the interview with god

I was forwarded a link to this (thanks Nix). Now some of you might think it's a bit cheesy. Perhaps it is. And no, it's not an actual interview with God. It's just a poem. I say just a poem - poems can be pretty powerful. Anyway in my opinion it's well worth checking out.

the making of the christian

There's a good article here about the difference between discipleship and spiritual formation. It's an interview with Richard J. Foster and Dallas Willard in Christianity Today magazine.

youth work = youth ministry?

Like many others I have blogged about this subject before. But as the debate is rearing it's head again here amongst other places, I thought I would offer some thoughts. (I was also intrigued to note that my blog appears in the list for 'youth ministry'....anyway)

Youth work (in my opinion) is any activity, be that a youth-group, youth-club, youth-whatever, that is based on the principles of empowerment, equality of opportunity, participation and education(1). Youth work employs methods of informal education rather than formal education(2). In my mind at least there is little doubt as to what youth work is (there may however be some questions as to what qualifies as youth work, but that's another issue).

Youth ministry on the other hand, seem to me to be a little less well-defined. Well, it's possibly over defined, in that I can see two broad definitions of what it is....

"The term ‘youth ministry’ seems to have a variety of uses. In Youthwork and the Mission of God(3), Pete Ward, speaking about the British context, uses the term ‘youth ministry’ to refer to the activities of professional youth workers engaging in Christian youth work, youth work which is funded by the Church . Ward uses the term ‘ministry’ in order to draw parallels between the activities of the professional Christian youth worker and a member of the clergy.......American literature on ‘youth ministry’ includes theory linked to carrying out informal education activities in the light of the Christian tradition(4), as well as the “‘how to do it’ guides and checklists”(5) which by their very nature encourage a mentality which believes there are set patterns of behaviour to follow for both youth workers and young people.

With the increasing popularity of North American ‘how to do it’ youth ministry literature in Britain(6), the term ‘youth ministry’ now seems to have two meanings in the British context. Amongst those Christian youth workers who have gained professional qualifications in youth work, qualifications recognised in the secular field as well as the religious field, ‘youth ministry’ refers to the “more reflective and academic approach to Christian youth work”(7), an approach which could be described as pragmatic. Amongst Christians who are influenced by the American ‘how to do it’ youth ministry literature, the term ‘youth ministry’ is describing an approach to working with young people which could be described as normative."(8)

In writing that essay I was analysing different approaches to working with young people, using langauge taken from certain areas of missiology. By 'pragmatic' I am referring to practice which begins it's response by first considering the current context in light of the Christian tradition, then acting appropriately. By 'normative' I am referring to practice which begins it's response by seeking to ensure that certain beliefs, traditions and rituals will be passed on to future generations.

In my opinion there are instances when 'youth work' and 'youth ministry' are interchangeable terms. But not always. For example, there may be occasions when youth ministry uses formal education methods. In my understanding this means it is probably no longer classifiable as youth work.

I also take Richard Passmore's point (see these comments), that possibly this whole argument about youth work or youth ministry is a little unnecessary.

Pesonally, this is how I currently see what I do (in no particular order)....

I try to work with young people using the principles of informal education. I believe that these methods are not oppressive, ie. they do not hinder other people experiencing what it means to be more fully human.
I try to work in a way which will promote fullness of life (opportunities to be more fully human) for those I work/live alongside.
I try to work and live in a way which will enable young people (and all people) to experience a right relationship with themselves, with other people, with the world around them, with God.

________________
(1)Kerry Young, Towards a Core Curiculum – The Next Step: Report of the Second Ministerial Conference, written by Kerry Young on behalf of the National Conferences Steering Committee (Leicester: National Youth Bureau, 1991) 16 quoted by Kerry Young, The Art of Youth Work (Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing, 1999) 15-16
(2) See a website such as www.infed.org. Alternatively go and read some of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, trans. Myra Bergman Ramos (London: Penguin, 1996), 52-60
(3)Pete Ward, Youthwork and the Mission of God (London: SPCK, 1997) 2-3
(4)Dean Borgman, When Kumbaya is Not Enough: A Practical theology for Youth Ministry (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997
(5)Michele Erina Doyle and Mark K. Smith ‘Christian youth work (youthwork) – a guide to reading’ [website page]; available from http://www.infed.org/youthwork/b-ywchri.htm; Internet; accessed 18 April 2005
(6)An example of such a book is Doug Fields, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry: 9 Essential Foundations for Healthy Growth (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1998)
(7)Pete Ward, ‘Introduction’ in Dean Borgman and Christine Cook, eds., Agenda for Youth Ministry (London: SPCK, 1998) 1
(8)This is quoted from an essay I wrote for my MA - the module was Research Methods - my favourite ;o)

