Bart Barber punched me in the gut today!
He posted an article entitled “Why I Almost Never Blog Anymore” accompanied by this graph, which basically shows that the more he blogs, the fewer people his church baptizes.
Bart is not suggesting that this is a scientific sample, as best I can tell. But his simple pictures speaks a thousand words. He has been one of my favorite bloggers for several years. He has a unique and powerful insight into scriptures, into Baptist history and doctrine, and into human behavior. He has been a voice of wit and wisdom, even though sometimes he has committed the unpardonable sin of disagreeing with me! Inexcusable!
I’m a pretty active blogger, especially since I started managing this site in the last week. It takes a lot of time, effort and energy to referee this rowdy bunch. I love it! I appreciate that there are people who actually read things that I write! That is an amazing thing for an Iowa pastor. We are hardly at the center of the SBC world, but through the wonders of blogging, I can be a part of things.
But each of us needs to ask ourselves the obvious question that Bart’s post raises. Is blogging a ministry or a distraction from it? Are we serving God or just chatting on the sidelines?
Here’s what I think:
1) There is no question that I, at times, get too involved in blogging. I have come to the end of the day and realized that I devoted most of my time to writing, commenting or responding to comments. Was that how God wanted me to spend my day?
It is easy to get caught up in blogging and to overdo it. A little self-control is helpful here, but if I had that, I wouldn’t be as big as I am, right?
2) I consider writing a calling from God for me. I have wanted to be a writer since I was a child and have done so through the years. Blogging has give me the opportunity to actually have people read the things I write. I do not consider blogging, kept in its place, to be an evil thing. For me, I believe it is part of my calling.
3) I think that blogging has a role to play in the SBC. I am convinced that blogging played a large role in changing the direction of the SBC in the last few years, for good or ill.
Since Baptist Press has become simply the PR arm of the SBC entities, we need a place to get the straight scoop. Obviously, a lot of evil takes place on blogs as well. People publish unsubstantiated rumors as facts. People engage in silly conflict. There’s a lot wrong with blogs. But when we do it right, we have a role to play!
So, I’m going to keep blogging, at least for now. But I take Bart’s words seriously. Each of us must remember that every post we write, every comment we make must be done for the glory of God.
Do you agree with Bart?
Why do you blog?
How has blogging helped you? Hurt you? Grown you? Hindered you?
What say you?
