Blogging Ministry

Mark Batterson considers his blog to be an important part of his ministry. He writes that:

"In quantitative terms, blogging is the most important thing I do. I view it as a form of digital discipleship. Not a substitute for one-on-one. But a great supplement. As NCC grows larger, I feel like it’s a way that our congregation can know what is going on in my head and my heart at any given moment."

Here’s a link to a valuable list of blogging guidelines from a veteran blogging pastor.

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"How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them"

By Bob Walsh (Berkeley, CA: Apress, 2007, 351 pages)

An excellent book on why one should blog and how to get started. Bob suggests that one starts by reading lots of blogs and become initially engaged in the blogoshere by leaving comments.

Next he gives suggestions about getting started publishing a blog with Blogger, Windows Live, and TypePad and evaluates which blogging platform might be best for you considering your goals and what type of blog you wish to publish.

<<Read the rest of this review on my BOOK Reviews blog>>

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I recently moved this blog to a new host and now it has a new location and a change of address. You used to be able to get to the front page by using charismatica.com/bloggingministry or bloggingministry.com ; now the only the official address is:

www.bloggingministry.com 

If you have linked to some of my articles or pages in the past and wish to maintain the links, drop ‘charismatica.com/bloggingministry’ from the permalink and insert ‘bloggingministry.com’ in its place and it should still work.

Blessings, Dr.D

Please bear with me while I rebuild this blog. We recently experienced a serious hacking/spam attack that saw more than 100 pages of spam links somehow added to our blog footer and made it necessary to flush our data base and start over in order to get control once more.

In the process I decided to move this blog to a new host. That has complicated matters and will somewhat delay everything being put back together.

If you are running on a WordPress program, I would strongly suggest that you upgrade to the 2.5.1 program as soon as possible. Supposedly they have closed all the gaps that hackers used to gain access to this blog and database.

Blessings Dr.D

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.

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.

I have been experimenting with using images on my blogs for the last 2 months and it is increasingly getting much easier for me to provide pictures or images for the majority of my posts.

Over that time I have found a number of good sources for free ‘clipart’ and pictures on the web. Also, I have run across a number of issues and pitfalls that every blogger using images and pictures should fully understand.

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Thanks to Barry Simmons @ The Journeyman’s Files, I found a link to this recent 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. The article develops and explains each of the six:

1. …to write.
2. …to teach.
3. …to recommend.
4. …to interact.
5. …to develop an eye for what is meaningful.
6. …to be known.

In conclusion, Piper writes:

"For most of you, anything you post online will only be a small piece in the grand scheme of your pastoral leadership. But if you can maintain a blog that is both compelling and personal, it can be an important small piece.

It will give you access to your people’s minds and hearts in a unique way by giving them a chance to know you as a well-rounded person. You will no longer be only a preacher and a teacher, but also a guy who had a hard time putting together a swing-set for his kids last weekend. People will open up for you as you open up like this for them. Letting people catch an honest glimpse of your life will add authenticity to your teaching and depth to your ministry."

It really is a well thought out article and well worth the few minutes it takes to read it all. The following are links to other articles and several wholes series on pastors and blogging which have previously been featured on this blog:

Getting Started: “Blogging for Pastors 101″

Why Blogging?: It’s “What People Need From Their Pastors”

Pastor Blogs His Sermon Series Notes

“Blogging & Pastoral Ministry: The Series”

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During a recent visit to one of my favorite blogs, I noticed this symbol  ShareThis at the end of each post. I had to click on it of coarse and found that it was a great little widget/device that makes it easy for visitors to share and bookmark your posts without all the clutter of placing each different/separate symbol of the social web on your blog.

I immediately put it on all of my WordPress blogs through an easy to load ‘plugin’. I am amazed and more than happy with the results!

I have only recently become aware of how important social bookmarking can be to building the daily traffic to your blog. Last month when I was checking out the stats on one of my blogs, I saw that the traffic had jumped up significantly at that site and on one day in particular there were over 200 unique visits to one particular post. When I checked out the ‘referrals’ I saw that most came from "StumbleUpon".

