Just a quick note to all of you regular IM readers. I’m in the thick of writing a book. Approximately 20 chapters in this project, and I’m about 6 in at this point. Deadline is late October, but here’s the kicker. My book has to be 80% material never appearing elsewhere. In other words, no book of reworked blog essays. Given that requirement, the book is pretty much all original material, though you will find some of the concepts and ideas familiar. This is going to put some real pressure on my blogging, especially in the fall. So I appreciate your support and patience in advance if you see a few more iMonk 101s, etc. than usual. I believe the final result will be worth it. I’m very excited about what I am writing and I’m having a great time moving forward.
The best Christians I know- prayerful, deep, Bible saturated, holy, patient, loving, Jesus shaped Christians- have absolutely nothing to do with the blogosphere. Nothing.
The blogosphere is a great place to talk, but a very poor place to do anything. It’s a great place to talk about doing something, but a poor place to do anything that doesn’t operate on talking. I’m pretty sure I know how Jesus feels about that.
I read an interview yesterday with a big dog blogger who was sure that if Paul were around today, he would be a blogger. I respect this fellow’s Biblical insights, but nothing in the New Testament indicates that to me. Personal church planting efforts. Extensive personal involvement in disciplemaking. Extensive mentoring and follow up with churches and individuals. Purposeful writing for specific churches. If he would have blogged, that would be great, but I have absolutely no evidence that Jesus or Paul would have blogged. Very likely not.
A while back I heard another well-known blogger estimate his audience numbers. The number was simply astronomical. (He made no claim to know the exact number, by the way). Many times what I would say, and I know my audience numbers well right now because my publisher wanted them. The fact is that at least half of those numbers are incidental visits. A much smaller number are people seriously engaging anything on this blog. For thousands of readers, it’s just looking at a headline once a day and moving on.
I don’t know how you view the numbers generated on the internet, but I’d suggest we all take a deep breath for a moment. Even if we are reaching into a large audience that likes to get their information from this medium, much of that is because of the way we’ve learned to “swim” in the medium. Not because we are great writers, great Christians or
“pastors” of a massive cyber-flock.
The idea that standing for “orthodoxy” in the blogosphere is a significant help to the church is also likely very exaggerated. The blogosphere is front loaded for overheated, generally (but not always) meaningless argument and debate. Youtube. Blog comments. Forums. It’s the fight of the day. We can knock the beach ball around the blogosphere with lots of spirited hot air, but I don’t believe many of us can claim to have done much in the way of real service for the church when we’ve debated a blogosphere atheist for a week. What Christianity needs are people who will take the campus atheist out for dinner, not forward him 25 YouTube videos.
Blogosphere fame needs to be kept in a box called “Apply Brutal Humility” if necessary. A few things have happened to me since Coming Evangelical Collapse (lots of media interview, the book project, more writing that pays, etc.) that have pointed out to me how easy it is to make a shift in your own mind to say: “People want to hear what I have to say, so what I have to say must be really important.” Ahoy there, Captain. A better approach: This is your turn to speak. You don’t have all that much important to say, but it’s your turn. So say something that matter. Something that will encourage and uplift a discouraged person. Don’t play for the applause. Determine to speak helpful truth with integrity. Your turn won’t last very long. Use it well.
This goes twice for any of us who do any amount of self promotion. Get a sense of humor there, friend. The blogosphere is a big game that you get to play because you spent more time with your head stuck to the screen of a computer than another person. Considering that time could have probably been spent as well or better somewhere else, have some perspective.
As I’ve said before, I love this medium and I’m not cynical about it nor do I have plans to abandon ship. But I think it’s the duty of some of us to speak more realistically from time to time, as the hot air factor in the blogosphere is increasing all the time.
Remember that telling the world what you are doing doesn’t make it more significant. Jesus said don’t let your right hand know what your left is doing. Don’t use this medium to disobey simple things Jesus taught.
Next time someone calls you a “prominent blogger,” laugh. Next time someone asks you about your life, and you start talking about something you read on Twitter or Facebook, consider taking a break.
