Putting Online Shepherding In Its Place

“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you…”

When Al Gore invented the internet* a new opportunity for “pastoring” was also invented. With a few strokes on my keyboard and a click of the mouse I can sit under teaching from all around the world. I can be “pastored” by a guy that I’ve never met and live in a “community” filled with people I’ve never actually seen. 

I believe God inspired Peter to add those little words, “that is among you”, for a reason. You cannot rightly “exercise oversight” if you’ve never actually sat across from a person. That is why Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd the flock that God has placed before them…not some other dudes flock, and not the one that is in your imaginary dream world. The flock that actually exists, right under your nose.

1 Peter 5:2 is an important word for those of us that have an online writing ministry. Our audience (oh, how I dislike that word), is not our flock. We aren’t their shepherd. They are not our sheep to tend. As much as I love the people that read this blog and appreciate their readership I have to remember that unless they are also members of FB Jasper, I’m not their primary under-shepherd.

Why do people seek online shepherds?

There are three major reasons that I believe people are drawn to an online “pastor” and community instead of the real thing.

The first reason is that there really are bad shepherds out there that are starving their sheep. Not everybody can just move to a new church—as some may not have a biblical shepherd for hundreds of miles. Hungry sheep desire food and so they go to the internet to be satiated.

Secondly, some sheep are discontented and shouldn’t be. Their pastor won’t be speaking at any conferences, writing any books, or much else that would make him a Christian celebrity. He loves Jesus, is as faithful as he knows how to be, but Joe Pewsitter isn’t satisfied with him or his teaching so he goes to the internet to listen to his favorite celebrity. He’d likes the way that Pastor Superstar preaches and teaches so he’ll follow him instead.

Lastly, it’s easier to hide. You can get what you want online. You don’t have to deal with the messy of actual relationships. If you don’t like what somebody says just click on another link. If you don’t want to be confronted on sin then don’t type your sin into a search engine. Just follow the speakers that you like, read the articles that agree with you, and keep yourself safe. You can’t do that in a real community.

What 1 Peter encourages me to do in response

As one of those online writers I feel that I have responsibility. If someone is following me because he/she is surrounded by unfaithful shepherds then I’m truly thankful to the Lord for using me to feed His sheep. At the same time I readily acknowledge that I’m not the ideal pastor for this person. I will encourage him/her to pray that God would give him/her a faithful shepherd. Either through changing the hear to the current pastor(s) or bringing new ones. I’m thankful that God uses me in the interim but I have to remember that is exactly what it is.

If somebody is following me simply because they are discontent with their pastor I need to be careful. That can really stroke my ego. I can go off thinking that I’m doing a better job than Pastor X at shepherding his flock. Even if that were true (and it probably isn’t) God has called someone else to be their shepherd. My responsibility is to help them love the shepherd(s) that God has given them.

I also need to be aware that people like the comfort of an online community and pastor over the real thing. This will help me to encourage people that I “counsel” online to actually pursue a local church.

If you have an online writing ministry you need to make certain that you keep it in it’s proper place. You are not a replacement pastor. You are a supplement, a help, a voice, to encourage people to love Jesus more. And as such you know that one of the best ways that people grow in loving Jesus more is by growing in their love for the under-shepherd(s) that God has already given to them.

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*I’m sorry, I can’t stop making that joke no matter how old it gets.

Proverbs for Christian Blogging: Don’t Make Your Audience Throw Up

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

I’m in your house right now*. Kind of creepy, eh? It’s okay you let me in. I’m not some creeper that slipped in unaware. I knocked on your door and you let me in. When you clicked on this link you decided that you would give me an audience in your home. I’m honored.

I’ll only stay in your house for a short time. I’ll make a couple of salient points then quickly leave your home, hoping that it was a good enough experience for you that you’ll let me into your house for coffee again.

But what would happen if after our meeting I knocked on your door again…loudly…and then again…and again…and once more. Each time that you let me in I either bring up a point that I forgot to mention OR I essentially say, “Remember that time we had that awesome conversation? How bout you let me back in your home?” 

This is what it feels like on Twitter/Facebook at times when dudes link to their article five to ten times per day. No matter how creatively you reword the title or pull quotes out of that article, whenever I click on it and it sends me back to an article that I’ve already read, my stomach starts to churn a little.

Here are a few “rules” that I’ve set up for myself:

• Link to an article once when it originally publishes and once later that evening so as to catch a different crowd, never more
• Don’t re-tweet someone else’s comment about my articles or book. Only time I do this is if it benefits the person tweeting it
• Don’t write more than three articles per day
• Don’t troll around other sites trying to pimp my articles
• Point to other peoples articles more than my own
• Make sure that over half my tweets, etc. aren’t simply links to my articles

How about you? Do you get a little sick to your stomach when you click on a crafty link that sends you back to an article that you’ve already read?

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*Or I’m in your office, your car, or any other place that you’ve decided to read this article. Hopefully not in the bathroom because that’s just weird for both of us.

How to Get Your Blog to Appear on Morning Roundups

There are thousands of people every day that plead with me to appear on Today in Blogworld (TiB).

Ok, not really.

But every article written aims for wider exposure. We want what we write to be read. Every link you get (even from a little guy like me) extends the life of your article. It’s a win if you get picked up by a curator.