Update
There is a really helpful diagram here, that shows a way in which youth work, youth ministry and formal education might fit together.

well i had to write something....

....after all it's been nearly a week since I last posted. It's been a hectic few days. A busy weekend, followed by two trips to Birmingham (today and tomorrow) for university. I'm really glad to be back studying - it was just rather annoying that due to a lack of communication I didn't know what modules I was doing and when until the end of last week, by which time I'd already filled my diary with two meetings this evening. :o( Ah well, at least the boys were able to celebrate another fantastic win at the weekend. 8th in Coca-Cola League 1 now. That's almost a play-off place.....I know I know. I should stop dreaming.

a new kind of conversation

So I thought this looked really interesting....

A New Kind of Conversation

Blogging Toward a Postmodern Faith

With

Brian McLaren, Mabiala Kenzo, Bruce Ellis Benson, Ellen Haroutunian and Myron Penner.

This blog-book will discuss what a postmodern evangelical faith looks like. The blog format will make it possible to allow you the reader, to participate in the writing of both the blog and the eventual published book to follow by Paternoster. Be a part of this experiment in conversation by adding your voice to the discussion.

“A New Kind of Conversation” begins on Sept 15th 2005.

I've just spent a couple of hours reading most of the stuff that has been posted so far. It's not exactly light bedtime reading, but it is pretty interesting stuff....if you like that kinda thing....I'm really intrigued by seeing how the conversation develops, and the way in which there is freedom to develop different threads. It will also be very interesting to compare the final editted copy with the conversation as it actually happened online.

worry...

Here are some thoughts that I shared at our joint evening service this evening (joint with our two local Methodist Churches). For a while now I've been thinking about worry, about the future - all that kind of stuff....

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace and a time to refrain,
A time to search and a time to give up,
A time to keep and a time to throw away,
A time to tear and a time to mend,
A time to be silent and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time for war and a time for peace."

Time, change, its always going on around us. There’s nothing we can do to stop time, theres nothing we can do to speed it up.

Leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, it's autumn. The leaves falling are yet another reminder of the seasons, the passage of time etc.

Why I like Autumn…
I think of Autumn as a warm cosy time, theres a feeling of expectancy, maybe even of looking forward to Christmas already.

But that's not all. Often, by the time we get into October, November, I can look back and realise that all those new things that were happening in September, that I'd given so much time to worrying about, I have survived. The world hasn’t ended, the new school isn’t all that bad, the new job is going well etc.

Time and again in my life people have told me not to worry. I know I worry a lot. It's one of my worst traits. I know. I’ve had Matthew 6:25-34 quoted at me soooo many times. But it’s true. Worrying will achieve nothing. It’s not that it won’t help, but it can actually make things worse.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was talking about the idea of ‘God having the whole world in his hands’.

Now I sometimes thing of God struggling to hold the world aloft. But maybe, God’s there with the world cupped in his hands… It’s almost effortless….

Ecclesiastes 3: 9-15
"What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure for ever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so men will revere him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account."

God has designed the world in a way which we will never understand it all. It pains me to say it, but I can't know everything.

We are to revere God, to marvel at his greatness, His great faithfulness, the way the planets keep turning, the seasons will follow one after the other, the way He continues to provide for us, day after day…

Great is Thy Faithfulness
"Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, they compassions they fail not;
as thou hast been thou for ever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by moring new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided,
great is they faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by moring new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided,
great is they faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by moring new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided,
great is they faithfulness,
Lord, unto me!

fantastic...

A fantastic win for Chesterfield yesterday. 2-0 down at half time, but we came back and beat Walsall 3-2. Superb.

