Blogging to be Known

A few years ago, a well intended blogger encouraged pastors to blog. The blogger provided 5 or 6 solid reasons for why pastors should communicate via the internet. The last reason, however, never set well with me. The final reason provided for encouragement was this, "Blog so that you can be known." I've thought about that comment often over the past few years. Once as I was walking down a steep incline in Rwanda in the middle of the night holding hands with two pastors from the Congo, I thought to myself, "Do they know they are supposed to be blogging so they can be known?" Or again as I sat in chapel at the Uganda Baptist Seminary and listened to students participate in one of their preaching classes I thought to myself, "Do these guys know they are supposed to be blogging so that they can be known?"

Obviously, the original blogger had positive intentions. He realizes there are solid pastors who never get asked to speak for a conference. He understands there are guys serving faithfully and the world (or at least the evangelical world) has yet to hear of them but could possibly benefit from their wisdom.

One of my favorite verses about being "known" is Acts 15:35 "But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also." Obviously Paul and Barnabas are the headliners, but the little phrase "many others" caught my attention one day. In the margin of my Bible I wrote the words: "known by God." Luke, under the influence, of the Holy Spirit did not include the names of the others, but they were there and they were faithful and there were many of them and they were known by God.

Very few people wake up and say to themselves, "I want to live in obscurity and be known by as few people as possible." There are some I'm sure, but probably very few. More of us are okay if others learn who we are, what we are doing, how incredible we are, etc. Both in the pulpit and out of it, pride must be crucified at the cross of Christ. Are we blogging to be known or to make Jesus known? Are we preaching to be known or to make Jesus known? I'm not saying that the "holiest" route is to make it as painful as possible for people to learn who you are or what you are doing for the cause of Christ. I am saying, however, the Lord assigns the places to sit at His table. Jesus once taught that if you sit at the humble place rather than the prominent place then you don't have to be embarrassed when the person assigning the seats asks you to move.

If the Lord watches sparrows and counts hairs on head, pastors (and everyone else) can be certain the Lord knows where you are whether or not you have a RSS feed. Be faithful. Be content. Trust the Lord's Providence. Make Him known.