Here is how I decide what appears on TiB in the morning. I use Feedly and subscribe to hundreds of feeds. I click through them relatively quickly. If something even looks mildly interesting I save it for later. At a set point in the day I go through everything that I saved for later. I read a little of each article and either link to it, trash it, or save it for tomorrow. I imagine others do something similar.

Here are six ways to keep yourself from appearing on TiB

1. Make me click through. Nine times out of 10 if you make me click through to keep reading I won’t do it. In fact if this is the pattern for your blog I probably don’t even subscribe.
2. Don’t have a catchy title. If you don’t have an effective title, no matter how amazing the article I doubt I’ll ever see it. This might help.
3. Bore me out of the gate. Your title might have caught my attention so I saved it. But if I start reading and fall asleep I’ll quickly move on.
4. Write a novel. This rule can be broken. Some articles are so good that they need to be over the typical 7-800 words. Some can pull this off. Don’t assume that you can.
5. Fail to ask. On occasion people will email with an article that they’ve written and ask me to take a look. I almost always do. Go the extra step and email me. But don’t do it daily or be Sir Spam-A-Lot
6. Promote sin. I want to be helpful to my readers. If your article promotes sin (which means slander, gossip, needless controversy, etc.) then I won’t even bother.

Here are five positive tips

1. Be helpful
2. Be unique
3. Spend time on your title
4. Use shorter paragraphs
5. Pictures can be helpful but don’t overdo it

12 Ways to Serve Your Readers

This morning I noted that the word platform makes me cringe a little. I shared my philosophy to worry more about loving and serving my reader than building my platform. Here are 12 ways you can love and serve your readers:

1. Point to Jesus. Always.
2. Work hard.
3. Make them laugh.
4. Write to your audience and not someone else’s.
5. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
6. Respond to comments with gentleness and respect.
7. Don’t provoke them to sin by hosting needless controversy.
8. Listen to them.
9. Be vulnerable. If I’m struggling or asking a question someone else probably is too.
10. Be hospitable. none of this, “it’s my blog home, leave if you don’t like it”.
11. Quit when you’ve made your point

How Often Should I Post On My Blog?

I’ve been asking myself that question recently.

I started with a few general thoughts. 5 to be exact:

1. Write daily
2. Don’t post everything I write
3. Post quality
4. Post frequently (enough that people don’t wonder if I’ve died)
5. Always keep people wanting more…

Then I charted posting frequency of some favorite blogs that are also widely read.

• Challies 16.3
• Ed Stetzer 12.8
• Trevin Wax 11.0
• 22 Words 65.6
• Zach Nielsen 30.8
• Desiring God 14.0
• Jared Wilson 4.7
• Justin Taylor 7.5
• The Gospel Coalition 14.9
• SBC Voices 14.2
• Kevin DeYoung 6.5
• David Murray 14.5
• Aaron Armstrong 13.3

I compared this with my blog: 15.2

I asked myself, “What type of blog do I want to be”?

Zach Nielsen and Abraham Piper post so much because they seldom right original material. Jared Wilson and Kevin DeYoung post so little because almost all that they post is original material. DG, SBC Voices, and TGC post a couple times per day because they are group blogs filled with original material. Challies posts 16 times per week because he’s Challies. Folks like David Murray, Stetzer, Trevin Wax, Aaron Armstrong and myself post 13-15 times per week because we share content and post original stuff.

Then I asked myself, “What do I want to accomplish with my blog”?

At core I want to write in such a way that Jesus is the only boast of this generation. I want to accomplish that goal by sharing Christ-exalting resources. I also want to accomplish that goal by writing quality Christ-exalting resources myself.

I have secondary goals, like having fun, making sports picks, creating a community, sharing humor, etc. But all of that is to ultimately point people back to Jesus.

I came to this conclusion:

My 15.2 article per week is too high. I cannot post at a high quality level by posting this much. Furthermore, I am not fulfilling my goal of keeping people wanting more. Therefore, my new goal is to post 12 times per week. This means no more than 14 and no less than 10.

I will share quality content M-F in my Today in Blogworld segment. That takes up 5 posts. On Saturdays I will attempt to compile a resource list. On Sundays I hope to pull something out of my archives. This leaves 5 original posts to be written Monday-Friday. I believe this will help me accomplish my goal and focus on better content.

Six Tips for Helping the Busiest of Pastors to Start Writing

In his book, 25 Principles for Leadership That Matters, Albert Mohler states that, “Leaders who want to make a difference, and to make that difference last, must write.”

I am passionate about writing. I’ve often wondered if I’m a pastor who writes or a writer who pastors. In actuality I don’t think these two can be easily separated. Writing is a huge part of my pastoral ministry. It’s easy for me to heed Mohler’s advice to write. Other pastors have to work harder at writing. For those of you that read my article yesterday on 7 Reasons Why Pastors Should Be Writers, and immediately thought to yourself, “no way, man”. This article is for you.