NOTE: Photo from Pitel. See the original HERE.
The Internet Monk Archives 
Someone just told me that they visited a friend who spent two hours on Second Life changing a door knob. — IMonk
Now THAT sounds like one of those old lightbulb jokes — “How many Second Life Avies does it take to change a doorknob?”
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I’m a little late to the party but in the hypothetical question of Paul as blogger I doubt he would have been primarily a blogger. He probably would have been a lot like Mark Driscoll, where the blogging is an afterthought to the church planting, preaching and teaching.
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I’m right there with you. I’ll take my chances, too!
But I think some base their Christianity on the Bible… Paul’s binary ‘do this / don’t do that’ is a very western approach. A very different approach than Jesus, who would never give a straight answer to anything.
Pulling myself back on topic… it is interesting that ‘theological’ bloggers seem to tend to fall into two groups: those who primarily use the gospels and those who primarily use anything but the gospels 🙂
I wonder if a person could use google to analyze different blogs based on how often the word “Jesus” is used. To iMonk’s point, it would be an interesting chart if you compared the Jesus google results to, say, visits, repeat visits, or sources of the incoming traffic. Or even revenues.
“If I put Jesus in all my meta-tags, I’ll increase my search engine optimization.” Gawd.
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Interesting way to put the feeling. “Afraid of missing something.” That’s a sure sign of artificiality.
Read Thoreau 🙂
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…..occasionally…in the blogosphere…i will read something that speaks right to where im at NOW….this is one of those times…im spending too much time on this thing..its starting to feel like a compulsion…its almost as if im afraid i’ll “miss something”…….Thanks imonk…i should have knowm my wife was right…again.
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Well Jjoe,
I’ll take my chances. Since Jesus was a Jew and lived in the middle EAST (Judea) how could Christianity be otherwise. Unless you don’t base your Christianity on Jesus!!!
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I think these are some valid point, but I do think too, that we can underestimate the value of blogs and internet ministry. I can say that I think my faith has been challenged, strengthened, sharpened, etc. because of blog posts and internet resources.
But I think it’s wise of you to give that ‘reality check.’
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I thought American dog-eat-dog capitalism was founded on the Bible?
Just kidding.
You know, there are bloggers out there right now who would tell you that you’re not among the elect because you dare to say Christianity is an Eastern religion.
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Jjoe,
I think we need to be careful we don’t Americanize Christianity. It is an Eastern religion. Paul was a Pharisee. I don’t think he was “marketing” anything. The concept would have been foreign to him. I can’t see Paul with a big sign: “Get a deal this week on used tents. Free signed letter bonus from Paul”.
I think he was living out his calling.
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I second Bubbi about the orthodoxy stand thing.
Great post, but I do believe that although standing for orthodoxy in the blogosphere may not be a “significant help to the church”, it certainly can be a significant help to individuals within the church. It certainly has been helpful for me that many contend for truth on the internet where I spend way too much time. Even though it is not necessarily in the “real world,” right practice comes from right thinking, and that from a right understanding of the Word of God.
It’s one thing to argue theology endlessly online, but another to learn from good teachers. Just saying, your humility is appreciated, but so is your cyber-ministry, regardless of how few of us you may ever actually meet.
Cannot wait for that book.
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Love that I discovered this post at the same time as the article “Leaders should consider Twitter”
on ChristianityToday:
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2009/06/5_reasons_every_leader_should.html
One of the reasons given is that it cuts down the barriers between leaders and led, the “pedestal” people tend to put leaders on if they follow them tweeting about their three-year-old.
I’m unconvinced…
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I’ve been on a few blog sites where “iron sharpens iron” and that’s a good thing. On too many blogs it just sharpens tongues.
IMonk, your blog has made me rethink much of my understanding of God’s Word and His Work…and how they intersect. You and those who comment have often stretched the corners of my box. I’ve appreciated that. Keep bloggin’.
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Paul as a master marketer — he got out there on the streets and ‘sold’ Christianity to people who didn’t know they needed it yet.
