The Gifted Blog
27 Oct 2006
Blogging effectively for the Kingdom of God requires a bit more than sound theology wrapped in a cool theme. Although I eagerly recommend both excellent theology and every cool widget one can possibly download for free, it seems blogging requires a bit of something more. A hidden element. A hard to pinpoint essence. Often times, it may require a sense of purpose.
Whether your blog is a personal journal, a family archive, an instructional tool for a designated group or an invitation for open dialog with anyone, it represents you. Our online presence is simply an extension of who we are. And recently, I find myself drawn to the idea that what really empowers our weblogs may be the element of discovering our own personal, spiritual gift-mix and employing it in our blogging.
Since a key starting point for understanding our roles in the Body of Christ is knowing our ministry make-up, it only makes sense that our blogs have the potential to reflect our spiritual assignments with the very best essence of who we are and how we were made to function. Thus, when we blog in accordance with our own particular “ministry mixâ€, a unique spiritual synergy occurs. Our blog takes on the extra dimensions (beyond natural abilities/talents) of our essence, motivations and calling.
For example, Ephesians 4:11 – 13 outlines the ministry giftings that Jesus gives the Church to distinguish us from one another. This list includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These roles are not exclusive titles; they are more like functions, ways many of us tend to operate naturally to build up the Body. They are distinct from other scripturally outlined giftings (the Father’s motivational gifts in Romans 12:6-8 or the Holy Spirit’s gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11). And importantly, we can’t strive to be or become something we (by God’s design) really aren’t. What we can do is enhance our blogs by mindfully embracing our own unique mix and make-up, allowing it to distinguish us.
As the blogosphere grows, it diversifys. As blogging evolves, I anticipate a growing effectiveness in the blogs where there is a correlation between a person’s spiritual gift mix and their site. It’s not as simple as blogging a passion/interest; that’s a given. When blogs begin to fill roles/functions in God-designed spaces, bloggers begin to display unique tendencies and empowerments that they alone were gifted with. Additionally, they may have begun to speak to the specific audience they were designed to address (i.e. – Paul to the Jews, Peter to the Gentiles although both functioned as apostles).
Contrariwise, if you’ve never discovered your gift-mix, your blog may offer clues. The same way no two ministries are identical, no two blogs will be the same in either essence or function. God takes elements of these scripturally outlined gifts and creates a gift-mix unique to each believer. Thus, each blog is at its best when (content & bling notwithstanding) it is the unique reflection of the individual who hosts it.
If you pay attention, you’ll notice particular giftings emerging(!) amongst bloggers. For example, although I am a pastor by vocation, my blogging style almost always has a teaching slant (see?) which I give myself to instead of resisting. It’s a primary disposition that, like all gift combinations, comes with both strengths and weaknesses. The prophets pretty much tell it like it is often in a ‘challenge the status quo’ way, the apostles are always starting something new and coming back around to nourish what they’ve already planted and the evangelists are looking for new ways to express Jesus’ offer again and again, etc.
Apart from gifts of leadership, there are numerous other gifts and ministries within the Body of Christ, from hospitality to mercy distributors, we are all endowed with our differences and there are far too many combinations to list exhaustively in a blog post. (Yes, I know posts are supposed to be short blurbs with links, but the teacher in me prevails!) It’s easy to google a list online here.
I’m curious (teachers are often students), do you see your personal gift-mix represented in your blog? I’d be interested to know if and where you see any of the spiritual giftings reflected or should I say emerging in the blogs of others as well.
Tagged: blogging-church, Blogs, ministries, spiritual-gift-mix
23 comments
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Comment by John Smulo
7.34 am on 27 Oct 2006
Cynthia,
This is a very insightful and helpful post. I definitely think you’re on to something here.
If we look at our blogs, I’m sure there’s some things that will be obvious about us. For example, it’s clear that you have a teaching gift. After seeing how well Jason Clark deploys the gifts of others on his blog, I bet he does an excellent job encouraging others to step out and use their gifts, networks well, and is highly relational.
Comment by billy calderwood
8.33 am on 27 Oct 2006
Great concept Cynthia! When I first began blogging, I think I spent a little too much time trying to get my blog to be something that was too far removed from who I really am. Embracing and expressing gift, not simply interest or passion ads a different layer of purpose and potential fruitfulness to the blogging activity.
