If you’ve spent any amount of time scouring the Christian blogosphere, you’ve likely encountered the near ubiquitous line at the bottom of many a post: “HT: JT.”

That’s because Justin Taylor is so good—perhaps the best—at pointing us all to so many resources on the Internet, in print, and elsewhere.

Justin was kind to answer some questions about how and why he got into blogging, his work at Crossway (and his past work for John Piper), his current projects, and speaking “with a gospel-accent.”

…

Robert Sagers: Justin, please tell the readers of Kingdom People a little about yourself—where you’re from, your family, and how you came to Christ?

Justin Taylor: I’m from Sioux City, Iowa. I grew up in a great family and first prayed the sinner’s prayer when I was 4. And then again when I was 4 1/2. And about a thousand times thereafter!

My wife Lea and I met in elementary school (though she was a year ahead of me) and we went to the same United Methodist Church. I fell in love with her in sixth grade. She reciprocated at the end of college!

I don’t know when exactly I became a true believer. As I mentioned, I was a church-going, sinners-prayer-praying kid, but became somewhat cold to the Lord, though was externally a goodie-two-shoes. At an FCA camp in Colorado, between my freshman and sophomore years, I began to understand the work of Christ and the sufficiency of his righteousness for the first time. Whether that was conversion or renewal, I’m not sure it matters. Everything changed after that.

RES: What were you doing before you began working at Crossway? How did the Lord direct you to move to begin working for a Christian publisher?

JT: Before my work at Crossway I was at Desiring God, working as the theological director and serving as John Piper‘s theological assistant/editor. Our six years at Bethlehem marked me in more ways than I can possibly recall.

I wrestled for years as to whether I should become a Professor (which would mean getting a PhD) or become a Pastor. I have some giftings for both, but neither was a perfect fit. When the opportunity came up to serve as the Managing Editor of the ESV Study Bible, it seemed like the Lord had designed a job fit perfectly for me. Crossway has been a wonderful vocational home for me.

RES: What is your role at Crossway? What is your role at your local church? What is your role with your family? How do you see each of those roles fitting together?

JT: I’m VP of editorial at Crossway. A big part of my work is acquisitions and working with our publishing team. I’m an elder at our church, with some teaching duties and occasional preaching. With my family, I’m a father and a husband—and of course I’m also a son and a brother.

In some ways I suppose the term “shepherding” could apply to each of these roles of work-church-family. In publishing I’m working with our team to help select, steer, shape, and shepherd edifying books through the publishing process. At church I’m trying to work with the other pastor-elders to lead, teach, and love God’s people faithfully. And in my family I’m trying to guide and care for my wife and kids in a way that will show them grace, truth, and love.

RES: How, when, and why did you first get into blogging?

JT: In one sense I guess I’ve always had a blogger’s instinct. After all, “show & tell” was my favorite subject in elementary school!

In the fall of 2004 I did a quick read of Hugh Hewitt‘s book entitled Blog. I think that book helped to nudge a lot of people to start blogging. (Joe Carter is another example.) I was already sharing links to news stories and books with a small group of friends and thought I could just continue doing this to a wider audience. My main principle, I suppose, was that I’d post something if I found it sufficiently interesting and thought others might think the same. I think I’ve matured a bit since then and “found my voice” (as they say). I still want to keep things interesting but also try to make sure it’s edifying in some way.

RES: Many of your readers may want to know how it is that you blog so much. How do you find the time?

JT: I think it’s a combo of things: (1) I really enjoy blogging, and when you enjoy something it’s easier to find time to do it; (2) there are some things I don’t do anymore (e.g., I hardly ever watch sports like I used to—cue the small violin…); (3) a lot of my blogging overlaps with stuff I’m already doing, have already read, etc. (e.g., it’s pretty easy to blog about a Crossway book that I’ve known about for over a year); (4) I’m more of “pointing” blogger than I am a “producing blogger.” For example, Tim Challies only posts once a day, but if I tried to produce as much original stuff as him or as thorough of book reviews I wouldn’t be able to do it.

RES: People may be helped by hearing a bit about the discernment process you go through in deciding whether or not to post something on your blog.

