I love writing. I’ve loved it since my eight-grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Ochs, introduced my class to a unit on poetry. (Incidentally, I’m now teaching at my old junior high, and Mrs. Ochs is still here. It’s really very cool.) I’ve been writing continuously, some years more than others, ever since. I’ve been trying to write two or three books in that time, but I just can’t seem to get it all to click.
I’m not discouraged. I just keep trying different methods. For a while, I was trying to “blog my book.” In that model, I was trying to work out my book in each blog post. That got tedious after a while.
So now, I’m going to try something different which a mature person might call “pastoral blogging,” or slightly more tongue-in-cheek, “e-pisteling.”
Before I unveil what it is, let me just confess something right off the bat:
I’m a scientist at my very core. A mad one, if you will. I like to experiment, to tinker, and to move on all within a week or two. If something doesn’t work or if I find a better way, I move on. That being said, I want you to understand that I offer this idea to you pastor-bloggers in hopes that it might help you. Please don’t feel betrayed if I changed up what I’m doing in a month or two.
With that say, on to “e-pisteling.” (I really hope my editor doesn’t delete this this goofy term. Or this adorable aside.)
The Return of the Epistle
If the “gospel”—the narrative-style book and not the actual “Good News” message—is the literary foundation for the New Testament, then the “epistle” is the structure built upon it. I’ve heard people say that the gospels present the bulk of the “information” that Christians need and that the epistles are just commentary, and while there may be some truth to that, I think that attitude really hampers our ability to see the epistles for what they were: letters from pastors/church planters to their congregations. These letters were used to correct errant teaching, chastise groups or individuals for un-Christlike behavior, and to offer practical advice for living the life of Christ. What’s more, these letters contain several emotional appeals from the writes to their readers, much like a pastor might make to his congregation or even a father to his children.
Why can’t a blog post be an epistle? Of course, there are some obvious reasons: blogging isn’t a pastor’s sole means of communication in this culture. The apostles wrote letters because they had no other option. They would often be separated from one of their church plants by several days or even weeks of travel. A letter was the best they could do. Pastors, however, see their congregations at least once a week, and yet why doesn’t that feel like enough sometimes, even though we know that most of our people have too much to do as it is? How do increase our communication with our congregations without taking them out of their world one more night a week? That’s where the blog comes in.
Enter Their World
If your church is anything like mine, then a large portion of your congregation is online. The blog post (whether a “true” text blog post or a video post) can serve the role of an epistle that meets your people where they are. It extends the reach of your sermon in two ways: it reachers out of the church and into their lives while also reaching their friends and family through the power of social media. Some of the biblical epistles tell the readers to share their letter with another church. Your blog posts can be used in a similar way as your people share what they read/hear with their social media networks.
I’ve got a lot more ideas on this topic, but perhaps that’s best served for another post.
Does your pastor blog?
Or, if you are a pastor, how do you blog/view blogging?
[Images via Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Compfight cc & Håkan Dahlström via Compfight cc]
Ken Rosentrater says
Thank you Phil.
I share similar feelings, in that I’ve always had the desire to write, and in my case my high school English Comp teacher, Eunice Burns, greatly encouraged me that direction. After seeing one of my assignments, she said, “Whatever you do in life, be sure it has something to do with communication”.
I have been thinking of putting up simple video posts to help explain my heart and vision for discipleship and life groups in our congregation. There are paradigms that need to be examined and shifted. Communication is always a big challenge and usually falls short.
Your article has encouraged me to pursue this further.
Thank you,
Phil Schneider says
Ken, that’s great man! I’m so glad that you’re feeling encouraged to try new things to communicate truth to your people. That’s awesome. Make sure to drop us a link as you start. We’d love to see what you come up with.