Nov
22
2006
A Call for Humble Bloggers
In the Southern Baptist Convention, the blogosphere is both promising and threatening. To have a voice in Convention life ten or fifteen years ago, you had to climb a ladder of committees, be in a prominent parachurch ministry, pastor a growing church, or be a seminary professor or author. Not today. Any Baptist with internet access can start a blog, publish their thoughts, cause controversy, and gather a following.
Blogs feed egos. The more brash, bold, arrogant you can be – the better. Of course, there are some really great, growing blogs that haven’t followed this path. But generally, arrogance and pride is the way to get a base of readers.
After visiting some different Baptist blogs and reading the self-righteous rhetoric and outright mockery of other believers, I feel compelled to ask: And who are you? What have you done for the Kingdom that gives you the right to criticize so heartlessly your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Furthermore, bloggers overestimate their importance. Last year, the SBC elected Frank Page as president, instead of Ronnie Floyd (the candidate endorsed by Paige Patterson and some of the other leaders of the Conservative Resurgence). The media reported that bloggers were crucial in the election.
But were we really that influential? I think not. Ultimately, Page was elected over Floyd because his church was more supportive of the Cooperative Program. The Southern Baptist pastors I have spoken with all said they voted for Page because they wanted to make a statement about the importance of the Cooperative Program. Not one mentioned blogs as influential in their decision.
So, did Baptists make a statement about the Cooperative Program? Yes. But no one was listening. Instead, bloggers let the media attention go to their head and then started assuming that they were responsible for Page’s election. So, instead of Baptists making a statement about the importance of the Cooperative Program, bloggers turned the election into an affirmation of their own grandeur.
I encourage bloggers who disagree with me to go out and ask pastors outside their circle why they voted for Page. Let’s let their answers deflate our egos. As the Rich Mullins song goes… “We are not as strong as we think we are.”
The missing ingredient in the blogosphere today is humility. We need a good dose of reality. Just because see ourselves as hip and technologically savvy does not mean we automatically deserve a platform for whatever ideas we have or pronouncements we make. Godly influence cannot be manufactured. It comes with maturity and wisdom. And usually, the people who most deserve to be heard are the ones who refuse to participate in biting criticism and attacks on other believers.
The blogosphere is here to stay. Now let’s hope humility makes a comeback.