JT: After a while things become largely intuitive and you have to stop and think about the explicit, unarticulated criteria. I don’t really have a checklist or anything. But I try to make sure it’s edifying on some level, and that it’s something sufficiently interesting. I get asked to blog various books and such, and the thing that often holds me back is not that it’s bad, but that I’m not that excited about it. I don’t want to blog something merely because someone has asked me to do so.

Also, I tend to run controversial things past a couple of friends whose value and wisdom I trust. If I do go ahead with the post, I usually tweak something as a result of their feedback. And the fact is, I have quite a few blog posts that are drafted but never end up seeing the light of day.

RES: In what way(s) do you think God uses blogs to advance the purposes of the gospel of Jesus Christ? In what way(s) do you think Satan uses blogs to advance the purposes of the gospel of antichrist?

JT: The goal of the gospel of the kingdom is for God’s people to become increasingly conformed to the image of Christ. The goal of Satan’s counterfeit ministry is for people to be increasingly conformed to anything but Christ.

I think sometimes we put blogs in this unique category of communication. Yes, there are some special contours to the medium, but by and large they are simply one way in which we speak to one another—in exhortation, correction, critique, praise, humor, confession, etc. Insofar as they consciously seek to emulate and advance kingdom values, making much of Christ, they will be Christian. Insofar as they don’t, they aren’t.

RES: If you could change one thing about the blogosphere, what would it be?

JT: I once wrote in a blog post that we need “more arguments and less arguing.” What I meant was that we need better reasoning and less rancor. I think I’ve seen an improvement—to some degree—in the comments section of my own blog.

I think many of us have a long way to go in letting the grace, beauty, and power of the gospel saturate our heart and mind to the extent that we simply speak with a gospel-accent.

RES: You don’t just point to the writings of others; you’re also an accomplished author and editor yourself. How did you get into writing and editing? Is there anything that you’re working on currently?

JT: With regard to editing: I remember in college helping a friend prepare for a talk he was going to give to a large gathering of Christian students. And I realized—I’m not the one being asked to give these talks but somehow I can help a friend like this take a good talk and make it better.

Working with John Piper was an enormous privilege, especially to edit his materials, which are so rich. I sometimes joke, though, that being Piper’s theological assistant is kind of like being the Maytag repair man!

As far as current projects: There are a few things in the works, but the big project, which will extend over a number of years, is a series of books I am co-editing with Steve Nichols called “Theologians on the Christian Life.” These will be scholarly-informed but accessible introductions to how key theologians thought about what it means to live the Christian life: Sean Lucas on Edwards, Steve Nichols on Bonhoeffer, Fred Sanders on Wesley, Derek Thomas on Bunyan, Timothy George on Augustine, Carl Trueman on Luther, Phil Johnson on Spurgeon, etc.

RES: Is there anything else that you’d like to leave with the readers of Kingdom People?

JT: I’d just encourage all of us in the “Christian blogosphere”—bloggers, commenters, etc.—to band together to think through what it might look like to put into practice this vision called for by David Powlison:

We should actively intend good, seeking to “give grace to those who hear.” That takes thought about one’s motives, tone, framing, balance of emphases. . . . Thoughtful work on that topic will break new ground, applying the call to “speak truth in love” into an instant-information context where all errors, blunders, sins, failings, and mere clumsiness are potentially available for public scorn. What does it mean to forebear each other in such a world? What does it mean to cover sins in mercy (not cover-up, but true covering in mercy), to allow others to find care and restoration in their own interpersonal context, rather than attempting to humiliate them before the whole world? What does it mean to express the sort of communal tenderness that Dietrich Bonhoeffer captures so well in Life Together—a communal life that includes reproof as a form of love?

But the leading edge of our argument is to place checks on the tendency we all have to snide, sneering, self-righteous, gossipy, malicious words. Any growth we can make in the direction of Ephesians 4:29 will make life much more joyous for all, and bring much glory to our God. And even criticisms I make become more hearable when I the critic am not posturing, but actually care about others. When I don’t care, my bad attitude and superiority becomes my actual message. Love is patient, love is kind . . . and then love is candid.

I am grateful for my friend, Robert Sagers, who has graciously agreed to take the helm here at Kingdom People for the next few days.

