Why am I in Nairobi? If you cut those of us who are a part of the Credo House we will bleed discipleship. Several months ago a man named Scott Werner started coming into the Credo House. Scott is over an 8 state regional area for Compassion International. His job is to connect churches with the work Compassion is doing around the world.

As the weeks went by Scott and I had conversations about all sorts of topics. One day we started talking about discipleship. I’ve sponsored a kid through Compassion for more than 10 years, but I really don’t know what Compassion is doing to make disciples of the people they touch.

So here I am now in Kenya. In full disclosure Compassion has paid all of my expenses so I can report on the work they are doing. Please check this blog daily for the next several days as I report on, “How to Disciple 1.3 Million People.” That is how many people they are currently ministering to on a daily/weekly basis. In Kenya alone Compassion is actively ministering to around 71,000 people.

Kenya is a fascinating country. Did you know they’ve only been a free country for about 35 years? That’s like the United States in 1812. This is a very “new” country. Additionally, they are very progressive for Africa. Kenya could set a powerful model for the rest of Africa to hopefully modernize.

Kenya has also been bordering on hard times. The last election seemed pretty shady. Riots broke out here in Nairobi. Additionally, Kenya is surrounded by some of the most dangerous countries in the world (Somalia and Sudan). Wouldn’t it be amazing if at least 71,000 people in Kenya grew to become fully devoted followers of Christ! If they became the next mayors, governors, business people and possibly a president one day, the face of Africa could radically change.

I’m hoping to meet these people over the next few days. Compassion has given me free reign to write it as I see it. If they’re doing a fantastic job feeding kids but a poor job of discipleship, I’ll let you know and hopefully be able to offer some solutions. I’ll be interviewing people of all ages finding out how grounded they are in our Lord. How is the reality of Christ changing their life? How do you really set out to disciple 1.3 million people.

I hope you enjoy the journey with me.Similar Posts:

• How to Disciple 1.3 Million People: Update #3
• How to Disciple 1.3 Million People: Update #2
• The Easy Belief of Dogmatic Speculation
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1. Loneliness because of the “Blog Lobe”

This one is a joke with a bit of truth. My friends are sometimes scared to talk to me because they know that in the back of my mind there is a new “Blog Lobe” section of my brain. It is there . . . I promise. You can do an MRI and see it. I will upload pics later and blog on it. The blog lobe is that part of the brain that is unique to bloggers that is perpetually and involuntarily writing a blog out of every circumstance and conversation. I have a permanent disclaimer tattooed to my forehead that says, “Warning: this conversation has a very good chance of turning into a blog. Proceed at your own risk.” My closest friends just don’t want to talk to me anymore. My pastor is always scared about what I am going to broadcast about his sermon. My wife…well…Ahem. Moving on.

2. Count the cost: It takes a lot of time. . . a lot of time.

A blog can eat your lunch. To get one started, you really need to post often. If you are an original content type of blog, like this blog (not simply pointing people to others’ content) and you want the content to be meaningful and good (don’t we all?), it takes a big commitment of time that most people don’t have. Count the cost here.

3. Blogging provides some good accountability or “The Angel on Your Shoulder”

If you are a teacher, you know that it is pretty easy to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Those who are being taught normally give you the benefit of the doubt that you know what you are talking about. In a small audience of 10 or 20, you can scope out how smart others are and then adjust accordingly. If most are uneducated in the topic of discussion, you can get away with quite a bit. Believe me, I know. A blog—this blog—has really helped to keep me honest and careful in every venue. I know that there are people out there in the blog world that know what they are talking about. I can count on the fact that there will be some who read my posts who know more than I do about the subject. I know that they will publicly give me a whipping if I try to pull rank. You never know who is going to show up.

