Christian bloggers meet at first ever GodBlogCon

LA MIRADA, Calif. — The Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University in La Mirada, hosted the first-ever GodBlogCon in October. The gathering of about 135 connected Christians was the brainchild of Hugh Hewitt, nationally syndicated talk radio host and author of “Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That’s Changing Your World.” Designed “to establish and cultivate relationships within the Christian blogging community and to provide opportunities for Christian bloggers to think about their role within the broader blogging world,” attendees seemed to agree, GodBlogCon succeeded on both counts.

Writers and wannabe writers of every political and theological persuasion blog, but this event attracted evangelicals anxious to use their forums to further the gospel and to promote conservative Christian theology and political issues. Several speakers lamented the absence of a broader spectrum of the faith and urged attendees to blog an invitation to liberal and Catholic Christians to attend the next GodBlogCon in August, since the essence of blogging is reasoned dialogue.

Information, exploration, and discussion exploded as well known—dare we say celebrity?—GodBloggers participated in panel discussions and workshops. In the few years that blogging has been around, a hierarchy has already formed, measured almost entirely by the number of hits per day. Well-trafficked sites—the minority—log thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of visitors per day. Most range far below that, but being linked to a celebrity site can suddenly thrust an unknown blogger into the limelight.

In a panel on Blogging in Christendom, pastors talked about the impact of blogs on their ministries. David Wayne, a Presbyterian pastor from Glen Burie, MD, noted that, although few people in his church read his blog or understand his passion, his blog attracts an audience of seven to eight times the number of people he reaches from the pulpit on Sunday morning. Blogging is a way to extend his influence.

Panelists agreed that blogging, when done well, can encourage rather than discourage community, and predicted that blogging will change the way that ministry is done. The local church will need to catch on or fall behind.

With the Barna Group suggesting that the median church attendance now hovers around 90 adults, pastor and seminary professor Dr. Andrew Jackson added that blogs offer an opportunity for members of smaller churches to dialogue on the bigger issues that may never be covered in their home church. He urged pastors to get beyond the illusion that they have a monopoly on truth.

Superseding the impact of the teaching was the opportunity for bloggers to meet face to face with those whom they had known only in cyberspace. Community was as instantaneous as a blog post, and new friendships formed effortlessly as bloggers previously known only as ‘Sarcasmagorical’ and ‘A View from Her’ finally met ‘A-Team’ and ‘Suspend Your Disbelief,’ resulting in a universal awakening: “I am not alone.”

A playful but serious warning bounced throughout the conference: Be careful what you post, or you may never be approved for the Supreme Court, a reference to the ongoing confirmation process for the next U.S. Supreme Court justice. Your words, they warned, will remain in Google forever.

There was also a quiet cry for organization. People suggested developing a theology of blogging, a statement of beliefs, and a set of standards for Christian bloggers. But the counter argument, advanced repeatedly, is that “leading bloggers is like herding cats.”

While the desire for organization didn’t gain much momentum, small coalitions seemed to be forming.

Published by Keener Communications Group, January 2006

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