Robbie is a Ph.D. student at Southern Seminary and serves as Special Assistant to Dr. Russell Moore, the senior vice president of SBTS. Robbie has contributed a chapter to the recent book, Evangelicals Engaging Emergent: A Discussion of the Emergent Church Movement (B&H, 2009). I interviewed him about that book here.

Robbie is no stranger to the blogosphere as he often writes for Evangel and has filled in for Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds.

My month away from the blog world didn’t keep me from writing a few posts here and there (even if they went un-posted). In fact, I found it easier to write blog posts last month. It is a peculiar feature of the human mind that, at times, we work better under pressure and a looming deadline while, at other times, the absence of pressure provides mental space to think creatively.

Work and rest are woven into the fabric of human life and flourishing. Our minds are stimulated by seasons of labor and diligence, yet we are also stimulated by seasons of rest and reflection.

Blogging is a discipline, for sure. Thinking of something new and (hopefully) valuable for readers each day does not come naturally. And yet for those of us who love to write, blogging can also be a delight. Knowing that I had a full month off from blogging gave me time and energy to think of some ideas that I might have missed had I been in the midst of grinding out daily posts during the hottest days of summer.

What surprised me most during my blog fast was the way in which Twitter and FaceBook have already become ingrained in my daily habits. I continued to check Twitter updates from friends, but I forced myself to stay on the outside looking in. Early on in the month, I had ideas to post or Tweets I would have liked to Retweet. But I decided to stay (for the most part) silent. It was good for me to do this. Taking a break from social media is a helpful exercise that grounds us again in the real world, not the pseudo-online world that can easily sap our time and energy for developing real relationships.

During my month off, I was able to complete a rough draft of my upcoming book on the gospel. This book has been much harder to write than Holy Subversion, perhaps because of my sense of intimidation at tackling such an important subject. It’s also quite a bit longer (a good 15,000 words more) than my first book. But filling pages is not an issue for me. I’m already 10,000 words over my limit, which means I’m now cutting it up and throwing sections away. As my work on this book progresses, I plan on starting blog discussions about the nature of the gospel, particularly how the three-fold dimension of Story, Announcement, and Community converge to give us the apostolic message.

July was also filled with some good family time. Our son is playing T-ball this year, and I just have to share two highlights. The first was when our boy hit a home run with the bases loaded yet had no clue as to the significance of his accomplishment. When I met him at the dugout to congratulate him, he said, “What’s a home run?”

The second highlight was the game in which Timothy seemed highly distracted in the outfield and we didn’t know why. Turns out he was enamored with a tooth he found on the ball field, a tooth that belonged to a teammate! At the end of the game, we returned the tooth, happy that the Tooth Fairy would not be confused overnight.

My wife and I appreciate those of you who continue to pray for my father-in-law. We have received emails from readers who know of his condition and are praying for his recovery. Thank you for ministering to us in this way. Right now, Corina’s father is nearing the end of his radiation treatment, which is particularly hard for those who suffer with throat cancer. He has lost a lot of weight and his immune system is very weakened. We are praying that as he finishes out this treatment, he will soon feel better and that the next pet scan will bring good news.

I look forward to daily blogging again. Thank you for allowing me this time away and for picking back up with me again and continuing our journey together.

For the past two years, I have taken a break from blogging during the month of July. I have found that this time away has been spiritually and mentally refreshing. Though the short-term nature of the blogosphere makes an extended absence unwise from a blogger’s standpoint, my previous sabbaticals have been good for my soul.

So, during the month of July, no new material will appear on this blog. On August 1, Lord willing, I will resume writing daily here at Kingdom People.

Here are some reasons why this sabbatical is needed:

1. Need for Spiritual Refreshment

I always look forward to directing some of the time I would have spent blogging to more prayer, Bible study, and devotional reading.

2. Other Important Responsibilities Vying for My Time

• I am writing my next book, tentatively entitled Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the Good News in a World of False Hopes, to be published by Moody in April 2011. I look forward to sharing more about the project this fall. Right now, I covet your prayers, as my deadline is quickly approaching.
• The summer months are quiet around the church, but these are good months to consider the future and ask for the Lord’s guidance in planning for the fall.
• It’s summer, and my wife is home with the kids. I want to be a bigger help around the house this month. Also, our son is out of school, and our daughter just turned two. I want to play with them more.

