The Christian Blogger’s Dilemma and What to Do About It
As my appetite for reading blogs increases, so does my realization that many Christian bloggers are stuck. Why? Because of the notion that if you have something to say it might be construed as proud or arrogant. This dilemma of false humility leaves the church blogosphere littered with overused terms like “random,” “musings,” “ordinary,” and “simple.” Are you, like me, getting tired of seeing another site with the headline “Another Ordinary Guy’s Random Musings?”
As someone geared toward helping others find clarity, I stand somewhere between frustration and sadness when I see blogs that are stuck.
Now some people will immediately object:
- What if people are not trying to be “famous?”
- What’s wrong with being humble?
- Maybe their blog is just for a few friends?
Okay, while these are appropriate concerns and may even justify the existence of “random musings,” I see a deeper problem at play. The Christian blogger’s dilemma is that false humility creates missed opportunity. By hovering in a state of understatement, the rest of the world misses out what God has uniquely put in you. Is it possible that God wants to make a dramatic contribution through you? If so, then failure to discover and decorate the world with your unique voice, is a subtle way of dishonoring God.
What are some practical next steps if you want to make a contribution through blogging with more clarity and passion?
#1 Start by being honest about false humility. How are you tempted by this form of pride? How does that get expressed in your blog?
#2 Reflect on your unique contribution. Consider the anatomy of uniqueness:
- What unique content can you provide?
- What unique voice or style do you bring to any content?
- What perspective or life experiences create unique value for your content?
- What are you passionate about? How does that drive or flavor your content?
- If you could talk to a 100,000 Christians for 5 minutes, what would you say to them?
#3 Find inspiration by noticing the unique focus of other blogs. Here are a few I like.
- Michael Hyatt is about personal productivity in leadership from a CEO and publishers perspective.
- Tim Stevens is about “leading smart;” a no-nonsense, culture savvy, exec. pastor.
- William Vanderbloemen is about creating connections, a Princeton-trained pastor who focuses on search and staffing in the faith-based arena.
- Anne Jackson is about pursuing health and compassion with a transparent style and heart for the church. (How many female believers talk about porn addiction?)
- Mac Lake is about leadership development with a strong practical bent and multi-site church perspective.
#4 Start researching what others have written the subject. Here is a great post on Finding your Blog Focus by Lorelle that goes deeper and has more links on the subject.
#5 Boil down your contribution into a few words or short phrases. No formula – let your personality express itself in how you express it.
#6 Begin thinking and writing from the portal of your own unique contribution. Start asking questions like: Should I rename my blog? What is a good blog tagline? What do my topics say about my contribution? How can each post carry my unique signature, even in a small ways? How can I write more passionately?
Make 2010 a year to push through random musings to deliver the essence of you. The world will be better when you do!
I happened to run into this comment just after reading your new posting. Thought it to be somewhat appropriate:
“I am convinced that you can only fascinate somebody else with your own joy and enthusiasm about things. And if you are lucky people say: ‘Oh, great, I like that, I’d like to learn that as well.’ It doesn’t matter whether that is music, science or literature. Teaching means that you are enthusiastic about something and pass that on.” – Sting
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Thanks for this pointed and helpful post. I’ve FELT your frustration, but have never identified it as succinctly. False humility creates missed opportunity. Brilliant. I have no problem expressing what I believe to my core is true. I will always try to express those views in a way that is neither apologetic nor unnecessarily confrontational… unless that confrontation is NECESSARY.
Hopefully I’ll be a better communicator in 2010 than I was in 2009. Bold and wise. For God’s glory. Thanks for the great post.
-joshua
I really agree with the gist of your post being that we should stand confidently behind what we post and do and not preface it with the ‘aw shucks’ tendencies within many of us. What I struggled with was this sense that you were asserting that all uses of the words ‘ordinary’, ‘random’, etc are expressions of false humility. Yes, false humility is a real thing that those dealing with it should address. No, it’s probably not behind every blogger who uses those words. The beauty of blogs is that they afford the ordinary that would never get published the chance to publish. More confidence behind their ordinary reflections on their lives don’t make it any more significant. Am I wrong? Ordinary, average, random are fine words if that is indeed what they are describing.
Thanks for these observations, Will. What you call a “unique contribution” could perhaps be “divine calling.” If God has called me to blog, shouldn’t I serve him (humbly) be giving it my very best?
Great post Will. Blogging (and all of social media) is a powerful tool that pastors could leverage much more. This media reflects the new world in which we live and minister. Thanks for highlighting it for us all.
Good stuff Will. I’ve found it important to stay focused on a topic I am very passionate about. Much easier to write convincingly when the subject is something that makes my heart beat faster.
My sentiments exactly! Already, I have a YouTube channel, mynextstopkraljevo, which I set up because I wanted to publish the truth on the treatment of the Kosovo Roma.
It is unique content. Also, I wanted to show people the town that I live in. Indeed, I link my blogs to my channel with a specific mission in mind which I believe God wants me to pursue, speaking from my heart, exposing my flaws in Christian discipleship, although avoiding false modesty. The Holy Spirit constantly takes me to the next level of faith.
This is great! I find it true in general leadership issues. There is a false humility that holds leaders back or puts people into leadership when they shouldn’t! We’re raising wimps in the church instead of teaching people to confidently live and serve as God designed them. Before long we have cookie cutter christians all looking the same so as not to offend.
Very simple, straight forward. Thanks for this, Will…I’ve actually been thinking about how to do a better job at my blog…hoping to put into practice what you’ve described here for 2010.
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Thanks for the great reminders Will. I have been in a blog rut for a few weeks. I appreciate your words of wisdom. – Kevin
Will, I really appreciate your comments. I have been on the receiving end of this criticism for daring to think I had something worth saying. Both my daily podcast and weekly blog have been attacked by at least a few people as being prideful. I do find it ironic that many of these critics read blogs or listen to programs done by famous Christians.
I hope that others will find their voice and be encouraged to keep working at their visions. Encouraging Christians to use their gifts, no matter what they may be, for the glory of Christ Jesus is essential to building the Kingdom. If writers do not write or do not share what they have written, the Kingdom suffers.
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