Readscott.com Writer Gives Church Planters Ideas On How To Gain Credibility By Blogging

We've seen an increase over the years of church planters utilizing the internet. For the reason, I asked Scott Magdalein, the owner of Updatable.cc and the author behind Readscott.com to give us some ideas on how young church planters can gain credibility through their blog.

Here's what Scott had to say:

Before delving into how your blog can effect your credibility (positively or negatively), let's first establish the importance of having solid credibility. Credibility, according to dictionary.com, is "the quality of being believable or trustworthy." As a pastor, and especially if you're young, credibility can be the most valuable and illusive trait you can have.

So, with that established, let's look at a few ways you can use your blog to build your real-world credibility.

1. Spell-check. Honestly, there's no reason you should have misspelled words in your blog posts. Most post editors have automatic spell-checkers. And, if you think it's not catching all of the errors and your eyes tend to play tricks on you (and they probably do), then get your wife, mom, neighbor, kid, dog, anyone to proofread it before you publish it.

2. Grammar-check. While this tends to be less dangerous, there are folks out there (like my mother-in-law) who know grammar like Mozart knew music. Gaining credibility with those kind of folks will take effort, but it will pay off. In fact, you might want to seek out one of those grammar-geniuses to proofread your posts before they're published.

3. Fact-check. Now, this one can get arduous. Make sure your facts are straight before publishing a post. If you're quoting Scripture, quote it properly. If you're referring to something historical, make sure it's accurate. If you're linking to another site, make sure the link isn't broken. Etc. You get the point.

4. Write intelligently. While writing simple, entertaining posts isn't a bad thing, it certainly doesn't do your credibility any good. Plus, if you're young and looking to gain credibility with an older audience, then constant jokes will only help to solidify their perception of you as "just a kid."

5. Write consciously. This will help you with #4, but will take you one step further. Writing consciously means having a clear mind about why you're writing this particular post, who you're writing for, and what you want the result to be. You may even find that conscious-blogging will help you prepare for other tasks more consciously and with increased focus.

Have you considered some ways you can utilize your blog to reach more people?
How can you use your blog to gain creditability with people?

Comments

[Jason]

Good stuff this week Boyd. Thanks for getting all these great people to share their insights.

Scott brings up some good points. A blog can help or hinder your reputation.

I'm by no means an all-star blogger, but I began a blog in 2006 when I knew I would eventually plant a church. Which we are doing now in 2008. This has become one of the best things I could have done.

As people learn about what we're doing they're asking, "Who is this guy?" Because of my site, they have a way to get to know me. The blog contains months and months of material about me, my passions, my weaknesses, my family, my life, and what I believe.

This has led to new relationships and gives people a first impression of me. Hopefully, it's an impression of the real, flawed me and not some idealistic version of me.

I say every church planter should blog and blog honestly. You'd be surprised who reads it and how God can use it.

[mikesingletary]

The next to last question in this post should have been proofread before it was published. Just something to "consider."

[Brad Ruggles]

I agree...especially with the fact-checking part. I'm constantly amazed at how many people spew out facts, studies and statistics without bothering to check them out.

As a simple rule of thumb, if you can't link to a verifiable source, DON'T POST IT! Or at the very least state that you're unsure of the reliability of the statement and ask your readers to check the facts before passing it along.

Great post Scott...thanks for posting it Boyd.

Brad Ruggles
www.bradruggles.com