why don’t you blog
Last year when I first signed up to blog I thought to myself that this is a waste of time. Statistically I’m getting somewhere around 700 visits a day. I know that is small stuff to many of the big boys in church planting and pastoring, but I labor in relative obscurity in the world of church planting. Anyway.
I check each morning about 15 – 20 blogs to see what the people in my circle of church planting and in the church world are thinking and doing. This is what is I am thinking right now. If I were a church planter or a pastor of a small church I would blog almost daily. I’m not talking about twittering that my baby threw up on me, or I’ve got diarrhea or I’m drinking a sugar free cinnamon latte’ with whipped cream stuff.
Blogging is free and can be accomplished pretty easily in a short time. I would communicate with my church members and community. I don’t know that I would waste their time or my time with trivial stuff but with good church stuff. Some personal stuff is okay if it can communicate to your target about something of importance.
So, bi-vocational guys, small church guys, guys with no communications departments in your church. WRITE SOMETHING! If your time is limited, then quit reading everyone else and write something to your target. You must have something to say or God would not have called you to pastor. COMMUNICATE! about vision, values, mission, people who have done something good, prayer requests, community events, scripture and everyday life, something you’ve learned.
In the time you have read this, pastor, you could have told your congregation what a great sermon you have prepared and if they bring their friends this weekend they will not be disappointed. Your peeps are much more important than me. I’m glad you’re here but if you’ve made a choice between me and communicating with your people, you made the wrong choice. Just saying…
Here’s some suggestions: when you outline your sermons, write a short sentence each day about that topic and whet their appetite for more, take a statement of your vision and explain it everyday for a week, same for values, talk about how these things shape decision making, challenge people to involvement, talk about the difference a volunteer is making. lots of stuff.
Another thing is who are you blogging for, if it’s for other pastors then shut it down, if it’s for your church use it. (I admitted to myself a long time ago that the big boys aren’t going to follow me, I write for church planters and for a few friends in the WRC congregation that are my friends and who enjoy my stupid rants once in a while, blog for the right audience.) Provide the link in your ministry guide every week. List your topics for the week. Encourage your people to go there.
I know your time is limited, but this article took me less than 10 minutes. Do you have 10 minutes to communicate something important to your people? Use it. Don’t let it sit idle for days and months. I don’t check your blogs out to see if you watched NASCAR on Sunday or how your bracket is doing. I check it out to see if you are saying anything to your church. Unfortunately most of you aren’t. That’s sad.
