So now I have a blog.
That wasn’t so bad…
Actually, I’ve been thinking about taking this step for some time. As the pastor of a small, rural church who tries to ‘stay in touch’ with the larger world of faith by perusing a variety of magazines and websites, I have definitely been led to believe that blogging is the bandwagon to jump on. However, up until now I’ve been a little reluctant to take that first step. Maybe I’ve been a little uncertain that I’d have much of worth to say. Perhaps I’ve been concerned that ‘posting to my blog’ would become just another chore in an already busy schedule. Regardless of the reasons, the idea wasn’t gaining too much traction.
Then a couple of significant things began to happen. First, I started to discover blogs posted by other small church pastors (eventually, I hope to include them on my blogroll…but at this writing I’m new at this and haven’t had the time to figure out how). Through them, I saw in practice that “the conversation is the thing.” As ideas, dreams, and experiences are shared, community grows…and that’s no small accomplishment for a pastor in a rural community who recognizes his ongoing need for additional sources of perspective, constructive critique and collegiality.
But I suppose the thing that finally pushed me over the edge was an article in Wired magazine highlighting the value of transparent leadership. Now I suppose it must be said that I’m already a proponent of open and servant-oriented approaches to leadership. In my mind, it “comes with the territory” when you seek to follow a teacher who described his students as “friends” rather than “underlings” (John 15:15) and who said he came “not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). However, a few observations in the article really got me thinking:
In the article, Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin (an online brokerage firm) observes, “I honestly believe that if Redrin were stripped absolutely bare for all the world to see, naked and humiliated in the sunlight, more people would do business with us.”
- Like a lot of other folks who write about the issue more convincingly than I ever could, I believe that Christians in the ‘age of Christendom’ have been tempted to operate with an attitude that borders on arrogance. Too often, we have acted in ways that presumed our superiority, in spite of our frequent failures to live up to the message we profess. Now, as our culture moves in “post-modern” or “post-Christian” directions, we shall likely find that the only approach to others that gains any kind of a hearing is one that humbly acknowledges our limitations. A blog, then, seems to me to be a wonderful context in which I can acknowledge some of my questions and struggles and can invite others to be partners in ministry rather than targets of ministry.
The article’s author, Clive Thompson, remarks, “Your customers are going to poke around in your business anyway, and your workers are going to blag about internal info–so why not make it work for you by turning everyone into a partner in the process and inviting them to do so?”
- Although I’ve only been pastoring in a small town for three years, I’ve already seen the power of the proverbial “grapevine” to short-circuit progress in ministry. So perhaps a blog can become a catalyst for turning “sour grapes” into “sweet wine.” I’d much rather have members of the congregation and community bring what they’ve heard and what they’re uncertain about into the light where it can be discussed in a healthy way.
Finally, Thompson also notes, “The very process of developing ideas, products, and messages is changing–from musing about it in a room with your top people to throwing it out on the Web and asking the global smartmob for a little help.”
- If you take a moment to examine the “About Me” page of this blog (once I have time to post one, that is), you’ll find that I’m still relatively new to the pastorate. In the earlier permutations of my ministry journey, I never dreamed that I’d find myself in this position. But here I am…and I’m loving it. Yet, for all the joy that I experience (and that I hope I share), I still have a lot of questions. The process of discerning “God’s way” forward is scary, humbling, exciting…and I usually feel like I can use all the help I can get. So, in the end I hope that this blog can be at least one way in which greater clarity emerges.
So let the conversation begin. I hope that this blog can become one more venue for ongoing dialogue about life, ministry, and seeking to be faithful in a small church setting. If your reading this, please dive right in with your observations and suggestions. I’d like what follows to be as useful as possible to everyone.
Grace and peace