3. Blogging can be addictive.

I do not want to be constantly concerned about blog statistics, comments, and links. The best way to avoid the danger of caring too much about a blog is by taking a break from it for awhile.

4. Blogs are also inherently self-promoting.

My blog may have good and helpful content in the short-term, but if I ever view the blog as a way to promote myself before others, I will become a self-centered, self-absorbed person whose contributions to the Kingdom will be diminished in the long-term. Having blogged consistently for almost four years now, I think it is wise to take a step back and evaluate the spiritual effects (both good and bad) that blogging has on me. The last two Julys have been very beneficial for me in this regard.

I appreciate the readers who subscribe to Kingdom People and those who visit this site regularly. If you happen upon this site during the month of July, you might enjoy looking through the archives. I believe you will find some articles, interviews, or devotional thoughts that may be helpful.

So, until August 1… I pray you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

These are my remarks at yesterday’s meeting of the Band of Bloggers 2010. You can watch the video of the event, including talks from Justin Taylor, Jared Wilson and Jon McIntosh here.

Jesus once said, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Applying his words to blogging, we might say that “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his subscribers, trackbacks, retweets or FaceBook friends.”

At times, I think about the internet and am amazed at the opportunities. It’s like standing up on a mountaintop, watching thousands of people in different places connecting in different ways. It’s like having the world at our fingertips.

• We have more information than we could ever hope to internalize.
• We are able to communicate with more friends than we could ever hope to keep up with.
• We can find new ways to promote the gospel and put out good material that builds up believers.

But while I’m standing on that mountaintop, looking out over the world wide web, I’m also conscious of that subtle, sinister voice that says, “All this can be yours if you bow down and worship me.”

Wouldn’t you like a big presence in that internet world?

Wouldn’t you like more readers?

Wouldn’t you like to be on Google’s first page for search results?

So the internet (in general) and blogging (in particular) are full of promise and peril. Promise? We can serve readers by offering something of substance that will further God’s kingdom. Peril? Even our best ambitions can become swollen with self.

Covetousness is not merely a temptation that some bloggers face down the road. I’m convinced it’s often one of the reasons we bloggers begin in the first place. What exactly are we coveting? An identity. We can create an online persona. So we craft our MySpace and FaceBook pages, work to create an online presence through our blog – often as a way of being in control of how we want to be seen.

The problem with covetousness in blogging is that it robs God of glory (since we are seeking an identity apart from who we are in Christ) and it robs us of our joy in blogging (since it takes a good gift and makes it idolatrous). Instead of the blog being an exercise that turns us and our readers upward, Godward, it becomes a self-centered exercise in attracting attention to ourselves.

How can we be good stewards of a blog? How can we be righteously ambitious, while also remaining content with the audience God has given us? We need to open our hearts and examine our motivations.

Here are some diagnostic questions to consider:

• Do your emotions ever fluctuate depending on how many hits your blog is receiving?
• Do you enjoy the attention you get, regardless of whether it is praise or criticism?
• Do you get depressed if certain posts don’t receive the attention you think they deserve?

I confess that I have, many times, answered “yes” to those three questions. And I don’t want to stay in that place.

There are three steps toward covetousness, and we see them in the account of the Israelites in the wilderness in Numbers 11. (The three steps are alliterated, since I am after all a Southern Baptist preacher.) But each of these steps are confirmed in my own personal experience. So… I see this progression in Scripture and then see it in my own heart.

The first step is the Desire. The children of Israel had a strong craving for a food that God did not intend for them to have at that time.

Notice that the desire for food other than manna was not inherently evil. God had a land flowing with milk and honey ready for them. They weren’t meant to live on manna alone. But the timing of their desire wasn’t right. The problem was not what they desired, but how they desired.

Some of you might wish for a bigger blog. You look at a guy like Tim Challies and think, “What’s Tim got that I haven’t got?” (Well, 15,000 subscribers, 6 years of daily posts, and two book deals, if we want to get specific.) You desire influence. You feel like you have something to say, something to offer in terms of online conversation. Good! Seeking greater means of influence for the kingdom is not a bad desire.