"nikes, nokias and nintendos"

Kester Brewin has shared some thoughts and reflections on the role of advertising.

Having shared all too familiar stories of kids who can't afford to pay school trips, but will pay for "Nikes, Nokias and Nintendos", he concludes by stating

in an age where more and more of our field of vision is being chopped up and sold off to space for sale - hoardings, petrol pumps, escalator steps, TV shows, urinals - this constant message of aspiration and tantalisation is making us all poorer.

I agree with what he says, but would not just leave it at that. I would go as far as to say that the role of advertising in our society has reached the point where it is oppressive (it hinders us on our journey of becoming fully human).

Questions which then arise in my mind include....

How can we be liberated from this oppression?
How are we to act in the face of oppression? (Matthew 5 38-41)
How can I as a youth worker provide opportunities to reflect on the world around them, and the impact of advertising on their lives?
How can I facilitate some kind of conscientisation? (Paulo Freire - Pedagogy of the Oppressed)

By now you might have guessed that I've done a bit of thinking about this subject before today. I wrote an article for Perspectives, which was published at the beginning of the summer. As it is still the current issue of the journal I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to post the whole thing on t'internet, (you could always subscribe - it's very good) but if you want to carry on this discussion in the comments, or by email....

blog = opportunity for slating others????

Now in comparison to some people I'm pretty new at this whole blogging thing. It may be the case that I don't 'get it', but just recently I've become increasingly frustrated with some of the blogs I've been reading, especially some of the comments on blogs I've been reading.

You see, for me blogging is not about finding new and creative ways to slate other people's ideas. It actually hurts me to see some of the 'un-thought-through' criticisms and slatings that various people feel it's acceptable to post. It can be a strength but increasingly I fear it is a weakness of blogging, that people's thoughts get posted so quickly, at times it appears, with the potential consequences not being fully thought through. I wonder how healthy the allowable levels of anonymity are? Do people not realise the potential hurt their words can inflict?

I think that blogging can provide opportunities for true dialogue to occur, but it often seems that blogging just provides further opportunties for people (myself included) to go on thinking that we've got the right answer in our little clique.

crash: moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other

Yesterday, despite having little money, and in the midst of the 'panic' over petrol, I decided to treat myself by going to the cinema across the other side of Sheffield. Somebody, (I can't remember who - feel free to say if it was you) recommended that I go and watch Crash.

It's set in Los Angeles, and provides a snapshot of life in a multicutlural, racial-tension filled, post 9/11 society. You see the way in which a whole array of characters go about their lives, and the way in which these different characters interact with on another - as the subtitle says "moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other". Sometimes we see these characters as the oppressors, sometimes as the oppressed. It's a fascinating film, with a good soundtrack and some cool stuff on the website - especially the "experience the film" bit. For me, it re-enforced my understanding, or rather lack of understanding, of the why the world is the way it is. Relationships between absolute strangers seem so messed up. Fear prevails. People look out for their own interests, with no consideration for anybody else.

For me it was a hard-hitting, perception challenging film, and would provide plenty of stuff for discussion in a small group setting.

cricket: reflections on a slow game, steeped in tradition

Yesterday.....England won the Ashes back. I have to confess that I watched quite a lot of the cricket, not all of it by any means, but by yesterday it had become utterly compelling viewing. I can still remember going round to my friend Adam's house on the first day of the first test back in July. I'm not sure I really believed we could do it back then. BUT WE HAVE!!!! It did seem a bit of a farce at the end, what with the bad light/when can we end the game??? fiasco. But that'll be forgotten in due course.

It's probably also worth paying tribute to Richie Benaud, providing us with his wonderful commentary for the last time in the UK.

Towards the end of the day Mark Nicholas, Channel 4's presenter on the cricket said some interesting stuff about tradition....I can't really remember exactly what he said, but I remember thinking that there certainly are times when it is important to remember and honour the traditions which have developed over the years. One such tradition is the 'gentlemanly' way in which cricket is to be played - the great Shane Warne being a fine example of this. Seeing the commerardery between the opposing sides, the concern for the injured etc. makes you realise that it is possible for sportsmen to be compassionate, reasonable human beings. Let's see if the overpaid footballers realise this...

