickr. If you have facial hardware or gospel tattoos, this is an ideal way to express your love of art. You can then post a string of artsy snapshots to convey some sense of your artistic nature. Suitable subjects would be fire hydrants, manhole covers in the rain, neon signs, subway turnstiles, dumpsters, homeless people frequenting dumpsters... Urban grit is always evocative of profound thought and moral outrage. If you have young children, this is where you want to put some record of their birthday parties. If you have snaps of you at some loading dock or graffitied bridge abutment, this is where you want to share those pictures with the world. Jumble them all together to suggest how complex and variegated life is. This will make you look deep.

Somewhere you will want to make a pointed reference to your "journey". Perplexed and disoriented people generally like to suggest that their confused and disordered lives are a journey. It's picturesque, dramatic and romantic. It suggests a telos that their weltanschauung denies them. Why not create one on the internet?

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