This is 2020. There is no shortage of web articles, social media apps, or websites. Blogs themselves have been around since the 1990s. And even Facebook and Twitter are beginning to look a little archaic now that they’ve been around for more than a decade. Is this really a good time for our church (Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, MI) to start a blog?
Absolutely.
Let me offer you five good reasons why our church is starting a blog.
1) It’s Good to Care for Our Church
We’re not the Good Shepherd of the church – Jesus Christ is. But we take it seriously that a pastor’s job is to care for the sheep like Jesus cares for His sheep. It’s a serious calling. We are responsible for feeding our sheep and protecting our sheep from the wolves of the world.
We protect our sheep by teaching the difference between the Good Shepherd’s voice and the voices of false shepherds and ravenous wolves. And we feed the sheep by giving them biblical content to ruminate on. A blog is one way outside of Sunday mornings that allows us to do both things. Setting good biblical teaching before the sheep helps our sheep set their minds on good biblical teaching.
2) We Care for Churches Beyond Kalamazoo
At Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, we’re concerned about people outside of the Kalamazoo area, too. If we love the complete Jesus, we love His complete church, because the Church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10). So as we write to edify our church in Kalamazoo, we also want to make it publicly available to edify the Church everywhere.
And having a blog means that it’s easy to share our new posts. Our hope is that you’ll finish reading an article and think, “That was super-helpful. I know someone else who would benefit from this.” And then with a couple quick clicks, you’ll help to feed the sheep, too.
3) It’s Good for Churches to Be Visible
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus tells his followers they should let their good deeds be seen before others. “…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” This isn’t saying we should parade around like we’re better than everybody else. Jesus directly confronts that idea in Matthew 6. But Jesus does want us to take a visible stand for truth and love. That’s one of the key ways the world around us is enabled to see God’s intrinsic greatness and goodness in action.
So fast forward to 2020. God’s Word hasn’t changed, and so our church is working on making visible, shareable content for our church website that directs people to notice God rightly. We’re unashamed of making our church visible, on the internet and elsewhere, because we’re unashamed of making Jesus Christ visible in Kalamazoo and to the ends of the earth. Of course, blog posting isn’t the only good thing that our church does to reveal the truth of God. But it’s a good tool – so we’re using it!
4) It’s a Good Way for Our Church to Get Better at Communicating
There are some people who will never set foot in a church – even if it’s a good church. There are some people who will tune out 95% of a 45-minute sermon. There are some people who will be so intent on evaluating my hand gestures that my words will scarcely be noticed. Though Sunday morning church services are uniquely suited and essential for equipping God’s people through biblical, Christ-centered instruction, pastors should also get better at communicating in other ways – including (but not limited to) blogs – because that’s how some people today are most inclined to listen.
Blogs are a way to become more things to more people (1 Corinthians 9:22-23), so that people can recognize that our human problems need a divine solution. So this blog is one way our church is working to get better at explaining the Bible so that more and more people will behold the goodness of Christ.
5) Glorifying God
Last but not least, this is all about giving God glory. This doesn’t mean that we’re campaigning for God as though he’s a presidential candidate who needs a boost in the polls. God is already the enthroned king of the whole world. Either we’re respecting his authority and enjoying his radiant goodness forever, or we’re on the wrong side of history, functionally committing treason against the whole system God created for our good.
Our church celebrates good things. And this means that, more than any other good thing, we celebrate God. It’s good for Him to be honored that way. It’s good for us to enjoy Him that way. And it’s good for the world to know Him.
Devon Rossman is a Pastoral Assistant at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Kalamazoo, MI. He is currently working toward a Master of Divinity degree at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. In his position at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Devon is training to become a prospective church planter.