Appreciate you a ton, my friend.

You and I don’t seem as if we’d eye to eye on much but I certainly do agree with the points you suggest here.

And O, I sure hope, “If a church won’t put their name on your blog- and I don’t mean the 6 people in your living room-,” wasn’t a not so thinly veiled swipe at Connecticut River Baptist Church.

But let’s just say that it did happen to be; you should know that CRBC itself was an SBC plant and we are still affliated with both the NHBA and the BCNE, and in addition Apprising Ministries is itself a fully integrated auxiliary of CRBC answerable to its leadership as well as to a separate board of directors.

Because I would definitely want to make sure that I had “put it under the authority of a church, or at least a real-world pastor.” And as the Lord would will, in addition to myself – with a “real-world” ordination from the SBC – why there also just happen to be two other “real-world” pastors upon that board of directors.

I have a few blogs. The one I update the most (and point people to) is my personal/ranting blog. Since God is important to me, I frequently rant about God, or Christianity, or the Church. Sometimes people think it valuable and comment, “Wow, you ought to do this for a living.”

God forbid.

I post to that blog for ENTIRELY SELFISH reasons. I rant about things to get ‘em out of my system, and it’s cheaper than therapy. If God uses anything I rant about to bless folks, I expect it’s in spite of me. Although I don’t know that I’m blessing them so much as entertaining them — and I can’t call it a ministry ’cause I do it for me, not them.

Even if I did do it for them, I personally have a problem with demanding money for it. It takes chutzpah to demand financial compensation for doing the good works that I should be doing regardless of pay. It doesn’t store up any treasure in heaven; I’d be doing it for money, not Jesus. I’d much rather follow Paul’s example and pay my own way. If people want to give money, they should give it to the poor or the Church. What business do I have in taking what God has given me for free, putting little to no effort in repeating it, and charging others for it?

(Some may disagree, but that’s between them and God. For me, I can’t justify it to myself.)

I had no idea any of this stuff was around until a few weeks ago. (I don’t read Time.)I’m not too sorry to say that I find it kinda laughable that it could be seen as a full time ministry. But, that being said, it’s sure been nice ‘meeting’ so many other Christians and seeing so many points of view and being able to join in. It does do something very positive, or can, and I think that’s a good thing. But all facets of our lives have that potential in one way or another as little Christs. Even laundry. o.O Thanks for sharing and for the time and thought you put in.

By and large – if not always – those who have big ministries/followings have them because they tell people what they want to hear and are but meeting their “felt needs.”

What reason could we give for Jesus’ thousands of followers? Solid Bible teaching? Well, sure, but the Pharisees didn’t really think so. We could argue that they felt Jesus wasn’t really doing anything but meeting the “felt needs” of those thousands like quenching hunger, healing the sick, and performing other miracles.

Unfortunately, and I truly mean this without an ounce of venom — indeed it’s with compassion — if the accounts in VS are true, I’m concerned that Silva is heading down the path of A.W. Pink.

Blogging is that little collection of islands down at the bottom. Yes, in the pointed-headed intellectual sea, dwarfed by the vast landmass of Myspace, Xanga etc. We really don’t matter than much. The blogosphere is just a place where the Lisa Simpsons and Martin Princes of this world find a place to hang out where they’re not going to get beaten to a pulp by the Nelson Muntz’s. Which is wonderful, but it ain’t anything more than that.

I made a choice when I began my blog. I would not negatively blog about personalities. I would only blog about issues. I did that because of a deep and painful betrayal that had happened to me. The wound is still there and I am working through it.

Even though some were blogging on those issues and encouraged me to do so, I purposely built a boundary that would serve me well during times when the strength of my own flesh would dominate my emotions.

There are bloggers who can speak of personalities with whom they disagree in a redemptive manner. It is possible to have sane, even humorous, internet discussions regarding people and issues while at the same time observing the Biblical principle of honoring a brother or sister in Christ.

Your comments on the blog in reference are well taken.