Nicholas also made it quite clear (and I agree with him on this point as well) that the farce over the rules about how the game can be brought to an end, show how rules and at times traditions, can get in the way. The question cricket faces (and indeed the church) is how do we honour the traditions of our ancestors, while working in a way which is suitable for the fast-paced society in which we now find ourselves.

Now I'm not expecting cricket to engage with this issue, but one issue I believe the church must engage with, is whether or not we consider the current nature of society (the fast-paced, efficiency-driven world) to be a healthy thing, and do we actually need to spend some time critiquing culture, maybe looking to transform culture, rather than just work out ways for us to 'do' church within it.

This whole thing about efficieny is something John Drane talks about in his book The McDonaldization of the Church. To what extent does the church bow to the surrounding culture, taking on the quest for more efficient programmes, structures etc.

I was talking with my parents the other day, about church structures and endless committees etc. One thing I have become aware of over the last few years, is the importance of the process. Now I know that a lot of committees can be quite dull, but sometimes I think we can forget that committees provide space for people to think, to talk, to feel as though their voice is being heard. I wonder whether this process, of sitting and talking to each other, of showing care through listening to one another, of builing up relationships with one another, can be lost in the streamlining and drive for efficiency.

apparently....

Apparently the Chesterfield players were wearing white wrist bands during our game against Bournmouth yesterday. Couldn't spot them myself, but good on 'em anyway.

dreams can come true

This afternoon Chesterfield played Bournemouth, in Coca-Cola League 1, and WE WON. And we didn't just win by the odd goal, we won 3-0. Fantastic.

dreaming of victory

I'm just about to go and watch Chesterfield. We've yet to register a result other than defeat at home soe far this season. I'm hoping, dreaming, wondering if it is at all possible that we might manage to salvage at least a point when we 'entertain' Bournemouth this afternoon.

an easy essay, by peter maurin

Jordan Cooper posted a link to this. I thought it was fantastic, so decided to post it here as well...

The world would be better off
if people tried
to become better,
And people would
become better
if they stopped trying
to be better off.

For when everyone tries
to become better off
nobody is better off.

But when everyone tries
to become better
everyone is better off.

Everybody would be rich
if nobody tried
to become richer.

And nobody would be poor
if everybody tried
to be the poorest

And everybody would be
what he ought to be
if everybody tried to be
what he wants
the other fellow to be.

(Peter Maurin, along with Dorothy Day, founded the Catholic Worker movement in 1933.)

missing the point of mission?

I had coffee with a fellow youth worker (Rich) this morning - we ended up chatting for most of the morning. The conversation covered many different topics, one of which was short term mission trips or missions trips as some people (not us) call them. I thought it might be worth sharing (with Rich's permission) some of our reflections, or at least what I can remember from this morning, about short term mission(s) trips....

Rich has spent quite a bit of time running and hosting short term mission trips, mainly in the USA and I'm currently studying for an MA in Mission Studies. I say all this not to make anybody look bigger/better/cooler, rather so whoever reads this knows that the subject of mission is something we both have an interest in. We spent a fair while discussing the pros and cons of short term mission trips. Both of us have been on short term mission trips in the past, and Rich in particular has, in recent years had considerable involvement with short term mission trips. This morning we had a really healthy discussion about short term mission trips and both of us shared some of our thoughts and questions…

1. We both have questions about the value of short term mission trips for those the ‘missionaries’ are intending to serve. I know that sometimes the cost of getting these young missionaries out to far-flung destinations can be such that if it were given as cash to the local community, it would make a vast difference to the life of that community. I recognise that often there is no substitute for human interaction, and I certainly don't want to encourage giving financially as the only kind of giving. I also know that sometimes the fundraising projects to pay for plane tickets etc also raise additional money to go direct to the organisations working day-to-day in these local communities. That's all great. But the question still remains, is us, flying half way around the world, to paint houses (or whatever) the best way for us to engage in mission?

