Live-blogging GodBlogCon (7): Second Plenary



Same panel and format as first plenary (L-R: John, David, Joe, Andy).



Finally got to ask my main question. All the talk has been about using blogging to "change the culture" and "change the institutions" (politics). Other Christian blogs debate theological points or offer "warm fuzzy" devotional thoughts. But I see few bloggers focusing on evangelism. My own attempt is in its infancy and will take time as Christians tend to see Runalong as too irreverent while for many non-Christians it is too "religious".

I want to reach the person who is not necessarily a cultural conservative, who is seeking some form of spirituality but is probably leaning toward Buddhism or New Age because he/she has been turned off by the Religious Right. How can we effectively use blogging to reach this 20-30% of the population with the gospel? This is one of my two blogging passions and I'm not finding much in the way of models. I'm looking for ways to develop a blogging strategy that will draw non-believing readers and plant seeds (or uproot 'weeds') of thought.

The panelists, for all their insight on other issues, seemed flummoxed by this question and seemed to miss the point when they responded that politics is part of evangelism and discipleship. Perhaps they are so politically oriented that they can't imagine a non-politically oriented approach to blogging. Or maybe I'm just Don Quixote. I suspect however that too many Christian bloggers don't really have any non-Christians friends and thus don't really have a clue how non-believers think or how to EFFECTIVELY persuade them (as opposed to simply ranting and raving and pontificating). I suspect women can be reached via the subset of blogs by Christian women that follow a pattern of sharing the challenges and joys of day-to-day life and relating them to Christian principles. But what about the men?

David just made the good point that conversion is a process and we need to focus on moving people along in the process, not just on seeking an immediate "decision". So how do we, as Christian bloggers, help others feel less unfavorable and more favorable (I'm thinking of those as two separate things) toward the gospel?

A lot of questions and answers that make for good dialogue but would be boring and trite in print.
(Not that that has ever stopped me before!)

Update: Two of the panelists (Joe & David) have added helpful clarifying thoughts in the comments section.

Posted: Fri - October 14, 2005 at 02:05 PM          

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