Blogging and the local congregation – part 3
Outside of this blog my pastor and I have started a bible study on the subject of blogging the local congregation. He’s about to go to General Assembly so we’re putting it on the back burner until he gets back.
In the meantime, I’d like to ask you for help with this project. What scripture do you think applies to the subject of blogging non-anonymously about your local congregation?
My pastor has suggested 1 Corinthians as a starting point – particularly the parts that call for us to build up the body of Christ rather than tearing it down. Others have suggested Matthew 18:15-17, which seems like a good fit for conflict and the use of the blog. I have also looked into the confessions and found the Confession of 1967, 9.38 to 9.40.
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Do you have any ideas?
While this study is going on I am suspending my blogging about my local congregation, with the exception that I may mention briefly what I am involved with as I complete activities or take on new roles or assignments. As a result I will not be blogging about the all-church retreat, the congregational meeting, details about my installation, and likely will not be blogging about the youth trip to Montreat (depending on when this study is finished).
Deacon-elect
I am a deacon-elect.
The congregation also elected the first elder under the age of 18 in our 310 year history.
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Installation is scheduled for June 29.
Busy Weekend
This is going to be a busy weekend.
On Saturday, I have to be at ETS in Princeton by 6:30am in order to work with my fellow ham radio operators to support the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure bike race. We’ll be providing radio support to handle bike rider problems, such as needing the sag wagon to get taken back to the start/finish line, needing repairs, or getting into accidents and needing medical attention. There are 3 races occurring simultaneously and it should be complicated. Right now I’m scheduled to be a “net control”, roughly equivalent to a central dispatcher.
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Sunday I’ll be at church for worship, followed by the Annual Congregational Meeting. That meeting will take a while because this is the meeting where organizations make their annual reports. There is also the election of elders and deacons. In the afternoon I’ll need to get the lawn cut and get bills paid and such.
Blogging and MY local congregation
It’s been a few days since I posted the question about blogging and the local congregation. I’m still mulling over the question. I can’t seem to let it go – blogging is reflective of several major parts of my personality (the top 3 on my Goals for How to Live My Life), and I’m entering a new phase of my relationship with the congregation (though it will probably look a lot like the current phase). This question/problem is gnawing at me.
This post is kinda stream of consciousness. Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle, pull back on the bar until you hear the click, and hang on.
So far, the comments on blogging about one’s congregation (and the comments, concerns and complaints received offline) fall into a few categories:
- Be who you are. You’re good enough, and people will always pick on what they don’t like. (With a tiny bit of “what’s wrong with them?!?”)
- You should never write anything negative about your congregation. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything.
- It might make things more difficult for you (and usually for the speaker) if someone in the congregation gets upset about what you write.
- You need to be sure you’re willing to take the consequences that come with writing about the congregation.
- You should always discuss any criticisms with the subject person first.
Surprisingly, nobody is talking about the upsides that I see of a person blogging about their congregation, positive or negative.
-
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- For positive posts, a potential member/attendee sees good things about the congregation. Pictures make an even greater impact.
- For positive posts, having individual feedback on the congregation can be more effective than the “insider” church website. Today’s seekers take individual reviews of a product, place, or service more seriously than the “advertising” of the “seller”.
- For positive or negative posts, the leadership gets a chance to “read the mind” of the blogger. (Of course, the good blogger knows this …)
- For negative posts, the blogger may provide early warning of a problem within the congregation.
There are a few other conclusions to draw from this stream of posts and comments. It seems to me that my fellow bloggers see me differently than the folks from my congregation. Some of that has to do with the fact that each side sees me in a different forum – the folks at the church see me in person and the folks online see me only through my writing (more rarely in person). It feels like the folks from my congregation see me as a nice guy, a little strange, and I have this annoying habit of blogging. The folks online seem to see me as a thoughtful writer, measured in criticism, sometimes prophetic, and sometimes a bit of a loose cannon. It really does feel like the folks online understand me better than most in my congregation – the online community has a level of activity and intimacy that is missing in the church model of one to a few times a week interacting in groups.
