On Friday I posted up a few reasons for why I think everyone should start a blog. Yep, that means you too.There were more things I wanted to mention, and the post was already getting long, so here's another couple reasons that I have in my head.
If you can think of other reasons to start a blog, or other reasons why you blog (if you do) please share them!
You can help people.
And I mean that both in the spiritual/emotional sense and in the physical sense.
Even though you have your unique story, there are many times where something you will write will help someone out with what they're going through. You don't know what people are dealing with in their day to day lives. And there are few things that are more fulfilling than a comment or private message from someone thanking you for what you wrote because it was "just what they needed" that day. It's an amazing thing to feel God using you in that way. He wants to use you to encourage others.
And, in some cases, you can use your blog to really make a sizable difference to people's physical lives. Like Jon Acuff (every Christian blogger's object of idolatry) who raised $60,000 to build 2 kindergartens in Vietnam....in less than a month. Or countless amounts of people who blog about sponsoring children, charity work, disaster relief and raise money and attention for these causes.
You can see this from many, many bloggers who have devoted much of their time and attention to raising awareness, money, support, items, teams and projects for Haiti.
Things you can do online can make a huge difference to people offline.
It removes some of the 'unapproachability factor'
This reason is a little more targeted. If you are working in a church in any capacity, or are a prominent volunteer, or a public face, a teacher, etc; people will think you're unapproachable. That's just the way it is. For example, our church runs about 4000 people on the weekend, and has a volunteer worship band that rotates through over 40 people. Most of them play 2 times a month, or 1 time a month, or sometimes even less. But to people in the congregation, these musicians are rock stars.
People I talk to in the band about this are constantly dumbfounded by this phenomenon, because they don't think there's any reason for it. They don't view themselves as anything to write home about. But it's the way things are.
They are just viewed by many people as being unapproachable.
The same is true with our lead pastor. The other pastors. The staff members. Volunteer leaders of areas and events. When you are in a position of authority (real or implied) people are going to create a mental wall between you and them. You may have done nothing to merit it, and you can be the most down to earth person there is. But there are plenty of people who will be intimidated by you or what you do, how you carry yourself, your perceived confidence; and they will assume that you're not just a normal person.
Blogging makes you seem like more of a regular person; which, of course, you are. It allows people to get to know more of the 'real you,' as opposed to the you that they have created in their minds.
That's enough
I'm sure that's not all the reasons to start a blog, but that's quite enough of this for now.
Again, if you can think of other reasons to start a blog, please share them! Or if you are of the blogging persuasion, why did you start? Why do you keep doing it?
