In part One we looked at being above reproach, being faithful to our spouse, Sober-Minded, Self-Controlled, Respectable, Hospitable & Able to Teach. This post continues to apply the Qualifications of an Elder to the Blogosphere.
Not a drunkard
I'd argue that this deals with more than the issue of alcohol & means more that we should not have addictions. Bringing this to the blogosphere we must state that it is very easy to become addicted to blogging & so we need to be very careful that we function not out of addiction but out of calling. In other areas, addictions will ruin our credibility & draw us away from the call of God upon our lives to communicate the Gospel in this way.
Not violent but gentle & not quarrelsome
I've included these 2 together here, because it is so easy to get angry, and i mean really angry, over something; perhaps a comment someone makes or a post on another blog. We can strike out with our words in hurtful & sinful ways.
Don't get me wrong, i do believe that we should argue nail & tooth over fundamentals such as the person & work of Jesus Christ, but there are many occasions when anger & quarrelling is not called for & a simple discussion would be a better response.
Not a lover of money
I don't think many Christian bloggers can fall into this as blogging is so often a thankless task that is done out of a calling by God rather than a search for a fortune. But it can be easy to become all about selling stuff through associate sites etc. Now i'm not saying we cannot or should not sell or advertise anything. Simply that we need to be careful that this does not become our primary goal & take prime motive for blogging or replace our first love - Jesus.
He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive
We must not neglect our responsibilities & higher callings to be husband, fathers, wives & mothers. Blogging is not the priority; Jesus is, then family, church etc...
What's the point in posting away & chatting with 'familiar strangers' if our children are not learning about Jesus & are in rebellion against God. If we cannot first look after, teach, lead & shepherd our homes, then we are discredited else-where including church leadership, leading youth groups & blogging etc.
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
New Christians are full of zeal, but it takes time to be discipled & matured in knowledge & truth. Every guy, when he's just been born again wants to be the next John Piper or C H Spurgeon. But often the lack of knowledge can both harm others & our own reputation. [For example as a new Christian i thought the most important issue was what Bible translation you read from, this led me to buy KJV for friends who read NIV. Why they remain my friends i do not know, i was full of zeal, longing to see people get deeper in their faith but i was stupid & arrogant, thinking that i was something.]
This could so easily happen on blogs written by new Christians who are great examples to all of us when it comes to zeal & passion, but who maybe need a time of teaching & instruction in the Word before beginning to teach anywhere. I'm not saying that the teaching has to be profound & deep, but that sometimes it can be off the mark. Often as we see people returning again & again to our blogs we can be filled with pride & arrogance as they comment & encourage us. We need those who disciple us to lead us in & teach us humility.
Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
What do non-Christians think of you? Jesus was constantly getting invited to parties or meals with sinners & publicans. If we are unable to get along with non-Christians then we need to work hard in that area so that we can reach them with the Gospel.
I don't mean that we compromise our teachings or that we get into sin, rather that we like Jesus, can spend time with non-Christians because they like to be around us even if we have strong beliefs about God.
Bringing this practically to our blogs, what do non-Christians think of our blogs? Again, I'm not talking about the out & out haters of Christianity who'd ram your car because you have a fish on it. But do we know of non-christian friends or family visiting our 'Christian' blogs because they quite like it or find it strangely helpful?
