Blogging Ministry

By Lisa Sabin-Wilson (Hoboken,NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008, 384 pages)

Brand new for 2008, an essential book for those using WordPress in publishing a blog. The writer introduces one to the basic WordPress blogging program. Then follows with three major sections, first covering the Wordpress hosted service, next how to set up a ’self-hosted’ blog with the WordPress.org program, and finally, a section covering the WordPress MU program used in setting up and hosting entire blogging communities.

This is a great book for all those starting out with WordPress and explains in  detail everything one needs to know to properly administer and publish on a blog using the program. For those who have been around a while, it outlines procedures for adding plugins and widgets to a WordPress site.

Then, for the more advanced blogger, the book gives tips and procedures for making a blog unique and shows how to design your own Template. In easy to understand fashion, the writer presents all the basic code needed to make changes in your present template and the necessary info. and know how needed in setting up a new one.

Wordpress For Dummies joins WordPress Complete as the most up to date quintessential works for those using WordPress blogging programs.            *Top

I posted previously on some of my experiences with blogging a Bible Study and all the good reasons for doing so.

Actually, I believe that anyone teaching a Bible study should seriously consider posting the notes or lessons on the Internet. Here are a few good reasons:

1. Access to the notes for everyone in the Bible study.

Those who miss a lesson or two can catch up. Those who where there but lost the outlines or notes can always download new ones. There will always be a permanent record of the study for as long as the site is maintained.

2. Expanding your Bible study to include a world wide audience really takes very little additional efforts.

For the same effort it takes to prepare for teaching a Bible study at church or in a home fellowship group, you can actually end up ministering to people in countries all around the world. People from Over 138 countries have visited my Bible Study blog and it really is no big deal or exceptional in any way.

Not only that, but the lesson you did last week will continue to be read by folks this week and in the weeks to come. The effort you put into one lesson for one week can continue to minister to people for 52 weeks a year. Also, for 24/7, 365 days, and 52 weeks the next year and the year after for as long as the site is up.

Best of all, a Bible Study blog can be started for no cost at all and with zero website experience. A beginner can set up an attractive fully functioning new blog at Blogger.com or at WordPress.com in less than an hour.

Here’s some links to earlier posts I’ve written evaluating Blogger and WordPress:

-Getting Started With Blogger: An Evaluation

-Getting Started With WordPress.com: An Evaluation

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Windows Live Writer

I was introduced to Windows Live Writer, a new desktop editor for blogging, at the BlogWorld Expo in November 2007. All the publicity about the program seemed too good to be true. However, I have found the off-line editor to be far better than than my wildest expectations. I have been able to use ‘Windows Live Writer’ to draft, post, and fully edit all 9 of my blogs from one desktop window. I have been using ‘the writer’ to publish on all of my blogs since November.

‘The writer’ features a WYSIWYG editor that automatically configures to the settings on your blog. It makes it very easy to insert pictures, maps, tables and video. In my case, it is simply incredible since all of my main sites use WordPress programs which are famous for making it difficult to do those tasks. Now all I have to do is ‘right click-save-and paste’ pictures, images, or video and ‘the writer’ automatically uploads the inserts for you and supplies the proper code on the page.

I have also found ‘the writer’ to be easier to use in editing and making changes in past blog posts than the blog editor. What is really wonderful, it is all done off-line which means that you can write articles and edit them even when and where there’s no available network. Then later you can upload and publish them later when your connected once more. Also, gone are those frustrating experiences when the network goes down while you are writing on-line and you lose everything you have written.

‘The Writer’ supports and can be used with all of the major blogging programs—Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint, WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, Moveable Type, Community Server, and many others.

Here is a link to the Windows Live Writer website where you can get more info. and download the latest version of the program. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you the best part–the Windows Live Writer is FREE–available for 0–ZIP–Nada!

Here’s a blog site for Windows Live Writer support.  Also here’s the Wikipedia article on ‘the Writer’.          

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