Comment by ZooMuse
8.39 am on 27 Oct 2006
I just had a cyber-sneeze, so part of what I had started to say got shot out into who knows where. I’ll begin again. I am delighted to see this posting, not merrely for the specific content, but also because it actually refers to God’s Word. It seems that a great deal of blogging deals with culture, with various ‘–ologies’ and other interesting, important stuff. But there is very little reference to the Word. Whatever our feeling aboout epistemology, metanarratives and the like, we lose power to the extent that we do not also share about, challenge toward, and ask one another questions about the Word. So, I was delighted to the see Jason use his clear giftings in the light of Scripture. Well done!!
At the suggestion of a friend, I divided my blog into two, one for devotional, spiritual formation-type issues (http://zoodad.typepad.com) and the other with more prophetic tendencies, trying to awaken folks to think in new ways (http://zoodad.typepad.com/zoo_musings). I feel each represents an element of who God made (and is making) me to be. Jason, thanks for enabling us to engage, once again, in the Word which is able to pierce deeply into our hearts, minds, thoughts and intentions.
Comment by ZooMuse
8.41 am on 27 Oct 2006
Oops, Sorry, Cynthia. I guess I should give credit where credit is due and read more carefully. I take back all the nice things I said about Jason and pass them along to you. Thanks.
Comment by ZooMuse
8.47 am on 27 Oct 2006
I see that my follow up comment made it, but for some reason my original comment didn’t. I’ll give an abbreviated version here. Cynthia (at first, I thought Jason had written), thanks for bringing something very important to our conversations–not simply the issue of using new technologies to express who God has made us to be, but also for actually using the Scriptures in the process. Regardless of our thoughts on metanarratives, authority issues, etc, we err if we fail also to use the Word in our conversations. Thanks for this.
I have two blogs, one for expressing my pastor/teacher bent, the other for an emerging prophetic (hey, everybody, wake up) bent.
Comment by Paul
12.27 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Thanks cynthia, great post, much appreciated.
has got me pondering what my blogging says about me, apart from having a big mouth :)
Comment by fernando
1.17 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Cynthia – that’s a really helpful and refreshing way of looking at the issue. I’ve been having a little rethink about my blog over the week and this connects with a few other thoughts.
I’m pretty happy with my blog as it is, but it doesn’t really reflect my sense of spiritual giftedness, at least in part because the blog topics drift around a little.
Comment by marc
2.00 pm on 27 Oct 2006
(M5) – I think Pauls blog shows he has a gift for writing, he’s rather good and i’m a little envious:)
oh and he’s got a big mouth:)
Comment by cynthia ware
2.53 pm on 27 Oct 2006
John,
Yes, many of Jason’s giftings seem evident to me in his site, not the least of which is the giant “all welcome” mat (hospitiality). Although he is a church planter, and we know what that can indicate, his pastor’s heart also stands out. (Jase, I like talking about you this way behind your blog :-))
Cynthia
Comment by cynthia ware
3.13 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Billy & Fernando,
It seems we’re all always re-thinking our sites, switching them up, etc. It’s an ongoing challenge to be a complete representation of who we really are in the Body and not try to impersonate someone else, hold another’s office, function in another’s role, etc.
Our gift-mix manifests itself most fully in relationship with others which makes sense spiritually because people are the point the gifts are distributed. Thus our connections with others online may draw our gift out more, kinds different than a static online presence.
(Knowing what I do about the both of you – frankly – I think you need some vintage guitars & marshall stacks displayed somewhere on your blogs, but that’s just me.)
Cynthia
Comment by Paul
4.32 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Ah thanks Marc (7), you’re a top bro! I’m not as funny or as creative with candles as you though ;)
Comment by cynthia ware
6.00 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Paul,
If you think you’ve got a big mouth, look at the size of my post compared to the size of your comment…and of course, that was my abbreviated version…..blame it on being created with the “gifting” of my femaleness. I’m expecting Helen or Makeesha to jump in and raise the verbal quota bar…
Here’s to words,
Cynthia
Comment by jim
6.49 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Cynthia,
Thanks for the very thoughtful post. Jason certainly has a big welcome mat here.
I must admit to occasionally having ‘Jesus creed’ envy, over the popularity and the level of dialog sustained on that blog.
But then I don’t have the time, energy or really the gifting to pull that sort of thing off, nor is the tiny presby world I occupy nearly as big.
It’s kind of easy to get caught up looking at other blogs and thinking I’d like to be a bit more like her or like him.
Thanks for helping to keep us honest and helping us to reflect on our own giftings. I like the idea of seeking ways to honor that through our blogging efforts.
I’ll keep that in mind from now on as I continue forth!
