I rarely participate in the annual ritual of crafting resolutions for the coming year. I did commit to one in 2012. This time, for 2014, I have settled upon three: Participate in worship in at least 10 different communities of faith Write at least 200 blog posts and be more actively engaged on Twitter Read at least 100 books and write reviews for at least 50 So What? New years bring new possibilities. While I expect a fair degree of the unexpected in the months ahead, Read More …
blogging
1,000 Days of Daily Blogging (#1150)
This post marks 1,000 days of blogging on a daily basis. I launched sowhatfaith.com just over 4 years ago. Almost three years ago, I started blogging on a daily basis. At several points along that journey I paused to reflect and share my experience: 100 Days, 1 Year, and 2 Years. So What? I hope my daily posts have been substantive, relevant, and actionable. I believe even more strongly now than I did when I launched this blog that it is important for people who Read More …
Celebrating 2 Years of Daily Blogging (#0885)
Today I celebrate two years of daily blogging. Amazingly, I have now written at least one post every day for the last two years. A year ago I reflected on my first 365 days. This year, I opt for an approach that is more celebrative than reflective. I celebrate Friendships - those that have emerged or developed as a result of my writing Learning - the ongoing opportunity to be a lifelong learner (and to relate what I am learning in community -- see friendships above) Read More …
Reflecting on 365 Days of Daily Blogging (#0519)
I launched this blog in June of 2009, and started posting on a daily basis a year ago. Over the last 365 days I have learned a great deal, including: writing blog content is different from all other writing creating and using a standard template for each type of post (e.g., book reviews) provides helpful structure timely topics attract readers, especially those in the current news cycle posts with the greatest hit counts are, almost exclusively, those shared by others via social Read More …
Reflecting on 500 Blog Posts (#0499)
In 2009, I moved from an observer to a participant in the growing world known as social media. In January, I joined Facebook. Within a few months, I was logging in to Facebook several times a day. In May, I secured a domain name. In June, I launched this blog. Initially, I wrote a few posts a week In September, I joined Twitter. Within a few months, I was tweeting several times a day. As I wind down my third year in social media, I recognize that statistics tell a Read More …
Social Media Tools for Churches 101 (#0497)
Alys Drake, communications manager for Howell Marketing Strategies, recently wrote a guest commentary in the Commercial Appeal that provides churches with a "social media primer." She includes six basics: Blogs Twitter Flickr and Tumblr Facebook Geolocation (e.g. Foursquare) Other (YouTube, Ustream, Vimeo, podcasting, QR codes, Google+) So What? In the article, Drake states, "Information is spread at lightning speed via social networks like Facebook and Twitter in a way Read More …
Reasons to Keep Blogging (#0491)
Brooklyn Lindsey is a pastor who currently oversees the middle school ministry at Highland Park Church in Lakeland, Florida and has recently written two books: Opposite Day: Upside-Down Questions to Keep Students Talking and Listening (2009) and Confessions of a Not-So-Supermodel: Faith, Friends and Festival Queens (2008). In light of her own slower pace as a blogger, she reflected on reasons bloggers should continue to write and publish their thoughts: Read More …
Sowhatfaith.com – The First 2 Years (#0391)
Happy 2nd birthday to sowhatfaith.com! Over the course of the last two years, a great deal has changed in my life and with this site. I have transitioned from full-time to part-time ministry in a local congregation transitioned from serving a Presbyterian (PCUSA) parish to serving one affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC) started working full-time for a university Sowhatfaith.com has transitioned from posting new content twice a week (101 posts in the Read More …
The Structure of an Effective Blog Post (#0261)
Michael Hyatt is the Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. You can connect with him by reading his Intentional Leadership blog, following him on Twitter, or liking him on Facebook. Earlier this week he shared the basic components of his blog template in "Anatomy of an Effective Blog Post" Lead Paragraph Relevant Image Personal Experience Read More …
What I Learned from Writing 100 posts in 100 days (#0260)
I did it: 100 posts in 100 days! After taking roughly 21 months to write my first 160 blog posts (roughly 7.6 a month), I needed just 3.3 months (100 days) to add another 100. This dramatic change in writing habits revealed: Blogging can be a spiritual discipline Writing more frequently led to reading more online content (I read more blogs than I ever had before, engaged several people I didn't know previously, and plan to continue to interact with those people and their work) Read More …