Why I Blog

So here I am...sitting in my overstuffed chair with my feet up on the ottoman. Karen and the kids are all taking a nap, so the house is finally quiet for a few moments. I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on my blogs that I track. I love learning from other leaders and catching up on stories from friends. It got me thinking about why we blog. Here's what I came up with...

1. Connection - Inherent in all of mankind is the need to be connected with other individuals. Blogs and other social networking sites allow us to maintain some level of connection with people all over the world. No matter where our friends are or where other leaders live, we can feel like we are a part of their lives. Yes...I would love to sit down face-to-face with the authors of the blogs I track, but it probably won't happen any time soon. Until that day does occur, I will continue to connect from a distance.
   
   
2. Transparency - As a pastor, one of the core values I feel I need to bring to those I lead is transparency. They need to know who I am...especially since most people in the church probably won't have a chance to sit down for a cup of coffee with me. They need to know my likes and my dislikes, my joys and my struggles, my coherent thoughts and my random thoughts. They need to know that I am a real person who deals with the same issues they deal with whether they be parenting, marriage, finances, or spiritual struggles.
   
   
3. Discipleship - As the church grows larger, there is a greater need to disciple people. Blogging can provide pastors with an expansive network of discipleship partners. As we teach and lead through the blogosphere, people throughout the church and around the world can enter into conversation and debate. We can provide these "on-line disciples" with resources and additional insight into Scriptural interpretation and application. For teaching pastors, especially, we can take what we talked about on Sunday morning and explore it a little bit deeper on Monday morning. This way, the conversation can keep happening throughout the week as people ruminate upon the truths we presented during the weekend services.
   
   
4. Stewardship - Blogging is wise stewardship of time and energy. Imagine the time it would take to sit down with every person in the church over a cup of coffee so that they could get to know me on a more personal level. Imagine the time it would take to personally disciple every member of the church. Even if I did all of this in small groups of people, it would occupy entirely too much time. It would take me away from my other responsibilities in the church, and, more importantly, it would take me away from my family far too often. Yes...blogging takes time, but it is a much wiser use of my time than trying to be all things to all people.

So those are the reasons why I blog. How about you?