But it may be that God has not chosen to give you that platform yet. The question is – Will you be content with where you are?

So learn from the progression of the Israelites. They start with a desire, and then they Dwell on that desire. They start salivating over the food they want.

You know you’re moving away from contentment when your blog begins to consume an inordinate amount of your time or your thought processes.  Covetousness inflates your desires while it ignores the dangers.

In his book, Rescuing Ambition, Dave Harvey writes:

“Discontentment rears its head when our ambitions are frustrated. We aspire to something that seems perfectly legit, but God seems to bail on his part of the bargain. So we stew in self-pity and wonder why God is so sloppy in the way he does business. Discontentment is a herald announcing that there was more to our ambitions than noble aspirations. And God loves us too much to keep us in the dark.”

The third step in the progression is to Deny the sufficiency of God. Desire. Dwell. Deny. That’s the progression. I desire something good. But I dwell on that desire to the point that I no longer have Christ at the center of my focus and affections. And then, as I dwell on something other than Christ, I slowly but surely begin to deny the sufficiency of God through my actions. I are communicating to God that he is not enough for me.

The most dangerous part of coveting a big blog is that you might actually get what you want. That’s what happens to the Israelites. God says, “You want quail? Fine. I’ll give you quail.” Sometimes God’s way of disciplining his children is by giving them what they ask for.

So how do we avoid covetousness in blogging? Well, I’m learning that I have to direct that three-fold progression elsewhere. We desire God above all things, we dwell on his kingdom, and we deny the characteristics of this world which lead to raw ambition and self-promotion. We seek to find contentment in Jesus Christ alone, and we discover the power to remain content through what he has done for us on the cross.

The more I pursue contentment in blogging, the more I realize that contentment is not something you get by direct pursuit. Contentment comes about by pursuing something else – namely the kingdom of God and his righteousness. When you are blogging in pursuit of that higher goal, the specifics of your stats, your Twitter follower count, your number of comments, all pale in comparison.

The way to keep your blog from becoming simply a means to increase your stature before others is to view your blog as a means to increase your service to the Lord and to his people.

The way to avoid coveting a big blog is to find contentment in a big God.

Two years ago, I attended Band of Bloggers and enjoyed meeting many other writers who seek to be G0d-honoring and gospel-promoting in their blogging efforts. If you are going to this year’s T4G, I hope you will make plans to be at the Band of Bloggers luncheon.

The theme for this year’s meeting is “Internet Idolatry and Gospel Fidelity.” Tim writes:

With the advent of new media and the increasing influence of technology on our lives, it is important to address the relationship of the gospel to technology, especially the areas where we are tempted with idolatrous desire (power, identity, influence, acceptance, control, etc.).  While the internet, with all of its platforms (such as blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) can be a powerful tool to leverage our lives for the gospel impact, we want to examine our hearts bring to light the various ways in which the idol factory of our hearts challenges and subverts the very gospel which we long to embrace.

I will be joining Justin Taylor, Jon McIntosh and Jared Wilson for the panel discussion, and I look forward to the conversation and learning from these other men. Everyone who attends will receive a number of free books.

You can find more information about the event below. If you are planning on being there, please leave a comment under this post. I’d love to connect with you at the event. Hope to see you there!

REGISTER | PROMOTE | BOB DIRECTORY

“How did you get published?”

“What kind of proposal did you do?”

“What is the key to getting a book deal?”

Of course, the questioners are not merely interested in my personal story; they want to follow the same road and get published themselves.

The only advice that I can give about publishing comes solely from the author’s standpoint. I usually recommend that you try to get published in some magazines first. Building a blog audience is a good idea. Try to get your work into other places (whether there is a financial benefit or not). Sometimes, I will tell someone to consider self-publishing, especially if they have many traveling and speaking opportunities.

Of course, all this advice is from the author’s standpoint. The best thing you can do is hear the editor’s point of view.

The world of Christian publishing differs quite a bit from the world of non-Christian publishing, but enough of the same rules apply to non-fiction that one can glean important insights from editors of secular non-fiction. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction–and Get It Published (W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2003) by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato is a good place to get started.

