Actually, I’m not a big fan of fishing. But we are going to be traveling for the next couple of weeks, so blogging may be sporadic at best.
Category Archives: blogging
The Master’s Table, my new blog
When I first signed up for a WordPress blog, I tried to create a cool title. I wanted it to represent some facet of the Christian faith, something memorable that people would want to come back to and easily recall. I tried getting gospeltruth.wordpress.com and witness.wordpress.com, and many others that were already taken. Religion.wordpress.com is an actual website that has never been used. It was set up a year or two ago, and the author never blogged the first post. Oh, that burns me.
So, having spent my creative budget for that day, I typed in clarkbunch.wordpress and gave my blog my name. clarkbunch’s weblog was the default title given to it, and I kept it. As time went by, I changed the theme, selected The Last Supper as my banner, and wrote (after some experimentation) the slogan “God honoring, Christ centered.” I was just sitting here on night looking at that banner as I read an entry thinking “What would it be like to sit at that table with Jesus?” Continue reading
Very busy
This is a very busy week!!! I’ve driven a bus for our baseball team twice this week, did Wednesday night with church youth, and I’m taking a group of kids to Bible drill Friday night. Yeah, they still have Bible drill where I live. It’s like I died and went to the 50’s. A group of our local kids qualified for like a regional thing. We’re driving 2 hours for this. ANYWAY, very busy, little time for blogging, let’s hit it.
Today was May 1st. It was RSS Awardness Day, and I didn’t make up a new post for it last night. Click here to read up on RSS, then tell a friend. Most bloggers already know about it, but the vast majority of internet users do not.
May 1st is also the National Day of Prayer each year. I knew there would be events all over the country, but haven’t heard of any that made news so far. Often, the only news I get is what my students see in first period each day; and what I read in blogs, yeah, there’s that.
God honoring, Christ centered
What’s the first thing you notice when you look at da Vinci’s Last Supper? It should be Jesus. He is in the middle of the picture, with six apostles sitting on either side. The composition of the painting is designed to draw your attention to Christ, who – here comes a revelation – is at the center.
I’ve just messed with my banner design. I looked for wallpaper, banners, something other than the large blue rectangle I used to have. I’ve played around with the sub-heading several times, and have recently chosen “God honoring, Christ centered.” It’s a good match with the portrait. I changed the color of the text as well, but not sure it’s easy enough to read. Give me some feedback.
May 1st is RSS Awareness Day
Bloggers know about RSS, but the vast majority of Internet users do not. May 1st will be RSS Awareness Day, created to get the word out about RSS. RSSDay.org explains what RSS is, demonstrates how it works, and offers some examples of readers/aggregators. Bloglines is the reader I personally use, recommended by Internet Monk. Read up on RSS if you need to, and on May 1st, tell a friend.
New Friends
I’ve listed the blogs I read in a recent post. Some I know personally, some I’ve got to know by what they write online. There is a certain personality type that blogs I guess, and bloggers probably have certain things they all share in common. But what about this:
Jack and Shirley have a blog called Notes from a Retired Preacher. Jack is a retired preacher, 78 years of age. His latest post (as of this moment) is titled “How to Share Christ.” I think that’s awesome.
Blogs I read
I didn’t start blogging because there were no good blogs out there. Quite the opposite; reading some very good blogs is what inspired me to write also. Here are some of the blogs I have found. Some of these are listed in my blogroll, some are not. Perhaps more should be. If you find your blog listed below and don’t wish to be, let me know.
UPDATE: All the blogs listed below are now in my blogroll, regardless of what each one says.
Two Channel Station: I met Ricky online by way of his blog. He recently added Adam as his blogging partner. I’ve never seen or spoken to either of these guys, but they write thought provoking material on religion, philosophy and politics. I highly recommend them – after you read my blog each day, of course:-)
Third Watch: This is a group blog also. Sometimes they have cute pictures of their kids. If you’re an old grouch about that sort of thing, stay away. But they also have very insightful commentary on the Christianity in America.
Redhead Rev: not on my blogroll yet, Red Head Rev is a female minister in the Assemblies of Christ. Her husband Chris appears with her on a video she has up right now from Palm Sunday. You’re welcome to feel however you wish about women in ministry. But before you comment, just remember this post is “Blogs I Read” not “Blogs for you to agree or disagree with.”
Pilgrim’s Journey: is on my blogroll. Brian and I met in college. He went on to get his M.Div. at Midwestern in Kansas City. Don’t ask his opinion unless you really want him to answer honestly. Atheists – stay away from this guy. He’s not nice like me.
Life in Mordor: also on my blogroll. Mike Frizzell has been blogging quite a while. His archives are extensive, and he’s pretty well read. You and I could both learn a lot from him.
