The Gospel Coalition

Last week, I announced that my blog would soon be transitioning into a new phase. Those who left comments on the old blog site for Kingdom People quickly guessed the blog was going in one of two directions: Patheos or The Gospel Coalition. (Well, there was actually a third guess – that I had finally given in and decided to become a sports blogger!)

The fact that commenters immediately speculated about the blog moving to one of two popular websites signifies a change in the way people think of the blogosphere. In the early days of blogging, like-minded readers discovered new blogs by the strategic use of blogroll links in the sidebar. Almost all bloggers were independent of one another.

In recent years, however, blog networks have become more established, and some have grown into – what I call – “online neighborhoods.” These mega-sites bring together like-minded (and sometimes not-so-like-minded) bloggers who appeal to a particular segment of readers.

• Beliefnet was one of the earliest online neighborhoods, and it sought to appeal to a wide spectrum of religious readers.
• The Washington Post launched On Faith with a number of well-known religious leaders. The diversity of opinions represented by On Faith and the fact that the participants were not “bloggers” made that endeavor interesting to readers from all over the spectrum.
• The Gospel Coalition came later and, through the acquisition of popular blogs from Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung, quickly carved out a predominantly conservative, evangelical, Reformed-leaning audience.
• Patheos was launched soon after as a multi-faith community of blogs, and the evangelical portal attracted some well-known bloggers from Beliefnet (Scot McKnight, Ben Witherington) who provide thoughtful commentary for a mainstream or progressive evangelical audience (with a good number of politically conservative columnists involved as well).

I could go on and point out other online neighborhoods that focus on different topics (such as politics, sports, etc.). Needless to say, the bringing together of popular blogs into communities is an important development – one that I failed to mention in my “state of the blogosphere” post from late 2009.

For a while now, I have wondered about the positives and negatives of being part of an online neighborhood. I’ve been honored to be invited to “move” to a couple of different neighborhoods. But several questions kept me from making the jump:

• Would editorial control or pressure prohibit me from speaking freely on issues?
• Does being associated with other bloggers in the same neighborhood communicate that we are all lock-step in agreement on most issues?
• What about the logistics of making such a move?
• How would a new “neighborhood” impact some of the distinctive features that made the original blog what it was?

In thinking through a possible transition, I asked some blogger friends who had already moved their popular blogs into various neighborhoods. They said the move had been a good thing… that it provided a more robust community of people who read and comment.

So, after I gained clarity on my remaining questions, I chose to pack up all my blog belongings (2551 posts to be exact and tens of thousands of comments) and move Kingdom People to a new neighborhood – the Gospel Coalition. There are several reasons I think The Gospel Coalition is a good fit for my blog:

1. I resonate with the theological vision for ministry expressed in the Gospel Coalition’s foundation documents. The ministry philosophy described in the documents is a balanced, thoughtful approach to a number of issues related to the question of truth, engagement of the culture, the importance of the local church, and the need for Christian witness in society.
2. I am nourished daily by the insights I find at this site. That’s one reason why I’m constantly giving TGC blogs a spot in my daily “Worth a Look” posts. I benefit from the grace-saturated posts of Tullian Tchividjian, the insightful articles presented at the TGC group blog, the excellent articles spotted and passed on by Justin Taylor, the pastoral heart of Kevin DeYoung, and the brief, but heart-melting insights from Ray Ortlund.
3. I want to see Southern Baptists represented in this neighborhood. Although several of the contributors to the TGC group blog are Southern Baptists, there hasn’t been a consistent SBC voice at The Gospel Coalition. The Southern Baptist Convention is the most populous denomination within evangelical circles, and as a member of a Southern Baptist church by conviction and confession (Baptist Faith and Message 2000), I hope to accomplish a broader goal of “being Southern Baptist among and for evangelicals.”
4. I want to honor the Lord and serve His people. If I had to sum up my thoughts on blogging in two words, I would choose “service” and “stewardship.” I write because there are people who (for whatever reason) find this blog worthy of their time and attention. I want to serve those readers faithfully, and I want to properly steward the little bit of influence God has given me.

And so, I’m honored to bring my blog to The Gospel Coalition, and I pray my work here will magnify the worth of King Jesus and serve His people – those of us living on earth as citizens of heaven.

Note: If you have been a subscriber to Kingdom People in the past, you don’t need to re-subscribe, as the transition has worked in a way as to maintain the subscriber list.