Here are Six Tips for Helping the Busiest of Pastors to Start Writing

1. Write out your sermons and edit them for the public. You don’t have to go into the pulpit with a full manuscript if that isn’t your bag. But it does help to be intentional about your thoughts and really flesh out the right words. Once you write your sermons you could easily turn one sermon into a week of blog posts.
2. Prioritize. It is essential that you are convinced that writing is a vital part of your ministry. If not it will get thrown aside quickly. Force yourself to write at least something every day.
3. Make it part of your devotional time. Do your daily devotionals with a pen and paper. Write out your thoughts and prayers. Go back to them a week later and try to craft them into an article.
4. Avoid procrastination, today. This is especially for those of us that have deadlines to meet. If you don’t take captive every moment then sure enough you’ll be called out for a hospital visit when you had planned on writing.
5. It’s okay if you aren’t Stephen King. You don’t have to be the best writer in the world. Just write something. If it’s not good enough for publication then keep it between you and your aunt Maude. Or perhaps try a blog. That’s where us not-ready-for-primetime players get our feet wet and actually get gooder…I mean better.
6. Read Good Writers. You will get better at communicating if you take the time to read those that have mastered the craft. Don’t spend all your time in commentaries. One of the most helpful things that you can do for your preaching and ministry is to read a good novel. (Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I know that the power is in the Word preached and not the preachers eloquence. But we don’t necessarily have biblical promises attached to the words that we choose in business meetings. Those can be made better by reading helpful communicators).

7 Reasons Pastors Should Be Writers

“You need to stop writing so much and start doing more ministry”.

I’ve heard that criticism several times. And it always comes from the same place. Myself. I’m not alone in that criticism, though. I hear the rumbling throughout evangelicalism. (See here for an example). “Writing isn’t doing”.

To fight this voice of discouragement I’ve come up with seven reason why pastors ought to be writers. In fact I believe that writing is one of the most important things that a pastor can do with his ministry. Here is why:

1. Writing assists thinking. Forcing yourself to put thoughts to paper will assist in bringing clarity to all the ideas floating around in your head.
2. Writing makes for better communicators. Being an intentional in writing will hone the way you use words. This will make you a far better communicator in the pulpit and elsewhere.
3. Writing leads to more thoughtful reading. If you intend to interact and write about, review, or recommend something you are reading then it will make your reading that much better.
4. Writing gives you an outlet. Pastors often have an overflow of content in sermon preparation. We also need an outlet for the many things we deal with each day. Writing (even if it’s not intended for publication) will create an outlet.
5. Writing makes your blood visible. What I mean by this is that writing often helps you to know what you are passionate about. It shows you what gives you life. Often you have things bubbling inside of you that you aren’t even aware of until you connect your heart to a pen.
6. Writing will last. I have a library filled with books that I access all the time. Even though I can access a ton of sermons online I seldom do. Writing lasts in a way that the spoken word does not.
7. Writing demands attention. Al Mohler says that “the written word can do what the spoken word simply cannot do—sit flat on a page and demand attention”. It’s hard to ignore the written word, which you can read over and over again without it changing forms.

For these reasons I believe writing not only assist my wider ministry but it is a vital part.

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Daniel Darling has given 5 Reasons Why Pastors Should Write
The DG Staff has given 6 Reasons Why Pastors Should Blog

Quick Tips for Writing Effective Blog Titles

You clicked here because of the title.

If you are a blogger hopefully you know by now that one of the most important things you do as an author is craft a catchy title. To create an effective title you need one that predicts the content, promises reward for reading it, perks interest, paces the article, and promotes it to search engines and social media. Here is what I mean:

• Don’t put ‘Super Bowl’ in your title just because the game is on. Especially if your article is about the French Revolution. The title needs to predict the content.
• Put words like How, Quick, Why, What, etc. in your title. Use words that promise the reader something. It’s like saying, “dude, read Why French Cheese is Better than Goat Cheese and you’ll know longer be an idiot when it comes to cheeses.” It helps if your title promises reward to the reader.
• If your blog is featured on any sort of blog aggregator be sure to create a title that will force people to click on the title just to discover what in the world you are talking about. Example: Say you’ve written an article on the necessity of being Christ-focused as a church. You could make something like that your title: The Necessity of Keeping Jesus Central. That’s okay but I’m probably going to assume I’ve read it before. Try this instead How I’d Destroy A Church. The title had better perk interest.
• If I’ve got a really to the point title like Resources on the Holy Spirit there really is no need for the article to do anything more than list these resources. But if my title is something funny then I had better provide more than a boring and detailed thesis paper. The title ought to pace the article.
• If your blog is connected to Twitter remember that you can put @ or # in the title and it will also communicate effectively on Twitter. Also be aware of certain buzzwords and be friendly to search engines. Your title ought to promote the article to search engines and social media.

A Couple Miscellaneous Tips

• Lists are good. Had I put ‘7 quick tips’ in the title it probably would have been even better
• If you have a decent community established don’t be afraid to ask a question. However, it is usually better to make a statement.
• Sometimes just say what it is. Example: ‘Here are pictures of cute goldfish’. You won’t attract anyone except goldfish lovers but you’ll be sure to attract them. (Abraham Piper does this really well)
• A play on words is good but be careful not to tick off your readers. If you promise something you had better deliver—at least a little. My recent post The End of Biblical Theology tip-toed towards that line with that title.
• You’ll read in various places that title is more important than content. It’s not if your goal is biblical faithfulness. If your goal is traffic that is true, but if your goal is biblical fidelity you had better make sure to deliver quality God-honoring content as well. Don’t skimp on working out the title—but don’t overemphasize it either.

