Tag Archives: blogging

What Is A Blogger?

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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.”

Blogroll: Meeting in the Clouds

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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.

Coming Soon…

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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.

Reading More, Posting Less

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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.

Now on Facebook!

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I’m going to give this a try.  If you like The Master’s Table, follow this link to became a fan on Facebook.  I’ve put this off for a long time out of a deep rooted fear that no one likes this site.  I’m only half joking.

I’d Like to Give a Shoutout

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It’s always a pleasure to make new friends.  Amanda, author of Theologigal, left a comment yesterday and I was introduced to her site for the first time.  The religious blogosphere is pretty much a man’s world, but she has just started blogging theology and is off to a fine start.

In Mere Churchianity (haven’t finished reading it yet) Michael Spencer makes a distinction between being a follower of Jesus and following a particular church.  There is certainly a church culture, and it can be a distraction at times (or all the time) from what is really important.  Daniel is the author of Non Religious Christian, a blog devoted to taking the “religion” out of following the Christ.  I checked out his blog and found my button there.  Thanks for the link love.

I think these blogs are worth a look into, and in the next couple of days I will take the time to add them to the blog roll.  BTW, The Joy of Grace (thank you Sonny) has a Master’s Table button as well.  Just wanted to acknowledge I noticed.

On the Lighter Side (4)

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It’s been a while since we had a post on the lighter side; these are meant to give us a break from things that are too heavy.  Enjoy the following comic from Non Sequitur.  I think this is the true life story of Michael Spencer.

(click the pic to see full size in high quality)

To Ourselves and our Posterity

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I’m going out on a limb here.  Maybe it’s getting late and this will just be the Diet Pepsi talking, but I would like to share a thought.

I recently met a blogger named Joe Derbes, author of Everyone’s Entitled to Joe’s Opinion.  I don’t know how much of an influence Michael Spencer was to him, but his blogroll credits Michael with being his new favorite Christian author.  I have certainly said before that I blog because of Michael Spencer.  I know that one student of Mr. Spencer says the same thing.  How many others are there?  The Internet was teeming with tributes to Michael in the days following his passing.  How many people out there blog, or perhaps blog with a different message or purpose, as a direct result of the original Internet Monk?

I can’t write a new post without considering how Michael would evaluate that installment.  I miss the constructive criticism; he made me a better writer.  He helped shaped my current view of systematic theology.  And tonight I can’t help but think of this: that’s kind of like Jesus.  Jesus taught multitudes of people, and 12 in particular were privy to special teachings, prayers and examples.  Jesus taught them, told them to follow in his footsteps, and then left them.  Two of the disciples wrote Gospels (and perhaps Mark was dictated by Peter).  Peter lead the others in starting the Christian church at Jerusalem.  Paul did just about the same thing.  He planted churches across Asia minor and southern Europe, training leaders and then moving on.  His letters to Timothy still guide church leaders today.

That’s the Christian model.  A teacher, a pastor, a blogger – in this case – not only does his job but teaches others to do the job as well.  Even as Paul was ministering he was training others to be ministers.  Even during his earthly ministry Jesus sent the Apostles out to preach and work miracles.  When the human life is spent the work continues.  The church grows.  The gospel goes forth.  We need to think now about the future generation of leaders that will be following our lead.  Heaven and earth will pass away but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

Life in Mordor

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one does not simply blog into mordor 

Life in Mordor, the Christian blog of Mike Frizzell, has been on my blogroll for a long time.  He left WordPress for a while, went on hiatus, and has now come back home.  Changing hosts (a couple of times) can have a negative impact on a blog, and Mike is in the process of working the kinks out. 

Mike was looking for help, and I jumped at the chance.  The offer still stands if anyone is interested in contributing.  It could involve posting once, occasionally, or daily.  Check out this page  for more info.  You could join The Fellowship (my wife asked if that makes me a troll).  The archive page contains all of his posts listed by category, and also archived by month.  That’s one of those features that gets lost in transition.  The biggest need right now is for a little attention.  Life in Mordor is a work in progress, but it’s progressing nicely.

New Blogroll Friends

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His name is Glen, and he’s lovin’ the Lord and livin’ the Life.  That’s actually the slogan of his new blog Men After God.  Mostly what he does is asks pointy questions to get people stirred up and say what they are really thinking. I have a couple of times.   He wants to start some discussions, so drop by and put in your two cents.