Brandon Clements

Two quick things: A) I’ve had a strong desire to write fiction again recently. I’ve mostly been putting it off, and I don’t see doing another novel in the near future, but it’s getting to the point where I can’t not do it anymore. B) I’ve been endlessly fascinated with moments–things I’ll notice or see on TV or read in a book. The character, the situation, the moment, the motivations…they all make my mind twirl and suddenly I’m just making up stuff, things that might be true, reasons why something might be happening. Hopefully some of you can relate and […]

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Well, it’s been crickets around here lately. Been really busy with work and some side projects. Hope your spring has been splendid. Wanted to drop in really quick and share some personal news. Kristi (my wife) and I have just started the adoption process and we are so excited we can hardly stand it! We launched a new blog called The Clements Tribe to keep people who want to stay updated in the loop. You can check out our first post here if you are interested: Some Big News For the Clements Family We would certainly love your prayers as […]

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What kind of life are you going to live? I have always seemed to believe that I will answer that question at some point in the future. I did at 16 and I still do at 27. I’ll really flesh that out when ________ happens. It will be answered soon when I finally get time to ________ . Next week, next month…next year I will answer that question. And it will be a good answer, no doubt. (At least, it is in my head.) But I just have to get through today. Through this crazy week. Then things will be easier. […]

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Do you guys remember 2012? I know it is old news by now, but I found myself re-watching this today and remembered just how special it is. I saw it one night in early December and watched it five times in a row, no lie. Reduced to a pile of tears, I had to nearly scrape myself out of my desk chair. If you haven’t seen it yet, please. I can’t tell you how worth 6 minutes it is. If you’ve seen it already, watch it again. It’ll do your 2013 heart good.  

Church signs.You gotta love ’em, unless you’re like me and you hate ’em. I mean, when I drive by at least 87% of them, my reaction is to roll my eyes and run my hand down my face. Which is not a great thing to do when you’re driving, no doubt. Those things are dangerous! So many are mercilessly cheesy, if not downright stupid or mean or even theologically wrong or misleading, which is the worst option. Every time I see one that’s just ridiculous, I think about the fact that someone actually thought that putting that up was a […]

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Aside from my normal, pastoral non-fiction that I’m always reading, I love (and I mean love) to read fiction. It is such a good escape for me that genuinely enriches my soul. So I thought I’d mention some books you might want to check out (and also ask you for some recommendations). Home, by Marylinne Robinson I read this book a while back, but oh, I just can’t not talk about it. It is written so beautifully, with characters so haunting that there’s really nothing I can say to measure up to how much I loved it. To be clear, […]

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I’ve been thinking a lot about marriage lately. Partly because tomorrow (Oct 20th) is our 5 year anniversary. Partly because we are going through a 10-week series on marriage at Midtown, which by the way, is so good that no matter what your marital status is, you’re wrong if you don’t give it a listen. Not to mention, I was in my friend Travis’s wedding last weekend. We played golf for part of his bachelor party, and there were typical moron middle-aged men who talked to us and pulled the whole, “OH NOOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? HOW CAN WE […]

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As part of my job as a pastor at Midtown, I get the privilege of running our Recovery ministry. Being a part of Recovery has challenged me to no end, and it has absolutely been my favorite part of ministry so far. Getting to walk beside people learning how the gospel of Jesus frees them from slavery to sin and also heals scars from sins committed against them is nothing short of beautiful. Weighty, for sure. But beautiful. One thing I’m grateful for is just how real it is. It is a constant reminder that beneath all of the “hey-how-are-you-fine-I’m-just-fine” […]

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This Wednesday, Apple introduced the newest shiny thing to their indomitable repertoire, and like millions of others, my breath quickened skimming through the live blogs explaining every update. And I wouldn’t even consider myself a junkie–I don’t own every Apple product, and I didn’t help crash Apple’s website by ordering an iPhone 5 Wednesday night at midnight. I’m due for an upgrade so I may get one eventually, but not anytime soon. But that does not change the fact that I am, it seems, inexorably hexed by the techie firm from California. I oohed at the new features, even though […]

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If you’ve been around Midtown for a while, been around the blog for a while, or read my book, odds are you know or have heard about my friend Luis. He’s a 43 year-old hispanic man who, upon our first contact with him years ago, was passed out in Finlay Park, homeless and drinking rubbing alcohol. Needless to say, he’s come a long way since then. He got on his feet, battled his addiction to alcohol, met Jesus, was baptized, and got smack in the middle of a church who loved him and legitimately became his family–the people that he […]

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