As you know if you visit here with any frequency, my general routine is that Monday through Thursday anc occassionally on the weekends, I try to post something new and original. Fridays are generally devoted to the poetry/music post and The Weekly Town Crier, a collection of links I found interesting that week. I’ve been blogging now for nearly two years and I remember that when I first started, I had very specific ideas about what I wanted my blog to be. I began by posting maybe twice a week but quickly bumped that number up to four.

I’ve been clear from the beginning that blogging is not my priority. Truth be told, it’s probably not even in the top five, but nonetheless, it is something I devote time and effort towards. Writing four posts a week is nothing for some people and it is unthinkable for others. I’m somewhere in the middle. I don’t struggle with it, but it is also not a walk in the park. Why, you might ask, do I devote time and effort to something that is not one of my top priorities?

I try to blog a lot because I believe that it is a great avenue for me to become better at other things; things that are my top priorities. Wheras for some people, blogging is the point, for me, it is a means to an end. Obviously, outside of my family, my church is one of the top priorities. Teaching, explaining and applying Scriptures (Preach the Word and love the people) are the things God has called me to devote my life to pursuing. I believe that blogging can help me pursue those ends. It’s not that blogging in and of itself is not important, but I approach as a step in the process of much larger, much more important things.

Some people take the approach that, if you want to get better at something, you do it less so that you can concentrate more. That’s the stated reason of many bloggers as to why they don’t post everyday, or even often. I approach it a bit differently. I believe that if you want to do something well, you do it a lot and you accept failure along the way. I know pretty quickly from the comments when I blog post doesn’t communicate well or my thinking is skewed. After all, when we’re trying to learn piano (which I am), we practice a lot because there are certain things that have to be burned into motor memory, there are skills that have to be mastered, etc. The same thing applies to thinking critically.

Yesterday I spent some time offering some possible spritual benefits of blogging. One of the things I continually talk about here is developing critical thinking with the Gospel as the measure and filter of all things. Blogging provides me with a ready outlet to strive after this goal at least four times a week. I post it on the internet for any and all to read and because it’s a blog, I expect feedback. I blog a lot because I want to think more biblically and I believe you can help me in that process by interacting and sometimes, offering constructive criticism (please, let’s keep it constructive!).

I was watching a series of short interview clips the other day with Ira Glass, host of Chicago Public Radio and now, Showtime’s This American Life program. Throughout the clips, Glass discusses the “building blocks” of a great story. He explains how he and the staff go about creating such compelling glimpses into everyday life each week. I was struck by one of the things he talked about in the third clip. He stated that many people get into this type of thing because they have good taste. They get into radio because they like radio, they write about the Bible because they love the Bible, (he didn’t mention the Bible, but I do) etc.

Inevitably, though, there is a steep and long learning curve in which the thing you are creating, whether it be a radio program or a blog, does not match your expectations and taste. In other words, you know what you like and want to create but you also know that what you’re producing doesn’t match your taste. Many people quit somewhere during this phase, becoming discouraged at the disconnet between expectation and production.

But the ones who get good at what they do are the ones who push through that learning curve until the gap between your taste and your product becomes gradually smaller. You might never completely close the gap and create something up to your own expectations, but you get better by doing. You keep doing what you love and you keep evaluating how well you’re doing. Without stifling the passion, you must be able to be objective and consider how well you’re meeting your goals, but you must keep doing. That’s why I blog a lot.

It’s easy to sound elitist, which I hope I don’t, but it’s the blogs with a clear purpose that I tend to visit the most. Many blogs seem to exist simply because someone wanted to be able to say that they had one. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, these are also the blogs that tend to die as quickly as they appear.

I blog a lot because I want to get better at applying the Bible to every area of life. I want to become a better writer so that I can become a better preacher. I want to think biblically on a variety of topics because I want to be a better pastor. I want to learn to communicate better so that I can be a better husband, father and friend. I blog a lot because I want to glorify God more in every area of life and I know that you can help me towards those goals.

• Watch the interview clips for yourself
• Visit the official This American Life website
• Read War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles by Paul David Tripp
• Read No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas For Your Blog by Margaret Mason