There are four solutions for this:

a) Don’t allow comments on your blog. I don’t ever suggest this since it is an immediate signal that will communicate to some that you are not confident enough to be challenged.

b) Hope that you never gain much of an audience. That is pretty easy to pull off since there are millions of blogs out there and it is easy to never get noticed.

c) Write a traditional blog where it is merely your thoughts and opinions, not the proliferation of ideas. Then it does not really matter what you say.

d) Take your topic very seriously and be very careful. But then you must consider again #2.

This accountability is a good thing.

4. Be ready to pull out your hair (if you have any) or “The Devil on Your Shoulder”

Since I don’t suggest turning off your comments, you need to be ready for the troublemakers who are only there to challenge you in public. I have a lot of those. It is hard enough to find time to keep up with the blogging, but having to respond to every challenge is even harder. Here is what I do: I delete every comment that makes me look bad. I rely on my audience to be able to give an answer. If that doesn’t work, considering that less than 10 percent of blog readers even read the comments, I evaluate whether it is a serious and valuable challenge and whether a response will benefit the audience. Also, I have built a culture where most of my readers know that I rarely engage in posts that are more than two days old. It is hard enough to get me to comment on the post of the day!! (As a side note: I normally do read about 10% of the comments).

5. Blogs perpetuate their own kind (but this does not make you cool)

This can be a great curse, as people who should not be teaching can, if done “right,” gain an audience who will listen. Let me repeat this: anyone can gain an audience if they know what they are doing. But just having an audience does not mean that you should be writing. Some of the biggest blogs, like some of the biggest churches, should not be allowed to exist. I have learned that the size of a blog audience does not necessarily mean that you are writing in a way that glorifies God. I could give some examples, but see #3.

6. There is a temptation to post only to gain an audience, my foolish friend

And then there’s THAT. Bloggers want an audience. Why else would we be blogging? Controversial posts will always attract the most people. Once you have one of those posts that everyone is linking to, you feel the pressure to do the same with the next, and the next, and the next. When the subsequent blogs do not gain the same attention, you go into “blogger depression.” This is not good; however (ahem), there are doctors who will prescribe a specific anti-blogger-depressant for this.

In reality, there is nothing wrong with controversial posts here and there. Simply space them out over time. Don’t worry about how big the audience is. Spend your time writing about what you are really interested in and gifted to write about. The audience will come and go—and grow—over time. Just because people don’t link to it does not mean it is not valuable.

(please link to this blog post)

7. Writers block for bloggers

Blog about blogging.

8. Bloggers networking (straight from hell)

This is the underground necessity of blogging that most people who don’t blog don’t know about. You should find a way to network with other bloggers. A good first step is to link to them here and there in your posts. Having them in your blogroll used to be significant, but not anymore. Blogrolls don’t count in blog rankings. You have to link to them in your post. Pay special attention to the big bloggers who check where all the links are coming from. Your hopes are that they will one day link back to you.

In truth, I am not good at this at all. But I do have a lot of bloggers whom I really do consider friends. The network creates a sense of healthy obligation to opine to their needs. But you need to be wise and strategic about this: no blog can ever expect to grow without networking, but don’t let the networking dictate the content of your posts. It can be rather obvious and distracting.

9. Create a footprint, my son

As I mentioned before, you need to blog according to your area of giftedness. Create themes and blog series based on the areas that are unique to your blog. Keep them coming and allow people to get familiar with them. I have been doing a series that I will probably contribute to forever about dealing with my depression. People know what to expect on my blog for the most part. This “footprint” creates a needed and welcome sense of familiarity.

10. Take off the mask

It is a blog. Respect the venue and show a bit of you. Be authentic, but don’t slobber. Let people into your life, but not in every post. If you gain an audience, it is because people are attracted to you, not just to what you are saying. Let people know about your struggles, when your dog died, and when you are not so faithful to the ideals of your posts. This will draw people in and help you keep your audience. It will let people know what they need to know…that you are one of them.

Oh, there is one more thing that, out of necessity, did not make the list. Create lists of ten and put it in the title as a “Top Ten.” People love to read top tens (but not top elevens).

