Although my personal blog has suffered great neglect between the time I started it two years ago and my renewed commitment last month to actually post something on it, I’ve had plenty of exposure to listservs, blogs, webcasts, podcasts and now Twitter at work.
Creating content and writing for work comes easily to me, but as I tried to figure out what I wanted to write about my personal blog, I decided to start by reading the blogs of people I know. At first, I didn’t even realize most of them even had blogs until I saw them being “followed” by bloggers I knew of.
As I searched and read and searched and read, I came across the blog of someone I worship with – someone who has had a significant spiritual impact on my family – someone who was sighing in frustration in cyberspace and was met with digital silence. This brother in Christ (more like the favorite nephew you look forward to seeing at family get togethers, but really don’t know as well as you’d like) had blogged - nearly a year before I had stumbled upon it – about a frustration he was experiencing in his ministry at our church.
Convicted.
Not only were there no posted comments by other readers, but it occurred to me that his post was just about the same time he was probably having the most impact on our family through this ministry he was so frustrated with.
Where was I?
Not knowing he was discouraged or that he was venting about it on his blog is irrelevant. We were a beneficiary of his blessing and should have been an encourager in his life and reached out to show our appreciation.
It got me thinking about this cyber-comms medium and how easy it is to share of ourselves in a quasi-faceless format… is it diminishing our accountability to engage with actual people face-to-face? For me (and for my MBTI followers) I’m an INTJ, so it’s no great surprise to you that the introvert didn’t seek out someone they don’t truly know well to say “thank you for your ministry.” Yes, yes, my Myers-Briggs-“Type”-talkers, it’s not an excuse, merely an explanation.
I have expertly and successfully held myself accountable at work to exercise my non-preferences and “Extrovert” and “NF” at-will for the sake of corporate leadership… it’s time I held myself accountable outside the boardroom and break out of my “comfort zone” to serve the will of my Heavenly CEO and be the encourager in action that I am in my introverted thought-life.
So, Christian, today, let me (belatedly) bless you.
You are gifted and you are a gift. You are creative, strong and determined. Your leadership and your ministry have been instrumental in the spiritual transformation of many, but specifically to my family and no volume of belated thank-yous could equal the value and importance of your ministry in our lives and our church.
Lord, help me to reach out to others and be an encourager … beyond the post, but at least I’ll start here.
A week or so ago I ordered a small group DVD series from the American Association of Christian Counselors called "The Busy Epidemic: Conquering Stress & Anxiety." I had looked at it several times in the past - it's a part of the AACC's Fresh Start Recovery Series for small group leaders. I've always found their content to be rich, on target and often convicting. I expected no less from this series. I've never been one to shy away from examining my shortcomings - professionaly, it's an opportunity to work on them, turn them into assets. I do a lot of executive coaching in my secular work and one of the things I frequently work with my clients on is helping them see the value of really owning what they don't do well and soliciting feedback from others to give context to the impact of those shortcomings.Although ultimately I ordered "The Busy Epidemic" as a resource to bring to a small group at some point, my expectation was that it was going to be an opportunity for self examination as I previewed the materials. I already know I'm "busy." I already know this is having a negative impact on my life and likely the people I love. But I fully expect to be convicted in areas I wasn't ready to own as I go through this series.But now that I have DVDs in hand (4 of them) I can't seem to find the time to watch them. How's that for irony? Okay someone reading this is thinking "creative avoidance" but it's definitely not that. I typically play these in the car to make the most of my 2 hours a day commute time, but my travel DVD player is having an issue. (No I don't drive and watch DVDs, I close the screen and just listen - like talk radio.)Every once and a while I wonder if the devil's hand is in things like that ... creating a convenient obstacle that's just enough to keep us from following the path God has planned for us. Pray for me that all obstacles may be removed from my path, that I may get from this series what God would have me learn and provide me with opportunities to bring comfort to others plagued with a busy epidemic.
Two years later, almost to the day, and it is quite conspicuous that my Blog has collected some virtual dust.
As my work in the secular world has recently required me to take note of the newest social media phenomenon of Twitter, I’m hoping to use that vehicle to rebuild my writing muscles little by little and get back to Blogging here more regularly.
The irony is that I’ve done fair volume of writing and publishing in the last two years since my last Blog post, but none of it on topics of choice (all for work). However, I’ve also been repeatedly blessed by opportunities to witness in the workplace that have affirmed my belief that I’m where God wants me, so I soldier on.
My tension comes from the push-pull of having so much to share and no time to share it. Great ideas unrealized… a whistled tune lost in the wind… was that the thought that was going to make a difference for someone else to read and I never put it out there?
I think every Christian struggles with that from time to time – am I putting God first? I think there’s a greater measure of that than whether I’m keeping up my Blog, but surely fall short in any given moment. Human, as always.