I’ll be honest – all of this feels a bit like a personal attack to me. What I’m hearing is “we really like your gifts, but we don’t like the way you’re using this one.” What I’m feeling is “we want you to be yourself, but not this part of you.”
All of this has me tending toward a decision never to blog about my congregation – good or bad. There are side-effects of that decision. This will likely decrease my feeling of being connected to the congregation. This will likely increase my feeling of being an outsider in the congregation. It probably won’t hurt my faith, though it will be something of putting at least part of my light under a basket. This will also reduce my ability to ask others for help with issues that come up through my work in the congregation.
Blogging only the good is not an option for me. There is no way that my psyche would allow it. I’m a person with a scientific mind – unchallenged ideas are of little value.
I haven’t made a decision yet, and I value your feedback on it. I particularly value the feedback of people from my congregation – either here on the blog, in e-mail, or in person.
Blogging and the local congregation
As you know (if you’ve read the post below or one from last weekend), I recently agreed to stand for election to the deacons at my church.
The Nominating Committee asked our pastor to be the person to contact me. They also reportedly asked him to express to me a concern over the existence and content of my blog. Apparently they were concerned that I would blog about sensitive information or children or other events related to my service as a deacon – with the implication (as seen by me) that such blogging would be inappropriate.
I believe that I have shown an adequate track record of handling sensitive information (within the youth group or Project Open Door, for a few examples) while blogging about the church. I would also like to note that the majority of what I write about my congregation is positive. Last, I avoid as much as possible making individuals identifiable when posting my less positive thoughts or feelings.
My pastor has encouraged me to ask my readers the following question:
What is the effect on both a blogger and the relationship with his/her congregation when said blogger blogs about the local congregation?
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I know that many of my readers have chosen to blog anonymously (generally under a pseudonym like "Tall Steeple Preacher" or "Calvin’s Understudy" or such) and that they do write about events in their churches with some level of detail but with all identification of the people involved (and church) removed. Others have chosen to avoid writing about their local congregation altogether, whether or not they use their real name. Still others are doing something similar to what I am doing – blogging about local events and stories under their real name with their church clearly defined or easy to determine – but with different levels of detail and identification of people or churches.
What do you think? My pastor and I are very interested in hearing your opinion. What does blogging do to the relationship between the blogger and congregation?
Because this conversation discusses anonymity, and because in order to prevent massive amounts of spam I need to require at least a minimal amount of information regarding your name or e-mail for comments, I have an offer for this post only. If you have comments that you would like to post anonymously, please feel free to e-mail it to me along with some moniker that you want me to use, and I will post it myself.
Oh, boy – part 2
I have agreed to stand for election to the Board of Deacons, Class of 2011, at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. The election will be held June 15.
The decision involved a short but intense process of discernment (I was only asked last Saturday) with several phone calls to the pastor and a member of the Nominating Committee.
I would like to thank everybody here who has commented on this question, where I might be called, and me personally over the past few months. Part of the discernment process involved reading the comments here. There were two common threads among the responses (some non-public conversations, too) from folks whose opinion I value highly that ended up being the deciding factor.
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I have received a note from the Central Jersey Deacon Candidate Host Committee about an event …. just kidding! (If you don’t get the joke, click here.)
Thanks. I know a ton of you were praying for me.
Answers from Bruce
Bruce Reyes-Chow, a candidate for Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA), has asked people to ask him questions. So I did.
He responded (very quickly). Here are the answers.
BRUCE’S DISCLAIMER: These responses are done in a free-flow manner as if we were sitting at a cafe sharing a cup of coffee and are not edited or vetted in the same manner as with official publications.
1. When did you know that you were called to the ministry? Was it a particular event? Something else?
My mother said I should think about it. Up until this point, I had only heard the “you should go to seminary” thing from others.
2. Describe (as best you can publicly) a watershed pastoral experience that you’ve had.
Playing chess with David, this homeless man that stopped by the church every week. I found out how bad of a chess player that I was AND how to truly sit in relationship with “the other” in our midst.
