Blogging

On Saturday a group of us went on a “Treasure hunt” to the nearby town of Los Barrios. The treasure hunt was a way of practising some prophetic evangelism in a totally different context to our home town of Gibraltar. In a totally different environment the clues and prompting of the Holy Spirit just had to be spot-on as most of us are not familiar with the town in questions, its landmarks, etc.

We had a time of worship and prayer and then sure enough we started writing down the clues…pharmacy, silver, municipal square…. domestic abuse….. and went looking for the places and people on our lists. We stumbled on a little square that was, funnily enough the municipal square…with a pharmacy…bounded on the one hand by a street called “la plata” (the silver) and n the other side by a council-run centre for women suffering from domestic abuse!!!! C’mon!!! At that point I had to leave early but a couple of folks were prayed for and I can say that the group that went on the treasure hunt are just off-the-charts encouraged and excited!!!!! We have several people that want to join our next adventure in spreading the love of Father God far and wide!!!!!!

Image source: a_purple_turtle

Gibraltar sports a town square officially called “John Mackintosh Square”. My grandfather’s generation called this square “el martillo” (the hammer) in reference to the auctioneer’s gavel, as this was the place where public auctions were held. El martillo was the place where my grandpa’s generation would meet, and solve the world’s problems over a cup of tea. We risk losing that in Gibraltar – the power of conversations.

Words have power. Words can create a reality into which we step and re-frame our understanding of world-views, situations, challenges and crises. We have the privilege, and the responsibility, to change the world. We work towards leaving a legacy for a generation that we will never get to see – a better world, a life that is enriched and where the summit of our achievement becomes the foundation stone of the next generation’s work. This cannot happen without conversations – without the power of words – indeed, it is contingent upon it.

We face global challenges that require global conversations:

1. Global warming
2. Poverty
3. Aids
4. Abortion
5. An undermining of traditional family values in the West
6. Conflicts and wars
7. The merging of an ideology of terror that risks moving into the mainstream of certain religions
8. An increasingly disenchanted youth in the West that is resorting to a culture of knives, guns and violence

Solutions to these challenges will emerge out of conversations – paradigms need to be redrawn; insights into problems will be revealed; new solutions to challenges will arise when these conversations take place. It is good to talk – we need to talk. It is time to speak into many of these seemingly intractable problems and challenges. We need to recover “el martillo” in our generation, a place where conversations happen….. and lives are changed.

Never has there been so much technology available for the propagation of conversations. Bloggers are becomingly increasingly influential in the political scene in the US, a testimonial to the power of words. They are now a force to be reckoned with, which any aspiring candidate ignores to his or her own peril. I love blogging, I love social media, I love conversations. Popular video websites such as Youtube have become a phenomenon and are uniquely placed to assist us in our endeavour (It has recently been reported that Youtube hosted 50 billion videos……..this month!).

I live for the day when these “new” media re-write the rules of journalism, television, education, and communication. I find it remarkable how a blogger can effectively shape the political discourse of a nation, tapping away on his laptop’s keyboard whilst having a latte at his favourite coffee shop.

The media is there, and the tools are there. Will you find your voice? Will you speak out? More importantly in any conversation…. will you listen?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Conversations, Speech, Words

Blogging

This post is only going to appeal to hardcore nerds out there so feel free to skip is if your concept of keeping up with the times is to have a cellphone.

After having sported the minimalistic “all white” theme for my blog for some time now, I have redesigned the blog using a wordpress theme called Revolution. I am slowly learning how to edit all the different sections of the site so please be patient with me.

This theme actually gives me a whole lot of lattitude to play with so I can start to plan stuff that I have been holding-off on this site for lack of “umph”. I really want to start exploring with the use of audio and video, maybe having a video podcast and audio interviews etc. It’s the digital generation we should be pursuing, stupid!

Anyways just bear with me and you should be seeing some interesting stuff appear shortly on the blog.

Blogging is a passion of mine. I believe that this is the writer’s hour. With the technology that we have at hand, a regular guy, sitting at Starbucks with his laptop can change the world. Such is the power of the written word. I can influence 30 to 40 people speaking from my pulpit on any given Sunday morning, and I can influence a whole generation writing through my blog. Both have their place, but you cannot ignore the impact and reach of the resources that we have. I am committed to blogging, and to honing my writing skills (The Apostle Paul would be a blogger nowadays, really, and I committed to imitating my heroes).

The cost of blogging and writing.
Having said that, writing in general and blogging in particular, comes at a cost. The cost is time. You really have to invest time into writing, into building up an audience, into research, and into a myriad of nerdy-geeky administrative tasks that enable your writing to reach others. Time is something we all have 24 hours of every day, so the real question is what value will you give to writing or blogging. Are you ready to put-in a couple of hours every day at the very least?

Blogging phenomenon Mark Hadfield of “Made to Praise Him” fame has shut down his blog this week, citing a leading that he has had. In his own words:

I grew up with a child’s TV programme which always started “why don’t you switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead?” I feel Jesus calling to me to switch off the computer and stretch my legs in the mountains at this point in life’s adventure. Who am I to argue?

Mark, if you ever read this, your words do resonate with me, although your blog will be missed! If you decide to resume blogging, you have a reader here.

My own blogging “lean cows” season.
I too have been going through a lean season of blogging. The reason being that I am putting in the hours into my job, I am studying to become a Chartered Valuation Surveyor (an appraiser), I am getting my house ready for baby No. 3, and I am also pastoring Living Waters, leading three meetings a week and attending to all the leadership and pastoral issues that this entails.

A typical day for me looks like this:

• 06:00hrs – Wake up. Wash up. Have gulp down coffee. Have prayer & soaking time
• 07:30hrs – Wake boys up. Prepare breakfast, get kids dressed up etc.
• 8:45hrs – Head out for school, drop-off boys and go to work.
• 9:00hrs – Arrive at work. Check emails and plan day, and start going to meetings, preparing reports and certifying legal documents.
• 13:00hrs – Grab a bite to eat at my desk, update church admin stuff and accounts, catch-up on calls, run off to bank to deposit a cheque for the church.
• 14:00hrs – Back at the office researching material on property appraisals, studying, etc.
• 18:00hrs – Still at the office – prepping for bible study tonight
• 19:00hrs – Rush-off to store to buy a few groceries – negotiate traffic!
• 19:30hrs – Arrive home – help Annabelle with Dinner, showers etc getting Kids ready.
• 20:00hrs – At church – Bible study on Foundations of Faith
• 22:00hrs – Bible study finishes – head-out to coffee shop to unwind
• 23:00hrs – Arrive home – crash on the sofa – catch-up on reading material
• 1:00hrs – Go to bed.

I am one hairbreadth away from burnout on the best of days, and I really have to watch what I take-on if I am going to be in this for the long-run and finish well.

So my blogging is getting bumped-off. And things will remain this way until I can significantly clear my schedule to allow for at least an hour of blogging a day. Thank you for your understanding.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Burnout, Stress