Ben Cole has finally shown me the light on what it is to blog, and how to really make the most of my blog-presence. Here are his "Rules for Blogging:"

1. Try to post daily, but not too many times a day. The greater number of posts you put up in a day, the shorter each post must become.
2. Do not expect people to read your blog because you think your ideas are brilliant. If your readership isn’t increasing, it’s probably because you don’t have anything to say regardless of your insistence otherwise.
3. Be personal, but maintain privacy. There are plenty of freaks out there who have no need to know the most intimate details of your life.
4. Be honest. Do not exaggerate or conceal the facts. You will be caught.
5. Under no circumstance should you use emoticons. Ever.
6. Blog for yourself, and not for others. This is the only way to make sure that your blog is truly yours, and not some projection of what others want you to become.
7. Make a point to check your sitemeter only once a day, if at all. Blog statistics are addictive like crack cocaine, but much less socially acceptable.
8. Respond to commenters with infrequency. If you aren’t careful, your blog will become a place where others determine the subject of discussion. If people start coming to your blog for the comments rather than the main post, you may as well delete your blog entirely.
9. Avoid with all due diligence the temptation to employ arbitrary and excessive rhetorical flourishes.
10. Do not seek attention for your blog by posting frivolous comments on other blogs only to generate readership. All such commenters are to be hanged at dusk.
11. Do not send out email updates that you have posted something new. If people want to track your blog, they can use rss feeds.
12. Do not beg for comments. Do not whine for attention. Do not promote your blog. If your blog is worthy, others will pass it along.
13. Some people’s comments should never see the light of day. Idiots are the lepers of the blogosphere. Treat them as such.
14. Realize that many things you find funny are quite unfunny to others. Of course, you must also realize that some people do not have any sense of humor and will cry foul at the faintest hint of sarcasm, wit, or satire. Disregard them.
15. Only on the rarest of occasions should you allow another person an editorial privilege before publishing a post. Own your own words.
16. Blogs are the new porn. Your spouse will feel like there is another woman in your life if you spend too much time reading them.
17. Most bloggers tell more than they know. Be the exception. Always tell less.
18. Do not announce your absences from blogging. It is nobody’s business why you aren’t posting.
19. Do not post your own sermon outlines or notes. Your own congregation can barely get through your sermon without falling asleep. Don’t suppose that your blogging brethren are any more interested than they.
20. If your blog is controversial, embrace it. Do not attempt, however, to make your blog controversial for controversy’s sake. People like watching train wrecks, but will never favor a man who tries to wreck the train.

Mingle² - Online Dating

Mingle² - Online Dating

Mingle² - Online Dating

Barb Orlowski is doing a Doctor of Ministry degree, and her research deals with how people have recovered after a painful church experience. [HT: John Smulo]

If you feel you can help with her research as a person who has gone through painful experiences at church or as a pastor who has tried to help people through such experiences you can participate by contacting Barb at churchexitersq@telus.net. All responses will be kept in confidence.

Thanks to those who chose to help.

I loved this meme so much that I just wouldn’t wait to be tagged. John Smulo started it just on Saturday, and it’s already gaining momentum.

Here are the rules:

1. Those tagged will share 5 Things They Dig About Jesus.


2. Those tagged will tag 5 people.


3. Those tagged will leave a link to their meme in the comments section of this post so everyone can keep track of what's being posted.

This week I will be traveling, so posting will be sporadic at best. My blushing bride and I will be attending the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Several reasons we will be attending this year:

• My parents can keep our older children.
• The River Walk.
• Time with my wife.
• A chance to be informed about the convention of which our church is a part.
• Authentic Tex-Mex (the best in the world).
• Opportunities to see friends that I haven't heard from in years (literally).
• IMB focus this year is on the former Soviet Union (our former digs).

This week we've had to say good-bye to Hannah's cousin. Jeremiah Joseph Wring succombed after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was 30 years old. Jeremy is survived by his parents, a brother, and his grandmother (as well as aunts, uncles and cousins). His penchant for asking thought-provoking questions will be remembered for years. His final desire: to make a difference for Jesus even in his dying moments.

Jeremy will be missed, but his memory will comfort those who knew him.

It's time for summer sandwiches. So, eat a PB & J and take this quiz:

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you're going back for seconds... no matter how full you are! You have a total sweet tooth. When you can get away with it, you like to have dessert before dinner! Your taste in food tends to be pretty flexible. You may crave sushi one night, and your favorite childhood recipe the next. You are probably a fairly normal, upper middle class person. You don't rock the boat too often. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.