Aspiring authors need to know what editors look for when they see a book proposal. They also need to know a little about the decision-making process. I learned from experience how to craft a book proposal, but it would have been helpful for me to have known some of the suggestions in this book before starting the proposal.

For example, when I first began speaking with an editor of a Christian publishing house, I quickly came to discover that although my editor really liked my proposal, the decision was not his alone. He was going to have to “sell it”, so to speak, to the board of editors that makes these decisions.

It’s a little like American Idol. The first major step forward is simply getting your work to an editor’s desk, just like the thousands of Idol contestants hope they will get the chance to audition for the judges. Once you have an editor who is in your court, you move pass the initial round of going “solo” and now must compete against all the other proposals. (It’s like Hollywood Week.) It’s no longer just you and the editor. Now your proposal has to stand out in a room with lots of other proposals, each of which has support from other editors. If you pass this test, you’re on your way.

If you want think like an editor, I recommend this book. It comes highly recommended by my friend, Justin Taylor, editor at Crossway. And no wonder. This book takes you through the thought processes of a non-fiction editor. The five big questions that every editor wants to answer are:

1. What is this book about?
2. What is the book’s thesis and what’s new about it?
3. Why are you the person to write this book?
4. Why is now the time to publish this book?
5. Who makes up the core audience for the proposed book, and why will they find it appealing?

If you can satisfactorily explain all five of these things, you have at least a shot at getting published.

The book also includes a couple of chapters on how to write well. The authors give tips on writing, using narrative tension, and treating other arguments fairly, etc. There is also a good deal of advice for authors once they have a book proposal that has been accepted. What can an author expect from the publisher? What can an author expect in terms of marketing?

Reading this book after going through the publishing process was especially enlightening. Looking over my initial proposal for Holy Subversion, I can see some of the things I did right. And thinking ahead, I can see some things I will do differently when making future proposals.

Thinking Like Your Editor is what I’m going to start recommending to people when they ask about being published or how to be published. You really don’t need to talk to an author so much as you need to talk to an editor. If you don’t know an editor, this book is the next best thing for writing non-fiction and getting it published.

Because each of these trends follows a logical progression, I suggest you read them in order.

#1. The Slow Death of a Large Number of Blogs

Back in 2005-07, blogs were popping up all over the place. Many people discovered that starting a blog is quick and easy. Few realized how difficult it is to maintain one.

Today, millions of blog start-ups still exist on the web, but much of the blogosphere is beginning to look like a graveyard. “Sorry I haven’t posted lately” is the first line of many a front-page post.

People who began blogging as a way of keeping friends and family up to date about their goings on have now discovered other avenues of communication, which brings me to point #2…

#2. The Turn to Other Social Media for Connection

Back in 2007, a college friend of mine took a road trip to Montana. I told him I wanted to see the pictures. He said, “They’re on FaceBook.”

My response: “I don’t have FaceBook. Can you send me the pics on email?”

His answer: “No. Get a FaceBook.”

I held out another year, but finally relented. I’m not the only one who eventually gave in.

In the past five years, we have seen an explosion in social media through sites like MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These sites enabled former bloggers (who didn’t always feel inspired to write long blog posts) to access other ways of communication.

Why keep up a blog for friends and family? FaceBook is much simpler. Twitter is even faster.

Blogs are content-heavy. The other social media sites keep it simple and light. With the turn to other social media, the number of active blogs is on the decline. The explosion in social media leads to development #3…

#3. The Solidifying Reading Patterns of Blog Readers

When I first discovered Google Reader, I thought I had died and gone to blog heaven. No more clicking through to visit each blog I wanted to read, I now could read blogs without ever leaving one page. I could conveniently scroll through dozens (even hundreds) of blogs and find the content that most interested me.

When “RSS” first came on the scene a few years ago, Google Reader, Bloglines and other blogging services became tools for millions of blog readers. But many of these RSS feed readers are like me. For awhile, we added blogs to our Reader. But now, I rarely add a new blog to my RSS unless I know the blogger or have seen the blog highly recommended by another well-respected blog.

