9. Blog on

I started blogging in 2006 as an experiment in diary keeping. I was encouraged by my experiences on Iona and thought it was worth giving it a go. I lasted a month. I enjoyed the process of writing a blog but didn't have the motivation to keep it up. It was part of a push to run and write which didn't stand up to the pressures of everyday life... but some of my 2006 posts are still available on this blog.

I thought about it again in June 2007 and registered with Google's blogger - but didn't post many entries.

Later in 2007 I started blogging in a more systematic way. The motivation for this arose from a need to manage time more accurately and gain a greater sense of accountability. I was aware that fulfilling multiple roles was an issue but was also feeling stressed with too much to do. People asked me to write down a list of what I did in an average week so they could help, but I had a sense that an "average" week would be a rare occurrence. It struck me that blogging would provide a mechanism for achieving something more realistic. And so during November 2007 I kept a fairly detailed record of how my time was used and let people know where to find it should they want to find out.

Fairly rapidly the blog took off. I enjoyed the process of collecting my thoughts at the end of each day and reviewing what I was up to. Other people began to respond and comment. It wasn't long before I started adding photos and longer comments. (See To blog or not to blog for my thoughts about why blogging was a valuable thing to do, and Church for the Facebook Generation for more about online church.)

Since then, the blog has grown, and has proven extremely useful. It's provided an amazing mechanism for communiction and networking, and has helped build a sense of community. Thanks to people like Margaret and Barry, even those without computer access have been involved. Sermons have been written collaboratively, ideas shared, and some interesting people have made contact with with me...

Is it worth doing? I think so, even for the occassional nugget of value. In terms of statistics, there have been 92 visits in the past six days, so someone must be reading it - if only cyber stalkers...

I have every intention of continuing the blog since it's been so useful, but what about the future?

I think all clergy should blog - especially those who work with multiple churches. It's a great way of building community and becoming part of a wider network - sometimes it feels a bit like being a traditional vicar.

But blogging could also have value as a tool for all church members - to stimulate growth and nurture community. Some people have said that they don't think their thoughts would be of any interest to other people, but I beg to differ. Imagine an intentional community of people who write blogs and agree to read each other's. This would be a fascinating experiment. There are already groups of people who do this out of interest, but what if members of a church decided to do so? It would be a bit like facebook updates, only with more depth. (For an example of another Watling Valley blog, see Peter Leeson's - are there any more? Anyone else want to join the party?)

In conclussion, I think blogs are great tools and I think we should use them. I fully intend to.