Blogging benefits: Pastors discover online community enhances preaching Amy Forbus, Mar 18, 2008
PHOTO COURTESY I-CHURCH.ORG
United Methodist pastors who blog say getting feedback via the Internet helps them more effectively prepare their sermons.
By Amy Forbus Digital Community Builder
United Methodist pastors are finding that online community over the Internet flexes their theological muscles, and their preaching and ministry are better for it.
Though most may not receive as much feedback as their mega-church counterparts (the Rev. Adam Hamilton at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., for instance, sometimes receives more than 50 comments on a single blog entry), United Methodist pastors are increasingly using technology to engage people in discussion and spiritual reflection at times other than Sunday morning.
And those who may not meet regularly with a group of other pastors sometimes find that online tools such as e-mail and blogs (short for “weblog,” or an online journal) can help address that need, too.
The Rev. Steve Heyduck, chaplain of Methodist Children’s Home in Waco, Texas, says his blog postings help him prepare his sermons.
“I bounce ideas and interpretations and impressions off other people—anyone who will read and respond,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll have what I think is a great new idea or direction, and it will get shot down quickly. Sometimes I strike a nerve with a blog [entry, and it] affirms that I am onto something.”
Mr. Heyduck says that reading others’ blogs makes a difference, too: “I’ve learned to follow the blogs of quite a few other people,” he said. “I get to be a sounding board for them as I hope they will be for me.”
The Rev. Anne Sims of Ann Street UMC in Beaufort, N.C., appreciates having online feedback, because it’s often more straightforward than what she hears from parishioners face-to-face.
“My church loves me, and I don’t think they would tell me anything that wasn't positive,” she said. So when she needs a critique for a sermon draft, she turns to her fellow Web ring members at the RevGalBlogPals community for feedback that is both “supportive and honest.”
Ms. Sims, an associate pastor who preaches once a month, often will follow the “Tuesday Lectionary Leanings” conversation at RevGalBlogPals, and then visit related blogs to read other sermons that are posted.
On the weeks that she preaches, she also participates in the “Saturday 11th Hour Preacher Party,” she says. A weekly feature on RevGalBlogPals, the 11th Hour Preacher Party helps pastors who are finishing their sermons on Saturday. Pastors get feedback, share suggestions and support each other.
“I find it very helpful to share experiences and ideas with others,” Ms. Sims said. “There’s a great diversity of theological traditions and positions.”
It’s becoming more common for churches to distribute audio CDs and podcasts of worship services, and pastors have seen the growing popularity of these audio-visual tools.
The Rev. David Alexander of First UMC in Mansfield, Texas, upgraded his blog during Lent so that it now includes audio.
“I have long wanted to use my blog as a secondary resource for preaching and a place to encourage people to join the conversation,” Mr. Alexander said. “This is the first time that I've ever really given that a shot.”
He’s seen a marked increase in e-mail and personal conversations from parishioners since he began this new approach.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the response that I've received from the congregation,” he said. “There hasn’t been a lot of interaction in the comments, but I’m guessing that’s mainly due to people’s inexperience with the weblog platform.”
The Rev. Michelle Hargrave of Fairmount Avenue UMC in St. Paul, Minn., posts audio of her sermons and makes them available for subscription on iTunes. She’s gotten positive feedback from young adults who don’t regularly attend weekly worship services and from folks who don’t attend at all.
“I hear that people use them on their iPods, listen when they have missed a Sunday or when they particularly liked one,” she said.
Though she doesn’t track how many people listen, she knows that people look forward to downloading her sermons. “I hear about it when I get behind [in uploading files].”
Borrowing a technique from Mr. Hamilton, the mega-church pastor, Ms. Hargrave sends a weekly e-mail to her congregation to highlight what’s coming up in worship or her sermon. People tend to save that message, she says, and use it to hit the reply button when they want to share their thoughts the following week.
Ms. Hargrave uses her blog to further the conversation beyond her sermon topics; she also blogs about faith and life in general. Two parishioners recently told her that her blog posts helped them get through a bad day, and one young mother commented: “It helped me center.”
The Rev. Eric Van Meter of the Arkansas State University Wesley Foundation says his preaching has benefited from the practice of blogging, even though he doesn’t post his sermons online.
“I pay careful attention to what goes into my blog,” he said. “That disciplined use of language helps me organize and communicate ideas much more effectively. It’s an indirect effect, but no less real.”
For the Rev. Beth Quick of Franklin Lakes UMC in Franklin Lakes, N.J., blogging not only helps her sermon preparation, it has affected her worship practices, too: It changed the way she serves Holy Communion.
Last year, Ms. Quick blogged about watching people take bread from the Communion loaf. “Some people would take huge chunks, and some would take teeny-tiny pieces. I wondered on my post if this correlated to how we feel about taking grace offered to us by God.
“I got several responses from other pastors and lay folks who emphasized the celebrant tearing the bread and giving it to each parishioner. Like grace, the bread is a gift to be given, not something a person should have to take. I immediately started serving Communion in this way. I found the change to be powerful and significant.”
aforbus@umr.org To visit these pastors' blogs, click each pastor's name appearing in red in the text of this article.
PHOTO COURTESY I-CHURCH.ORG
“I have long wanted to use my blog as a secondary resource for preaching and a place to encourage people to join the conversation,” Mr. Alexander said. “This is the first time that I've ever really given that a shot.” 
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