From then on, I have been looking for a way to make it easy for folks to share and bookmark my blog posts. Most of the widgets and plugins I reviewed were to complicated, messy, or didn’t work right on my blogs. ‘Share This’  is definitely the best I have found, If anyone out there has other suggestions please let me know.

‘Share this’ currently has plugins for WordPress, Blogger, and Typepad. They also have code available for other websites. In addition, they offer a toolbar add-on for browsers to make it easy to bookmark and share with your friends.            *Top

I started blogging two years ago on March 5, 2006.

The original idea was to start a blog as an actual ministry on the Internet. I figured that I would teach a Bible study, have a Bible Q & A site, and respond to current events from a Christian perspective.

Along the way the original blog has expanded to 8 sites and usually I am way over my head with all the technical stuff. Sometimes I have gotten off track and have forgotten the original vision. Sometimes it has been more like a hobby. Sometimes it has been a burden. But sometimes I remember to include the Lord in what I am doing and it is actually a blessing. It has definitely been an interesting ride so far. There have been ups and downs, but mostly ups and many blessings in the process.

This month also marks the first anniversary of this blog–Blogging Ministry. The original idea was to write about the ‘Hows and whys of using a blog for ministry’ with articles on helpful hints and info. on how to get started.

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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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I took some time this week to figure out a way to get better organized in my Blogging. 

I have a system where I write down ideas during the day for articles or making changes in my blogs. It’s a great system accept I misplace or lose some of the notes and when they do show up it is sometimes too late to blog on the idea.

Also, I find ideas and articles to spin off of on the net and bookmark them. But my list of bookmarks gets so long that some of the best possibilities gets lost in the crowd.

Sometimes I find articles on blogs that I would like to comment on but don’t have time at that moment. Then later I forget about them.

Another thing that I have noticed is my inconsistency in posting. Some weeks ideas just flow and one post after another just flies up on the front page while other times nothing falls into place and before you know it a week or so has gone by.

This is a particularly acute problem for me since I have 4 major blogs that I manage and post to and 5 other minor specialty blogs that receive less attention. Also, I have set posting goals for each blog in 2008.

I came across a good idea at DailyBlogTips, they suggest using a large white erase board for organizing blog ideas. I adjusted the idea to my own situation.

I do all my blogging at the kitchen table in the family room, that way I can be in close proximity with my wife and take care of family business as necessary. Like take out the trash, unscrew that hard to open jar, or talk about what we are going to do over the weekend. It keeps peace in the family and wife doesn’t feel like a ‘blogging widow’. However, there is no big wall to place an erase board or at least none that my sweetheart would allow it on.

Solutions:  I took a trip to Office Depot and to Staples this week and picked up the following:

1. Erase Calendar 81/2 x 11- To write and keep tract of where and what day I have posted on.

With one glance I can see that I have posted only 2 articles this week to my ANSWERS blog and only one to CHARISMATICA and nothing to the others. I can also see that the last time I posted to APOLOGETICA was Sat. 1/5 and the last article to this blog was posted on Tues. 1/1. This is going to be a very helpful tool.

2. 81/2 x 11 Yellow pad to write and organize on, instead of the large white board, more practical for me. Though I am still looking for a small erase sheet that will fit into a notebook.

3. Small 5 x 8 Yellow pads to jot down notes and ideas on. Also, to jot down a reminder of every article that I have bookmarked for possible posting on or responding to with comments. 

4. A Three-Ring Notebook  -with slots in the front and back to slide the calendar and yellow pad into.

5. Notebook Dividers with pockets to put notes in.

Now I have some place to put all my notes, a way to organize all my bookmarks and keep track of articles I want to comment on. Also, on the calendar, I can immediately see whether I am meeting my blogging goals for the year.

Best of all, my wife is going to be much happier with the way it all looks in the family room. No more stacks and scattered scraps of paper (that look like trash) with valuable blogging notes within. 

All of it is now well organized and contained in one lovely ’simulated leather’ dark blue 3 ring notebook with dividers and handy pockets.           *Top