Week Without Google Day One

Today I was out of the office for a good portion of my day. Therefore, it probably was not the best barometer of how much or why I actually use Google. Nonetheless, I did find myself wanting to do a few searches. Each day this week I will attempt to answer three questions in my summary.

Stuff I will probably go to bed without knowing that I would have Google Searched

• What year did Bill Mazeroski (wait…was it Bill Mazeroski…) hit the shot heard round the world?
• What were the top news items of 1958.
• Some dude left a snarky comment on a blog I follow. I wanted to know if he ever wrote anything of his own or if he just sniped people.
• Chapter outlines for Mark Dever’s book 12 Challenges Churches Face. (For a series on 1 Corinthians…I’ll just look at the book on my shelf).

How this Google-fast as helped

• In an effort to write an article for our church in relation to our church constitution and church covenant I wanted to do a quick search for others that have had this task. I would have went to Google too soon. I was forced to slowly think through the issue on my own.
• There is a good amount of worthless information that I would have spent my time on. As an example I probably would have wasted 15 minutes checking out snarky-comment-guy’s blog. Now I have no idea.

How this Google-fast as hurt

• I struggle with remembering web addresses. Often I just type in what the site is to Google and get it quickly. This has proven difficult.
• After writing that document for our church constitution on my own, I would have liked to have compared it with a few similar ones.

Blogging Can Be Doing, a Response to @PastorMark

Pastor Mark Driscoll* tweeted this last week:

That he is no fan of bloggers is no secret. He’s been known in the past to be quick to use his sharp wit to lampoon the critical blogger. I realize also that by responding to him I am probably becoming one of those “pontificating” bloggers that he so disdains. Fair enough, but I thought this might serve as a decent opportunity to share the benefit of blogging.

On one hand I totally agree with Pastor Mark. Pontificating about what others are doing while doing nothing yourself can be very annoying. There is no doubt that one of the negative aspects to blogging is that people can waste away their days arguing about semantics more than discussing that which is significant. Blogging certainly has a dark side. Yet, at the same time I find Driscoll’s words very unhelpful (not to mention hypocritical in that he is pontificating about what others—bloggers—are doing).

Mostly Pastor Mark’s tweet is unhelpful because he paints with too broad of a brush (as often happens on Twitter) and is marked by unhelpful assumptions. 

Two Assumptions

1. Bloggers aren’t doing. The massive assumption in this tweet is that bloggers aren’t doing. I strongly disagree. If I believed that my blog had no kingdom value I would quit this day. But I believe that what I do here at Borrowed Light in some small way displays Jesus Christ as the only boast of this generation. I believe that what I write can be helpful for pastors as they disciple people. I also believe that what I write can be helpful to disciples of Jesus as we attempt to follow Him. Blogging can be doing if it is done well.
2. There is no value except for doing. I imagine that there is a story behind this particular tweet from Driscoll. Perhaps he read a harsh critique by a blogger (or maybe even a legit one). Again, I agree that it’s much easier to sit back and be an armchair quarterback than to actually do the work of ministry. But at the same time let’s not assume that there is no value in someone using the Scriptures to assess what we are doing. There is value in receiving criticism—even if it from a pontificating blogger. I doubt Pastor Mark is arguing for a total pragmatism here but it’s hard not to read his tweet that way.

These are two of the assumptions in this tweet. Driscoll has highlighted the dark side of blogging but he paints with such a broad brush that he also belittles and minimizes the work of faithful bloggers. If Driscoll’s tweet applies to you then perhaps you ought to close up shop. But for those that are faithfully presenting Christ through their blogs I say keep it up.

Blogging can be doing if it is done well.

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*The point of this article is to use the words of Mark Driscoll to not only disagree with his statement but mostly to say that there is a place for faithful blogging in the kingdom.

This is not an invitation to make this a discussion about Mark Driscoll or his ministry, only about what he tweeted on this particular occasion.

Why I Decided to Publish with @CruciformPress

Before I answer that question I have to confess that the title might be a little misleading. It is not as if I had ten to twelve different publishers knocking on my door begging me to publish with them. But Cruciform was the only place that I submitted my work to. I did not pursue publication with anyone else. The simplest answer to why I am being published by Cruciform is that they were crazy enough to take a chance on me. There is however, a much bigger answer to that question and I want to share it with you today.

Here are six reasons why I decided to pursue being published by CruciformPress over other publishers.

1. I love their vision. They started by asking what a gospel-centered book-publishing company would look like in the 21st century. What they came up with was one that was focused on content, simplicity, reliability, trust, convenience, voice, and community.
2. I love their team. Not that I know any of these guys personally but I know of all of them. Kevin Meath is a very experienced editor with eleven years as the chief editor for Sovereign Grace Ministries. I have benefited from many books co-authored by Bob Bevington. And Tim Challies is every bloggers hero. These men are trusted. If given the opportunity to partner with them why would I not?
3. I love their books. Some of the best books that I have read since 2010 have been published by Cruciform Press. They are what they promise to be. Easy reads that are very helpful and drenched in the gospel. They' have certainly influenced by my own writing style.
4. The new kind of publishing is compelling. Because Cruciform is more geared towards EBooks it offers a little better incentive to authors. It’s not your traditional publishing company. I love their idea behind subscriptions and keeping every book the same price.
5. Most books should be this length. I don’t know how many times I have read a book that was 250 pages that should have been about 120. Perhaps it is because I grew up with microwaves and MTV but I think most books ought to be about the length of a Cruciform Press book. It is actually more challenging to write 20,000 words and make your point than trying to do it with 100,000 words.
6. A great way to get my foot in the door. The truth is I need to get my foot in the door. An upstart company like Cruciform is a great place for new authors like myself to get a start. And the truth is I think it’s a great publishing company to continue working with. Most books I write (except the one I am hoping to write on John Newton) will probably be about this length.