…and worrying about speling and grammer is overreighted. Ok, I done now.

In the end, like I said, I started blogging five years ago this month. Though I do it more for me than anyone, I’ll be honest: I wouldn’t be doing it without you. I do appreciate all of you who have supported this blog for the last five years. Thank you.Similar Posts:

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“I have never heard such a stupid claim. The author is not in the slightest bit informed on the subject of truth. There is not a single doubt in my mind that she is being intentionally deceptive. Everyone knows that near-death experiences are completely made-up. The Scriptures are clear and unmistakable when they say that people don’t become angels.”

What stands out to you?

Now read this:

“I, personally, have a hard time believing this. It would seem that our understanding of the Bible is much different. Maybe she is being deceptive, maybe she is self-deceived. Who can say for sure? Near-death experiences are fraught with many difficulties due to their subjectivity. However, it does seem clear that the Scriptures say that people do not become angels.”

Notice the difference? Both are essentially saying the same thing in two different ways. One rash. One tactful. One angry. One gracious. One belligerent. One gentle. One destructive. One constructive. One prideful. One humble.

As I have been reading and reviewing books and blogs over the years, my attitude has changed. This was not an overnight change, but something that just happened the more involved I became in engaging those who were serious about teaching and learning with intellectual honesty and integrity (something that, I am sad to say, does not often characterize Christian leaders and teachers). There are certain characteristics that I have found in people’s teaching that immediately alert me to the realization that I am wasting my time (which I don’t a whole lot of!).

Here are some key issues that tap me on the shoulder and demand my attention be redirected:

• Overstatement
• Unqualified Superlatives
• Non-Contingent Propositions

Hang with me. I will explain.

This is probably not the list you expected. Many of your lists would include clarity, systematic presentation, grammar and spelling, and reference support. Those things are important to me as well (although you may not have noticed from my writing!), but the above list is what I notice most, especially in presentations and arguments that are theological in nature.

Overstatement, unqualified superlatives, and non-contingent propositions, are related and can be thought of as different ways of saying the same thing. In fact, you might say that they all belong in the same semantic domain that we might call “imbalance.” Once I detect imbalance, I usually have a hard time going on. Think of phrases like these:

“I am absolutely certain that . . .”

“There is not a doubt in my mind . . .”

“The church has always believed . . .”

“Everyone knows that . . .”

“It is perfectly clear . . .”

“No educated person believes . . .”

“Nothing could be further from the truth.”

And the like.

It is the tendency to represent your case without what many people call “epistemic humility”—a real understanding that you could be wrong. We all have a problem saying “I could be wrong” or “in my opinion” because we feel as if in doing so we are making concessions that undermine our case. We like to give our readers and listeners continued and perpetual confidence in the argument of our presentation. We feel that if we don’t gain this confidence at every point and turn, we have poked holes in our own vessel and that by the end of the voyage, our ship will be sunk. Therefore, everything must be air-tight. There is no room for personal opinion since the subjectivity that it presents gives way to uncertainty. There is no room for contingency, no room for insufficient data, and no place for the legitimacy of the opposition, even to the slightest degree. If we believe what what we are saying, we must justify this belief beyond any possibility of a doubt.

But, ironically, especially in a hyper-critical postmodern world, we give credit to our case when we do represent the transparency that accompanies real contingency and the revelation of epistemic humility. We show that we have a broader understanding of the issues. It evidences an honest wrestling with the subject of the proposition. In the end, when we do come to a conclusion on the matter, even with all the contingencies that we have worn on our sleeve, readers become more confident in your ability to think with integrity and have a greater confidence in your conclusions.

Notice what Strunk and White have to say in their popular book on writing style. Also, notice that this is not a book about how to write theology, but how to communicate through writing. The wise and timeless principles expressed here can be applied to any communication venue (even an argument with your spouse!)