3. Boxers or briefs? (I was dying to ask this when you were in Lawrenceville)
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So many jokes in my head, I just can’t pick. Boxer Briefs of course. Yeah, this one is going to come back to bite me 😉
4. What do you do or would you recommending doing with ministry to inactive members (members who have stopped attending regularly)?
I would let them know that we care more about their spiritual growth than where they go to church. I often tell visitors this – and I mean it – that while I would love for them to land at out church, I know that we are not for everyone, so my role as a pastoral presence is to help them find the place where they will grow in faith. I think if folks hear that, then we are not just about getting them to church to grow, get money, etc. but we take seriously their spiritual journey.
5. What is your sense of how the PC(USA) should react to the Israel/Palestine situation?
We need to stop trying to simplify the situation into a “good guy” vs. “bad guy” polemic. There are some serious human rights issues going on and we should be part of a just peace for all. As far as divestment goes, I think we should divest from ANY corporation that is profiting from any type of unjust acts by ANYONE.
Thanks, Bruce.
As I said before, if any of the other 3 candidate would like me to ask them a personally targeted list of questions, just let me know.
Questions for Bruce
Bruce Reyes-Chow, a candidate for Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA), has asked people to ask him questions.
I’m game. (By the way – if any of the other 3 candidates would like me to produce a list of personally targeted questions just ask. You have my e-mail.)
1. When did you know that you were called to the ministry? Was it a particular event? Something else?
2. Describe (as best you can publicly) a watershed pastoral experience that you’ve had.
3. Boxers or briefs? (I was dying to ask this when you were in Lawrenceville)
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4. What do you do or would you recommending doing with ministry to inactive members (members who have stopped attending regularly)?
5. What is your sense of how the PC(USA) should react to the Israel/Palestine situation?
If I have to choose between text or audio, I’d prefer text. If you give me both, I’ll host the audio file and let people choose.
Thanks!
Oh, boy
Today, I was at church participating in the Spring Cleanup Day, where we cleaned up the grounds. Lots of raking, digging, moving bushes, mulching were done.
When it was time for me to go I found the woman in charge and the pastor together. I told them that I was done and heading out. I was thanked for my service, and then ….
Pastor: Thanks for coming. Let’s talk this week about deacons.
Me: OK ….
Pastor: Didn’t you get the letter?
Me: No. What letter?
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Mark: We’ll see.
The letter was in the mail when I got home.
I’m inclined to say no simply based on the fact that I’m clearly not even on the C list – I’m on the D list or E list. They started asking people in mid-April – it’s now 2 weeks before the Congregational Meeting. I figure I’m about #35 on a list to fill 8 slots. It’s hard to feel called by the congregation (represented by the Nominating Committee) when you’re that far down the list and asked at the last minute.
There are other factors to consider, too.
I’d like to hear your opinions. You’re read of my recent trials and tribulations regarding service at the church and personalities there (including one deacon who will be going off the board at this time).
Start of Summer Meme
I’ve been tagged by Toby Brown of Classical Presbyterian for a meme.
Start of Summer Meme
Whether it’s the smell of the grill, the taste of fresh lemonade, the glow of fireflies or the pull of your fishing line, many of us have distinctive senses about what makes for the sign of summer.
Let’s dive in!
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Two things: First, the need for air conditioning. Second, the First Sunburn of Summer. The latter generally happens in late April on a gray cloudy day when I’m out at a festival of some sort and forget that I need a hat on my sparsely-populated head.
2.) Name your five of your favorite distinctively Summer habits or customs.
- The Summer Afternoon Nap
- Cooking on the Grill
- Mowing the Lawn
- Volunteering for check-in on Sundays at church camp
- My Birthday
3.) What is your favorite smell of Summer?
The odor of the first few big, fat raindrops that fall before the full thunderstorm hits. This is the smell that signals a reduction in humidity and temperature in the near future.
