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Christian Blogging: Ministering Without Preaching

By Anita Mathias

(My post was originally published as part of the Big Bible’s DigiDisciple initiative.)
  Typewriter Art
Christians who are digital natives will, quite possibly, encounter two ministries of the Word each week–the Sunday sermon and Christian blogs.
A bad sermon tells you what you should do. It lays down the law. Your shoulders hunch when you hear you should give more to pet projects, pray more, read your Bible more, love more. More, more, more.
* * *
Now, who in their right minds, would come to blogs to be told what to do? Not I.
Like everyone else, I know what to do, you see. The trouble is the doing of it. As Portia says in The Merchant of Venice
If to do were as easy as to know what were good to
do, chapels had been churches and poor men’s
cottages princes’ palaces. I can easier teach
twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the
twenty to follow mine own teaching.
* * *
The effective Christian blogger, the digital disciple, ministers the word, but without overt preaching. She has to.
She does not have the preacher’s advantages: the captive audience, the theology degree, the automatic respect.
And so, she must be winsome. Like the poet of old who beginneth not with obscure definitions, which must blur the margin with interpretations, but cometh to you with words set in delightful proportion–and with a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner (Sir Philip Sidney. Apology for Poetry).
While our intention might be to bless, trust is not instantly handed to us. Yeats wishes for his daughter,
“In courtesy I’d have her chiefly learned;
Hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned.”
 So too for the blogger: trust is not had as a gift, but trust is earned.
How? Paradoxically, by sharing our weaknesses, rather than our strengths.
A blogger could tell us of hours in prayer, scripture study, fasts, watchings, and we will feel tired, one more To Do.
But tell us how the Christian life really plays out: how you can snarl at those who delay you on your way to worship God on Sundays; how you can feel maddened by noise during your lovely quiet times; how you knew someone was gossiping at prayer request time but asked a curious question in the guise of concern; how you medicate yourself with chocolate rather than Scripture, because, let’s be realistic, it’s quicker. How you love Scripture and prayer, but sometimes find them boring; how you love Christ and love your children, but, frankly, find this whole Proverbs 31 business hugely overrated!
And because we too have visited those shadowlands, we’ll laugh, and we’ll believe you.
And then, when you tell us of prayer, visions, revelations, high altitude glories, we’ll believe you too, because you have earned our trust when you told us of the muck and mud, the disgraces and breakthroughs which are the Christian life.
While the preacher shares the conclusions, the QED of the theorem of faith, the personal Christian blogger, the confessional blogger, shares the process—the falls, the slipping backward, the rare raptures.
* * *
Above all, she tells a story. A story unique in that no one–not the author, not the readers–no one but God himself, knows how it going to end. And as she tells it, she understands it better: the story of her own life.
It’s a story which can be read in multiple ways. Very post-modern! She may think it’s a straight narrative, but there are at least four narratives, mirroring the four quadrants of human personality:
1.    The things we know about ourselves, and everyone else knows.
2.    The things we know about ourselves, but no one else guesses, and we would die rather than confess. 
3.    The things which are glaringly obvious to everyone else, but which we are oblivious to. Bloggers, despite themselves, make these dreadful revelations about themselves—unwittingly revealing their emotional contours, their prejudices, their fears, their secret patches of pride, shame and sensitivity. Many personal blogs can be decoded by an alert reader. Anyone who chronicles the ongoing story of their personal or spiritual lives on the web makes these unconscious revelations, and must make peace with this.
 4. The last quadrant, is the vast, deep submerged world of buried potential–the heights of love and nobility to which we are capable of rising; the depths to which we are capable of sinking; talents and abilities unguessed at, save by the Creator, who alone knows how it is all going to end, and, I like to think, reads the unspooling account of our spiritual and actual lives on our blogs with interest, tenderness, and not a little amusement!

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Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    September 7, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    Thanks, Debra. Perhaps its the raw honesty that convinces people that they can trust us, that we are telling the truth, when we talk about the highs, and almost “preach.”
    And perhaps Christ who knows the truth about us likes it too!!

  2. Debra Seiling says

    September 6, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    Dear Anita,

    Your post makes me really think. As a Christian blogger as well, I think that it's the vulnerable honesty that you mention, that attracts the reader to the blog. It is my desire, that this will help readers be able to better relate to the God and the Bible in their lives on a regular basis. Debbie Seiling http://bible-passages.blogspot.com

  3. Anita says

    November 5, 2011 at 11:08 pm

    Hi Rhoda, Yes, I fully realize how hard it is for a pastor's wife to be honest. A friend, whose book you've read Susan B. who is also a pastor's wife once told me how hard it was. She once confided in a friend that she was not happy, and the “friend” told the elders of the church that she was in the wrong place, or else she would be happy.
    As a pastor or pastor's wife you never know when people will turn against you. It's a negative of being in a place where people expect too much of you (friendship, perfection) are hurt when they don't get it, and also use you to further their own agendas. It's rough, but, of course, it has its advantages:)

  4. Rhoda says

    November 5, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    Thanks Anita for the advice and encouragement 🙂 I do worry about being personal, partly because I don't want to make it too much about me, partly because I've never been too fond of the online journal kind of blog, and partly because of being a pastor's wife and needing to be careful what I say! But I also see what you are saying and recognise the truth of it – as I don't particularly like the plain bible study kind of blog as if I wanted that I would go listen to a sermon or read a commentary! Anyway I have taken what you said into account and will try and be a little more personal, and really appreciate the advice 🙂

  5. Anita says

    November 1, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    @Nancy. Thanks. It must have been because of my cultural and Catholic background that I assumed that priests have automatic respect.

  6. Anita says

    November 1, 2011 at 6:52 pm

    @ Rhoda, You have some excellent posts on Dwelling in the Shadow of God, Idolatry, Gluttony and renewing strength for instance. We all have to blog the way we can, and not the way we can't. That said, being a little more personal, sharing HOW you came to the brilliant and accurate insights you share would add to the interest of the blog for us, and be therapeutic for you, perhaps. I have a feeling that we cruise the internet looking for a story as much as for inspiration. So much of Scripture is told in terms of a story, because that is how we remember things. We remember the lessons on forgiveness in Joseph's story, because of the gripping story. And now I am talking to myself, not to you. For instance, I was about to publish my post on curses when I stopped and asked, “So why am I interested in this?” And then I realised I had left a whole story untold.
    Your blog's lovely, though sharing more of the real Rhoda would add even more to its interest. Though it's a lovely mature, polished blog as it is:)

  7. Nancy Wallace says

    October 31, 2011 at 6:10 pm

    Good post. As someone who both preaches and blogs, I don't agree that preachers have automatic respect – I think much of what you say about Christian blogging could also apply to preaching e.g. trust has to be earned and one way this happens is by being authentic including where appropriate sharing weakness or struggle, presenting questions without answers rather than neat conclusions.

  8. Rhoda says

    October 31, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Fascinating and scary stuff! As I read your post at first my heart dropped and I thought, 'Oh no, I'm one of those people that no-one wants to read!'. But then you mentioned medicating yourself with chocolate, and I thought, 'Hmm well I think I have mentioned that so maybe I'm OK' 🙂 Number 3 is a bit worrying!! But then I guess we need to work on humility too, though if no-one ever tells us our errors we might never know… Love your last line, I agree that God probably is quite amused by some of what we write 🙂

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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