2. Many people talk about mission in terms of what those participating in the mission trip will get out of it, eg, new experiences, a deepened relationship with God etc. Now don't get me wrong, I think new experiences are good, as is a deepened relationship with God. But if these are the sole purposes of the mission trip then something is a little bit wrong (in my opinion).
Now obviously nobody ever states that these are the sole purposes of short term mission trips, but sometimes I have to wonder. Let me explain…
I recently spent some time with a group of American high school students who were over in this country (the UK) on a short term mission trip. These missionaries had been doing various things around the community as well as in local schools. Now the activities they had been engaging in were all well and good, and I know that having a bunch of people who speak funny coming into your school can draw a crowd BUT what value is there in the long term. Both Rich and I agreed that the most beneficial short term mission trips we had had dealings with, were those when groups of people had returned to the same place on more than one occasion. When I spoke to the leaders of this group of American students they seemed to have no intention of returning.
Reflecting on the aims of this trip, it seemed to me that the only real aim was that these American young people would gain new experiences, possibly develop better relationships with other members of their group, and having shared some new and exciting experience together, have learned to have to put their trust in God, and thus their relationships with Him may have deepened. IF this, or anything vaguely similar happened, then that great. Really, I think it is. BUT THAT’S NOT MISSION. Or at least that not all there is to mission. Is it?

I guess that one of the things I’m trying to say is that mission, for me, has to be something more than just a week or two every summer, I get the feeling it is something that I am called to do with the whole of my life – I want to be a part of a Christian community, which is a part of God’s mission to the world, expressed through His creation, the sending of His Son, and hopefully His church. Mission, for me, has to be about the way we as a community live our lives (possibly as some kind of act of worship – though that’s for another time!!), demonstrating who we as a community are, what we as a community stand for, 24/7.

Incidently the Church of England's Mission-Shaped Church is now available to download as a pdf.

from jam to death

I was meeting yesterday with a couple of volunteer youth leaders. One of the things we were meeting to discuss was some of the youth group programme for the next term, but, as many meetings seem to do, we ended up discussing many different topic (at the end of the meeting we commented how we had discussed subjects ranging from jam to death - not v cheery I know, and not meant to sound insensitive).

One of the things we spend quite a bit of time talking about was the use of the internet in church/youth work stuff. Our church doesn't have a website at the moment. I know it really ought to, and conversations are happening about how this issue can be resolved, but at the moment it doesnt. Having spent some time looking at other churches websites I have become aware of the different uses of church websites. The internet provides churches with another way to present themselves to the world at large. Most churches use their website to portray factual, unchanging information about the church, its activites, the staff, the mission statement etc. This is great, and when it is done well, can be very effective.

Other church websites, and in my (limited) experience it seems to be the youth work/ministry websites, have discussion threads and chat facilities. We got quite excited by the possibilities of this within the youth work context, as well as the wider church context. I'm guessing a number of people have tried out different things, so if anybody has any comments/reflections/suggestions on this area I'd love to hear...It would be great if people have examples of good or at least innovative uses of the internet in terms of church/youth work websites.

so many thoughts, so little time

First things first, can I apologise for not having posted since last week. There's been so much going on, so many thoughts (and a few worries) going around in my head.

I thought I ought to get some of these thoughts on to my blog. But before I do that, I'll share whats been going on....

On Monday evening, our new vicar was installed and collated (think thats right, feel free to correct me if I've got my terminology wrong). I'll be honest with you, I've been getting increasingly nervous abut Peter's arrival. I'd met him a couple of times before and he seemed like a lovely, down-to-earth, normal guy (which is good, and unlike some vicars I've met in the past). But the thing that was causing these worries, really, was change, uncertainty, the not-knowing.

On Tuesday evening I went to St. Chad's, Woodseats to see Andrew Foulkes be licensed by Bishop Cyril of Doncaster, to be youth minister at the church. It was a really relaxed service, that had a friendly, informal yet sincere feel to it.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I had my first proper meeting with the new vicar, and unsurprisingly it went well. Once again I had spent far more time than was ever necessary worrying about something over which I had no control.

spirituality of regeneration

While at Greenbelt I went to hear a guy called Alastair McIntosh. I'd first read about this guy in the writings of George Monbiot. Alastair's talk was entitled "Four Quartets and the Spirituality of Regeneration. Now not being a literary type I didn't realise what the Four Quartets were (I now know they're written by T.S.Eliot), but I did/do have an interest in community regeneration.

