It's a true day to celebrate

As I type this posting, bouquets of balloons adorn my office and confetti is dropping on my head while a band plays celebratory music in the background. Okay, I’m lying but today is March 31, 2006 which is the one year anniversary of my blog. WOHOO!! So, for those of you who were not readers at the inception of my blog, let me answer some historical questions about these daily ramblings.

When did my blog begin? March 31, 2005 with the posting, “To blog or not to blog.”

Why did I start writing a blog? Our Business Manager here at Grace Church, Andrew Norton, came to me with the idea and the encouragement to begin. He thought it would be a great way for people to learn more about me as their Senior Pastor.

How did my blog get the name it has? My blog is called, “Listen, Folks!” Once again, this one goes back to Andrew Norton who has noticed that I use that little 2-word phrase often when I preach so when he set up my blog site, he gave it this unique name.

How often do I post on this blog? A new entry is posted every weekday (Monday through Friday) unless the church office is closed on one of those days. Even when I am away from the office on my day off, vacation, or a ministry trip, I still write blog entries which are posted by Elaine Bendinsky, who is one of our church office workers.

How many postings have I made? Today’s blog is my 261st posting.

What is the purpose of these blogs? If you read these blog postings long enough you will find that they are not always the same. This blog is designed to be far less formal than my “Pastor’s E-Mail Updates” that I send out to the hundreds of people who have subscribed to it (free, of course) every Monday and Thursday mornings. The e-mail updates are purely to keep people who attend Grace Church feeling “in the loop” with all that is happening at Grace. This is important as our church continues to grow as it is easy to feel like you have no ownership in a larger church. The blogs, on the other hand, are aimed to simply allow people at Grace to get to know me as the Senior Pastor better. Some days I just post humorous stories, usually about my own life. Some days I post more serious thoughts about my life or about the issues that face us in our world and in our faith. Some days I write about Biblical principles or areas of Christian living that can motivate, convict or encourage us, depending on the content and the reader. Each Monday I use my blog to recap the sermon that I preached the day before. It is my goal to be very transparent in these blogs. You will learn things about me…my thoughts, my ideas, my likes and dislikes, and more. Sometimes these blogs may make you cringe or even make you a bit uncomfortable. You may not always agree. That’s okay. Many, perhaps most pastors are less transparent than I am. Yet, to me, there is a need to be real. I don’t want to be a pastor that is different on stage than he is in real life. These blogs will help you to learn more about me and what makes me tick. Kind of scary, isn’t it?