Blogging Ministry

Please bear with me while I rebuild this blog. We recently experienced a serious hacking/spam attack that saw more than 100 pages of spam links somehow added to our blog footer and made it necessary to flush our data base and start over in order to get control once more.

In the process I decided to move this blog to a new host. That has complicated matters and will somewhat delay everything being put back together.

If you are running on a WordPress program, I would strongly suggest that you upgrade to the 2.5.1 program as soon as possible. Supposedly they have closed all the gaps that hackers used to gain access to this blog and database.

Blessings Dr.D

Images are one way to dress up your blog and set it apart from millions of others that feature only text. They say that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, advertisers have proved that proverb a long time ago and have taken it to another level.

With pictures and images mixed into your posts, you can create greater interest in your viewers to actually read your posts. Images and pictures definitely improve a post and can also help you take your blog to the next level.

I have been experimenting with using images on my blogs for the last 2 months and it is increasingly getting much easier for me to provide pictures or images for the majority of my posts.

Over that time I have found a number of good sources for free ‘clipart’ and pictures on the web. Also, I have run across a number of issues and pitfalls that every blogger using images and pictures should fully understand.

Read the rest of this post »

Thanks to Barry Simmons @ The Journeyman’s Files, I found a link to this recent article on why pastors should blog:

"6 Reasons Pastors Should Blog"  by Abraham Piper @ Desiring God (John Piper’s website)

Abraham starts off with his own reason behind the article:

"In this article I want to convince as many pastors as possible to sit down and start a blog today. If I can’t convince them, then I want to convince churchgoers to hound their pastor until he does."

Abraham then lists 6 important reasons that pastors should blog. The article develops and explains each of the six:

1. …to write.
2. …to teach.
3. …to recommend.
4. …to interact.
5. …to develop an eye for what is meaningful.
6. …to be known.

In conclusion, Piper writes:

"For most of you, anything you post online will only be a small piece in the grand scheme of your pastoral leadership. But if you can maintain a blog that is both compelling and personal, it can be an important small piece.

It will give you access to your people’s minds and hearts in a unique way by giving them a chance to know you as a well-rounded person. You will no longer be only a preacher and a teacher, but also a guy who had a hard time putting together a swing-set for his kids last weekend. People will open up for you as you open up like this for them. Letting people catch an honest glimpse of your life will add authenticity to your teaching and depth to your ministry."

It really is a well thought out article and well worth the few minutes it takes to read it all. The following are links to other articles and several wholes series on pastors and blogging which have previously been featured on this blog:

Getting Started: “Blogging for Pastors 101″

Why Blogging?: It’s “What People Need From Their Pastors”

Pastor Blogs His Sermon Series Notes

“Blogging & Pastoral Ministry: The Series”

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During a recent visit to one of my favorite blogs, I noticed this symbol  ShareThis at the end of each post. I had to click on it of coarse and found that it was a great little widget/device that makes it easy for visitors to share and bookmark your posts without all the clutter of placing each different/separate symbol of the social web on your blog.

I immediately put it on all of my WordPress blogs through an easy to load ‘plugin’. I am amazed and more than happy with the results!

I have only recently become aware of how important social bookmarking can be to building the daily traffic to your blog. Last month when I was checking out the stats on one of my blogs, I saw that the traffic had jumped up significantly at that site and on one day in particular there were over 200 unique visits to one particular post. When I checked out the ‘referrals’ I saw that most came from "StumbleUpon".

From then on, I have been looking for a way to make it easy for folks to share and bookmark my blog posts. Most of the widgets and plugins I reviewed were to complicated, messy, or didn’t work right on my blogs. ‘Share This’  is definitely the best I have found, If anyone out there has other suggestions please let me know.

‘Share this’ currently has plugins for WordPress, Blogger, and Typepad. They also have code available for other websites. In addition, they offer a toolbar add-on for browsers to make it easy to bookmark and share with your friends.            *Top

I recently posted a review on the Windows Live Writer -a new desktop editor for blogging. I found this link on DailyBlogTips -a list of all the best desktop editors for blogging–called "Desktop Blogging Clients".

It not only lists Windows Live Writer but many others that may be useful in publishing on a desktop rather than the on-line blogging site editor.            *Top

I started blogging two years ago on March 5, 2006.

The original idea was to start a blog as an actual ministry on the Internet. I figured that I would teach a Bible study, have a Bible Q & A site, and respond to current events from a Christian perspective.

Along the way the original blog has expanded to 8 sites and usually I am way over my head with all the technical stuff. Sometimes I have gotten off track and have forgotten the original vision. Sometimes it has been more like a hobby. Sometimes it has been a burden. But sometimes I remember to include the Lord in what I am doing and it is actually a blessing. It has definitely been an interesting ride so far. There have been ups and downs, but mostly ups and many blessings in the process.