“When you overstate, readers will be instantly on guard and everything that has preceded your overstatement as well as everything that follows it will be suspect in their minds because they have lost confidence in your judgment or your poise. Overstatement is one of the common faults. A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a single carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for readers, the object of your enthusiasm.” (Strunk and White. Elements of Style, Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 7).

Do you understand what they are saying? Once you characterize yourself with this type of imbalance, it is very rare that you will gain an audience. Well, let me say this another way: Once your arguments carry such imbalance, it is very rare that you will gain an audience except with those who already agree with you. The object of your enthusiasm becomes diminished, finding relative balance in the strengths of your other overstatements.

Here is where it gets very important: If Jesus Christ is the object of your enthusiasm, does his death, burial, and resurrection find equal qualification with your belief that your church is the one true church, that the world was created in six literal days, that the anti-Christ is Obama? Overstatement can destroy our testimony. With such a methodology the discharge of the Gospel becomes hamstrung.

Let me back up and say that if someone uses unqualified superlatives, overstatements, or non-contingent statements wisely and sparingly with intentionality, so long as their credibility has thus been established, I will not only tolerate them, but listen to them with a greater degree of interest and consideration. Why? Because they show themselves to be balanced and worthy of consideration.

Please note, this is not a postmodern concession to relativism, for I am not advocating that people hide convictions or not take stand for what they believe. Neither am I saying that you cannot have great degrees of certainty and assurance about many of your convictions. I am simply telling people that if you overstate your case, no matter what it is, I will have a hard time listening to what you have to say. And I think I speak for many.

I would be careful and consider whether or not you are wasting your own time in writing and teaching if these overstatements characterize your approach. We honor God when we stand up for the truth, but we don’t honor him when we misrepresent the truth to accomplish our presupposed agenda that has not been critically thought through. God help us all to use our words wisely, especially those of us who are teachers.Similar Posts:

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One thing that I want to make sure of is that the conversations here move in a meaningful way. It is very difficult to moderate the question “What is meaningful?” but I will take liberties to do so nonetheless.

What is Meaningful?

1. Not closed minded. If you already know everything, this is probably not the place for you. Hundreds of people together who already know everything yet differ about what they know can quickly detract from meaning. (My wife and I do this all the time.) In other words, if you have an agenda to use the blog comment area as a visible teaching venue to promote your teachings without intending to learn, this is not the place for you.

2. Not self-promoting. We don’t mind you letting others know about how smart you are, but do so sparingly. I will often allow links to other places so long as it does not look like you are stopping by just to tell others about your site or blog. And yes, I will be the judge as to whether this is taking place.

3. Not characterized by mass amounts of cut-and-paste proof-texting. We all love the Bible, but just posting Scriptures one after the other quickly becomes counter-productive and detractive. Use the Scriptures, but understand that even the cults can proof-text.

4. Irenic. Oh, there is that word. Just so there is no confusion, here is what we mean: To be irenic means that you are kind, gentle, respectful, and understanding, accurately representing opposing parties, even when you disagree. As hard as that seems, buffet your tongue (or keyboard) here.

5. Not slanderous. All slanderous content naturally violates #4. You will be quickly and eternally (relatively speaking) banned from the site for slander. Don’t slander the author or others who post here. Besides, slander just shows the weakness of your thinking and does nothing to promote the truth.

6. No Spamming. Spamming is starting multiple posts one after the other.  We limit the size of the comments so your comment is cut off when in violation. However, some people think themselves wise to just post another and another and another to make up for the limited space. If you do this, your posts will be deleted without warning.

Please note: You will not get banned for bad theology. Everyone is welcome to be wrong. Hopefully our community will be able to engage the bad theology meaningfully.

For a complete guide to perfect theology consult someone of the post-mortem variety. If none are available, please realize that you are limited in your understanding. If you don’t realize this, please start your own site.

Welcome and may God be glorified in how we conduct ourselves.

