Blogging Ministry

-Evangelism and Social Media

The OurChurch.com blog has an article on evangelism and social networking where they evaluate and link to a recent PBS article.

John Saddington of ChurchCrunch, was one of those interviewed in the PBS article and points out:

“One of the nice things about social media is that it establishes a two-way conversation… Instead of blaring our faith into people’s faces, we can use blogs and social media to dialogue.”

The social media really does make it possible to naturally share your life and faith with your friends and relatives. A genuine tool for evangelism.

The following 10 commandments came from a conference of Godblogs in the Uk held by the Evangelical Alliance. The gathering of Christian bloggers gave the conferees an opportunity to network and think through a Christian approach to blogging.

The ten cyberspace commandments:

-You shall not put your blog before your integrity.

-You shall not make an idol of your blog.

-Dressing Up a Blog with Images and Pictures

Images are one way to dress up your blog and set it apart from millions of others that feature only text. They say that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, advertisers have proved that proverb a long time ago and have taken it to another level.

Note: Free web hosts like Blogger and WordPress.com only allow a limited amount space and images take up a lot, so care should be taken to use pictures and images sparingly.

With pictures and images mixed into your posts, you can create greater interest in your viewers to actually read your posts. Images and pictures definitely improve a post and can also help you take your blog to the next level.

-Why Youth Ministers Need to be Online

Here's a quote from an article that used to be available on line but no longer is. I believe it says it all why Youth Ministers need to have some kind of web presence on a website, blog, or social media:

From JoeRBennett formerly of Churchsmo blog:

"So why do Youth Ministers need to be online?

The answer is simple – because that’s where your students spend a lot of their time. The Internet is a mission field in and of itself. You have an opportunity to connect with students in a whole new way.”

Amen!

-Pastors and Ministers: "Got Blog?"

Here is an article published in Charisma Leader Magazine: “Got Blog”, by John Brandon. It is a short article to help ministers get started blogging. The three main topics:

1. Why Blog?

The writer gives good reasons why someone in the ministry might consider blogging as an extension of their ministry.

-“10 Things Your Blog Doesn’t Need”

From DailyBlogTips– by Donny: “10 Things Your Blog Doesn’t Need”

1. Auto-Music

2. Animated Gifs

3. Tiny Type

-Audio Sermons and Podcasting: Differences?

For a long time I didn’t really know the differences between audio sermons or audio teaching and podcasting. They seemed the same to me since the production tech is similar and both could be downloaded off of a website.

Lots of churches and ministries have ‘audio sermons’ and ‘audio studies’ but the best podcasting programs are really a different animal and more like a regular radio program in format.

-Some Thoughts on Blogging Etiquette

I believe that when it comes to integrity, Christians on the internet should be above reproach and demonstrate truth and grace in everything that we do.

When I started blogging I couldn’t even spell ‘etiquette’ much less practice it on my new blog but I did try to learn the best procedures by observing the best. Along the way I naturally picked up some important do’s and don’ts—a lot by just experiencing stuff that I didn’t like others doing to me.

-Learning to Take Criticism Well

I started thinking about some of my experiences over the years when it comes to negative comments and criticisms made on my blogs. Particularly those made when I first started blogging 17 years ago:

-Blogs: Evaluate Where You Spend Your Time?

In bouncing off several suggestions I found on other sites about blogging, I began to evaluate where I was spending most of my time—was it really in posting and communicating a desired message or in the usual blogging chores of updating, responding to comments, flushing spam, checking stats, reading and commenting on other blogs, and etc.

Pastors and ministers, who already have a busy schedule, must make the time they take on blogging and the Internet an 'effective' part of their over-all ministry.

-The Importance of Browser Checks

It is a good idea to check out how your blog or website reacts and loads on different browsers!

I have known this in the past and have noticed that my blogs look somewhat different using different browsers and the loading times varied. My daughter alerted me one time a couple of years ago that my site looked somewhat distorted on her Mac–she was using Safari as many Mac folk do. After that I had her checking it out once in awhile.

-Lack of Integrity on Christian Sites?