“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
You don’t have to look at that definition too differently to make it look a lot like evangelism or church planting/nurturing. But I have an MBA instead of an MDiv, so I’m whacked to begin with.
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imomk,
Many contemplatives stay off bog and internet web sites as they don’t think they are conducive to their way of life. Others are more open but limit the time they spend with such things. I think a good idea.
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Paul was a “master marketer?” Huh? How’s that.
To the brother who is in moderation- along with several other brothers and sisters: I’m not deleting you. I just need a look at what you’re saying first. You’ve managed to persuade me that you will veer off topic and into areas we aren’t going to discuss, and a few good posts can reverse that impression.
Mike Hunsinger: The best Christians I know don’t blog. Some are older and some are not. For other people, all the best Christians they know may blog. Just reporting my experience.
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id be interested in knowing the ages of the best christians you mentioned. seems to me the best ones i know dont blog either but mainly bc they are of increased age and are more likely to write a letter to the editor of their local paper.
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I got taken to lunch when I was on campus and let me say that the level of debate is higher on the blogosphere. May want to work on training disciples better in parallel with getting ’em into the field.
I do appreciate the thought though. I often feel that so many pew-riders think that handing an $800 to a missionary excuses them from putting in some face time with the poor and lost. If the IRS sends me a rebate check, I don’t feel especially loved. I believe that John Wesley berated one of his wealthier congregants for allowing her aversion to mingling with certain classes of people to prevent her from visiting prisoners.
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iMonk,
I agree with your premise of a much-needed reality check.
However, with regards to the “Best Christians” that “have absolutely nothing to do with the blogosphere,” should we so quickly make correlation equal cause?
I’m wondering if they avoid the blogosphere because it has no value or if it is not akin to their gifting or skill sets? Or is it some combination there of?
This communication medium is a really interesting phenomenon fraught with limitations as you rightly point out. But I know that your gifting has been used by God right here to help many Christians renew their focus on a Jesus Shaped Christianity.
And, in that, I find great value.
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Paul might have blogged on the Jewish websites of the day but I like the acion on the gentile ones, where the soil is still pretty much hard and crusted over. Where you feel like your spade in the dirt is one of the very first. Where you get attacked, insulted, and called every name in the book but they keep coming back and engaging for more. I frequent one that’s tailored to pilots (flightinfo.com) and the message board there doesn’t suffer fools lightly. You learn quickly to either come correct or don’t come at all. It has both a sharpening effect and also allows pagans exposure to the word, for the first time it would seem to many. Still, I wonder if it’s all a colossal waste of time. No one PMs me with a conversion and only rarely for side questions. I do sense that the Holy Spirit has used His timely word at His discretion and we know it doesn’t return void so, I’ll continue for now. I appreciate the wisdom here, though!
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Paul would blog simply because he was a master marketer. The real question is how effective would he be.
I suspect he’d be blown out of the water by the (as just one example) Calvinist bloggers for daring to say he was inspired by the Holy Spirit / touched by Jesus, rather than simply standing on and studying the God-given scriptures.
All we read is one-way communication; who knows how well he’d do in an environment where he was challenged to prove that he spoke as God on things like women being subordinate to men.
And so would he evolve to what he is today? A man whose words are taken as the Lord’s? Whose commandments are followed as if he were God?
Now, that’s a blogger with a following.
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When it comes to blogs, etc. that actually have an audience (like this one), I think it’s similar to a “radio ministry.” More important than having an audience, however, is having something to say. This is especially true if it’s something that isn’t really being talked about but needs to be. Again, this blog tends to fall into this category in my opinion.
From my experience the benifit of that sort of thing isn’t really as evangelical as it is exhortive. If I can come here and walk away a little more Jesus-shaped than when I walked in, something good has happened.
In an increasingly community-less Evangelicalism, sometimes a virtual safe place is all the safe place folks have. While we should be able to get that at our local church, some folks can’t. For me, I take the Jesus-shaped stuff from here (and similar sites) back to my church so that I can spread God’s grace around some.
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Gospel Blimp actually came out in 1961; I saw it in 1980. Evangelicalism has been screwed up for a long time.