For more, see the blog post: “What if God Read Your Posts.”Similar Posts:

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When teaching the class one Sunday (I don’t remember the subject), a certain gentleman raised his hand. I thought it was going to be a question concerning the subject we were on, but it was not. He began to complain to me and to everyone there how much he did not like the way I taught and how, exactly, he thought I should change. I was speechless, embarrassed, humiliated, angry, and hurt.

Looking back all these years I have been able to see his problems more objectively. In fact, I think he was right on in his criticism. Everything he said was true about my teaching style and it did need to change. However, he was also very wrong and he should not have said what he said. While nothing that he said was wrong, he lacked a great deal of wisdom in his tact and approach.

The point of this post is this: Saying the right thing without tact is wrong. This is true of Sunday school or any other venue. We are not only called to say the right things, but to say the right things at the right times in the right ways.

Here are a few things to remember when you are the learner.

You are not the teacher

No matter where you are when you are not the teacher, do not act as if you are. So many times I see people who are looking to spring board off other people’s platform. I have been in classrooms where I know who’s hand not to call on. Some people just take over and want to show the class how much they know. You may have the best intentions when you do this and what you say may be right, but, unless the venue expects this, you are not called by God to teach at that time. I am sorry. That is just the way it is.

If the teacher is wrong, and I mean dead wrong, you are still not called to teach. You are called to respect the teacher and listen. Even if the teacher asks you your opinion, you must be very careful not to dishonor the platform that this person has been given.

You don’t have the respect of the people

You must remember that people have gathered to listen to someone else, not you. No matter how smart you are, people don’t care that much about what you have to say. In fact, attempting to be the teacher will be counter-productive. No matter how learned you are in the subject, your arrogance will turn all the others against you and you will only serve to annoy the audience.

You have to gain an audience with the teacher in other ways

You may feel obligated to correct the teacher, but you have to gain an audience first and you have to do it at the right time. The gentleman who corrected me during that class so long ago did not have my ear. In other words, I did not really know or respect this person and I had no past with him. Under these conditions, he was in no position to correct me. Not because he was not right, but because his words only served to make me self-defensive. It does not matter how persuasive you are, speaking to people without gaining their respect does no good. You must first gain the right to correct. This involves time with the person. It involves much more than corrective criticism, but a history of friendship and respect. If you don’t have this, don’t bother trying to correct during the middle of class or any other time.

Let the venue and culture be your guide

Most teaching venues (pulpit, Sunday school, lectures, presentations, etc.) assume respect to the person who has been placed in the teaching position. Therefore, you are never the teacher. But there are some venues that allow and expect a different type of interaction where you are encouraged to interact in a different way. These venues include some blogs, debates, and forums. This does not mean you have any right to disrespect the teacher or that your meanderings will be more attractive to the audience, but it does mean that your disagreements are already welcomed to some degree. The culture of the venue is your guide. For example, this blog is more open than some to discussion and disagreements. But this does not mean that you will necessarily gain the ear of the readers or the authors. In fact, once you begin to use this blog as a surrogate blog, other readers will be offended and discouraged from reading any more than the main post. You have to be tactful even in these type of venues, but they are more open than others.

For some of you, these points all come easy. You are too timid to expose your thoughts or feelings in public in any way. These points are much harder for those who feel a burden to teach or who are well educated. This is because they will usually have some points of intelligent disagreement. This disagreement intensifies their passion as they, with good intentions, simply want people know the truth as they know it. They also think to themselves that the have an obligation to correct false teaching. Therefore, they often cannot help themselves. But the point I am making in this post is that knowledge without tact is counter-productive – always.

In the end, we need to calm down. Don’t think that you have to correct everyone. Respect others even when they are wrong. Let them be wrong and, yes, let them teach this wrong. You really can’t do anything about it with emotionally motivated actions that lack tact and wisdom.

James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (ESV)Similar Posts:

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2. Do not call authors out for debate. You must count the cost (Lk. 14:31). You don’t want to get whipped up on anyway.