Comment by Matt Wiebe
7.05 pm on 27 Oct 2006
You’re probably on to something here Cynthia. To further the gifting allusion a bit further, giftings are always talked about in the context of a body. Maybe it’s helpful then to see our blogging as part of our expression within the larger body.
A couple of implications that I can think of: for one, we don’t have to attempt to be the whole expression of the body within one blog. We don’t all have to be prophetic voices, or witty teachers, or artistic types, or tech-savvy, etc. When I see somebody who does some particular thing better than I (ie most people), I’m tempted to think, “my blog should be more like that.”
This dilutes my focus and makes me too readily forget what my blogging role is within the larger body context. What the body of Christ does NOT need is people trying to imitate the admirable strengths of others. Rather, we should be expressing the Imago Dei in the way that we uniquely can.
Comment by Paul
7.12 pm on 27 Oct 2006
lol, very true cynthia. But then look at the size of my guest post to your guest post – and on the sheer inspiration quality per words ratio you are way ahead :)
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7.53 pm on 27 Oct 2006
[...] I posted on the "other" side of the pond at Jason Clark this morning. [...]
Comment by cynthia ware
8.22 pm on 27 Oct 2006
ZooMuse (3)(4),
Oops! Almost missed you! Yes, the scriptures are our sure footing, a perfect plumbline. Being the teacher-type, I often want the exact verse quoted. But as you can imagine, that turns a lot of people off.
I always admired my former pastor for his ability to quote paraphrase-style the verse while never using the “Bible address”. It really facilitated many peoples’ ability to hear the point rather than run into the additional baggage (hurt, disappointment, fear, etc.) that often accompanies being “hit” over the head with a Bible verse.
You’re a better blogger than I, as I can barely keep one updated.
Cynthia
Comment by cynthia ware
8.34 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Jim (12) & Matt (13),
Exactly the point. We can strive to reflect our own giftings rather than imitating the strengths of others. Paraphrasing scripture, we are foolish if we measure ourselves by ourselves. I think we often want our design to be like anothers because we only look at the strengths of their make-up. But there are always weaknesses as well.
Prophets are often all black/white and can get out of balance, frequently hurting others unknowingly. Apostles can easily get concerned with their accomplishments (which are usually substantial),etc.
BTW – I’m particularly terrible at hospital visitations (which my husband is wonderful at). Who wants “truth” when you need comfort?
Thanks for the dialog,
Cynthia
Comment by Helen
9.58 pm on 27 Oct 2006
Hi Cynthia, thanks for sharing these interesting thoughts about bloggers, blogging and spiritual gifts.
I do hope that as you have said, people realize that blogs are places where they should be exercising whatever spiritual gifts they have.
Comment by molly
3.53 am on 29 Oct 2006
This is a great post! I think it’s a testimony to the “natural-ishness” of our spiritual giftings…that they just come out, that they are, whether in real life relationships or in cyberspace ones. I liked how you mentioned that you “gave yourself” to your gifting instead of resisting it, though, because that’s very true—we CAN resist ours. Having been involved in the anti-women-teaching-doctrine camp, I can attest to resisting ones gift deliberately (in my case, thinking it was a rebellious problem of my flesh, not an actual gifting).
I’m not really sure what my specific gifts are…all I know is, they don’t tend to involve quiet or boring! lol…
Comment by Paul
1.16 pm on 30 Oct 2006
Molls you remind me of that person who gets on to the dance floor and starts laying on some moves and encourages everyone else up to join in until pretty soon the party is really kicking and everyone is having a good time, caught up in the dance, the beat, the music, the participation so that they lose themselves in something so much bigger but find themselves at the same time…
Comment by cynthia ware
5.23 pm on 30 Oct 2006
Molly,
Thanks for your comments. It’s Pastor’s Appreciation week at our church so I’ve been “bein’appreciated” and kinda out of the loop for a couple of days. :-)
Anyway, yes we can resist our giftings and also neglect really exploring what they are. Additionally, I think many people make the mistake of over-spiritualizing some of the gifts and offices and then the Body gets all contorted, each member not really being it’s best for the sake of others…and it’s all about the sake of others. There’s no “ranking” of gifts or gift-mixes so we can all just discover (and use) who God made us to be. Looking forward to discovering you more….Cynthia
Pingback by Strolling ’round My Cyber-hood « adventures in mercy
5.38 am on 31 Oct 2006
[...] Cynthia at Digital Sanctuary gives some great tips for new bloggers: Where to blog your faith?  Her guest post over at Jason Clark’s was excellent too—blogging your spiritual gifts. Hm. I really like Jason’s guest blogger idea…I might have to steal it one of these days. [...]
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