What does this habit signal? Simply this. Patterns for blog reading are solidifying. People find a comfortable number of blogs they consider worthwhile reading and then stop looking for new additions. Some have abandoned Google Reader altogether and rely solely on Twitter for their blog perusal. These facts lead to another development…

#4. The Difficulty of Beginning a Successful Blog without an Already-Existing Platform

I have no doubt that it is more difficult today for an unknown blogger to begin a successful blog than it was five years ago. In the early 2000′s, anyone and everyone could begin a blog. If you wrote well and figured out your audience, you could build a following. Just ask Hugh Hewitt, Tim Challies, or Justin Taylor.

But today, with the social media revolution and the solidifying reading habits of many blog readers, it is much more difficult to carve out an audience. Blog saturation makes it difficult to start a new blog.

Most of the evangelical blogs that have popped up in the past year (and seen success) are from people who already have platforms: Kevin DeYoung, for example, coming off the success of Why We’re Not Emergent or the “Evangel” blog that includes a number of popular bloggers, including Joe Carter.

At the beginning of the blog wave, bloggers were rogue. They stood against the mainstream media, delighting in the democratization of information. Today, many blogs are as respectable as their mainstream counterparts.

In Southern Baptist life, bloggers were once criticized as troublemakers. Today, a surprising number of SBC leaders have started blogging themselves. There’s no one-size-fits-all category “blogger” anymore (not that there ever was).

More and more, blogging is a tool of the “establishment,” not just the “fringe.” This leads to one more development…

#5. The Building of Blog Congregations at the Expense of Blog Conversation

Since it is harder for new blogs to build a following, it becomes more common for people with already-existing platforms to maintain successful blogs. The people who subscribe to these blogs already know what kind of information they are going to receive. They subscribe because they know and like what this person has to say.

Unfortunately, congregation-building diminishes conversations that cross through different streams of religious life. Popular blogs build big congregations – hundreds or thousands of readers who agree in large part with the bloggers they read. Blogs continue to be a place for in-house conversation, but they are less likely to be places for serious conversation with people from other groups.

Blogs create people who agree – whether they be Reformed, Emerging, Republican, or converted Catholics. You find a niche, write for that niche, and then get pats on the back from the readers who enjoy your writing.

Where to Now?

Where will blogging go in the 2010′s? I’m not sure. I suspect that the initial stage of the blog wave is over. What we are seeing now is the maturation of the blogosphere, as blogging continues to take on characteristics of traditional media, while leaving the door cracked open for newcomers to make their voices heard.

Because of your input, I’ve made a few decisions regarding the content here at Kingdom People.

1. Trevin’s Seven.

Many readers indicated their desire for more frequent links to other blogs. In the past, I have saved my links for Friday’s post called “In the Blogosphere.” As of this week, that feature will cease.

Instead, on Fridays, I will provide a list of seven links that deserve the most attention. We’ll be calling the feature “Trevin’s Seven.”

Throughout the week, I will be posting links to other articles that merit attention. I will usually label the ongoing posts “Worth a Look.”

2. Book Reviews

My book reviews continue to be one of the main reasons that readers frequent this blog. In the past, I have tried to write reviews of every book I read. The more I read, the harder it gets for me to give every book that much attention.

So… in the future, I will concentrate on one book review (maybe two) per week. For some of the other books I read, I will offer some notable quotes or paragraphs.

3. More Articles

If I can back off (a little) regarding book reviews, I can devote a little more time to writing articles and doing some cultural commentary. The reason I have focused on book reviews and interviews in the past is because I felt the blog was stronger if I continually pointed to other authors and other’s ideas. The results of the survey indicated that many readers want to hear from me more often. I’m honored by that request, and so I will try. If the blog’s content suffers as a result, we’ll go back to more book reviews!

Thanks again to those of you who read this blog daily. I am honored that you would consider this blog worthy of your time and attention, and I hope to be a good steward of your time in future service to our King.

As I look ahead to beginning my fourth year of blogging at Kingdom People, I would like to offer readers a chance to answer the poll questions below and then to leave comments below about the blog. I am considering some structural changes in the future and would like some feedback.

Thanks for participating!