The Master’s Table has been on Facebook for a while, but a “Like Box” now appears at the top of the right hand side bar. If you’re on Facebook, click the Like button to get updates on new posts.
Each blog post also has share buttons for Facebook and Twitter, and there are other options such as Print and Email in a pull down menu.
People that don’t blog probably have a pretty negative image of what a blogger is. Computer geeks, emo girls, tree huggers and every single personality on G4 all come to mind. Many blogs are driven to generating profit, whether for the entertainment industry or marketing products and services. But then there is the other type of blogger; enter the world of the Christian Blogosphere.
Michael Spencer, the original Internet Monk, introduced me to blogging. He was neither 24 years old nor living in his parents’ basement at the time. The internet is a tool, just like books, radio and television. There are some Christians that will never let a t.v. in their house but there are also some good Christian programs on it. There are Christian radio stations and Christian book stores. The internet is neither inherently good nor evil but could be used for either. And some of us are using this tool to reach people and places with the Gospel that wouldn’t let missionaries or a case of Bibles cross the border.
I recently added Meeting in the Clouds to my blogroll. My mother is 71, and knows how to push the space bar to pause Netflix. That’s the beginning and end of her computer literacy. Cloud Watcher is 74. Notes from a Retired Preacher is authored by former pastor Jack Weaver. His is a spry 82. He uses the Internet to reach the world that he is no longer as capable of physically getting around in. We may not agree on everything (if we did one of us would need to stop blogging) but he is not short on passion for sharing the Gospel.
Whatever a “blogger” looks like, the Christian blogger is sometimes a whole other animal. In a sense, blogging is all about saying “Look at me!” The Christian blogger is saying “Look at Jesus.”
From time to time the old blogroll just has to be updated. The blogs listed at right are ones that I read and would recommend to others. Sometimes a good blog I enjoy reading fades away. If you haven’t posted in the past 6 or 12 months, then you’re really not blogging. I had one blog friend that just quit; he claimed there were hundreds of goods blogs on the internet and writing another would be irrelevant. I sometimes reluctantly edit my listings.
On a brighter note, I sometimes make and then add new blog friends. Meeting in the Clouds has been on my blog roll for a while, but hasn’t been introduced yet. The author identifies herself only as Cloudwatcher. Originally from England, she now lives in Australia with her husband of 50+ years. The visual style of her blog is very different than mine, but I have found her to be very insightful. Well versed in scripture and eternally the optimist, her blog is certainly worth a look.
I blog religion and theology on this site, The Master’s Table. My Other Blog is filled with YouTube clips, funny pictures and random entries on life, sports, television shows I’m watching and the weather. (Everybody blogs about the weather…)
I occasionally join Mike F. and Joe Derbes in a group project titled Life in Mordor. My latest contribution is The Gospel According to Allegory. Check out some Mike and Joe stuff while you’re there; comments and link love would be greatly appreciated.
I know it’s been a while; almost a month. The school year is over, graduation is past, and we’re back from our 2 week road trip. I’m looking forward to get back into my routines: reading scripture in the morning, teaching during the day (summer school hours are shorter) and blogging in the afternoon. I promise, once again, that I have not stopped blogging… just slowed down for a little while.
For the past several weeks I have been reading the Bible more. A lot more. I started Genesis at the beginning of January and am now in II Samuel. I do not read through the Bible each year – that could be a long discussion right there – but decided to this year. I’ve read the whole Bible in King James and NRSV, but up to this point have not done a straight through read of the ESV. That has been my preferred translation of choice for reading, preaching and teaching since being introduced to it in 2003, but I’m a little ashamed to say that I have not yet read the entire thing. Well, by God’s grace I’m working on it. At my present rate I should finish in 10 months, not 12, but anything could happen. I prefer reading ahead to catching up.
So the good news is I’m reading the Bible, and having a great time doing it. The bad news, as far as this blog is concerned, is that I’m writing less. It’s okay though. At least I think it’s okay. Internetmonk.com has a team of authors posting daily and there’s a list of good blogs in my blogroll, some of which haven’t quit yet. I hate it when a good blog stops. The Master’s Table has not stopped; it has, at least for the time being, slowed down.
Easter is coming up in a few weeks. Daylight Savings Time started this morning. It’s a good time to be in church. I’m starting a three part sermon on kings of Israel today, and will be posting on Saul (hopefully) this afternoon. If you’re a follower, hang in there. Graduation is now just a few weeks away, and during the summer I should have more time to read and write. God has blessed and is blessing; just thought I would pass that along.
Here are a few articles on Christmas from years past that might be worth another look:
Rethinking the Angelic Choir examines the words of scripture carefully and challenges our notion of the angels that announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The first thing angels always say when they appear in full glory to human beings is “Do not be afraid.” If they were beautiful women in choir robes, why would people tremble in fear?
Santa Claus Has Not Sold Out suggests that Santa has not become commercialized, but rather our American image of Santa is the product of commercialism. He wears a red and white suit because of those early 20th century Coca-Cola ads, and comes down the chimney because of department store Santas standing on the roof.
Christmas Card Theology is from last year, and begs the question what do we learn from the pictures on the Christmas cards we send? There are several things besides the fact that angels are beautiful women with long blonde hair.
All of the posts for Christmas and Advent are listed under the tag in the categories list, but these are a few of my favorites.
Chaplain Mike is doing a series on the liturgical church year at Internet Monk. I’m not going to link each post, but this is the introduction. The first follow-up has already been posted. We are about to enter the season of Advent, and this would be a great time to start. I grew up in the Baptist tradition which tends to do little with liturgy, but even the SBC churches I’ve been in light the candles of the Advent wreath each week. If the concept of the Christian calendar is new to you, I highly recommend following Chaplain Mike’s series.
I’m usually not among the first people to embrace a new trend. My wife told me about Facebook two years before I signed up. I wish I had bailed on MySpace sooner. I also like for my blog to feel familiar; I’m annoyed when I visit a site of any kind regularly and it looks different every single time. Find a theme/design that works for you and leave it alone.
That being said, I realize others embrace new trends and technologies more quickly than I do. I added a Tweet feature a few weeks ago at the bottom of each blog post, and a few of my recent posts have been re-tweeted. A few. So, for the convience of my readers and fans (and to possibly attract new ones) several sharing features have been added. At the bottom of each post, buttons appear for twitter and Facebook. There are additional features under the “share” tab for e-mail, print, reddit, digg and StumbleUpon. The number of mobile web devices and those socially networked is ever increasing. The way to reach a mobile broadband world with the Gospel is to use the tools and media they are using.
Who is Jesus? Sounds simple. And you could answer simply. But no matter how you respond to the question, we all know that in reality it just isn’t that simple. Everyone has a default image that comes to mind when we hear the name Jesus. The question becomes “Which Jesus are we talking about?” That my friend is the right question.
UPDATE: I’ve removed the link to the Who’s Jesus website because that blog has been deleted by it’s author.
Who is Jesus is also the title of a blog I’ve just been reading. The author identifies himself/herself only as C. You don’t learn a lot about C by reading the blog, but I already know a lot by the clues that are given. Continue reading
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