If you are an author or prospective author I would suggest considering CruciformPress. I would also suggest subscribing to their new books. For a low price you get a new book every other month. And be sure to look for my book, Torn to Heal, releasing on May 1st.

Should I Respond To This Comment?

Early on in my ministry (both writing and in the local church) I felt the need to respond to every criticism. Now I do not. Awhile back I spent some time thinking through how to determine whether or not to respond to a critique. Mostly, this is dealing with online discussions but it has application with a few minor tweaks to local church ministry as well. These three categories have helped me, perhaps they will help you as well.

I find it helpful to categorize comments into three categories. First, comment types of which I will never respond. Secondly, comment types of which I might respond once or twice. Lastly, comment types that I will respond to even at length.

Comments Not Worth a Response

• When I am being slandered. I used to try to defend myself. Now I don’t even bother. God will defend me if I need defense.
• When I haven’t been read. I understand skim reading and the nature of online communication. I don’t expect someone to spend a lengthy time on an article. Just skipping a point does not fall in this category. Only Scripture is important enough to demand readership. However, if you do not bother to read an article and go straight to the comments and this becomes painfully obvious, I probably will only respond by telling you to read the article.
• When there is no need. I think some people like to hear themselves type. Some people will hi-jack another persons platform to build their own. Grandiose comments that point to the commenter will usually not get a response. I figure the goal of self-promotion has already been served. You don’t need my comment anyways.
• When somebody wants to argue for the sake of arguing. This is not easily discerned. But if I can tell that somebody just wants to be contrary and is only concerned about being correct, I usually don’t engage.

Anything that you would add? At times I just do not respond because I do not have the time. But that doesn’t count. I would respond if I could, I just cannot.

Comments Worth a Brief Response

Some comments might mostly fall in the first category but one line or so in them would contain one of these elements. I will respond briefly. Others do not fit the above category but only necessitate a brief response.

• When I am being misunderstood. It happens to everybody. Sometimes it is because I was not clear. Occasionally, it is because the other person missed something. I’ll do my best to clear up misunderstanding. But as soon as someone falls into arguing for the sake of arguing then my response will stop.
• When not responding could lead to confusion. A few days ago someone left a comment that seemed to pit something I wrote against another article. I agreed with the other article as well. To not respond would have left the impression that we held contrary positions. I wrote a brief response to clear that up and ignore the paragraph or so of sharp remarks.
• When someone else is being slandered. This only applies if it is direct response to something I wrote. If you use my piece to slander someone then I’ll call you out on it.
• When only a brief response is needed. No need to be lengthy if I don’t have to.

Any that you would add?

Comments Worth a Lengthy Response

There is not a need to bullet point this one. It is everything else. I love humble engagement. I welcome critique. Even passionate critique. If I have the time I will engage in a lengthy response on any article if it is needed. I can use the sharpening. I do not have all of the answers.

Online discussions can be beneficial. But this takes time. And if I waste all of my time trying to defend myself, trying to prove everyone else wrong, or responding to things that do not elicit a response, then I will have no time left to actually engage when such a discussion would be healthy.

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As someone reminded me in a comment a couple of weeks ago, “I’m not important”. This list is not an attempt to say, “I’m important and you need to follow the rules to have an audience with me”. That is not the case at all. This list is meant to be helpful to those that might be asking the same question that I do, “Should I respond to this”? It’s not always wise to hit “reply”. I want to be a responsible writer and I think these categories help.

Slow and Steady Builds Your Place

“An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.” Proverbs 20:21

A couple of years ago I watched a show that featured the story of Michael Larson.  Back in 1984 Larson figured out the pattern for the game show Press Your Luck.  He won an unprecedented $110, 237.  That was serious jack for ‘84.  It was over 5 times a persons annual income. 

CBS found out pretty quickly that he was cheating.  But they couldn’t do anything about it.  They paid him his money and parted ways.  For Larson, everything went downhill from there.  His ex-wife noted that his obsession with making a quick buck absolutely consumed him.  On one occasion he withdrew over $40,000 in one dollar bills to try to win a $30,000 prize.  Unfortunately for Larson somebody broke into his house and made bank with all those 40,000 $1 bills. 

Larson is a perfect illustration of Proverbs 20:21.  Quick growth in the beginning (though not always) usually leads to a bitter taste in the end.  Good growth tends to happen slowly and steadily over a long period of time.  The same thing is true with ministry and blogging. 