The session was really good, Alastair interspersed readings of Eliot's poetry with his own thoughts, some of which I imagine are included in his much praised book, Soil and Soul. The notes I took are a bit random, they don't necessarily flow, but within them I think are some interesting, maybe even helpful thoughts, perhaps just beginnings of thoughts....

Jung - we can't resolve our neuroses, we just outgrow them.

When involved in any kind of social activism, we must be in touch with the Godhead, or we will become burnt out.

Solidarity - causes us to question our spirituality, to reconnect, remembering our history, revision of the current situation, reclaim that which is needed to bring about regeneration.

This is not something that is imaginary, rather it is imaginal - we are on the threshold, a visional realm.

As we talk about community regeneration we are not talking about pantheism (God is nature), rather we are talking about Panentheism (God being present in nature Psalm 104, John 1).

Three stages of life as a whole, as well as the life of an activist.
1. Departure - the start of the journey
2. Initiation - stormy waters, alone, in darkness. Completed when the 'ego' falls into place. Facing our shadow side (Jung). Engaging with the powers (Walter Wink).
3. Return to the community, enriched, bringing wisdom.

In both life, and activism, it is not a question of whether our work fails or not, rather, we must remain faithful to our destiny, our vocation, our calling from God.

Faith is to do with an attitude to life, not just creeds and dogmas. All things leading to a deeper revelation from God.

The sickness that has led to the disintegration of society is fundamentally spiritual.

We must lose everything so that all that remains is our spiritual self.

Church - a trellis upon which the vine of life can grow towards the light, NOT a cage.
We must liberate it.

Geographical communities as against communities of interest (and possibly virtual communities - though this might have been my thought as against his words) - meeting places, embodied, a sense of belonging.

Parish/place/community - where there is a sense of belonging, which leads to a sense of identity, which leads to a sense of vision, which leads to a sense of responsibility, which leads to a sense of belonging, and so on.....

To be real humans once more, we must re member, re vision, re claim

There are those who fear that in community, the individuals will be washed away. But in reality, the opposite is the case. It is only in a community, one with another, that we discover who we really our. Jesus taught us to pray "Our Father..." not "My Father..."

greenbelt2005

why blog?

Why blog? I’m trying to think of different motivations people might have for blogging. But ultimately it all seems to come down to the same thing. People want to speak. People want to tell other people about what they’ve been doing and thinking about. (This kind of carries on from some thoughts posted by Miz)

I think free speech is good. For this reason blogging is good. I recognise that not everybody has the same amount of access to blogging and the internet. I don’t think this means I should stop blogging however. But what it does mean is that
1.) we might want to think about enabling more people to have access to the internet – if this is realistically possible. If not, why not?
2.) when we blog we must remember that we are just one voice amongst millions. Humility? Taking the lesser place at the table (see point 9 in Andrew Jones’ Spirituality of Blogging).

But the problem is, sometimes a lot of us (myself included) just blog crap. A lot of what we say is drivel that very few people actually care about. But does this matter?

There is always going to be a problem with sifting through loads and loads of information. I don’t know how search engines work, but I question whether they are always going to be ‘fair’, what if we miss out on a useful piece of info just because it does not have a high Google rating? On this point there are obvious (at least to me) links again to point 4 of Andrew Jones' Spirituality of Blogging – something about building up a good reputation. Again, is this ‘fair’? (Don’t worry, I am asking myself the question why I am concerned with things being fair or not.)

But on the issue of reams of drivel, I do think (at least for the moment) that it is important to blog holistically. If we are going to blog about our lives in any way, we must try and show a whole picture of our lives – not trying to hide bits away (point 3 of Spirituality of Blogging). Mustn’t we?

I have another question, which I’ll throw into the mix just because I can. Why do we think we have ‘the right’ to so much instantly accessible information???? People have survived for years without all this information, about what people all over the world think about all sorts of things. Is it actually going to make life any better for anyone? Is it going to give us more to worry about (how are my blog stats doing today?)

These are just some thoughts. Make of them what you will, if you read them at all…Comment if you so wish…I’d love to know what other people think, do other people ask themselves these questions? Where is blogging going?

Perhaps I'm taking this all to seriously and just need to stop thinking....