Come, Now is the Time for Blogging - Dr. Mark D. Roberts

Here's my main point: Blogging is a valuable tool in the worship leader's toolbox. It's a tool that might be helpful to you. Blogging is not for every worship leader. Just as some of us play the guitar, and others don't, some will blog, while others won't. In my experience, the most successful bloggers write fairly easily and aren't afraid of getting things wrong in public.

What is a Blog?
"Blog" is short for "web-log." With several million blogs in existence, there are more varieties than you can imagine. Some blogs are strictly political; others are more like personal diaries. Some focus on music, others on sports. A few blogs attract tens of thousands of visitors daily; most get a dozen or two.

A blog is a Web site that, unlike static sites, is regularly updated with new material. Usually this material consists of words, but images, video clips, and songs can also be posted on some blogs. Most blogs make it easy for visitors to add their own comments and questions, thus facilitating conversation. The majority of bloggers today use automated blogging systems (like Blogger or Typepad) that allow anyone to start a blog in about fifteen minutes for about five bucks. No programming required!

Why I Started Blogging
I began my blog, www.markdroberts.com, in December 2003, at the insistence of a friend who convinced me that blogging would give me a new channel for communication with my congregation and with the wider world. When I started, my target audience was, indeed, the folks in my church. This is still true to a great extent, though my blog has had a much larger readership than I had expected.

Blogging has given me an invaluable new tool for teaching my people. Before I started my blog, my only major communication channel was preaching. This limited me to around 3,000 words each week, and to topics that were appropriate for a worship setting. I wouldn't have preached a whole sermon reviewing The Passion of the Christ, for example, but I did put up a 3,500 word review of the film on my Web site. I often blog on topics suggested by church members, which allows me to address their concerns and to make my thoughts available to others who might have similar interests.

How Blogging Could Augment Your Ministry as a Worship Leader for a Congregation
"Okay," you may be thinking, "that's fine for you. But how would blogging help me be more effective as a worship leader for my church?" Let me answer this question by offering several suggestions.

A Tool for Teaching about Worship
Blogging is an exceptional means for teaching. If I were a worship leader, I'd certainly use a blog to teach my congregation about worship. (For a fine example, see the series by worship leader Dan McGowan.) Your pastor may have done a great series on worship two years ago. But how are the new people going to know what he or she said? If you've done some blogging on worship, then this material can easily be made available to anyone who joins your congregation in the future.

A Means of Building the Relationship Between You and Your People
The best worship leaders are closely connected to the heart of their congregation, but this can be hard to sustain, especially if your church is growing. Blogging can allow you to share your life in a way that helps people get to know who you really are. If your blog has a comment feature, this also allows for more personal give and take with those you're leading in worship. (See, for example, the blog of worship leader and songwriter, Phil Mehrens.)

A Way to Introduce New Songs and Hymns
A blog would give you a place to "demo" new songs and hymns, to explain what they mean and why you think they're worth singing. Many blogs allow you to add music clips, so folks could hear a bit of the song. (Beware of copyright violations, however.)

Address Issues Related to Worship
In a recent Christianity Today column, Chuck Colson blasted much of contemporary worship, and one popular song in particular. Worship leader Bob Kauflin used his blog to discuss Colson's article in a very sane and helpful way.

Review and Recommend Worship Albums
What do you do if you discover a fantastic new worship album that you'd love your congregation to hear? You could mention it in a worship set, or perhaps include a note on your church Web site. A blog gives you a place to review the album and to explain why it's worth purchasing. This also allows you to do some teaching on worship. (For an extreme example of an album review as teaching tool, see my long review of Matt Redman's Facedown.)

Get Feedback from Your Congregation
It's hard to get balanced feedback on worship leadership. Usually, those who love you are too positive, and those who don't are too negative. A blog could allow you to open a discussion about some particular aspect of worship, such as: Did our recent use of helium balloons in the service help you to worship, or did was it "so 80s"? Many blogging systems allow you to put up short surveys as well as general conversations.

Try Out New Ideas Before They Backfire
Have you ever come up with some hot idea for worship, only to get burned when it fizzled? I have, too many times to count. Some of this could be avoided by blogging on your brainstorms in advance. You could dodge the big mistakes altogether, or tweak things in advance so they work more effectively.

Help People to Pray
In addition to my primary blog, I have another site called The Daily Psalm . This site is unusual in that the content is strictly devotional, a prayer and a meditation based on-you guessed it-a different psalm each day. I'm doing The Daily Psalm, not only to offer inspiration, but also to teach people to pray in a more biblical, honest, and expansive way.

Lead People in Worship
Sometimes I lead people in worship through my blogging at www.markdroberts.com. For example, during Holy Week this year I put up a series of prayers and visual aids based on the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross. For a striking example of a worship-leading website, check out Sacred Space, a prayer site produced by Irish Jesuits.

Getting Started
Is blogging for you? Perhaps, perhaps not. The good news is that you can try it out for only a little bit of time and money. Visit the Blogger or Typepad websites to see how you can get started. Come, now is the time for blogging!


Dr. Mark D. Roberts is the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted renewal ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Mark's writings on various topics and his daily blog are available at markdroberts.com. His daily devotional appears at thehighcalling.org.

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