https://www.challies.com/articles/its-2023-and-we-need-blogs-more-than-ever/
It’s hard to remember or even believe, but there was a time when social media consisted solely of blogs. Blogs were the way writers escaped the gatekeepers of old media to gain a voice of their own on the marvelous new medium we called the World Wide Web. Blogs were an interactive form of communication in which communities of writers would engage with one another while readers would provide feedback through comment sections. It was far from a perfect setup, but it worked well enough and a lot of good came from it. However else we tell the story of the rise and spread of Reformed theology in the early part of this century, for example, we cannot tell it apart from blogs.
But eventually alternative forms of social media sprang up and began to displace blogs as the next big thing. Twitter and Facebook were most prominent, but there were many others besides. Then came the rise of video, first on YouTube and then on Vine and Instagram and TikTok and other “reel” formats. Podcasts arrived on the scene and Substack newsletters. The people had claimed the right to have a voice that was unmediated by the old-media decision-makers and there’s no realistic chance that they will give it back anytime soon.
But while blogs are often regarded as an old and perhaps passé form of social media, I am convinced they still have their place. In fact, I am increasingly convinced they still have their place, even in 2023. And I still encourage aspiring writers to give blogging a chance. Let me offer a few reasons blogging still matters and may even become increasingly (rather than diminishingly) important in the days to come.
First, the foremost benefit of blogging is as important as ever. Before blogs, pretty much the only way to have a voice was to gain the attention and trust of an editor at a magazine or publishing house. Even then, the editor could reject your writing or edit it to make it conform to a particular viewpoint. There were (and still are) benefits to this, but there are also drawbacks. Blogs were the first medium that allowed individuals to create book-like or magazine-like content independent of those old media systems. And we found it to be a good and beneficial thing. There were drawbacks, of course—lots of poor-quality writing and lots of writing that lacked Christian character. But we gained more than we lost when so many people began blogs to share what the Lord was teaching them. And it is still a good and important thing to have writing that is not beholden to the whims, perspectives, political alignments, or theological positions of a select few.
Second, blogging allows us to control our own platform. Over the past few years we have come to realize the downsides of doing our writing on platforms owned and controlled by others in what has simply become a new form of ideological gatekeeping. It wasn’t long ago that progressives were at the helm at Twitter and conservatives had just about had enough of shadow bans, arbitrary account lockouts, and all manner of censorship. The recent “Twitter Files” have shown beyond any real dispute that all of this was happening and more. Today, though, a libertarian is at the helm at Twitter and it is the progressives who are crying foul, insisting that Twitter is now a bastion of the radical alt-right. I guess what we can all agree on is that we will always be at the mercy of the ideology of the people in control. But that is not the case for blogs where we control our own platform and don’t need to be concerned about censors. (Monique Judge makes this point from an opposite worldview to mine at The Verge.)
Third, blogs provide a superior reading experience compared to other forms of social media. Twitter threads are an abysmal way to read that condescends to the medium to far too great an extent. Reading anything of length on Facebook grates on the nerves. Instagram often looks attractive and has its place, but it’s a poor medium for communicating at length or in substance. It is still blogs that allow writers to prepare and share content that is substantial in its length and that conforms to the principles of typology and page layout. I’ll grant that Substack does this well, but it has other drawbacks such as poor search engine “findability” and the fact that the content is still beholden to the ideology of the company itself. Podcasts and video have their place, but text still reigns supreme when it comes to finding, skimming, saving, citing, and accessing in the future. Blogs continue to have unique strengths.
There is much more I could say. Blogs tend to be written by real people rather than anonymous trolls—I suspect most of us have realized by now that anonymity combined with access to a large audience has a power to it that few of us can handle with character and grace. Blogging diversifies the voices speaking to the church—because there are few barriers to entry, blogs invite anyone to participate and, much to our benefit, many have. Blogging serves as an ideal way to practice and showcase good writing—and this can lead to opportunities to write for other forms of media.
So how might you get started? I’ll simply direct you to an article I wrote a few years ago that still lays out a plan I know many have followed with success.
And then let me close this way: We are not going to go back to the old ways in which a few gatekeepers were responsible to determine who could have a voice. Nor do we want to. Blogging was the first medium to shake the old ways and, even 25 years later, it continues to have unique strengths that make it superior to so many of the more recent alternatives. And so, for that reason among others, I continue to encourage writers and prospective writers to give it a try. You may just find you love it, you thrive at it, and you can make use of it to serve the church and bring glory to God.
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What Is the Best Thing In Life?
Any time we consider the spiritual disciplines, or means of grace, it is crucial that we remember not only the great purpose of these habits but also the great blessing they represent. We were made to know God and to be known by God. We were made in the image of God to have a real and living relationship with God.
We were the ones who interrupted this relationship through our sin and rebellion, who declared God an enemy rather than a friend. What a blessing, then, that even though we rebelled against God through our sin, he made the way for the relationship to be restored. What an honor that he still invites us to join into that relationship, that friendship. The habits we practice are the keys to knowing God.
It is through the Bible that we learn about the nature of God and the acts of God; it is through prayer that we speak to God and share our hearts with him; it is through fellowship that we join into his body, serve his people, and demonstrate his love. It is because Christianity is intrinsically relational that Packer can say, “What is the best thing in life? To know God.” May we never lose the wonder of that great privilege. -
A La Carte (November 18)
Westminster Books has some good Christmas outreach resources discounted this week. They’ve also got a sale on resources related to James.
Thanks to Karen Wade Hayes and Lara d’Entremont for their reviews of Seasons of Sorrow. Thanks also to Christine Chappell who hosts IBCD’s Hope + Help podcast for inviting me to discuss the book.
