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.