image credit: Sandara Lee

We write because we want to effect change.

So why are we not consistently effecting the change we want to see?

Because the words and phrases we use often convey a lack of conviction. When we communicate with a lack of conviction, it shows a level of fear and disbelief.

Often, our words hold the beauty and power of our message hostage.

If we have the most beautiful, life-changing, hope-inspiring message in the history of humanity, shouldn’t we desire it be communicated with courage and conviction?

If we’re convinced that Jesus really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, shouldn’t our words reflect the courage and commitment we experience in our hearts?

I recently wrote a blog post expanding on this idea for Jeff Goins’ blog. You can read the whole thing HERE.

* Image credit: Creation Swap user Sandara Lee

How to write courageously is a post from: Life and Theology

 

image via iStock Photo, Rellas

I recently posed a question (HERE), “What’s a win for your blog?”  In the post, I said that a “win” for me isn’t the number of comments or tweets I receive in response to my writing…it’s getting the chance to articulate my thoughts.  And many of you heartily agreed with me.

But I began to wonder.

Is that just a cop-out?

Is that just the Resistance (re: The War of Art, Steven Pressfield) saying, “Don’t work harder…it’s not worth the effort.”?

Because if something is written well, shouldn’t it connect and inspire and spark?  Shouldn’t it be helpful for others?  Maybe it won’t be helpful for everyone, but shouldn’t it be helpful for some?  If I’m using my gifts, shouldn’t others be impacted and benefit? (re: 1 Corinthians 12)

It’s not that I need to start writing in order to get comments and shares. That’s backwards and fake and forced. Nobody wants that. That reeks of inauthenticity.

I was talking with a worship leader about his performance between songs on Sunday mornings.  When it comes to speaking between worship songs, he admittedly stumbles over his words, not sure what to say or how to best communicate.  He gets nervous and clams up.  I told him

Just be yourself. Talk about how God’s been speaking to you throughout the week. If God’s been pounding you over the head with the concept of grace, then share that with us. If He’s been convicting you about holding a piece of yourself back from Him…share that with us. If He’s been prodding you to do something new…share that with us. Share from your heart, not just from a canned piece of information that, on paper, connects the dots from one song to the next. If God really is moving your heart throughout the week, and you share from that experience, it’ll connect.

Do the work

Don’t miss this: that statement is predicated upon his hard work in seeking God throughout the week.  Don’t miss that!  It’s only after he’s done the hard work of seeking God throughout the week that he can truly share from his heart.

Writing a blog is a lot like that. Do the hard work of being real, improving your writing over time, asking probing questions of your own heart, observing life well…and the result should show an engagement with others at some level.  Am I wrong?

Justifying mediocrity

In the church world, where I operate, I’ve heard people use the phrase, “It’s not about the numbers” to refer to the fact that they don’t exist just to simply add numbers of people.  The problem is that that statement is often used when things aren’t going well, justifying a lack of effort and innovation.*  With blogging, never ever use, “It’s not about the comments and the ReTweets” to justify innovation and hard work.  Never.

If you’re aiming for mediocre, you’ll hit it every time, regardless of your field of expertise.

Question:

Do you think, “It’s not about the comments or the shares” is ever a cop-out?

Have you ever used a phrase like that to defer criticism of your lack of innovation and hard work?

*Though this isn’t always the case, and I’m not singling out any one church in particular.

*image via iStock Photo, Rellas

Don’t be tempted by the cop-out is a post from: Life and Theology

 

image via Coach Jeremy

Ever gotten no response after you write a blog post?  Frustrating, no?

I’d rather have haters.  Or evil trolls.

The ‘no response’ is equivalent to standing in front of a crowd, pouring out your heart, and people just looking right past you. Or worse…as soon as you’re done, people begin chattering with their neighbors about something else entirely.

Oh well. I’ll keep working hard. Hoping something connects. And reminding myself that through writing, my own thoughts are clarified.

Winning

And that’s a win.