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“The idea that standing for “orthodoxy†in the blogosphere is a significant help to the church is also likely very exaggerated.”
Maybe so, but if it helps just ONE. God has long arms and all different kind of ways to reach all his different kind of people. Your writing has helped some more than you’ll ever know. It is clear God is using you Micheal. Thank you for blogging. To some it may be the only interaction they get. God Bless your book as well.
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I doubt Paul ever wrote for notoriety, which is often what blogging is about. He was given a platform to write because of his life and work. Blogging gives anybody with fingers a platform, and some people without. I don’t think Paul would blog. He’d be too busy making tents (which I imagine would be hard to do while simultaneously updating twitter) or writing letters to specific communities (not the WWW) or preaching/teaching.
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I mean back to work and reality – for me
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Good post – now back to work
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I think God, in his perfect timing, placed Jesus at the time and place He wanted. Thus no blogging and so forth.
I think blogs like these help people have a say. Many don’t feel listen to by their church or other Christains.
I am not much into blogging but have enjoyed my time here. Althought I know it takes time from my at home business. So must watch time spent on blog.
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The “best Christians” I know- prayerful, deep, Bible saturated, holy, patient, loving, Jesus shaped Christians- have absolutely nothing to do with the blogosphere. Nothing.
Just saying… you are the best! Love your tweets, love your blog. Would probably love you, if I knew ya. 🙂
Course Philemon was a personal letter… should’ve used the John’s or Paul’s ‘shout outs’ er… blogs to saints in an city or region.
Anyway, What I like is this:
I get to hear what you are thinking… and you are the church… and that keeps me focused and in touch… and we don’t have Councils of Nicea or Trent anymore.
Keep it up… and don’t be so defensive… I was trying to spread some disagreeable love. 🙂
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Well, I’m convicted. Now I have to resist the temptation to write a blog entry on how convicted I am …
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I think Jesus would troll and flame-war, though.
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Someone just told me that they visited a friend who spent two hours on Second Life changing a door knob.
Words fail.
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iMonk, I felt a little bit of rage rising in me when I realized you had put me on moderation, but I have repented.
If you think I need moderation, I probably do.
I will try to control (thank you, James) my sometimes-acid tongue, which flows out through my fingertips when confronted with a computer screen, better in the future.
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I-Monk; thanks for the word of moderation. Glad you didn’t get into the “what significant others think of your hours on the bloggershpher” cuz that would have hurt like you know what.
I know the blog thing is something that my wife just doesn’t ‘get’, so I have to weigh my time here with….well, there’s a list. this can be trouble. Anyone else relate ??
Very good post.
Greg R.
did you mean “take an atheist to dinner and FEED them …OR….????”
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Re speculation on whether Paul would have been a blogger, does anyone remember the country song, “Would Jesus Wear A Rolex On His Television Show?”?
In other words, speculating is rather pointless except for trying to justify one’s own habits and lifestyle, I think.
WWJD? No one knows for sure. And most are probably mistaken.
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If only blogs and social networks on the web would collapse, then I might get around to reading Paul and the words of Jesus more.
Can’t wait for that book iMonk.
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On the 80 percent rule:
I have to admit I wanted to complain that guys like Mohler are cranking out blog posts/sermons into books all the time. But I’m unproven and, with God’s help, I’ll grow as I accept the challenge.
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Humility is always important. Pride sends us off in the wrong direction every time. However, I hope you know how much your blog means to people like me. Where I live, I have practically zero opportunities for genuinely stimulating discussions about scripture. I love reading your blog and I love reading the variety of comments.
Hey, could we get that “80 percent new material†rule for all Christian books?
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If he had been allowed a laptop while in prison, I think Paul would have blogged.
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Ohmygosh I’m totally going to tweet all my friends about this awesome blog post! You are so awesome Michael! I think I’ll blog about how great your message was today!
[PS That was an episode from the hit reality TV series “Missing the Point”]
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the only thing Paul would have blogged about is how blog comment threads are the way the devil gets inside you.
