The Blogging Church

I received my copy of The Blogging Church a couple of days ago.

I’ve been following the progress of the book for months now ever since it was announced on author Brian Bailey’s blog, Leave It Behind. And so it was exciting to finally receive an email from Amazon telling me the book was on its way to my home! But alas, I’m in the midst of a big project and didn’t have time until this evening to give it more than a cursory look.

After it had sat on my desk for a couple of days, I finally picked it up this evening to read a bit and was immediately intrigued by a couple of statements from the Foreword, written by Ed Young, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Church:

I have a daughter in college, and she uses technology in a whole new way. There’s a generation coming that spends a huge part of their lives online. A creative church, a spiritually mature church, is one that is comfortable with uncomfortableness. You wouldn’t be reading this book if you weren’t willing to do a lot of different things, to get outside of the box, in order to reach those who don’t know Jesus Christ. The church has to be willing to change, go into new places, and be uncomfortable, or we will no longer matter to the people who matter so much to God.

and ....

Is blogging about you, or is it about others? When a blog is all about us, we turn inward and get dragged into endless debate that doesn’t amount to anything. We stare at our navels and sing Kumbaya while the rest of the world goes to Hell. When a blog is about others, we swallow our egos and put all of our energy into getting people connected to Christ and His bride, the local church.

There’s so much there that resonates with my thinking. Much of the church today, I think, is uncomfortable with the online world because of a lack of experience, because of the lack of control, because of the unknown. But if we are committed to seeing today’s world reached for Christ, we have to go to where the people of today’s world are, in fact, comfortable, even if it’s uncomfortable for us.

And we need to be making our online efforts about them rather than about us. One small part of Ed Young’s comments which, I think, have great significance is that he sees blogs as a way of connecting people not only to Christ, but to the local church. This resonates with me as well because of my conviction that online ministry should not be primarily about seeking conversions, but rather seeking to introduce people to the local church where they can view the love of God in action (cf. John 17:21-23) which will ultimately lead to conversion in many cases.

Am I willing to go where I am uncomfortable (or get behind those who do if they are better prepared to go where I am uncomfortable)? Are my online efforts for my own satisfaction or to reach those who do not yet know Christ?

Posted by on 01/29/07 at 07:56 PM

The Collective Voice!

Brian Bailey continues the discussion:

Thanks for picking up the book, Frank! I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful. I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you’re able to read the whole thing.

contributed on 02/04 at 03:35 PM

continues the discussion:

Thanks Brian! I’ve just finished the first chapter (as I said, I’m in the midst of a big project, so I’m not able to devote a lot of time to reading just yet).

Hope it’s okay that I comment chapter-by-chapter.

contributed on 02/05 at 10:52 AM

Rich Tatum continues the discussion:

Frank,

I picked up this book the other day and read most of the first chapters and skimmed the rest. I was more impressed with its accuracy than I expected to be. Most writing from the church about technology isn’t what always up to par. I think I could recommend this book to a church beginning or considering a blog for their ministry.

I do expect to spend more time with it.

This last week I was asked to give a 15-minute presentation to showcase my training ability at GospelCom’s offices in Muskegon, MI. (I was applying for a job, for which I was just turned down :: sigh :. Anyhow, I used the story mentioned in the book (about Bailey, Scoble, and Evan) to form the basis of a “case study” for “Relationship Blogging” as the platform for effective church / ministry blogging.

Even though I didn’t get the job, Brian Melles, the hiring manager, asked if I’d be willing to expand the presentation for their next training conference. So, in at least this respect, the book was very useful for me!

Rich
BlogRodent

contributed on 05/14 at 02:33 AM

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You may be interested in reading these articles which enumerate core principles of the strategy we advocate:

Effective Church Websites For Emerging Generations
Investigating the various ways in which a church's website can be targeted toward unbelievers in a church's local community.

A Strategy For Local Internet Outreach
How can the internet be used for evangelism and outreach while maintaining an environment of authentic Christian community?

Flawed Follow Up Or A Flawed Philosophy of Evangelism?
The ease with which we can “share the gospel” online can actually short-circuit the God-ordained process by which unbelievers are brought to faith.