4.) What is your favorite taste of Summer?
Grilled cheeseburgers.
5.) Favorite Summer memory?
Sitting around the campfire in the evening at Work Camp at Camp Johnsonburg, circa 1984. Work Camp was special. The 50-70 campers were spread across all age groups from entering 3rd grade to graduating from high school. The cost was half of a regular unit because the work camp spent mornings doing work on the camp. I remember painting buildings and one year even re-shingling a roof. The younger kids did things like cleaning campfire cooking equipment and lanterns.
Every evening the entire work camp would have a campfire together. We had our own leaders (the same every year) and our own set of regular songs. The evening campfire was a cross between the traditional campfire, a bible study, and a worship service. The work campers were a close-knit group – many came from two churches that founded the work camp and they and others repeated work camp every year – but they readily accepted new people. It felt like a giant family even more than regular camp.
I’ll pick one specific memory. In 1985 I was a CIT (Counselor in Training) and for work camp I got to co-counsel with the Associate Pastor of my church (my youth pastor). He was also the chaplain for the week. The last night of work camp was always a communion service. At the time I was already a deacon, and the Book of Order limited service of communion to elders or “deacons, if sufficient elders are not available”. The communion service that he and I served at was my first chance to serve communion – something that was only ever repeated the following summer at Triennium.
Alas – Work Camp is no more in that form. The closest thing today is that some churches will send a group (youth or adult) up to live in a cabin for a week and do a project. Those folks don’t interact with the camp program much.
6.) Extreme heat or extreme cold? Which would you choose and why?
Extreme cold.
For one thing it’s easier for humans to “fix” extreme cold. Heating is generally easier than air conditioning. I dislike temperature extremes at either end. Secondly, I’m a real homebody and love the snuggly “stay inside” call of a cold snap.
7.) What books do you plan to read for the season?
Because of the economy (national and personal), I’m re-reading things from my shelf. Most of that is science-fiction. Right now I’m reading The Tower and the Hive (Rowan)
One book that I have ordered is: Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, No. 14)
8.) How does the Summer affect your faith? Is it a hindrance or an ally?
An ally.
I’ll preface my remarks with a reminder that I’m a strong introvert.
During the rest of the year, church alternates between hard work, painful interaction with some (including some nasty fights on the web … ahem), and high moments. I love working with the youth group, see the value of my work on committees (though they are a form of stress for me sometimes), and experience the difficulty of an introvert functioning in a large community. We are called to be in community, but our current structures aren’t really designed to make introverts comfortable.
In the summer, all of the “large group” aspects of faith get less intense. Our church has no air conditioning, and as a result attendance on Sunday drops WAY off. Committee work slows down or stops completely. The youth group doesn’t meet regularly which is both a bad thing (I miss them) and a good thing (I can get to sleep earlier on Sunday evening).
There are a few summer-only things too:
Church Camp – Carolyn and I will go up to help with check-in a few Sundays this summer. We generally spend about 3-4 hours in the afternoon doing medical checks or doing the complicated and crazy job of managing the medical paperwork. For that work, we get the privilege of spending the whole day there. We generally arrive in time for Staff Worship in the morning and then have a leisurely lunch with our camp friends. Sometimes we stay for dinner (if it’s not too hot) with 100-200 excited kids and staff.
Montreat – for the first time, I’m going with my church’s youth group to the Montreat summer youth conference (week VI, in case you’re going). I’m doing this with some trepidation – the last time I did something like this was Youth Triennium in 1986 when I WAS a youth, but it should be fun. We have something like 10 youth and 4 adults going for the program plus another adult in a support role.
Last, let’s not forget that my return to the church was sparked by a conversation at camp at lunch on a Sunday that I did check-in. Summer is generally pretty good to my faith.
Let’s see. I tag:
Cheesehead in Paradise
Alan of Some Amusing Blog Pun
Gannet Girl of Search the Sea
Adam Walker-Cleaveland of Pomomusings
Little Miss Sew and Sow
Web Stuff
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