I noted awhile back that the speakers atT4G 2010, with the exception of Thabiti Anyabwile, had all been at their respective churches for over 15 years.  The same thing is true in the realm of blogging.  Consider this piece of advice from the interview that I conducted with Tim Challies:

Here's the thing: blogging can be a great joy if you are content to keep writing regardless of whether anyone else reads along. When you can do this, you can avoid being driven by the numbers of visitors and you can avoid the allure of writing very pragmatically, choosing what you write about only because you think it will generate buzz. If you can be content with blogging for an audience of one, you will find much more contentment in blogging for an audience of one hundred or one million.   

If you look at many of the faithful bloggers that we look up to they have the same thing in common with those on the T4G platform; namely, faithful plodding over a long period of time.  Michael Larson became obsessed with making a quick buck and he ended up living in exile and dying alone of throat cancer.  Be obsessed with following Jesus and being obedient to Him.  Write in such a way that people’s only boast will be Jesus Christ.  Then be content with 1 reader, 1 million readers, or anything in between.   

Slow and steady building upon the unshakeable Rock is far more beneficial than a swiftly erected mansion built upon sand.

4 Questions With Tim Challies

On September 25th, 2012 Tim Challies celebrated his 10 year blogging anniversary.  If you’ve read Christian book reviews in the past ten years chances are one of them was that of Challies.  He has been a staple in my blogging diet from the first day that I started tracking blogs daily.  Challies and Justin Taylor (JT) are foundational bloggers in the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement.  On that day Tim shared a little about the history of his  blog.  He also agreed to answer 4 questions about his blog and blogging in general.  If you are a blogger you’ll benefit from reading Tim’s answers. 

What have been some of your greatest joys in 10 years of blogging?

Let me give one that is personal and one that is outward.

On a personal level, the greatest joy has been the benefit of daily writing. Though I don't wake up every day just longing to sit down and write, in the end I'm always grateful that I've taken the time to pause, collect my thoughts, and write something. Anything. I can chart my personal and spiritual growth through blog posts; it really is a large part of my discipline of meditation. So personally, or selfishly, the joy has been in using blogging as a means to drive home truth.

In an outward sense, one of the greatest joys has been in meeting so many like-minded people. Some of those I've met face-to-face and others i've met only digitally. Whether I'm sending an email or traveling across town or traveling across the world, my life is much richer for having met so many interesting people and having begun so many friendships.

What has been one of your biggest disappointments?

I had to think about this one for a little while. I suppose the biggest disappointments are related to my  own sin. The biggest disappointments have consistently been related to readership. When I had 100 readers I wanted 1,000; when I had 1,000 readers I wanted 10,000. Perhaps the real disappointment is that I've often looked to what God hasn't given me rather than marveling at and enjoying what he has provided. Another disappointment has been seeing my own desire to use my site as a forum for gossip or a place where I neglect to tame my tongue (or keyboard, as the case may be). A public forum provides a place to sin publicly. I've misused this platform too often.

When and how did your blog take off?

I don't know that the site ever "took off" in the sense of suddenly surging in the number of regular visitors. Instead it has been a slow and gradual build over ten years.

I have often gotten bumps in the number of visitors when I've interacted with the big issues of the day. When The Purpose Driven Life was all the rage, I happened to be blogging through it day-by-day. When The Passion of the Christ was being pitched to churches as the greatest opportunity for evangelism since Pentecost, I wrote a review. The Shack, 90 Minutes in Heaven, Heaven is for Real--in so many cases I've tried to interact with what is popular in the Christian world and this has drawn in people who are interested in learning what these things are all about. Some of those people then stick around and become regular readers.

I guess the blog has been a parable of most things in life in that the growth has come through long hours and hard work. It has never come easily.

If someone were registering a blog for the very first time today, what advice would you give him/her? 

I would tell him that he should blog first and foremost for his own benefit. I don't mean for that to sound selfish! Here's the thing: blogging can be a great joy if you are content to keep writing regardless of whether anyone else reads along. When you can do this, you can avoid being driven by the numbers of visitors and you can avoid the allure of writing very pragmatically, choosing what you write about only because you think it will generate buzz. If you can be content with blogging for an audience of one, you will find much more contentment in blogging for an audience of one hundred or one million.

After all of this, I would tell him to identify a niche--an area where the blogosphere is underserved--and to work toward building authority in a narrow sphere rather than a wide sphere.

And then I would tell him to stop thinking about blogging and to just get writing. Too many people waste weeks perfecting a design and trying to get people to notice them when they should just be writing, writing and writing.

Very sound advice.  Thanks for doing the interview, Tim.  And I pray that the Lord continues to bless your ministry and that we get to enjoy reading from Challies every day until the Lord calls you home or returns. 

Blogging and Water Torture

…a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain

I’ve never had to endure water torture, nor have I had to experience life with a quarreling wife.  I am blessed to have a tremendous and godly woman for a wife.  I’ve found something far more valuable than a mine of rubies.  But I have vaguely experienced the annoyance of a steady drip of water, or a rebellious and seemingly invisible cricket in the basement. 

Those might seem like minor annoyances but they are really symptoms of a much greater problem.  A steady dripping of water through your roof means that your going to be replacing your roof eventually.  Such a thing could even destroy the entire household.  Not to mention drive everyone completely insane with the noise of a constant drip. 

