Band of Bloggers

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a week since the 2008 Band of Bloggers fellowship took place. I haven’t really had the time to reflect on everything that has happened over the last few days except to feel a deep sense of gratitude for all the wonderful ways God has blessed and encouraged me through so many people.

My hope and desire behind the BoB fellowship was that it would be an encouragement and blessing to you, to strengthen you and provide opportunity to fellowship and strengthen others to be set apart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We come from all across the world, all with different stories of how the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed us, shaped us, and continues to transform us from one degree of glory to another until we see His face.

What most of you do not know is that this almost did not happen. In fact, in early February I was one week away before needing to make a decision to call the conference off. The fact that this even happened was the direct result of answered prayer and the kind providence of God. While I have been recognized as the person with the vision for the Band of Bloggers, it cannot be said enough how important each person has been to believe in, and be an important part of, this gospel-driven vision. For instance, many of you have used your blogs and contacts to get the word out about this meeting, where there was a total of over 150 bloggers in attendance, more than twice that of the 2006 fellowship. The immediate needs of financial administration and sound equipment was provided by the gracious help of Tony Kummer and Calvary Baptist Church where he serves. Fantastic graphics and poster design was provided by Jake Stutzman who serves with Heartcry Missionary Society in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. About a dozen of you who attended arrived (very) early to spend a couple of hours making the BoB goody bags (including the publishers who freely provided them!).

One of the dreams I had for this year’s conference was being able to give away two books–one more than 2006. Yet, as I began talking to friends and publishers, two became three, three became four, and four became eight! I am indebted to Desiring God, Founders Press, Reformation Heritage Books, InQuest Ministries, Grace to You, Crossway Books, and Banner of Trust for allowing me to experience so much joy in see these books freely given to so many brothers and sisters. I believe these resources will be invaluable tools in the hands of gospel-centered followers of Christ.

Finally, I want to say a special thanks to the panel for their participation and leadership in the discussion of “The Gospel Trust.” Tim Challies, Thabiti Anyabwile, Abraham Piper, and Phil Johnson did a fantastic job of raising the bar for all of us and fostering the discussion on how to be good stewards with our blogs for the sake of the gospel. I also want to express my appreciation to Justin Taylor who was not able to be with us due to the exciting adoption opportunity which precluded his participation. Justin has been and continues to be a wonderful supporter of BoB, and his absence from this year’s meeting was significant.

In the future, we are hoping to continue with the vision to be good stewards of the gospel trust by developing a center for perpetuating gospel-centeredness in the evangelical blogosphere. Please stay tuned for developments in the upcoming days and weeks intended to incorporate everyone who desires to be a part of a community of bloggers who willingly hold one another accountable to the gospel trust and the glory of God.

The audio for the 2008 Band of Bloggers panel discussion, “The Gospel Trust,” is now available.

Having briefly mentioned thoughts on the Christian writer and the content of our blogs, the last area I would like to consider before our meeting is thinking about how we communicate the gospel effectively in the blogosphere. This is an important issue and the subject of considerable debate and controversy. Yet, given that we been given the charge of carry the gospel to the world, it is important to consider how effective we are as carriers of this gospel message.

1. Is it ever appropriate to use sarcasm and satire in our blogging as carriers of the gospel?

2. What about controversy? Knowing that people are interested in controversial matters, is it ever acceptable to tackle controversial matters as a means of connecting people with the gospel?

3. Can our attitudes and how we treat (or neglect) our readers cause people to be turned away from the message we carry?

4. Are we taking advantage of the tools and resources available to us to transmit the gospel message to as many people as possible in a God-honoring way?

5. How can we communicate the gospel to people beyond our network or created blog culture? Are we reaching out to unbelievers with our blogs, atheists, seekers, etc.? Should that be a stated goal? If not, why not?

I realize that the issues of contextualization and culture are huge issues here, and I hope that we can come together to target intentional ways we can be good stewards of the gospel trust with creative and challenging discussion.

May we all reflect on how the gospel is at work in our individual lives, the formatting of our blogs, and the manner and ways in which we communicate the gospel through our blogs and in our lives. I look forward to seeing many of you and discussing “The Gospel Trust” in just a couple of days!

The second area for consideration, as it pertains to being entrusted with the gospel, is the content of our blogs.  As we gather together in just a few days for a time of fellowship and discussion regarding the gospel, let us consider how and to what degree we are using our blogs to treasure, uphold, explain, defend, exult in, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with our readers.  I am reminded of something John Piper said just a couple of days ago on Abraham Piper’s blog.  John Piper commented:

Tell them that it takes relentless intentionality to keep a Christ-exalting blog from become a clever blog. The temptation to entertain is almost irresistible.

Relentless intentionality.  In other words, gospel-centered blogging is hard work.  It is concentrated work.  And it is a discriminating work–that is, discriminating against other things that might obscure or diminish the glory and worth of the gospel to which we have been entrusted. 

So with that said, let us consider the content of our blog(s) and remind ourselves of the stewardship of being entrusted with the most important, most valuable, most glorious reality in the universe–the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Some questions for consideration:

1.  How readily accessible is the gospel on your blog?

2.  How does the gospel shape your writing and govern the content of your blog?

3.  Is there regularity or gospel normativity to the overarching purpose and theme to your writing? 

4.  Does the content of your blog reflect joy and delight in the gospel?  Can readers be led to treasure Jesus Christ through what you have written?

5.  How often do you think, plan, pray, and seek the Spirit’s leadership in preparing and posting your thoughts? 

Let us encourage and exhort one another to be faithful stewards of the gospel trust!