I have a BA in English, and most of my undergrad time I heard people say ?stop reading about life and experience it?.? Fast forward a few years later, I have found myself as a blogger, and I have heard ?go out and do ministry instead of just blogging about it?.? I also write and speak, so I also get the ?stop writing and talking about it and go do it?.? This leads me to the question of the day, is blogging ministry?
I think the key is defining ministry. What constitutes ministry? Is blogging, writing, speaking or even preaching or teaching? Is it ministry if you do it volunteer, or if you get paid? Is ministry relative, does what is ministry for me constitute as ministry for you? It?s becomes a muddy bog pretty quick, and we begin to judge if we think others are doing ministry. Is this a good idea?
If you will humor me I want to share with you my thoughts on the ministry od blogging. Understand that as a writer, speaker and blogger, I am slightly bias. I absolutely believe blogging and tweeting and posting can all be ministry. It doesn?t mean it is always ministry but if it fits some qualifications.
Any writing or speaking ministry must have a point or purpose. I have a purpose that i?ll explain later. If you are writing something that has no purpose, don?t write it. The purposes that are ministry are pretty straight forward.
1. It should edify or encourage. I am seeking to edify other bloggers and encourage them to do likewise. It should be constructive, and give practical suggestions if there are issues. It should bring together ths body and support further ministry. I haven?t always done a great job at this, but I?m working on it.
2. It should teach. A blog should teach you something or at least remind you of something. We should be learning from each other, challenging each other and sharing lessons learned. We need to write and comment in a way that sharpens us. Don?t write dull or dulling blogs.
3. Correct and restore gently. I don?t mean to correct individuals but blogs can be used to perform the ministry of doctrinal correction. My theology has matured due in part to those who have opened the scripture in a blog and corrected my faulty thinking. In the areas we disagree and clash, either someone is wrong or everyone is wrong. We can?t all be right. We want to pretend we are all right but someone is wrong. We should be able to Biblically reason together. When we begin to accuse and name call and get nasty we kill ministry.
Bottom line is, you should help someone when you write and blog. I hope I have encouraged my fellow writers and taught a little and maybe pointed out some things to correct. I enjoy the community here at Voices and hope we serve one another in Christ by writing.
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