Bloggers are a Part of the Problem
By Trevin Wax on Dec 13, 2006 in Blogging Tips | 
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Three weeks ago, I posted ”A Call for Humble Bloggers“ where I claimed that we bloggers overestimate our importance. Case in point: last summer’s SBC election of Frank Page. This week, I came across Nathan Finn’s “possible solutions” to problems ailing the SBC. Problem #9 on Nathan’s list is blogger arrogance. You need to check out the whole post. I’ll give you a few samples here.
“(I sometimes wish I weren’t Southern Baptist…) when I see the arrogance of some bloggers who assume that because they have a high speed internet connection and strong opinions, they are God’s chose instrument to bring renewal to the SBC (what better way to break up a power base than replace it with a new power base)”
Here’s the condensed version of Finn’s advice to bloggers:
A. Bloggers need to regularly pray about their blogs. Pray that God will help them to blog with integrity. Pray that God will bring sinful motives to light. Pray that God will use blogs for his glory.
B. Bloggers need not assume they are smarter or godlier because they are more tech-savvy.
C. Bloggers need to guard against negativity.
D. Bloggers need to admit that Bobby Welch is right… Bloggers need to not let their hobby take the place of things that really matter, which includes evangelism.
E. Bloggers need to remember that sometimes the better part of wisdom is not posting about everything you know.
F. Bloggers need to remember that if this little revolution ever becomes about SBC political power, they will become the very thing they gripe about the most: a power base.
G. Bloggers need to remember that blogging communities are only pseudo-communities; as fun as it is to dialog in the comments, real community can only exist in real, face-to-face relationships.
H. Bloggers need to remember that change will only come to the convention as local churches change. Even the most influential blogs ultimately play a small role in convention life.
I. Bloggers need to be willing to quit.
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some good thoughts
andrew (tall skinny kiwi) | Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I have a blog, so I think I have a right to say what I’m about to say.
In my opinion most blogging, including my own is often an exercise in vanity. Yes, we can justify our blogs–they are a resource, they are a witnessing tool, they provide a creative outlet for expression, they provide online discussion and create virtual communities.
But they also scream, “Hey, hey, look at me. Look what I have to say. Look how self-important I feel, look at how smart I am.” And any blogger who is guilty of watching the stat counter and analyzing traffic to his or her blog is surely guilty of this on some level.
Blogging brings the misguided notion that we have an obligation to publish frequently, sometimes anything. Sometimes drivel. What most of us don’t want to admit is that the large majority of society doesn’t look at blogs (this is hard to imagine because WE do look at them), and the world would not stop if we closed our blogs.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (Eccl 1:2 KJV)
Surely I can’t be the only person who feels this way. I’ve tried to do a number of things. First to avoid the stat counter so much. What’s my current number of hits? I don’t know, and I took the actual numbered counter off my blog although the link is still there for data capture. Second, I no longer post entries that begin with “Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been so busy doing such and such.” Third, I try to post less personal information because I can’t imagine the world at large cares. Fourth, I occasionally contemplate closing the whole thing down. The world could certainly get by without my blog. Could I?
R. Mansfield | Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
I like blogging because it is a way to share information and bounce ideas off others. That said… most blogs are by nature blogger-focused, and that is always dangerous for egos ready to inflate whenever our stat count rises.
I avoid highly-personal posts and family pictures too. I know some of my friends would probably find that more interesting than the other stuff I post, but honestly, I don’t feel comfortable putting a lot of personal information out on the web.
trevinwax | Dec 13, 2006 | Reply
No, I leave it to my wife to post all the personal family stuff because she now has a blog of her own
R. Mansfield | Dec 13, 2006 | Reply