I well remember an episode of Mythbusters were they tested whether or not it really was torturous to endure the constant dripping of water:

Sometimes scrolling through my Google Reader and the SBC Voices aggregator feels like that.  Quarrels and contentions about some of the dumbest and most asinine things. 

Actually I should say that it used to feel like that.  I seldom check the aggregator (only occasionally am I drawn into a train wreck) and I’ve unsubscribed to almost all of the blogs that deal with negatives, controversies, and other articles that feel more like the constant drip of water torture than a steady stream from the fountain of grace.  I’d suggest you do the same.

The husband of a contentious wife is called to endure the quarreling.  To love her.  To nurture her.  To pray for her.  To find refuge in Christ alone.  And to hope for her finding abiding joy in Christ.  (As the same would be of a wife with a goober of a husband). 

But you don’t have to endure the constant dripping of annoying blogs.  Just unsubscribe.  Don’t concern yourself with holding a bucket under their spew or trying to fix the leak.  Eventually the house will flood itself.  No sense in standing by to watch.   

You probably know what blogs I’m talking about.  Just walk away.  “But they have influence and I want to help those that are being influenced”.  Fair enough.  But the people that enjoy the constant dripping of rain are pretty much insane anyways.  I’m not saying give up on them but they’ll only come out of such insanity through prayers and fasting not through your awesomely true and witty arguments.  Just let them live in the deluge and pray that they wake up to rescue. 

Meanwhile build up your own house and make sure it nurtured in such a way with the precious gospel that it doesn’t develop leaks.  Just as a husband wants to soak his wife in the water of the Word so a blog author needs to continually bathe his/her writing with the gospel. 

Blogging doesn’t have to be like water torture. 

A Good Way to Tell My Heart in Preaching and Writing

Simply ask, which compliments stir me up the most?

If I swell with pride because someone compliments the form of the sermon or my delivery of the sermon or my writing skills then I’m probably on the wrong track.  As James Denney has aptly put:

No man can bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time. No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is might to save.

If on the other hand I’m encouraged because someone says, “that sermon was really helpful” or “I’m encouraged by your work” or something similar then I’m probably on the right track.  My chief aim in preaching and writing must be to feed Christ’s sheep (be helpful) by holding their hand to feast on the Bread of Life. 

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As a side note if you want to encourage a preacher or a writer rather than telling him that he’s awesome let him know that he was the means God used to help you see that Jesus is awesome! 

James 2:1-7 and Social Media

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man.   (James 2:1-6 ESV)

I  imagine if James 2:1-6 were updated to reflect social media it would read something like this:

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.  For if a man with 10,000 Twitter followers and a couple of books published decides to follow you and Twitter, and a poor chap with only his mom and grandma following him also decides to follow, and if you pay attention to the chap with 10,000 followers and say, “Thanks for the follow.  You are amazing.  Check out all my stuff and be sure to retweet how awesome I am to your followers”, while you say to the lonely guy…well nothing really (why would you talk to this dude?)…have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?  But you have dishonored the poor man.”

The problem in James 2 (both then and today) is that when you start focusing on the rich man you change your message to suit the rich guy and let the poor guy starve.  You start trying to feed the ones that do not need it so that you can convince yourself that you’re more important than you actually are.  If you’re writing, tweeting, and doing the book Face for the glory of God then your aim is to feed hungry souls the life-giving truths of God. 

If God happens to expand your influence through a guy or gal with more influence than you retweeting your stuff, the goal is still the same—feeding the hungry.  For me this provides a test for my heart and to decide if I’m writing for the correct reasons. 

Am I just as excited when Roger the Shrubber (with all of his six followers) decides to subscribe as I am when Tim the Enchanter (with all 10000 of his followers) does?  If I am more excited about the Enchanter following me is that because it will feed more hungry people?  Or because it will feed my gluttonous ego? 

If your conscience convicts you and you’ve been showing partiality, the answer probably isn’t to quit writing.  It’s probably to repent and get back to working for the right reasons.

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This isn’t a one-to-one comparison because many of those that are “rich” in social media are that way because they are faithful to the gospel and the Lord extends their influence as a means of spreading His glory.  That is why I did not quote verse 7.  I’m trying here to get at the heart issue of the one that shows partiality and not make a comment on those that might be wrongly/rightly honored.

Why Jesus Might Want to Punch Us in the Face

I have lost track of how many books begin by telling me how jacked up the church is.  Usually after lambasting the church and pointing out her many failures there is some obligatory statement on how Jesus still loves her and how she is the only hope of this generation.  But at present she is unattractive, whorish, and a little on the ugly side.  What usually follows is the authors solution for making the church not quite such an ugly old hag. 

I’ll be the first to confess that I’ve spoken numerous times on how the church can be a pretty messed up place.  When Jesus draws sinners into such an intimate fellowship things can get ugly.  So, I get why people say that the church isn’t quite how she ought to be. 

Yet if I overheard some dude talking about my wife the way that we often talk about Jesus’ bride I’d start turning green like the Incredible Hulk and probably smash him in the nose.  “Jesus, your wife is an ugly old hag, that often plays the harlot, and she is unattractive to even her best friends.  But have no fear I’ve written a book that will shape her up to make her respectable.”  See how ignorant that sounds? 

I wonder if Jesus ever wants to thump us in the nose for the way we talk about His precious Bride that He is washing in the water of the Word? 

