Blogging

I'm thinking I would like to start blogging a bit more on thoughts or reflections rather than mainly just posting my sermons. One problem with this, though, is that a lot of what happens in ministry is confidential, or its stuff that wouldn't be right to put out there into the wide open blogosphere. For example, recently I've been feeling quite bruised by some criticism targeted at a particular service that I was involved in. I felt the criticism was unfounded and in fact, petty, but to go into detail about it here just doesn't feel right. And I've been involved in some highly intense pastoral situations, but they are certainly not appropriate to write about. This reflects the nature of the job, and also underscores to a certain extent its isolating aspect.

Another problem is the risk of being labelled [liberal, conservative, evangelical, catholic, orthodox, heretic - take your pick - although like Brian McLaren I would hope that I'm all those and more], when a particular flag is flown or cause promoted (though some of that might be discerned from the sermons anyway). One never knows who reads the blog, and though truth matters, so does my future ministry. Whether to be bold in this or not, the most important thing to me is that I am faithful to the gospel as I understand it.

I had a visit from the Diocesan Director of Curates (at least that's what I call him - not sure of his official title), and we talked a bit about the interesting phenomenon of online social networking and blogs (he has a blog, a facebook and a twitter account himself). We both agreed that it doesn't make sense to bury your head in the sand re: the opportunities that online communication affords. If we want to be able to relate to this generation, this stuff isn't going to go away.

I love reading the blogs that I'm subscribed to. I sometimes wish I blogged like Rachel in Revise Reform or maybe like Rev Elizabeth in The Rev and a Dog or like NRIGirl in Coffee with Jesus, but as anyone can see, those are very different blogs, and anyway, I should just be myself, I guess. I just feel a little stuck in a rut. But evolution is natural, so, who knows?