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Michael,
I just wanted to wish you God’s peace on your book. I hope the writing experience is a positive one for you. As you have done with your blog, let the Spirit continue to move your heart and mind to whevever He leads you.
Jonathan
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In regards to Paul being a blogger, I think the jury is out. Certainly his focus is much more immediate than blogging is about, yet some of those letters were written to be passed around just like a blog. Look at Colossians 4:16. It is hard to say that this kind of writing could not be done on a blog.
God speed you on your way with this book.
Rick
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thanks, michael. a good reminder to keep it all in perspective.
as for me, i have seen blogging as a an opportunity to work on my writing in such a way that others can read it and i can have a record of it until i have the chance to do some “real” writing. blogging as practice or education, i guess.
reading blogs such as yours and scot mcknight’s (the two i follow most closely) have helped me keep up with current issues in the church and participate in a small way to sharpen my thinking and allow me to engage in a bit of conversation about said issues.
you are appreciated, but i know i would appreciate you even more if we were to be neighbors, interacting with each other in tangible ways. that is where the true action is. thanks for reminding us of this.
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I think reality checks like this one are so, so important. I know that I have a personality that can find things very addictive. (Alcohol, Hockey pools, blogging, etc…) I find if I am getting too engrossed in something, like blogging, it is good to step back for a bit and say, “Okay, do I have my priorities straight here.” My blogging was taking up too much time, and interfering with the rest of life, so I reduced my writing and reduced my commenting. I have to remember that I am married to my wife, and not my blog, so I need to keep my time in proper proportion.
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I agree that Paul would not have been a “twit”.
Missions were a big part of nineteeth century holiness/pentecostal movements. Theologically, I have issues, but I admire how they saw the need to take the message of new life in Christ to those who were literally dying. Not many people living on the streets are going to be checking into the blogsphere very often; I could be wrong.
The virtual nature of the internet fits well into recent comments about Plato-ism. A 70’s Christian film entitled “The Gospel Blimp” depicted a fictional church which spent all of its time and resources piloting a real blimp to drop tracts on the town, while one member actually went out and spent time with his neighbor and sharing Christ. It was a hokey movie, but message is as relevant today as it was 30+ years ago. Jesus didn’t let technology take the place of physically embracing the lost.
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Clark: I’ll stick with what I said on that one. Could cite many example you know.
On Paul: I wouldn’t rule it out, there just aren’t any “general” epistles in his collection. All to specific groups and people with focused purposes. Never writes just to be read. But it’s an unprovable proposition, and I’m not trying to say it’s wrong or a Christian should do it. I mean, good grief. Look at me.
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Monk, what you said was that the best Christians you know have nothing to do with the blogosphere. That’s what Bobby is responding to.
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Perhaps Jesus would not have blogged, but I think Paul would. He wrote letters of instruction to Timothy and Titus, and several letters (good news and bad) to churches. Paul was a globetrotter, and a church planter, and a fisherman, and the list goes on. I believe he used all the available resources of his times, from writing letters to debating with the Greeks. To the Jew he was a Jew, to the Greek… If he were here today, I imagine he would blog to the blogger.
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What Christianity needs are people who will take the campus atheist out for dinner…Don’t play for the applause. Determine to speak helpful truth with integrity. Your turn won’t last very long. Use it well.
Thank you Michael. You just helped me make a decision about ministry for the near future that I really didn’t want to face. It won’t be the campus atheist, but it might be just as challenging (and no, I won’t be blogging about it).
You and your writing are a blessing, thanks again.
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The words “good Christian” don’t appear in this post. What are you talking about? You disagree with what? We ought to be more humble? OK.
Philemon was a personal letter. Read a NT intro.
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Philemon was probably a blog. Shorter than most of yours. And I like yours, btw. Good try. You’re entitled to your point of view. I disagree, especially your ‘good christian’ thing… uggh! You’re the bomb! Keep blogging. And you’re not a bad christian for it. You’re a good one.
PS, what it does for me? There’s a line in the Revelation to “hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches”… in our era, this is one way that I can.
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[Applauds wildly.] Spot on, well said.
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