This month also marks the first anniversary of this blog–Blogging Ministry. The original idea was to write about the ‘Hows and whys of using a blog for ministry’ with articles on helpful hints and info. on how to get started.

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By Lisa Sabin-Wilson (Hoboken,NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008, 384 pages)

Brand new for 2008, an essential book for those using WordPress in publishing a blog. The writer introduces one to the basic WordPress blogging program. Then follows with three major sections, first covering the Wordpress hosted service, next how to set up a ’self-hosted’ blog with the WordPress.org program, and finally, a section covering the WordPress MU program used in setting up and hosting entire blogging communities.

This is a great book for all those starting out with WordPress and explains in  detail everything one needs to know to properly administer and publish on a blog using the program. For those who have been around a while, it outlines procedures for adding plugins and widgets to a WordPress site.

Then, for the more advanced blogger, the book gives tips and procedures for making a blog unique and shows how to design your own Template. In easy to understand fashion, the writer presents all the basic code needed to make changes in your present template and the necessary info. and know how needed in setting up a new one.

Wordpress For Dummies joins WordPress Complete as the most up to date quintessential works for those using WordPress blogging programs.            *Top

I posted previously on some of my experiences with blogging a Bible Study and all the good reasons for doing so.

Actually, I believe that anyone teaching a Bible study should seriously consider posting the notes or lessons on the Internet. Here are a few good reasons:

1. Access to the notes for everyone in the Bible study.

Those who miss a lesson or two can catch up. Those who where there but lost the outlines or notes can always download new ones. There will always be a permanent record of the study for as long as the site is maintained.

2. Expanding your Bible study to include a world wide audience really takes very little additional efforts.

For the same effort it takes to prepare for teaching a Bible study at church or in a home fellowship group, you can actually end up ministering to people in countries all around the world. People from Over 138 countries have visited my Bible Study blog and it really is no big deal or exceptional in any way.

Not only that, but the lesson you did last week will continue to be read by folks this week and in the weeks to come. The effort you put into one lesson for one week can continue to minister to people for 52 weeks a year. Also, for 24/7, 365 days, and 52 weeks the next year and the year after for as long as the site is up.

Best of all, a Bible Study blog can be started for no cost at all and with zero website experience. A beginner can set up an attractive fully functioning new blog at Blogger.com or at WordPress.com in less than an hour.

Here’s some links to earlier posts I’ve written evaluating Blogger and WordPress:

-Getting Started With Blogger: An Evaluation

-Getting Started With WordPress.com: An Evaluation

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Windows Live Writer

I was introduced to Windows Live Writer, a new desktop editor for blogging, at the BlogWorld Expo in November 2007. All the publicity about the program seemed too good to be true. However, I have found the off-line editor to be far better than than my wildest expectations. I have been able to use ‘Windows Live Writer’ to draft, post, and fully edit all 9 of my blogs from one desktop window. I have been using ‘the writer’ to publish on all of my blogs since November.

‘The writer’ features a WYSIWYG editor that automatically configures to the settings on your blog. It makes it very easy to insert pictures, maps, tables and video. In my case, it is simply incredible since all of my main sites use WordPress programs which are famous for making it difficult to do those tasks. Now all I have to do is ‘right click-save-and paste’ pictures, images, or video and ‘the writer’ automatically uploads the inserts for you and supplies the proper code on the page.

I have also found ‘the writer’ to be easier to use in editing and making changes in past blog posts than the blog editor. What is really wonderful, it is all done off-line which means that you can write articles and edit them even when and where there’s no available network. Then later you can upload and publish them later when your connected once more. Also, gone are those frustrating experiences when the network goes down while you are writing on-line and you lose everything you have written.

‘The Writer’ supports and can be used with all of the major blogging programs—Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint, WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, Moveable Type, Community Server, and many others.

Here is a link to the Windows Live Writer website where you can get more info. and download the latest version of the program. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you the best part–the Windows Live Writer is FREE–available for 0–ZIP–Nada!

Here’s a blog site for Windows Live Writer support.  Also here’s the Wikipedia article on ‘the Writer’.          

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Over at BlogMinistry, Dan lee has (*unfortunately link no longer works) an interesting interview with Mark Brown who has launched an Anglican Cathedral built in the virtual world of ‘Second Life’. They currently conduct 5 services a week and a Bible study. What an innovative ministry.

Here’s a new link to the Anglican Cathedral website/blog. Also a link to Rev. Mark Brown’s blog.

Second Life may be only a ‘virtual’ world but there is obviously a real opportunity to reach out to real people searching for something better in life. *Top