Today’s Kindle deals include all 5 volumes of the excellent Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series and so many other solid titles.
Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021. Has Death Lost Its Sting?
This month’s cover story at CT was written by my friend Dr. Ewan Goligher and is well worth reading. He says that “the ability to have one’s life ended on short notice is an increasingly acceptable option for Canadian patients—with implications that will reverberate around the globe.” (Though the article is behind a paywall, you should be able to read it for free by registering for an account.)
Peace That Passes All Understanding
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to be prayerful rather than fretful. “That’s certainly easy enough: prayer + thankfulness = peace. Go through the steps, get to peace. Then why doesn’t the formula work? When I am anxious I pray, but my mind keeps drifting back to the anxious circumstance, and before I know it I am trying to solve the problem. After again confessing my distractibility, I get back to praying, only to have the cycle continue.”
Bella Paper Calendars and Stationery
316 Publishing’s beautiful Bella Paper line features the Legacy Standard Bible and includes 2023 calendars & planners, journals, and greeting cards. Through Sunday, save an extra 10% on the entire Bella Paper line with code CHALLIES. (Sponsored Link)
After the Burning
This is a strong piece of writing. “I walk in the hills every month or so to reflect and to pray. The fire wasn’t on the hill I usually walk with Jesus, but I was curious enough to go looking for it, slightly dreading what I might find.”
Is Narcissism the Problem Behind Pastors’ Moral Failures?
Daniel Doriani examines some of what Chuck DeGroat says about narcissism among pastors. “Has DeGroat found the culprit behind pastoral failures? Given that all men are flawed and sinful, it’s certainly true that the church attracts flawed leaders. But does the churchespecially attract the power-hungry and the narcissistic?”
Is the Gospel Glorious, or is the Gospel about the Glory of Christ? (Video)
I enjoy it when Bill Mounce lets us in on some Bible translation conundrums. “Sometimes translators have to make a decision; sometimes there is no ambiguous option. In 2 Cor 4:6, is the gospel glorious or is the gospel about the glory of Christ? It is one or the other, not both.”
Fall 2022 Eikon
CBMW has released a new issue of their journal Eikon in case you’re looking for some slightly academic reading. “Much of this issue is dedicated to reflection on the history, influence, and continued importance of the Nashville Statement.”
Flashback: When God Put Down a Deposit
Our salvation is proof that God is powerful, that he is effective, that he has a plan, that his plan is progressing, and that he will carry it all to completion.Anger takes everything personally, as if everything is an intentional act to make your life miserable. —Ed Welch
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Discerning in Doctrine But Not Discerning in Character
I believe that discernment matters. I believe that spiritual discernment is a necessary mark of spiritual maturity while a lack of spiritual discernment is a concerning mark of spiritual immaturity. As the book of Hebrews tells us, “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14). There it is, the connection between maturity and discernment.
There are many reasons I find myself at home among those who hold to Reformed theology, but one key reason is that the tradition places high value on discernment. Many of those who come to appreciate Reformed doctrine do so after finding a critical lack of judgment in their previous traditions. Disturbed by a blend of good teaching and bad, sound doctrine and unsound, they look for churches that care about diligently separating truth from error and right from wrong. They soon find themselves in a Reformed church.
Yet as I have reflected on discernment over the past 20 years, I continue to find myself perplexed by a strange conundrum: Sometimes the people who most value discernment in doctrine are the people most prone to neglect discernment in character. They can display a kind of credulity that makes them especially susceptible to listening to and believing untrustworthy sources. Ironically, their emphasis on discernment leaves them vulnerable to lies.
We all need to understand a hard truth: there are people out there who make stuff up. It may seem hard to believe, but it’s reality. There are people who fabricate facts, who create accounts of events that did not happen, and who write up conversations that never took place. There are people who act as if they have exhaustive knowledge of other people’s inner motives and desires when they do not and cannot. And even if some do not go that far, they may deliberately exaggerate matters and spread as truth what is no more than rumor or hearsay.
Aside: If you ever get the chance to spend time with the popular Christian you most admire, ask that person and I expect they will tell you that someone has publicly told lies about them. No matter who they are or how they line up on the major issues, ask them and I expect they will be able to tell of a time that someone, in the name of discernment, spread information that was absolutely false.
Those who value spiritual discernment need to account for doctrine, of course—they need to distinguish between doctrines that are true and doctrines that are false. But they also need to account for human nature, and this is where so many prove themselves easy prey. They assume that anyone who emphasizes sound doctrine has a sound life or that anyone who defends truth necessarily speaks truth. Somehow their discernment extends as far as distinguishing between good theology and bad theology, but it ends before it distinguishes people of upright character from people of dishonorable character. That’s especially true when the people who lack character are within the bounds of the same theological tradition.
The devil seeds liars, thieves, and deceivers into every tradition, including our own. Share
We would like to think that the people who tell lies exist outside the bounds of Reformed theology. We would like to think that once we have crossed the border between other traditions and our own, we have entered into a kind safe space in which everyone is on the side of truth and light. But sadly, that’s simply not the case. That’s not the way the world works. That’s not the way the flesh works. That’s not the way the devil works. The devil seeds liars, thieves, and deceivers into every tradition, including our own.
My encouragement, then, is to press on in spiritual discernment—to be deliberate in separating truth from error and right from wrong. There is never a time to relax your guard when it comes to this critical discipline. At the same time, it’s also to avoid the kind of naiveté that assumes everyone who lays claim to sound doctrine is truly concerned about defending and living out the Christian faith, not to mention concerned about the kind of unity Christ calls us to pursue. For if we are truly discerning, we will know that Satan is a master of disguise. That being the case, “it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15). Servants of righteousness, that is, and experts in discernment.
