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church blogging

On blogging daily.

Why don’t more preachers blog? 

Seth Godin, one of the earliest and most prolific bloggers, celebrates his 5000th post today. Congratulations, Seth. You make a difference in many worlds!

2×2 is approaching 1000 posts. We have a way to go!

In Seth’s reflection on his exercise in sharing an observation with the world daily for more than ten years, Seth writes:

My biggest surprise? That more people aren’t doing this. Not just every college professor (particularly those in the humanities and business), but everyone hoping to shape opinions or spread ideas. Entrepreneurs. Senior VPs. People who work in non-profits. Frustrated poets and unknown musicians… Don’t do it because it’s your job, do it because you can.

Why don’t more preachers blog? Surely they see themselves as shaping opinions, values and spreading ideas.

Blogging is a gradual art. It’s like having coffee or tea with your neighbor every day. The bonds build slowly.

  • Once a day, you take the time to share.
  • Once a day, you take the time to think through issues and ideas that might benefit other people. Writing really pushes the thought process!
  • Once a day, you see something new in the ordinary.
  • As you search for ideas, you will start to connect with other thinkers and bloggers. Their thoughts will enrich your own. You will benefit personally.
  • Day by day, you will build your voice and influence.

Why don’t more preachers blog? It’s work. The rewards are not immediate. It’s not part of the job description.

Preachers still think the world is going to come to them.

I’ve noticed a few church websites that contain blog entries. They tend to be once a week for about six weeks before they drop off.  I remember one that I opened eagerly from the link on the home page. The announcement was so enthusiastic! It had just one blog entry that had been posted more than a year earlier.

2×2 challenges pastors to blog daily for a year. If that’s too hard, blog daily for three months. Any shorter and you won’t learn from the experience.

Do it first thing. Share with your community before 9 am. Or post at the end of the day—whatever rhythm works for you.

See if it doesn’t make a difference in your community. It may also make a difference in you!

As Seth notes:

I’ve never once met a successful blogger who questioned the personal value of what she did.

05 Jun 2013

Blogging Is Not About Forsaking the Assembly

An anonymous commenter wrote today:

Blogging may be good and it may reach all over the world. But the word of God says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another . . . . ” (Hebrews 10 :25) and to my understanding I am going to church.

We have never advocated blogging as a replacement for Christian community. We see it as enhancing Christian community.

There is value in assembling as a people of God. Most of the people who read and correspond with us through our blog are active in such assemblies and send us many photos of their congregations.

Assembling as a congregation is not in itself an evangelism tool. The sizes of these assemblies are shrinking—big churches and small churches alike. Most are experiencing sizable decline. As they shrink, they are becoming protective of who they are. In a sense they forsake who they might become, if they actually had a way of reaching out.

The value of blogging is that you reach beyond the four walls of your congregation and start to learn about the people who are not part of your assembly—yet.

As for the people of 2×2 and Redeemer? We have been locked out our place of assembly by all the other Lutheran congregations in our region. This was an unnecessary cruelty and was designed to make taking our property, our offerings and possessions easier.

And still we attend church — sitting several times a month with the very people who condone this action—some actively, most passively. We worship, we pass the peace and sometimes commune with them. We listen to words read from the Bible that point to the wrongs of these actions. We have visited 60 happy and contented congregations who would rather not be bothered. We live the Good Samaritan story every day. The Levite and Pharisee pass us by.

We worship with others even when it is difficult to do, even when we are treated with only minimal hospitality and no recognition of what their communities have put our community through. We have abided condescending platitudes. We have also met some really nice people!

Congregations seem to find justification in their communal acceptance of wrong.

We still believe in local assembly and gather in our own “upper room” in a theater that has loaned us the space for three years while our church has persisted in vilifying our members to justify their leaders’ actions. We pass our locked church, a symbol of atrocity, every day.

We still get together once a week for worship and often during the week to work on projects or just enjoy one another’s company. We still help one another through tough times and celebrate good times. We still pray for one another and for the rest of the church that treats us so badly.

We agree with you! Go to church.

But beware! Just being there is not enough. The gospel—including the book of Hebrews—makes other demands on us.

Don’t forget the teachings of love, forgiveness and reconciliation. Don’t forget the admonition to go into the world and make believers of all.

Blogging has made this possible for every Christian.

02 May 2013

Why should churches blog? 5 unexpected reasons!


The Alban Roundtable discussion this week presents cautionary tales on what can go awry when using email to communicate.

Comments so far have been: We know, we know. But this is the world we live in.

They are right. If people are going to email, there is nothing you can do to stop them. You CAN, however, provide good content to encourage reasonable and helpful online dialog.

Create a church blog.