Should We Include A Gospel Presentation On Our Websites?
Should conversion be our immediate goal in our internet evangelism efforts?

A Strategic Opportunity For The Church
A proposed strategy in which a church would use short video profiles of members of their congregation to entice unbelievers in their local area to consider the value of a local congregation’s ministry in their own lives.

2 John 12
Is there something incomplete about digital communication?

Fri, October 10, 2008 at 06:19 pm
Frank : savoring the start of a four-day weekend, looking forward to a great Time Out

Tue, October 07, 2008 at 08:13 pm
Frank : wishing that the spin doctors would have an ounce of honesty and integrity.

Sat, October 04, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Frank : winding down after a long Saturday's work on things of eternal value.

Sun, September 28, 2008 at 11:44 am
Frank @GregAtkinson my daughter is a goalkeeper - nothing quite like being a goalkeeper's parent!

Wed, September 24, 2008 at 09:55 pm
Frank : back home after a high school back-to-school night, evaluating high schools for next year

When the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association wanted to use the internet to promote their city festivals, they turned to Strategic Digital Outreach. Read more ....

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Web Development
Designwise Studios
DirectSteps
RockBeatsPaper
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Content Management
Expression Engine

Web Hosting
DreamHost

Email Management
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We work with several different organizations in exploring ways in which digital means can be used to reach an increasingly digital world. Some of these organizations are more traditional clients. Some are friends. All are our partners in the gospel (1 Corinthians 3:9). Invariably, we learn as much from them as they do from us. Here is a sampling:

David & Linda Arzouni
Assemblies of God missionaries to West Africa, based in Mali (the land of Timbuktu).

Assemblies of God
The Northern California and Nevada District, based in Sacramento, California.

India Prayer Drive
A 21-day prayer drive through the nation of India.

IreneDias.com
Although the suffering they face is severe, this is not a story of despair, but of an incredible faith and even more of an incredible God who sustains His followers with lavish grace, extravagant kindness, and unrelenting love.

Luis Palau Evangelistic Association
Proclaiming the Lord's Good News to the millions of people who have yet to respond to the Gospel.

Sacred Ink
Joyfully declaring the gospel to the tattoo subculture.

Santa Cruz Bible Church
Their evangelism department focuses on marketplace ministries.

ShareFest Santa Cruz County
Churches in Santa Cruz County, California join together to become a bridge from the church to the community through work projects designed to bless the community.

TimeOut Conference
Enabling a deeper relationship with God and more effective relationships with people.

Wake Up! Santa Cruz
Presenting the claims of Christ to the business community in Santa Cruz, California.

These are projects which we have initiated (either individually or as members of a team) in our efforts to use digital means to spread the gospel:

MissionEquip
MissionEquip.com was established to provide resources to missionaries and short-term missions teams traveling worldwide.

ChristianCruz
ChristianCruz.com is a localized portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, California.

Prodigal God
ProdigalGod.com, a work in progress, is designed to provide biblical instruction to the wider body of Christ through the use of video teaching segments and written articles.

Christian Screen Savers
ChristianScreenSavers.com offers a selection of high-quality, inexpensive Christian screen savers which reflect biblical themes. Proceeds from the sale of these screen savers are used to support the work of Strategic Digital Outreach.

Blogs I Read

Adventures Of A Web Evangelist
The Appian Way
BetaChurch.org
BlogMinistry
BlogRodent
Boyink Interactive
Carpe' Digital
Christian Web Trends
Church Beauty
Church Communications Pro
Church Marketing Sucks
ChurchTechToday
Church Website & Blog Ideas
digital.leadnet.org
Digital Ministry
The Digital Sanctuary
e-vangelism.com
Effective Church Web Sites
Effective Web Ministry Notes
Equip Blog
Evotional
GodBit
Goodmanson
Gospelcon
Heal Your Church Website
If Jesus Had A Website
Leave It Behind
MicroExplosion
Outside The Box Ministry
Sacred Digital
So You Want A Church Website?
The Ultimate Issue
Web Evangelism Issues

The Blogging Church

Blogs I Read

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