A few years ago I was checking out the Internet to see what there was about a church organization that I belonged to. I was completely shocked to find so much inaccurate material, and some down right malicious statements about several key leaders that I have known for over 20 years–a bunch of lies mixed in with some 'nearly' truthful highly slanted innuendoes. Amazing!

-You Have My Permission to Change a Published Post

Now for One of my Major 'Editing' Tips: –

When are you done with a post? Some contend that once it is posted that’s it! It is left to revolve around the blogosphere as it is forever. I disagree; for me, editing never ends:

-Jail or Worse: The Possible Down-side of Internet Exposure

This blog is dedicated to encouraging folks to use blogs and the internet in ministry. It is a good time to talk about the possible down-side that some have experienced due to the world-wide nature of the internet, social media, videos, websites, and blogs.

The up-side to the internet is the possible world-wide exposure that it can bring to what you are posting or teaching about. In my case, folks have showed up and read some of my stuff over the last several years from over 160 different countries on every continent. Without leaving my family room, I have been able to touch people in some way all around the world.

Now for the possible down-side.

-The Problem of Speaking 'Christianese'

In an article that read many years ago that no longer exists online; Paul D. Watson pointed out the problem of using Christian words and speech when trying to reach out to non-Christians:

“Christians speak a different cultural language than non-Christians. Unfortunately this language isn’t necessarily spiritual by nature. One of the hardest tasks of an evangelist (the New Testament term for Church Planter, but that is another post.) is deculturalizing the Gospel so that the lost can hear the Good News without all the white noise of Christian culture.”

I read a bunch of Christian blogs and Facebook postings everyday. Many will not appeal to ‘regular’ folk because they are written in ‘Christianese’—words, terms, and expressions that are commonly used in church and among fellow Christians. The fact is there are increasingly more folk out there that do not share or understand the common ‘churchy’ language than do.

-Why Pastors Should Blog

Here's a good article on why Pastors should blog:

"6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog" by Abraham Piper @ Desiring God (John Piper’s website)

Abraham starts off with his own reason behind the article:

"In this article I want to convince as many pastors as possible to sit down and start a blog today. If I can’t convince them, then I want to convince churchgoers to hound their pastor until he does."

Abraham then lists 6 important reasons that pastors should blog.

-Teach a Bible Study? Set Up a Blog!

I have posted previously on the 'whys' and reasons for setting up a Bible Study blog.Here are some more reasons for those teaching a Bible study.

Actually, I believe that anyone teaching a Bible study should seriously consider posting the notes or lessons on the Internet.

-Featured Ministry Site: XXXChurch.com

This is a ministry on the internet dedicated to combating the effects of pornography. The following is his main site: XXXChurch.com

Founded by Craig Gross in 2002, the site also features Donny Pauling who is a former porn producer who came to Christ and became part of the ministry. The site features information and access to internet blocking software, an Online recovery workshop, a 12-week program for those struggling with porn, and a ‘Prayer Wall’ with a message board for encouragement and dialog.

-One Simple Blogging Rule

There’s a great article posted at Daily Blog Tips: "One Simple Blogging Rule to Keep You Out of Trouble". The ‘one simple rule’ and the major point made by the writer is this:

Never post anything you wouldn’t say in person.

I believe that this is really good counsel for those of us who are trying to represent Christ in the Blogoshere. So many times I run across blog articles and comments which are uncharitable, divisive, insulting, and sometimes down right mean–and these are Christian blogs that I’m taking about. You expect to find such behavior in partisan political sites, but you really do hope for better treatment among brothers and sisters in Christ.

-Experiences in Blogging: "As Iron Sharpens Iron"

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." -Prov. 27:17

One of the more important reasons for Christians, especially pastors and ministers, to blog is what I call the "Iron Sharpens Iron" effect. As one posts articles and others stop by to comment, there is an ongoing sharing process that one cannot duplicate easily through other forums. Other Bible teachers and pastors will come aboard and drop a comment or two which actually in my experience helps to clarify and refine my own writing and teaching. The feedback can become a real blessing.