2×2 advocates the development of church blogs as a less emotionally charged way of promoting online discussion. Blogs invite participation. Thoughtful posts will result in thoughtful comments—moreso than on Facebook and Twitter. Blogs allow you to moderate comments, but generally we recommend that you moderate the first comment only, simply as a way of verifying that the contributor is not a spammer. Access to the online discussion must be fairly free. If you start editing or rejecting comments, your blog will be seen as the voice of the favored in the church.

Establish guidelines for your commenters. People will cooperate. If you feel you must edit a comment, you can tell the contributor (offline) why it violates your community rules.

There are many advantages to blogs. Some you can anticipate. We’ve listed some above.

This morning, Blogger Mark Schaefer posted five unexpected benefits of blogging. Although Mark is a businessman, his words are very personal. His insights apply to church. 2×2 has been blogging for more than a year. We have experienced the same benefits.

Here are Mark’s insights as they have applied to our church blog . . . and can apply to your church blog as well.

Blogging heals

Redeemer, the sponsor of the 2×2, is a congregation experiencing ongoing rejection and bullying within the Church. It’s painful, and the Church has been unresponsive—hoping we would just roll over and die—even five years after that tactic has proven ineffective!

Blogging has given us a voice which is healing to our community. It has given us reach and it has validated our ministry (to other Christians if not to our nearest neighbors). We know we can still fulfill our “missional purpose.”

Blogging connects

This has been the most amazing benefit of our blog. We have connected with other Lutherans, other denominations, other religious institutions and ministry efforts all over the world. We have come to know many by name and hear from several daily. Some have been helpful to us. We’ve been helpful others as well. We have invitations to visit in Asia and Africa!

Blogging defines

Where does the church stand on issues? Often we allow church experts to draft statements about what we believe, but let’s face it. They are rarely read or used more than a month after they are published.

Why do we allow others to decide what we think? In the past, there was little choice, but dialog online can help congregations participate in issues and respond at the local level. The official response can be helpful but it shouldn’t replace our own consciences.

When you take an issue you aren’t quite sure about and start to write, you can begin to sort out your thoughts and realize what you believe. Sometimes it surprises you!

2×2 posts some ideas, knowing they are not fully defined. Sometimes the ones we think are most nebulous start to get responses — often by email—thanking us for our position. We often learn that others are struggling with the same issues. They add a penny or two to the dialog—which we incorporate in future posts.

Blogging teaches

Mark Schaefer points out that his blog opens his eyes and teaches him. 2×2 says “ditto!”.

Blogging inspires

2×2 looks for messages that inspire and includes them in our editorial mix. We often get emails thanking us and telling us how they intend to use the information in their ministry.

These are five things every church needs. Why aren’t we doing it more?

We have one answer to this question! Tomorrow’s post.

04 Sep 2012

Blogging for Your Church This Summer

Many churches run on fumes all summer. Pity! Summer is the time of year that people tend to make big changes in their lives. They wait for summer to move and change jobs. They may begin their search for a new church home, right when many churches are all but closed, except for Sunday worship.

Consider this when planning summer ministry. There is a lot to think about. The church web site or blog is a good place to prepare for summer ministry.

Review your site and make sure that any summer events or services that might attract visitors are well-publicized and that the events are truly welcoming to new people. Explain the events on your web site as if the reader knows nothing about your church. If you are doing a good job with your web site or blog, many readers will be learning about your church for the first time.

From Advent in late November and December, to Easter in March or April, followed by the Ascension and Pentecost, all church activities revolve around events in the life of Christ. This is followed by the long church season of ordinary time or in many traditions the season of or after Pentecost. This is the longest season of the liturgical year (June through most of November) or about half the calendar year.

The lectionary typically explores the everyday ministry of Jesus during this time. It is an opportunity for your congregation to be creative.

As you blog this summer, begin with the church lectionary for ideas. Try to tie them into ministry. For example, if the gospel is about healing miracles, explore your congregation’s or denomination’s ministry to those dealing with illness.

Summer is often a time when the favorite hymns are sung. Explore the hymns of Pentecost. Look up the history of a hymn and share it. Run a poll on favorite hymns.

Look at the congregation’s calendar. Will you have a Vacation Bible School? Publicize it. Read the curriculum and share ideas from it. (Give proper credit!) You may not be able to get older children or adults involved during your VBS, but many VBS curriculums publish material for older kids and adults. Get a copy and write posts on the topics presented. Make sure every parent gets the link, so they can learn along with their children.

Scan the church calendar for picnics, service projects and church camp events. Publicize them beforehand. Follow up with photos and testimonials from participants.

In late summer, start to write about back-to-school events. Let people know that activities will soon resume. Work at attracting support for them.

Plan a Rally Day and start to publicize it.

Make sure that any reader who happens across your summer web site is introduced to your church at its most vibrant.

11 Jun 2012