Noel Heikkinen: on my blogroll. I once watched this guy throw a coconut threw a full length mirror. He then explained we’re broken by sin, and cannot be put back together. His blog is a lot of things, religion being one of them. Most of it’s hilarious. I’ll be hilarious someday; I’m working through the serious stuff first.
A Small Faith: not on my blogroll, but I should probably add it. A Small Faith is another group blog, with some good theology. By listing their blog here, it will prevent me from just copying and pasting their stuff in my own blog to make me look smarter than I really am.
Internet Monk: many of you are already familiar with Michael Spencer. I’ve seen internet monk listed on some of your blogrolls. Reading his stuff is what prompted me to go to wordpress and start my own. If you want to mess with him, send me an email and I’ll tell you how. If you want to know what post-evangelical is, ask me instead. You don’t want to get him started.
Garment of Praise: Sometimes poetry, sometimes photos, sometimes really personal insight, Garment of Praise is almost like a daily devotional in convenient blog format. I would have done my taxes by now if the IRS was in “convenient blog format.”
There you go. Some of these are listed on my blogroll, I subscribe to them all. When I’m not writing, I’m reading one of these. Is there a blog you read (or write) that I should know about? Let me know, and it might make my next list.
Read my blog: or not
I just read a post on Internetmonk entitled “10 Reasons I Don’t Read Your Blog.” I just couldn’t say everthing I wanted to in the comment box. Then I remembered: I have blog. Perfect.
First, you can read the original article at internetmonk.com. Secondly, I realize what he is trying to do. There’s a lot of junk out there on the internet, Christian blogosphere included. Reading that article can help anyone write, manage, and post better. He’s trying to make the world of Christian blogging a better place. I’m an amateur blogger myself, and some of the information is useful. I have no problem admitting that. Now, with that in mind:
Part of the reason I started blogging was for me. Last summer, I had the chance to grow a garden for the first time in years. A 13 year-old boy from the neighborhood watched me pulled weeds from the gound one at a time while sitting on my knees. He told me how I could do it faster. I thanked him, but told him no thanks. He offered to do it for me, for a price. BIG no thanks. I told him I enjoyed what I was doing very much. He said it was boring. I said “I know. That’s what I like about it.” At 13, you’re looking for constant adventure, something to keep your mind and body stimulated. By 30, maybe too much adventure is not a good thing. I teach high school. Hand pulling weeds, rather slowly at that, got me outside, in the fresh mountain air and alone with my thoughts. It did me more good than an hour on a phsychiatrists couch. There was no pressure, no deadlines, no forms to submit, no one to answer to. And except for this one kid (which I ignored) no one to tell me I was doing it wrong. Therapy.
My garden turned out more food than 10 families could eat. But in the end, it was the time I spent working in it that were worth more to me than the produce. Lots of people got to enjoy the free vegetables, and I made more than a couple of caseroles to share. The gardening, however, was good for me.
Hopefully, there will be readers who enjoy my blog. The Internet Monk is a wise and decerning reader. Many people who use the internet are not. (I don’t mean you, other readers.) I think my posts help make the internet a better place because they’re at least better than garbage. I think I can point a soul or two in the right direction. I think I can open up a discussion from time to time that would be good for all of us. But even if none of these happen, the work has been good for me. You get out of something what you put into it. I will always be looking for ways to improve. I welcome advice. I hope this really turns into something. That would be kind of like the “produce” from my garden. The bottom line though: I enjoy being the gardener.
First blog
They say you never forget your fist time. Stop that! If you’re going to be that way, you need to sign off the internet, go to your room, and think about what you did.
This is my first post on this WordPress weblog. I have a site on myspace for chatting with friends, sharing pictures, and what have you, but I pretty much leave it wide open to whoever wants to pop in and say whatever. I have deleted comments and pictures that crossed the line, but I want this blog to be different. I’m looking to seriously devote some time and energy to sharing my ideas on apologetics, theology, the Bible and the Gospel message. I preach in the pulpit and teach students and adults on a regular basis, and have been told that I have a unique way of making people think about the scriptures in ways they haven’t before. There is a lot of junk out there, particularly on the internet, and if I can add some truth, share a word of hope, spread the gospel online to places I will never visit in person, then this becomes another opportunity to be a witness. I want to be an instrument of God’s will, a humble vessel than can be used in His service.
My next post will be a “brief” statement of my faith, designed to give focus and direction to everything that will follow on this website. I have already written a rough draft on paper, and will endeavor to get that up shortly. I look forward to sharing this site first with my friends, and hope that you pass it along to each of yours. I love it when people agree with me, but also look forward to a lively debate at times as well. I KNOW there will be some who disagree with some of the things I plan to say; and if not, there’s not enough people reading my blog yet. I ask for God’s blessing, His leadership, and direction.
Here’s to the future. Long live the blog.
The Master's Table 