Random Thoughts on Blogging as a Pastor

I’ve been blogging for almost 11 years now. My first website was a geocities website (anyone remember those?). When I started there were no Tim Challies or Justin Bieber. There were no superstars like we see today. Blog wars dealt with technical questions about the virtues of blogpress vs. wordpress (wordpress definitely won that war, btw).

Blogging is communication and communication is stewardship. Like anything else, blogging needs to be used wisely.  When thou bloggest expect consequences. Blogging is an investment. Some investments are terribly naive and simplistic and will earn nothing but pain and misery. Others are illuminating and may start important conversations in your community. In my decade-long blogging I have made some poor investments by simplifying people’s words, disrespecting their authority, and playing the role as defender of orthodoxy. Lord, have mercy on me!

Over the years I have learned the ability to control myself. John Frame offers much wisdom here. Peter Leithart also does a wonderful job in simply providing helpful summaries of books none of us could ever afford. They stir heealthy conversation in the community I serve.

We can all confess we have wasted a great deal of time in pugilistic blogging and by reading pugilistic bloggers. Is our time being used wisely?

At the same time, I have been able to offer tremendous encouragement to people via blogging, especially in terms of counseling and pastoral questions. I have directed much of my attention to  these issues over the last few years.

Like any investment, we need to be careful.

We need to keep in mind that someone is always out there looking to misrepresent whatever you put out. “Dogs are cute.” “Are you saying that if I don’t have a dog I am neglecting my duty towards beauty?” “Well, no, not exactly.” 6 hours later…………. “Honey, I can’t go to bed right now. I don’t think she got my point yet.”

So, just a few points to consider for us in pastoral ministry:

First, blogging can be beneficial. I used to have a blog with a few other pastors where we wrote about the lectionary text of the week and shared our notes through blogging. It was very beneficial.

Second, young parishioners can put pastors in a bad situation. They can speak about issues in profoundly harsh terms and therefore encourage people to associate a tradition or a church with that particular exposure. I think pastors need to keep a close check on these folks and speak to them when necessary.

Third,

 a) The purpose of blogging is to communicate ideas at a formal level, since that information now becomes public.

 b) The audience is unknown, which raises the possibility of confusion. The principle then is to write in such a way that those reading will be offended or encouarged or better informed for all the right reasons–writing the truth in love.

 c) I generally find the questions on justification and baptism or such questions to be helpful, but usually more fruitful if they are discussed in private forums. If not carefully phrased they can come across as “my community is better than the other.” We need less of that.

 d) Pastoral concerns should cause us to use good judgment in our assessment of any situation. Much of the damage done in many of these discussions is precisely because they have not had pastoral prudence guiding the process.

 e) Pastoral concerns ought to be defined by what best benefits our congregation/our local communities. We are not that important to address how to end hunger in Africa. The reality, however, because of the public nature of blogging, our concerns will naturally collide or harmonize with those outside our communities. These are inescapable consequences of blogging.

 f) The central difference between blogging and other forms of communication like writing a book is that it lacks the imprimatur of the community. Pastors have limitations on what they can say. If I start talking about the mystical experience I had while praying to an icon I found at an orthodox shop I know a couple of men who would be showing up on my front door. Blogging generally lacks communal participation or editorial work. At Kuyperian Commentary we typically have a process where all our pieces are first edited and read by several of the writers before it reaches the public. This can alleviate a lot of virtual pain.

 g) Debate will always take place on FB and blogging. My model is if the guy is a perpetual idiot he gets deleted. If it is a genuine question he/she deserves at least one or two responses (back and forth).