If I don’t consistently remind myself what I’m aiming for in my writing (for me: the number one benefit is “clarity”), then I’ll be forever frustrated.  But with the “win” defined, no amount of negativity will deter me.  It may frustrate me, but it won’t keep me from pressing forward.

Question:

What do you consider a “win” for your writing?

*image via Coach Jeremy

The 1 Question Every Blogger must Ask is a post from: Life and Theology

 

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been blogging for 3 years now. I’ve loved interacting with you guys, building this community of people, and processing my thoughts out loud. Thanks for giving me grace to think and grow all along the way.

I’ve learned lots of lessons over the past 3 years. Many I’ve had to learn the hard way.  Hopefully I can save you some frustrations.

Lessons I’ve learned in 3 years of blogging.

1. The more honest, the better.

People will connect with you more over your honesty and transparency than they ever will over your victories and moral platitudes.  My posts that have gotten the most positive feedback have been the ones where I’m gut-level honest with my thoughts and experiences.

2. The more accessible, the better.

As I make myself accessible (here, on the blog, through comments), I find people appreciate that. To build community, you’ve got to build relationships.

3. Be generous.

The more ideas I share, resources I recommend, connections I make, and in general, the more I can give away, the more I always get in return.

4. It’s as much about ‘rhythm’ as it is ‘discipline.’

I hear lots of guys say that blogging is a discipline. And I get that. But I like to look at blogging and see where it fits in the rhythm of my life. Rather than ‘disciplining’ myself, I’d rather it be a flow of my life.  I’ve found more joy and inspiration having a blogging rhythm than having a blogging discipline.

5. Put in the work now and you can reap the benefits later.

I can look back and snag some great, well thought out ideas. Someday, I just might write a book. You know where I’ll turn first for my good ideas? The archives.  And it’s because I have put lots of work into so many posts.

6. Just publish.

Some days, my thoughts aren’t fully developed or perfect or polished. But I just have to “publish” anyway.  It’s better to float ideas and thoughts out there, and synthesize them as you go, than to every single thought fully planned out before completion.

7. I enjoy writing.

I really do.  I’ve found it a great avenue to flesh out my thoughts.

8. It’s about quality posts more than ‘technique’.

I’ve read articles on blogging technique, SEO, key words, timing, consistency, and focus.  And while those things are important, don’t forget to write quality posts!  If you write good stuff, Google will find you.

9. Mixing up the type of posts I write (video posts, social media, theology, etc.) is as helpful for me as it is enjoyable for readers.

Writing the same kinds of posts every day gets boring.  So I mix up the categories, the style, and the focus to keep things fresh, both for the readers and for my own creativity.

10. I have no idea what it really takes to write a post that’s going to take off.

I have written about this before HERE…and it’s still true.  The posts I feel will take off…fall flat.  The ones I write on a whim go viral.  I default back to #8 and #9 (above)

11. I’m not done.

And neither is blogging.  Blogging is a great tool, and our culture is continuing to turn to blogs for information, ideas, and insights.  I’m definitely not done.

If you’ve read my blog at any point over the past 3 years…thanks.  Keep sharing your thoughts, experiences, and insights.  Keep leading well, changing, and growing.

I hope I’ve helped you on your journey in some small way.

What I’ve learned in 3 years of blogging is a post from: Life and Theology

 

We serve a God who gifts people. (check out Exodus 35:30-35)

And your gift was given to you to benefit yourself others.

You’re talented at something. There’s something that, when you do it, you just come alive. And when you use that gift, it feels as if you’re doing what you were created to do.

And when you use those gifts well, folks stop and stare. They’re in awe of your gift…because it’s awesome!

Here are some things I’m good at:

• Learning
• Writing
• Discipline/working hard
• Focus

So…brag on God. Tell us what you’re good at! (*leave a comment below)

What are you good at? is a post from: Life and Theology

 

Some days I just don’t feel like writing

I think and I type, nothing’s flying

But press on I must

One more line or bust!

Inspiration, please find noggin’

Anybody else resonate?

A blogging limerick is a post from: Life and Theology

 

I love blogging.  I really do.  I believe that the impact it can create is quicker than in any other media.  And the potential for a message to spread worldwide is present more in blogging than elsewhere in leadership and communication.