3. Keep your comments short. Like when your comments are longer than the blog, that is too long. Try to keep them to 100 words.

4. In everything, be courteous and respectful. This does not mean that you agree, but take the extra time to write with tact, making the most of the opportunity.

5. Do not spam a post with comments one right after the other. Stay focused . . . one comment at a time is helpful.

6. Try not use this blog as a forum. While I don’t mind you engaging each other soon, there is a fine line between this and the post turning into a forum thread. You can use the forum at Theologica (http://theologica.ning.com) for these type of conversations.

7. Keep things on topic!!

If you need more information read this post:

“What if God Read Your Posts: A Reminder About Christian Conduct on the Internet”

If anyone violates these rules, the blog administrators will be forced to suspend your privileges. While this has no effect on your salvation, we will send you a t-shirt that says “I got suspended from Parchment and Pen . . . Oh yeah baby.”Similar Posts:

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I often talk about the importance of having an irenic approach to doing theology. It would seem that this term, “irenic” is suffering because of its overuse and misidentification with those who would choose to abuse it. To be irenic means that we are peaceful in our approach to issues. This does not involve compromise, but a willingness to engage issues fairly.

Here are some of the characteristics to being irenic in theological conversation and controversy:

• You accurately represent all theological positions, even when you strongly oppose them.
• Your tone of engagement comes from a humble respectful attitude.
• Your primary goal is not to win an argument, but to contribute to understanding.
• Your defense of your position recognizes that strengths of the opposing side.
• You are gentle.

Here are two important Scripture references concerning how we are to engage in theological discussion irenically:

2 Timothy 2:24 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Notice the key phrases:

• “not be quarrelsome”
• “kind to all”
• “patient when wronged”
• “with gentleness correcting”

This describes the irenic method of theological engagement.

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

Notice a few things about this passage:

• The context has to do with a believer ”suffering for righteousness”
• We are to give an answer (apologetic) to those who ask
• This is to be done with gentleness
• This is to be done with respect

Many of us only hear the first part of the verse “give an defense,” and upon this we justify our apologetic polemic ready to destroy, slander, or misrepresent any who disagree with what we believe to be the truth. We fail to recognize that this defense, in this context, is to be given to people “who ask.” This is requested information based upon a life of integrity in the midst of our suffering. As well, this defense is to be done irenically—with gentleness and respect.

I can hear the “what abouts” coming. And in the spirit of this post let me tell you how stupid you are for questioning my . . . ahem . . . Ok, let’s deal with them.

There seems to be examples in the Scripture where the prophets, apostles, and even Christ did not engage irenically. In other words, they often seemed to engage people with a fierce resolve, respecting the truth more than the person with whom there is conflict. I admit this is true. I also admit that there are times when such polemics are important. But we need to look at the context in which this type of polemic is brought about.

1. Should we defend the faith like Christ cleansed the temple?

We often think we should speak with the authority of Christ. In defense of our attitude we will appeal to Christ’s attitude toward the pharisees or his cleansing the temple. But to refer to the example of Christ in these instances can be problematic seeing as how Christ’s actions are not always intended to set examples for us. I know this sounds off, but think about it. He worked great miracles in order to demonstrate his unique authority, he engaged people with a divine introspection knowing their thoughts, motives, and intentions, and he was the ultimate divine judge who has every right to judge all people. As well, this was not the modus operandi of Christ. Do you ever notice that he was only polemic in such a way to the self-righteous who arrogantly believed they had all the answers and were a step above all the rest?

2. Should we defend the faith like Paul encountered the Galatians.

Many times we will appeal to Paul’s example. His polemics, especially to the Galatians, are used to defend our own less than gracious encounters. But this has problems as well.

First, Paul was an apostle who carried the authority of an apostle. Being such, he had both divine authority and the divine ability to speak to a situation with infallible guidance. This is something that most of us we cannot claim. Can we?

