I’ll be taking a 2 week break from posting on this site from now.
Comments still welcome of course – especially in response to this post. I had a really useful conversation with two good friends yesterday about the tensions of blogging. Specifically, what we were talking about was how blogging sits with serving the church in pastoral ministry.
- Is it wise for a minister of a local church to blog?
- How is that changed if I am, more precisely, an assistant minister?
- Insofar as it is legitimate and wise, are there some topics / comments that would be unwise to blog on, even though blogging in itself is legitimate?
So I’ll take a good couple of weeks to think these issues through.
I’d be interested to hear from 2 kinds of people by way of comment
- Anybody else who blogs and is engaged in pastoral ministry in a local church, and has thought these things through to some degree. Where did your thinking lead?
- Anybody who has been reading this blog, even if only very occasionally, and is a member of St James or St John’s churches. I’d love to know who is out there, because you (it seems to me) are a principal reason why these questions need asking.
So it’s good night from him…
Blog Category:
Comments
Thoughts for bloggers
James,
I had some preliminary thoughts as I started on my blog, www.neiljeffers.blogspot.com. Look at the second post.
A few benefits in addition:
1. A blog can be another sort of filing system, a good place to store links, thoughts and stories which are likely to be useful in the future, and perhaps useful to others.
2. Helpful blog thoughts can be extra meat to hungrier congregation members (begs the question, what's helpful?)
3. There are issues in pastoral ministry which may be low down your list of battles to fight in your church at the moment, but which you're happy to talk about one-to-one if asked (eg. Fairtrade, psalm chanting, home schooling etc). These can be raised on the blog without causing major strife in church, but also, with the opportunity for individual congregation members to read and question you about.
blogging
I guess one has to remember that it is public. So dont say anything you wouldnt be happy to say to anyone - those you minister to, refer to, your boss, your enemies, your wife...
Seems to me that leaves lots of scope for stuff that's true, helpful, appropriate...
But it is tempting to blog stuff that I probably shouldn't. For example, are their people who ought to hear this to their face first?
Thanks Marc and Neil
I knew I'd get some helpful comments.
I'm closing comments on this post now, because I've moved things on by posting "my own conclusions":/blog/2007/09/im_back.html.