Monday Morning Insights

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    Things I’ve Learned from Blogging with Church Leaders

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    1.  The world is both bigger and smaller than I?d ever imagined.
    You know, there are over 285,000 churches in the United States.  And figuring that the average church has a couple of pastors hanging around... that pushed the number to over half a million church staff people. That's a huge number!  But the church staff/pastor-community online is still a pretty close-knit group; partly because there aren't a lot of outlets (websites, etc.) specifically catered to the needs of pastors and church staff people.  Hopefully that's one of the reasons you're reading this... cause you want to connect with other like-minded staff members.  As large as the pool of pastors is; it's still a very small world for us on the internet!

    2.  There is great power in words.
    Oh my.  Words have such great power.  And if there's one thing I've learned, the way we say things can be as important (if not even more important) than the way we say them.  That's the most interesting part of this MMIBlog experiment... 'words DO mean thing' and we need to be very careful how we use them.  Seems like the Bible says a thing or two about the 'tongue' as well.  smile

    3.  Blogging can very easily be considered work. Lots of it.
    Uh... yeah.  But it's fun work (usually).  The times that this blog has taken the most time was when I tried to moderate most of the topics and constantly got caught in the middle, defending myself.  With the changes I made last week (pre-screening all posts), this hasn't been near the problem it was before.  I'd much rather spend time finding interesting things to post here that re-hashing my opinion on things (like most people care what MY opinion is). 

    4.  24 hours in a day isn?t enough.
    Kind of goes along with #3... but I try to make as many posts late at night before I go to bed as I can.  That way I can schedule them out during the next day.  Blogging can be habit forming... and a time waster if you're not careful!

    5.  The world is full of passionate people.
    Wow... is that ever true.  Anyone who has read much of the blog here knows that for sure.  Nuff said.

    6.  People I?ve never met care about me, and I care about people I?ve never met.
    This is neat.  I very often get private emails from people who are concerned about how I'm doing or just want to encourage me.  These are people I don't know... probably people I'll never meet this side of heaven; yet there's some kind of bond that develops... even through something as simple as a blog.  I know I feel the same about others as I get to know them as well.

    7.  Writing is hard!
    Yes.  How do you find something to write about?  (That's hard in and of itself).  Communicating in a way that is clear (without being misconstrued) is also difficult.

    8. Most people are more positive than negative.
    In my mind... the jury's still out on this one.  smile  Most people are positive... but many times on blogs, the positive people keep to themselves and all the people who oppose you seem to have more time to write.  Overall, it's been a good balance.

    9.  Asking a question is a great way to get a response.
    I've learned alot here at the blog just by asking questions and reading your responses!

    10.  If you step away from it, the blogosphere will still be there when you get back.
    I'm going to do a little testing of this one when I take some much needed vacation later next month.  You all WILL come back now, won't you?

    FOR DISCUSSION:  (Ahhh... here's another question!)  What have you learned by being a part of the MMIBlog?

    D. Keith Robinson recently had a post about how much he had learned from his blogging experiment.  I was excited to read that I’ve learned some of the same things!  Here are some (I might leave some for a future post...)

    Comments

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    1. kd on Wed, July 27, 2005

      I am not a church leader but I have found much healing and inspiration from reading your blog.  There are hurts within the body of Christ and just knowing you are not alone and how others have handled them has been very beneficial. I believe everyone on this site has a sincere desire to please God and because of different backgrounds we are on different parts of our journey. It’s nice to know that none of us are alone as we face various issues unique to our time and culture. It’s wonderful to see grace come through many of the postings and it has gotten me through many rough days. I appreciate all the time and effort you have put into this endeavor and will continue to learn from it although I am not much of a contributor. Thank you.

    2. Scott McMurrian on Wed, July 27, 2005

      Todd, I’ll go for the toucy-feely, Sunday School answer - but I’ll mean it.


      The MMI blog has quite simply encouraged me to pray, to listen, to wait, and really search for the heart.  As I read the very insightful comments from your readers, I’m usually intimidated by how much I don’t know.  I often feel the words of Job, “I have declared what I have not known.”

    3. David Russell on Wed, July 27, 2005

      That is a great blog about blogging.


      I think that communication by means of technology (specifically via the Internet) will be the pathway to delivering the Gospel. The time for grasping the fundamentals of technology is now. As “close-knit” as this community is, I fervently pray that God will grant all generations with the wisdom to utilize these forms of communication to increase His Kingdom.

    4. Jonathan Herron on Mon, August 01, 2005

      As I read your list, I found myself nodding my head and going, “Uh-huh, yup, that’s right!”


      I added a link to your article on my blog: http://www.sevenoseven.blogspot.com.  Hope that’s ok!

    5. Jonathan Herron on Mon, August 01, 2005

      As I read your list, I found myself nodding my head and going, “Uh-huh, yup, that’s right!”


      I added a link to your article on my blog for student ministry leaders: http://www.sevenoseven.blogspot.com.  Hope that’s ok!

    6. Mark Rodriguez on Tue, August 02, 2005

      AMEN!

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