The Blogging Church...

If you are reading this, then perhaps The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey isn't for you. I don't know who all reads this blog (who ARE you people???) but I do get the sense that most of you have your own blogs already :)

However, chances are, this might be just the book for someone, or a number of someones, you know.

It was a supreme act of will on my part to get my good friend John Johnson to begin blogging. In addition to being the senior pastor of a big church here in town, and a professor of Pastoral Theology at Western, John is also the head of the DMin program which I hope someday to complete. I felt like he wasn't doing enough, so I pestered him until he started a blog. And while he doesn't update it nearly enough, when he has something to say, it's some good stuff.

Anyway, you probably know someone like John who has a great mind, great thoughts, but not enough people get to appreciate them, because the whole idea of blogging seems a bit faddish, or too technical, or whatever. Maybe you've felt like your church community would benefit from a community blog, or having more of the staff enter the blog-o-sphere. Or maybe you'd just like to see what fun would ensue if your senior pastor tried his/her hand at blogging...

Well, here's the book to give 'em.

I was a bit skeptical at first when this was sent to me- seemed a bit like a bandwagon book. But in reading through this, it's actually a nice mix of a philosophy of blogging, interviews with prominant ministry-types who blog, and good technical tips and tricks for getting up and running as well as doing it right/avoiding common mistakes.

I even picked up a couple of tips here and there, and I consider myself at least somewhat facile out and about on the interwebs.

So- if you are looking for an on-ramp, for yourself or for someone else, to the whole blogging thing, this would be a good place to start, I think...

The book also has a good section on podcasting and a really well-done index in the back (e.g. "RSS- being a responsible reader of, 131-134")

Comments

[Matt]

Bob,

Since you asked:

My name is Matt, and I'm a youth minister at a Lutheran church in the south Dallas area. Somehow I stumbled across your blog months ago, and now I track your blog via Bloglines, which is why I tend to maintain my lurker status.

So there ya go. We're practically friends now.

Blessings.

[Bill Reichart]

Thanks for the review. The book is on my Amazon wishlist but haven't read it yet (I am just finishing up Simple Church by Rainer and Exiles by Frost), but it is good to know that it is a helpful primer to help people ramp up into the blogosphere. There are a couple of people on my staff team that need to blog, but haven't yet caught the "vision".

[Terry Storch]

We are so glad you enjoyed the book and are recommending it.

And by the way...since I found you now, you have been added to my Google Reader. So, I am reading you just like Matt.