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Blog Fellowship - Let's Blog About It!

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 Thoughts from Thunder Mountain
["Huachuca" - A Chiricahua Apache word meaning "thunder."]

 Blog Fellowship - Let's Blog About It!

http://www.intrepidlutherans.com/2013/09/blog-fellowship-lets-blog-about-it.html?showComment=1378521874388#c4920213477759160523


 "Blog"
{From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia}

A blog (a contraction of the words web log) is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first). Until 2009 blogs were usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often covered a single subject. More recently "multi-author blogs" (MABs) have developed, with posts written by large numbers of authors and professionally edited. MABs from newspapers, other media outlets, universities, think tanks, interest groups and similar institutions account for an increasing quantity of blog traffic. The rise of Twitter and other "microblogging" systems helps integrate MABs and single-author blogs into societal newstreams. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

 The emergence and growth of blogs in the late 1990s coincided with the advent of web publishing tools that facilitated the posting of content by non-technical users. (Previously, a knowledge of such technologies as HTML and FTP had been required to publish content on the Web.)

A majority are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via GUI widgets on the blogs, and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites. In that sense, blogging can be seen as a form of social networking. Indeed, bloggers do not only produce content to post on their blogs, but also build social relations with their readers and other bloggers. There are high-readership blogs which do not allow comments, such as Daring Fireball.

Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries; others function more as online brand advertising of a particular individual or company. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important contribution to the popularity of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blogs), photographs (photoblogs), videos (video blogs or "vlogs"), music (MP3 blogs), and audio (podcasts). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts. In education, blogs can be used as instructional resources. These blogs are referred to as edublogs.

On 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. On 13 October 2012, there were around 77 million Tumblr and 56.6 million WordPress blogs in existence worldwide. According to critics and other bloggers, Blogger is the most popular blogging service used today.

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Some of our brother Pastors and lay people have serious concerns about the propriety of this blog, that is, whether or not the fact that both WELS and non-WELS Pastors work together as editors constitutes a kind of fellowship in the Biblical and doctrinal sense, and therefore might be seen as unionistic and thus improper. I hope I have characterized the concern property. If not, I'm sure there will be someone willing to correct me. 

To be fully honest with you, I must admit that when I first heard this concern I thought it was rather silly and nonsensical, and thus I pretty much ignored these ideas. However, they have been repeated now for over three years, and by some of our synod leaders. Which leaders is not important - you'll just have to take my word for it. But it now occurs to me that perhaps it is time for a more in-depth discussion of this concern. Simply put, is there such a thing as "blog fellowship," akin to Church Fellowship or Altar and Pulpit Fellowship; to wit, an amendment to the Galesburg Rule would be needed: "WELS blogs for WELS Pastors only!" (ditto for ELS, LCMS, CLC, ELDoNA, ACLC, etc....)   

For my part, very obviously, I do not believe there is such a thing as blog fellowship, nor do I believe that anyone should have any perception of such fellowship simply because I, a WELS Pastor, am an associate editor/moderator along with a non-WELS Pastor. 

[By-the-way, and as an aside, perceptions are queer birds, and probably fodder for a discussion of their own. When does a perception become slander? When does a perception become reality? Is perception enough to initiate church discipline? If so, why, and when and how much perception is necessary, and on who's part? Are those who hold a perception - however erroneous - just as guilty as those who may perpetuate said perception, if not more so? Is perception of a improper fellowship putting the best construction on a brother's actions and motives? As I said, another discussion for another time, but perhaps a very important one.]

I maintain that among the millions of blogs on the internet, that there is more than one where WELS and non-WELS (other that ELS) Pastors work together on various duties related to these blogs. In addition, I know of no concerns being raised about such blogs, either by rank-in-file Pastors in the WELS or WELS leaders, at least not to the extent as such complaints have been raised to me about IL. But, on both counts I invite correction.  

Now, I know there are many of my brother Pastors out there who read this blog but do not want to comment on it publicly out of concern they may be seen as supporters of IL, or, if nothing else, at the very least of giving a kind of tacit support and approval for this blog. Let's all agree that anyone who writes in with a comment on this topic shall be totally free from such aspersions, unless they themselves actually say something positive about IL in their comment; and even then it will not be held against them. There, I think that's fair.

So, with the definition above in mind; just what is a blog, theologically speaking? Is it a "ministry?" Is it "church?" Is it a kind of fellowship? If so, what kind, and why? If not, why not? May Pastors - or lay people, for that matter - who are not in doctrinal fellowship, work together on a blog that deals with religious and spiritual questions, and provides a forum for doctrinal discussions? Why or why not? Are perceptions of fellowship enough to prohibit such working together? In addition, is a blog the same as a theological periodical, or is it different? If it is the same, why? If not, why not? Should the same standards be applied to both, or not; why or why not?

Come on, let's talk about this, shall we? It is clearly on the minds of many. Let's get it out in the open and discuss it like humble Christians striving for peaceful, thoughtful, and constructive dialog!

I will be very disappointed if we don't get a lot of comments - especially from those who criticize me for my part in IL. I really do want to hear from you, and are very interested in what you have to say. All I ask is that you say it to me here on IL so we can discuss it openly in spirit of brotherly debate. Thank you!

Deo Vindice!

Pastor Spencer