7 Mistakes Christian Bloggers Can Make

Pastor Mike here. Let's just cut to the chase. I blog. (I video blog, too.) It's what I do. Just as there are tricks to other trades, so there is to blogging (and especially for the Lord). I'm sharing some here in (watch for the video blog version of this soon)...

7 Mistakes Christian Bloggers Can Make:
(This can go for video blogging, too)

1. Have sin in their life.

You can usually tell. (The Bible calls it: discernment.) It's that feeling you get that something is wrong, but you can't quite pinpoint it. Ever had it? It's evident even in a person's writing. Holiness is not an option. Remember 1 John 1:9.

2. Speak as somebody else.

Ventriloquists. (I actually spelled it without looking it up.) They control the voice of another. There are some bloggers who ~ you'd think they were the dummy? The fact is if God wanted a second, third or seventy-fifth Rick Warren he could have created them? Develop your own "voice." (It's equal to style.) "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." ~Judy Garland

3. Expect perfection.

If I had a dime for every perfect blog I posted, I'd be broke. (Well, maybe I'd have twenty cents. Why is my wife grabbing me by the ear again?) There's only One person that's perfect and it's who you're writing for. Just accept it. You will start out bad, but get better.

4. Neglect reading.

You need to put gas in the tank from time to time. You can't possibly run on empty. Read what others are writing. Read books. Read blogs. Don't forget to read the Bible, too. (That's three "b's." Did you notice?)

5. Hit "Publish" too quickly.

I wrote a post on another blog about the importance of allowing your writing to "simmer." (Read HERE.) It was the secret to my grandmother's spaghetti sauce. You'd be surprised how that one last tweak you gain by (quote) "sleeping on it" makes your post the "pezzo di resistenza." (Now that's Italian.)

6. Forget to pray.

It's so easy to start pounding your thoughts out on the keyboard, but that's just it. They're just your thoughts without the energizing of the Holy Spirit. Seek Him first (and always). He knows what people (your readers) need to hear. He's designated your particular blog post for a specific somebody. (Yes, there are "divine appointments" even in cyberspace.)

7. Think that everyone will stop by.

"If you build it, they will come." Not necessarily. The truth is I didn't have much traffic for years. (At least for the better part of two.) A blogger blogs for the love of blogging (mostly). A Christian blogger blogs for the love of Christ (always). And to share God's love with others through writing, that's why. If you reach a single reader and that reader is encouraged, uplifted (maybe even won to the Lord?), then you've done your job. If there's only one, it's worth writing for him or her. "Well done, good and faithful servant (/blogger)."

(flickr image by SantiMB)