Second, Paul primarily only spoke in such a way to those who were under his authority. He was their leader and had the right and obligation as their leader to engage them in a candid way. He was their pastor. Pastor’s can and sometimes should speak in such a manner to their flock.

Third, like Christ, Paul did not always engage people in such a way. In fact, as noted above, the encouraged his people to be gracious, humble, and respectful in all their dealing with those with whom there is disagreement. In 1 Thess 2:7 he describes his own ministry as one of gentleness, comparing it to a mother caring for her children.

Sadly, it often seems as if there are people out there who not only think they are an apostle, but also think that they are talking to their own congregation. Some even seem to enjoy polemical engagement in an unhealthy manner. In fact, I think that a lot of ministries would not know what to do if they did not have someone to fight.

Sadly, many times this attitude is found more in my own conservative Calvinistic circles than in any other. For this I am sorry and ashamed. Sometimes Calvinists often make the worst Calvinists . But, of course, it can be found in any group. Baptists have a knack for it. Even emergers can display the most angered, discounting, and arrogant spirit that I have ever seen.

Why do we sometimes act this way?

I am not sure.

Maybe its because we are so confident in the particulars of our faith that we feel we have the right to shout the loudest. We have the greatest message. We feel our polemic will force the truth into the mind of those who oppose.

Or . . .

Maybe we think that we have to set an example of the truth to those who are listening from the outside. Like in a debate, we don’t really think we are going to convert our opponent, but we hope to solidify our position among those who are listening.

Or . . .

Maybe it is because we are so insecure in our position that we think the louder we are the more true our words are. As I tell students, if you are not confident about what you are saying, you can first speak deeper, second speak louder. And if both of these don’t work, speak with a British accent!! In truth, I have found that the most fundamentally uninformed folk believers are often the most polemically militant because they, deep down, don’t really know why they believe what they believe. Their only recourse is not a gentle engagement, but a raised voice.

What part of gentleness and respect don’t we understand. Ironically, the original title of this blog was going to be “What Part of Gentleness and Respect Don’t You Understand.” I had to change it in order to keep with the spirit of the post.

I am certainly not perfect with this issue. Believe me. This, as with the last post, is self-therapy. Awww . . . aren’t I humble? Let us all try to be more gentle, humble, and respectful when defending the faith. In earnstly contending for the faith, let us be irenic.

For those of you who will respond to this by posting with a sawed off shot loaded with your favorite Scripture, take you proof-texting and shove them . . . Ahem . . . Please deal with the Scriptures in such a way that takes into account their context.Similar Posts:

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10. You blog on blogs.
9. Your username on other blogs is one of the following: blogforhim, semperblogging, jediblogger, blogaphobia.
8. You send the XML of your own blogs to your PDA

7. Your homepage is set to your blog dashboard
6. You belong to Bloggers Anonymous
5. You create a t-shirt about your own blog on CaféPress and you buy it.
4. You are dating someone from Technorati just to get your stats up.
3. You begin working on a program to send Anthrax through email when someone removes your blog from their blog roll.
2. You married your top blog poster.
1. You can be found at a country bar listening to Neon Moon when your comments on your latest blog read “0.”Similar Posts:

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I like blogging. I don’t really know why yet, but it is fun. It is a chance to share, teach, fellowship, and have fun all in one venue. The blogsphere seems to be tolerant to my blogging so far, crazy as some of them may be. I have been pleasantly surprised by regular attendance of the blog. In fact, of all the ministries we offer at Reclaiming the Mind, the blog has the most “attendance.” Internet marketers call this “stickiness.” I guess one would expect such since it is updated so regularly. I am learning, and the learning curve is modest, yet full of interesting nuances. Anyway, thanks for your interest.

