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Well sometimes comments can actually ruin your whole day. One of the hardest things to do as a Christian blogger is to respond in love to those who criticize and are down right mean and ornery to you in their comments.

Sometimes when I’m responding to a reader’s comment on one of my blogs, the first thing I think of is ‘how would Jesus answer this one’. On my worst days I have a picture in my mind of Jesus clearing the temple or telling the religious folks that they are really nothing more than ‘white washed graves‘. Then the Holy Spirit kicks in and I see Jesus teaching the ‘Golden rule’ and telling his disciples to love and pray for their enemies. In those moments I pray for wisdom and strength.

Some Suggestions on Responding to Difficult Comments 

1. Believe it or not Prayer does help. (Pray for wisdom and understanding)

2. Sometimes let a day or so go by. (Respond when you’re not quite so angry or hurt)

3. Don’t respond at all. (Some comments are so out-of-line that they hang themselves)

4. If you really did blow it you do need to magnanimously admit it.

5. If they are right –same as #4.

6. Sometimes commenters are just plain wrong and need to be corrected. (With as much love and care as you can muster)

7. Sometimes the best response is the ‘delete’ button. (It might even make your day)

Some of the meanest comments that I have ever received have surprisingly come from fellow Christians who completely forgot about grace. Nevertheless, if you are identified in some way as a Christian on the Internet than you really do need to respond in a way that reflects well upon your faith and your master Jesus.  Blessings.

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Integrity and credibility are two issues that everyone online are going to be involved with one way or another. Whether you are writing a blog, publishing a website, or just reading and commenting. For the Christian blogger or social networker it should be absolutely crucial and obvious.

We really should be asking ourselves before we hit the ‘publish’ or ‘send’ button –How will this reflect upon who I say I am. If I am presenting myself as a Christian does it reflect favorably on Christianity or the church? Is this article, comment, or observation really reflective of what I want to do and be Online?

After all, if your sites are any thing like mine, folks from nearly every country on the face of the earth and from nearly every culture and religion have stopped by and visited one time or another. If you are styled as some kind of ‘Christian’ site does it reflect the testimony that you would like to bare to the world?

Interesting enough, I have been mistreated, badmouthed, slimed, and berated far more often by fellow Christians than by any secular or foreign folks I may dialogue with.

Can’t tell you how many times a day my busiest blog is actually ‘spammed’ by other Christians who drop in links to their site or articles of their own in the comment line and wonder why they never see the light of day on my blog.  It would be one thing if it was an actual response to the article but it seldom is. Maybe some keyword in the article triggers it all. Amazing!

What are they thinking?

Then there is those occasions where I find that entire articles have been lifted off my blog and find their way onto another ‘Christian’ website with no attribution at all. Where is the Integrity there. It is somewhat flattering in a backhanded way. I have actually had a brother respond rather indignantly to the suggestion that it should be at least attributed or linked.

Then there are those sites that slander famous pastors and preachers. There’s an incredible mega-church 3 blocks from my house in Lake Forest. I am utterly amazed how many sites and articles that I have run across on the web libeling and obviously misquoting and taking that famous pastor entirely out of context. It is ridiculous. If he had said a tenth of what is attributed to him he would have been kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention long time ago.

Also don’t bother commenting on a site like that and trying to correct some of the ‘misquotes’ that you know the truth about. Those folks don’t really seem to want the truth and actually resent it.

Sometimes I wonder what some Muslim from Yemen or Buddhist from India must think about reading sites where Christians are battling over dirty laundry. A negative testimony for sure?

Point is, we really should be more careful Online and reflect the integrity and the credibility of our faith. Since we are reaching a global audience we should be more aware of that reality and how it reflects upon Christianity and our Lord.

(Picture by Sybren A. Stüvel via Flickr)

From Problogger Blog Tips: How to Improve Your Blog – Learn to Take Criticism Well

This post got me thinking about some of my own experiences over the years. When I first started blogging 3 1/2 years ago, I would take to heart and dwell on every negative comment that came my way and spend hours trying to properly answer, justify, and respond to every critical word. I can remember even losing some sleep every once in a while over what some folks, that I never met from somewhere I have no idea of, happened to say.

These days a lot of stuff just runs off my back like water off a duck . In fact anymore, I find some of it down right humorous. But first I look at every comment to see if there is any merit at all in what is being said. Usually there is at least some degree of truth there that can be helpful, even if the comments are mean and over the top.

I am convinced that some of those mean and ornery jibes have ended up making me a better blogger and a much clearer communicator. Besides remember, a blogger always has the last word—happiness is sometimes only one ‘delete’ away.

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Here’s an interesting article by Yahoo Tech: “No such thing as "deleted" on the Internet”

It Reminds folks that some of those horrible pictures and stuff you ‘deleted’ a month ago are probably somewhere out there still on the Internet—particularly if it was on Facebook.

This should be a lesson for all of us in ministry to be careful what we say and what type of info. we might publish. I know for example, some of the things that I have published about Islam on my Apologetic blog might be none too popular among some in the Middle East, though I get quite a few visits from there. However, I have been careful to be as accurate as I possibly can be.

On a couple of occasions my responses to some comments on a blog or two have not been all that charitable. I am learning to be far more loving than I used to be. In the mean time, there are a few comments still out there that I’d take back if I could. A lesson I am still in the process of learning.

This media is far more permanent than the ‘delete’ button promises.       

Image by ario_j via Flickr

Anyone who’s been publishing a blog for a while has received comments that are inappropriate for a Christian site–comments full of obscenities or bearing links to pornography–or comments that you would rather not have published on your blog.

There are always those Christians who consider it their mission to drop pre-written articles into the comment line of any post that comes close in anyway to their specialty issue. Mention ‘baptism’ in a post and you might receive an unsolicited 2 page teaching on "why infant baptism is a false practice"–posted on the comment line. You may even agree with the teaching but it really doesn’t respond in any way to the original post–what do you do?

On other occasions you might receive a ‘comment’ that is longer and more detailed than the original post–usually in opposition to what your take is. Then there are those who show up and choose to use the comment line as an opportunity to make a promotional announcement or post a veiled commercial link–how do you respond?

I have even received an angry email when I edited or deleted one of those 2 page off-topic ‘comments’. I didn’t have a policy posted at the time.

Every blogger eventually faces commenting problems and must develop some standards on how to respond. At first you’re happy when anyone shows up and leaves a comment. later when your blog actually has some traffic, all the spam begins to show up.

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you already have developed a policy–you might as well let your readers and commenters in on it. If you’re brand new, you might take a look at the comment policies on some of your favorite blogs and settle on some principles to start with.

Here’s my Comment Policy –probably more than most of you will want or need. It was originally developed for my Answers For The Faith blog which handles controversial culture-war issues.

It’s really a good idea to let your readers in on your comment policies and expectations. Especially if you are a Christian blog with different ideas of acceptability than the general blogosphere. That way there’ll be no excuses and readers will be able to respond more appropriately in their comments.

Here’s a link to a post on the Blog herald with some great ideas on creating a comments policy.            *Top

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