Yeah, but I’m part of the church…

It’s not quite as black and white as I have presented it though.  Because many of these authors are pastors that are really wanting to lovingly encourage the church.  And let’s be honest, often these assessments do have a level of truth to them.  And what muddies the waters even further is that the one speaking to the church is also part of the church, and so it’s really as if the bride is talking to herself. 

But what would a husband’s response be if he overheard his wife referring to herself as an ugly old hag?  Though I would never resort to a Hulk-smash I still don’t take kindly to even my own wife talking bad about herself.  It angers me.  She is my treasure and I’m not cool with anybody—even her—making it seem like what I value is really nothing better than a dilapidated rag doll that would be better served in a trash heap.  I’m offended that she would let someone other than her own husband provide her identity.  (Feel free to read into that last statement and entirely miss my point). 

If there ever was a church that deserved having a letter addressed to it as “dear uncomely peeps”, it would have been the church at Corinth.  They had plenty of faults that Paul could have really laid into them for.  Yet notice in 1 Corinthians 1:2 that Paul reminds them of their fundamental identity in Christ instead of the foolish garments of rebellion that they’ve decided to parade in. 

Maybe a better formula for helping the church is to constantly remind her who she is instead of dogging on her for who she ain’t.  Our identity comes from our husband and not from our falls and foibles.  Soiled and sullied we might be at times, but we’re still His precious Bride. 

Those of us that are occasionally the means that God uses to wash His Bride with the water of the Word ought to remember just who it is that we are talking to. 

What Writing and Preaching Is Like

My little girl is getting old enough now to intentionally wreak havoc upon her little brothers joy.  Not that she intends to spoil his fun, but she has an idea about how life should be and how toys ought to be played with that sometimes do not match up with Isaiah’s idea.  If it comes to Isaiah’s Beyblade’s or anything he is building it does not end well if Hannah messes it up.

One area that we are dealing with right now is that people are more important than things.  Yet, I know some people much older than Isaiah (one in particular that is 31) that at times has a hard time with these lessons as well.  When Isaiah decides that it is okay to push Hannah in order to protect his Beyblade’s we usually get to talk about that for a bit. 

While I’m acknowledging his frustrations, trying to give him alternatives, and exhorting him to respond better he’s usually more concerned with explaining to me the in’s and out’s of his little sisters offensive behavior.  “You DON’T understand, Daddy!  I was…I was…playing with my Beyblade, and she kept messing it up!  So, in order to get her to stop I pushed her away from me.” 

I usually reassure him that I will also be talking to Hannah and somehow trying to teach a two year old not to destroy her brothers games.  But mainly what I have to do is say, “I’m not addressing that side right now!  I’m asking you this question”. 

That’s kind of what preaching and writing is like at times. 

How to Not Host a Rotting Blog

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.  -Proverbs 14:30

Every morning several blogs, including Borrowed Light, will feature a list of recommended articles from the day before.  For a little guy like me making it on one of these lists will mean an instant boost in traffic. 

I normally get about 400-500 hits per day.  Not much, but it’s a steadily increasing number.  The few times that I have gotten a link from a certain blogger, whose name rhymes with Clem Tallies, my hit count went up to about 3000 for the day.  Not to mention gaining a handful of subscribers.  For an aspiring writer these links are important. 

One temptation that bloggers can face is to scan these recommendation links for a link to that super rad article that you posted yesterday.  (Little tip—using phrases like “super rad” in this century usually means you won’t make the list).  Every time your name is not present the temptation to envy can set in.  Why did that joker get a link but I didn’t? 

As soon as envy seeps into that little crevice in your brain from which all writing flows out of you might as well give it up and just go play Backgammon with your neighbors cat.  Envy will rot your bones.  Which of course means that it’s already rotted your flesh.  And everyone that has went to college with a guy that used to frequently set his hand on fire knows that burning flesh is really rank.  You get envy, you’ve got a stinky blog.

Envy makes you write for the wrong audience.  You start writing for the audience you wish you had instead of the audience that God has already graced you with.  You certainly don’t write for the joy of the Lord. 

And before you know it the precious audience that you did have begins to get nauseated by the smell of a rotting blog.  The life has been sucked out of your writing and so your audience begins to go where there is life.  As your numbers plummet bitterness ratchets up and your writing only gets worse.  Envy has made your blog rot into oblivion.  If, you want a rotting blog, become envious.

If you don’t want a rotting blog then you need grace to fight envy.  Here’s how:

1. Repent.  Envy is a sin.  Turn to Christ in faith and confess your sin of envy.  Get clean.
2. Love your audience.  That means your audience of One and the borrowed influence that He’s given you. 
3. Pray up.  Instead of trying to be Justin Taylor pray for him.  There are probably many days when Justin would desire a small corner in the world of the internet.
4. Trust the Lord’s sovereignty.  If you only have 7 people that visit your blog rejoice in them and trust that the audience He has given you is for your good and theirs.  In other words have a “tranquil heart”. 
5. Link to others.  And not just so you can get links back.  Fight envy with generosity.
6. Avoid a sense of entitlement.  You don’t deserve 1 person listening to you.  Influence you have is borrowed from Christ.  Enjoy whatever grace you’ve been given instead of bemoaning what you don’t have.