One Year, 205 Posts Later

Today marks the one year anniversary of kerux noemata – thoughts of the preacher... this blog. I determined one year ago to blog for 12 months then to evaluate. So, you get to view my evaluation! What has blogging taught me?

1. Check your Greek before you post.
When I started blogging I had no idea how many people would actually read this thing. Had I known, I would have checked my English to Greek work before going public! In my consultations with the cowboy, I have realized that “thoughts of the preacher” in Greek should really look more like “noemata tou kerukos” or “noemata kerukos.” I thought about changing, but that would be like getting a tattoo removed – too painful, and who really looks at the thing anymore anyway! Besides, even kerux is misleading... but if you spell it “correctly” as keryx, people pronounce it all whacky. Just for the record, I am a “kay-rukes,” not a “kee-rux” or “care-ux” or “kie-rix.” Please pronounce it correctly in your head.

2. If you want attention, dare to say what you think is wrong or weird.

3. If you want a lot of attention, offer a critical evaluation of youth pastors or Bono.

4. The best part of blogging is the people it has introduced to me. Many of these “cyber-introductions” have led to real flesh and blood meetings – the scariest of which was with the challster. I mean, you have to figure that anybody who blogs as much as this guy must weigh in at 600 lbs and have an office like this! Suffice it to say that he was not half as odd as one might expect.

5. Blogging has also taught me to think more clearly. This is by far the most personally beneficial thing. Having to write out thoughts and communicate ideas forces me to think through matters more fully (I know, it is not that evident!). I have also tried to keep my posts small. (If you are like me you just don’t have a lot of time to read long essays.) So, unlike this post, most of my writing has been only a few paragraphs. This also has the advantage of stirring up lots of comments since I have to leave so many ideas undefended!

6. Another great advantage of blogging has been the comments I receive from “viewers like you.” I would say that 80% of these comments are pure cream – refining and challenging my own views and teaching me much. There is always that 20% of drivel, but I have yet to see a blog that doesn’t have that! Besides, the drivel is enigmatic of popular evangelicalism and thus instructive on another level. (Did I just say your comments are poppycock?)

So, is blogging worth the effort? Have 205 posts and 537 comments in one year accomplished anything of substance? Anything that promotes the work of God on the earth? In many ways that is an unanswerable question. So, I am forced to consider... will these noemata continue?