I believe that the qualifications of an elder, as listed in 1 Timothy 3 are not only for those guys who end up in that role; but are the watermark for which every man should strive. In thinking about these qualifications (which are never too far from my mind because of the extreme standards), i thought that the principles could also be brought to blogging & in particular to those who write Christian blogs.So here are my thoughts - feel free to add.
Be above reproach
The issue here is clear, all Christian's are called to be holy because The LORD our God is Holy. If our lives are in reproach then we are of no example for others to follow & rather than writing blogs for others to read, we need to sit under the learning & instruction of godly men or women who can lead us to a more victorious life in Christ.
This call to be above reproach safeguards the testimony of the teaching, for even if we post truth on our blogs, if people (whether knowing us or seeing it on facebook etc) can see allot of sin & reproach in our lives then why should they listen to what we say.
What difference has truth made in our lives?
The husband of one wife
Mainly i'd point to this & say it means you're a ONE woman guy. But i'll add, for those female bloggers, that you're a ONE man woman; meaning that your affections, attention etc are not going out unhealthily toward anyone other than your spouse. For guys this means that porn is out the window, & when walking down the street we don't turn our heads to gaze on the ladies bum that just went past. Ladies it means that you're not caught up by the fiction novels of romance, wishing you had a guy like Mr Darcey (if that's his name), it means that you love, cherish & pour your emotions & sexual fantasies etc only upon your husband.
On the blogosphere it means that we are not getting into online relationships, perhaps wishing our spouses were like such & such who writes a blog or comments on yours. It is possible to build friendships with those who come onto our blogs (& i think we should be) but even these can become unhealthy.
It means we are not committing adultery in our hearts or in action.
Sober-minded
We are to be habitually sober-minded; thinking properly. Its always good to let a post sit in the drafts section for a few hours or days before posting it; this gives time to think soberly about whether or not to post it.
Self-controlled
Again a pretty self-explanatory one, we are to be self controlled, or self-disciplined. I think anyone who blogs on a regular basis knows that self-control is needed so we know when to switch off the computer. Self control is also required in deciding what can & what cannot be posted & how we respond to certain things.
There are many areas in the blogger's life where self-control is greatly needed.
Respectable
Pretty simple - how can we expect anyone to take what we say seriously if we cannot be respectable, winning their respect? This is a difficult thing to do online, but one that is very important. I guess that people will only hang around our blogs, coming back time & again when they feel a certain respect for us & what we post.
Hospitable
A friendly word, or a hospitable reply to comments that people make is a huge deal. Lets be hospitable to those who come onto our blogs, especially non-Christians & even opponents of Christ. It may also mean that we work hard at making our sites user friendly.
Our calling is to be Christians, and as such, we are to be hospitable in whatever social engagement we find ourselves in.
Able to teach
Of course this depends on the reason for our blog, but i guess that at some stage a Christian will want to share some teachings or thoughts from God's Word, hence we need to be able to teach.
It is possible to have knowledge yet find difficulty in communication.
I'm not saying we have to be grammatically correct with our spellings right all the time, but rather, that we can get what we mean across to the readers so they understand it. Often blogging can be quite difficult because we need to keep it short, so we have to get straight to the point quickly. (With this point in mind this could be my last post)
Continued Tomorrow...
