I rarely do posts about the site itself, but with a lot of new readers, there are some things that need to be said occasionally.

Every few months, I will get a letter here at the Internet Monk mail room that goes something like this (not a real letter btw, but very close):

Mr. Monk,

I don’t know why I read your web page. I need some encouragement in my faith and after reading what you write, I see no reason to continue being a Christian. You criticize everything and everyone. You find nothing right with the church. You amplify every doubt and objection to where it can’t be ignored and you seem on the verge of abandoning the faith yourself. Who knows how many atheists you’ve created. With all the influence you have in the blogosphere, you’d think you could be at least a little bit encouraging to those of us who are struggling.

Sincerely,

Bruised Reed

I’m not above appreciating this kind of letter and I don’t want to come off that way. “Bruised reeds” are important to me. I love them and feel a special concern and consideration for them. I’m not above criticism, though you’ll easily find people whose blogs will inform you that I’ve never allowed or agreed with a single criticism every offered to me. [Continue reading]

“I am on a post-evangelical journey, discovering what it means to be vitally connected to Jesus.”

A truly prominent, not-post anything blogger has put forward the following theory:

Those who use the prefix “post” to describe themselves are claiming to be smarter than those who don’t.

Example: A “post-modernist” is saying “I used to be mired in the darkness of modernism, but now, through my superior intellect, I have arisen from the tomb of modernism and ascended to the higher plane of post-modernism.”

Or: A post-conservative is saying “Once I lived in the dark swamps of conservatism, but now I’ve finally used my brains and looked at what Neanderthals inhabit conservatism. I’ve packed my bags and left for the sunshine and springtime of post-conservatism.” [Continue reading]

Ground Rules are a series of posts reflecting on what I’ve learned in some of my controversies and conflicts with other bloggers.

Who’s on your blogroll? Your RSS reader?

What are you saying by including or excluding them?

Somewhere in my future volume called “Blog Psychology: The Behavior of Bloggers Explained” I will have a chapter on blogrolls. Maybe I’ll even do that long lost doctoral thesis on “Blogrolls Explained: The Significance of Inclusion and Exclusion on Christian Blogrolls.”

Let me make clear at the outset that I put myself forward as an example of such behavior. I have included and excluded a number of people from my blogroll, and it will be on that basis that I’ll make any observations on what someone is thinking. [Continue reading]

Ground Rules is a series of posts reflecting on my interactions with my critics.

Critics say those advocating a “missional” church fail to define what “missional” means. They, on the other hand, are generally confident in their own descriptions of missional churches and ministers. [Continue reading]

Ground Rules is a series of posts on some of the issues raised in my interactions with my critics in the blogosphere.

Imagine with me, if you will, the following strange story.

Imagine that I make a blog post taking issue with some point made by Ravi Zacharias. I rarely disagree with Ravi, but let’s say I take some issue with him on the issue of inerrancy. I devote a post to it. [Continue reading]

Ground Rules will be a series of posts exploring some of the issues raised in my interactions with other bloggers.

Occasionally, I’m criticized for my use of the acronym “TR” as shorthand for “Truly Reformed.” I often use this term in a critical way, and that’s brought regular criticism that the term is insulting.

Why do I use the term “TR?” [Continue reading]