But there are things about blogging that frustrate me regularly.  And if they frustrate me, I am going to guess that they frustrate you, too.

Blogging frustrations

• I’m the only one creating content for it. Nobody else is going to write for me.  Which, incidentally, is the most difficult part of blogging:  writing and creating content.  There are so many reasons you can find to not write.  And those times when you choose to not write…nobody else does that work for you.  In fact, “guest posts” end up being more work than writing my own!  (I’m compiling a series of guest posts from small group experts. You can read it HERE).
• I’m the only one thinking about the design. And since nobody is volunteering to take on that role, it’ll stay with me.
• SEO. If you don’t know what that is, just Google it.  Too lazy to Google it?  Click HERE.  Most days, I just want to write.  I don’t want to have to think about the back-end stuff.  But alas, I do.
• Marketing. I don’t like pubbing my own stuff.  It feels self-serving, and that’s definitely not why I write.  Not in the least.
• Short shelf life. A post is typically is dead after ~12-18 hours.  It’ll never be seen again.  And though someone could do a search for it, likely it’s going to sit in the archives and gather digital dust.

But these frustrations also push me to make the best content possible.  To make the greatest, short-term impact as I can, using this medium.

The impact that any given post can create is exponentially decreasing once you hit “publish.”

Create the best content that you can.  Stretch your mind.  Share your heart.  Make us think.

Are you ever frustrated by blogging?

Have you ever thought about starting one?

The frustrations of blogging is a post from: Life and Theology

 

There, I said it.

It seems that almost every person on the planet can say either, “I have a blog…” or, “I used to have a blog…”

You used to be cutting edge if you had a blog, back when the first ones launched in 1999.  Now, in 2011, bloggers are a dime a dozen.

And there are so many mediocre blogs out there that if yours doesn’t significantly stand out, you’ll get lost among the noise.  Here’s what I mean:

There’s no guarantee today that if you start a blog, it’ll become successful.

There’s no guarantee today that if you have a blog, it’ll continue to be successful.

And though this may frustrate you, it thrills me.  It drives me to work harder, faster, more creatively, and more passionately.  Creating art that is relevant, helpful, and sharable is difficult, given the level of noise that social media is creating in our world.  But the product that successful bloggers are creating is getting better and better.

In the long run, the fact that blogging is difficult will make you a better writer, communicator, and artists (assuming you stick with it).  And it will force better artists to step up and continue to create better art.  And in the long run, the number of active blogs may decrease.  And that competition is good for the system.

People aren’t just clicking on blogs anymore.  They’ve got to have a reason.

What reason(s) are you giving them?

Why should someone read and subscribe to your blog?

Blogging’s not cool anymore is a post from: Life and Theology

 

But that’s not me.

And my blog is a snapshot of my life.

And I am dealing with much more than one or two things per week.

It’s about my life, how I process things, and what I’m dealing with.  It’s leadership, small groups, and parenting.  It’s theology and counseling.  It’s a devotional thought and a book review.  It’s sometimes about adoption or a post from a friend.  In short, it’s my life.  I’m trying to process all of life through the grid of Scripture, thinking through things theologically.  Sometimes I hit the mark…sometimes I miss it badly.  Hopefully you’ll see growth in my own life through my blog, but if you see me miss it, please give me some grace.  I’ve still got lots of growing and learning to do.

I guess I’ve been thinking about this because I want my blog to be effective for my readers.  If my blog ceases to be relevant and helpful for my readers, I need to rethink and restructure things.  If it ceases to be effective for me, I need to stop blogging.  I hope that it always will be a helpful source of information for readers, but one thing that I’m certain of right now is that it’s effective for me.  It really helps me to flesh out my thoughts and communicate them in a way that others can understand.  Writing forces me to shape my thoughts into some form of definable action on my part.  If I put them on “paper,” I’m more likely to act on them and live them out.

Thanks for all of you who put up with my rambling, often random blog.

What's this blog about? is a post from: Life and Theology