All Things to All People?
May 17th, 2012 – by Mark
In some ways I see my ministry for many years as being “all things to all people.” But not everything I write speaks to everyone. That is understandable for many reasons.
I am writing this just now because I will soon be posting two things that will appeal to rather specific audiences. I am, for instance, soon posting an academic lecture I presented last November (in a somewhat shorter version) at the American Academy of Religion meeting. This annual meeting is a gathering of nine to ten thousand people (well, it is when it coincides with the Society of Biblical Literature, as it does currently). This is a meeting mostly of those who teach Religious Studies or Biblical Studies in institutions of higher education. There are hundreds of sessions. Mine was presented in a session that dealt with a newish book called Defending Constantine by Peter J. Leithart.
A friend of mine tells me that posts on blogs should really be no longer than 750-1000 words. I’m sure he’s right. But I also know that some academics post much longer essays. That is what I will be doing when I post my essay on Defending Constantine. Also, since this essay is slated to be published sometime over the coming year, I will remove it when it is published (or a bit before; I’m still learning).
Also in coming weeks I will publish some reflections on “The Purposeful Plan,” a document intended to help provide guidance for the Mennonite Church, U.S.A. I realize this set of reflections may have little relevance to non-Mennonites. Although I think in an illustrative way it might. Opinions on that would vary.
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May 25th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
As that friend of yours who tells you how long blog posts “should” be, Mark, I’m also aware that blog writing is a very flexible medium, depending greatly upon – among other things – who’s writing it, who’s reading it, what it’s for, what kind of thought/literature it’s engaging, etc. There’s certainly a place for long posts, and there are plenty of blogs that go long. Heck, I often don’t heed my own advice on my blog!
Posts like this are helpful in a blog’s formative stages, but even after you’ve been doing it for a number of years. So this periodic action/reflection approach to blogging, or “blogging about blogging,” is good practice for the author, and helpful to the reader.