Here are some things that I have learned thus far (and this is NOT blogging Gospel):

1. Blogs are dangerous; be careful. Blogs have a way to lead you into your personal no-man’s land that you never go except in the recesses of your own mind from time to time. This is both good and bad. It is good because your no-man’s land is shared by many. They will appreciate you candor and transparency. People are looking for transparency to counter the veneer that has covered many for so long. You let them know that they are not alone. It is bad in that there are always going to be people who are still covered in veneer and have fooled themselves with their own covering. They will read your thoughts in a very judgmental way. It is also bad in that there are just some things that need to stay in the recesses of your mind. They may be fleeting thoughts, rash ideas, or the product of a day of chemical imbalance. Thoughtfulness is the key. Have you really thought through what you are going to share. Does it really represent who you are?

2. Know your audience: Maybe “know” is not a good word by itself. No, its not. Add the word “intended” and I think it will be right. Know your intended audience. You need to be preemptive in your determination of who your readers are going to be. As far as I can tell, there are four different types of blogs with four different audiences (even though there is some overlap).

• “Give me the latest”: There are those who are interested in the latest news. They don’t really care too much about anything else. These types of bloggers will check your blog like they do the front page of the newspaper. Therefore, you have to be like a reporter, researching your connections daily. Your blogs don’t need to be long. In fact, they can just be links to other blogs, stories, or internet sites. Justin Taylor does this well (among other things).
• “Give me the depth”: Many will connect to your blog because it has posts that contain depth. These types of people are looking for someone to inform and challenge their thinking. They don’t really like redirects and links unless there is a commentary of some substantial value connected to it. This type of blog is not for the faint of heart. Bloggers in this sub-venue have a lot of stress because they have to come up with something new all the time. And three times out of five, you had better hit a home run. I don’t suggest that you start one of these blogs unless you are of a certain personality that is very reflective, otherwise, you will find yourself at a loss as to what to write and finally default to a blog on . . . ahem . . . blogging. Michael Spencer at Internet Monk is the best I have seen here. After five years, he still has good stuff to say.
• “Give me you”: This is a personality driven blog. Those who attend here will be seeking to get to know you better. They want meat, but normally it centers around your life and circumstances. It does not necessarily have to be deep confessions, or testimonies of struggles (although these are essential), but these types of blog readers are interested in your weather, your cat, and what you have in the refrigerator. I think Scot McKnight does a good job here. Normally, this can only be successful by someone who is already known to some degree. For example, which of these blog headers would tempt you more: “Inside my refrigerator” by Chuck Swindoll. Or, “Inside my refrigerator” by Joe Jones? See, you are already clicked on the Swindoll one. Who cares about Joe Jones?
• “Give me everything”: This is your one stop shop. This is the Wal-Mart of blogging. All that I mentioned above is found here. This is quite a juggling act that should not be tried at home without supervision. Houdini tried this and died. Anyway, you get the point. I am not sure that this is ever the best way to go about it, although young bloggers do default here – and end up in Arkham Asylum. By the way, I would love for you to come visit me. Bring some chicken Alfredo. I am so hungry that my bane vein is popping out in my head and I am tempted to start robbin’ people. (If you understand what I am saying - nice!)

3. “Don’t start what you are not going to finish”: Because the nature of the “give me depth” type blogs are based upon reflection, musings, and thoughts of excitement, it is easy to start something that never gets finished. While this is not so bad to do every once in a while, if it becomes habitual, you will lose many. Bear down and bite the bullet. I know that what you have started has turned into a book project, but you need to finish.

OK, green as they may be, those are my first three. (Oh, #4, don’t try to be cute and rhyme, and #5, don’t have a category on blogging like me – that is just sad.) As always, thanks for reading, you all are so great. I mean it. I would not be here without you. (Oh, oh, #6, don’t kiss up to your audience, it is a sign that you are surprised that they are there and are scared to lose them. This is a sure sign of your insecurity. It will make them feel nerdy for being there).

BTW: In case you were wondering, here is the inside of my refrigerator.Similar Posts:

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