Who’s Afraid of the Christian Blogosphere?

“Who’s in charge of the Christian blogosphere?”

That’s a question that’s been asked by some Christians, and particularly was forwarded by Tish Harrison Warren in an article in Christianity Today. Her concern? That Christian bloggers were operating outside church authority when they were writing about their daily faith walk.

This, to Warren and others, constituted a crisis, one that she compared to the advent of the printing press and the Reformation. As Warren asked,

Who decides what is true Christian orthodoxy? And how do we as listeners decide whom to trust as a Christian leader and teacher?  

It’s a question that often crops up when culture changes. Who’s running this show?

This hit close to home to me because it means I’m part of the problem.

After all, I don’t have a theological degree, and yet I share my questions and thoughts on spiritual matters in a blog format.

And to be honest, this is something I grapple with whenever I weigh in out there in the wild world of the Christian blogosphere. It feels intimidating, and I always hope I’ve made it clear that I’m not pretending to be a Bible scholar, that I’m just a humble lay person.

I acknowledge the danger, that it’s certainly possible that people reading blogs will see them as more authoritative than they ought to. (Even if most of us would recognise that “It’s on the internet, it must be true” is an ironic statement.)

And I know some Christians get nervous about blogging, or discourage people like me for “speaking out of turn” on matters that are usually taken by the professionals.

But I continue to write because, for me, the question isn’t “Who’s in charge?”, but “Why don’t we see this as an opportunity?”

Diversity can be a strength.

If you think of theology as a series of beliefs that must be regulated and centralised and continually reiterated, it makes sense that you’d see the blogosphere as a world that’s ripe for heresy.

But what if you think about faith as an ongoing conversation, a dialogue between yourself and God – that’s where blogging can be a powerful way to deepen your faith. And it can encourage other people, too, if they see something of themselves in what you do.

Blogs are also a powerful gateway to Christians who you won’t ever hear up the front. It’s no accident that so many bloggers are women, for example. We’ve seen bloggers who’ve acted as a counter voice, that share struggles that are unique, and can keep the church accountable.

We are a “priesthood of all believers”.

Theology is not meant to just be the domain of the elites. As the Reformers argued, we are a “priesthood of all believers”, and while we won’t all be theological experts, we don’t need an extra layer of authority to engage with theological matters.

That isn’t to say that there’s a possibility of problems arising, and I agree that we need to talk about responsibility in the Christian blogging world.

To me, though, that shouldn’t come from the top down, so much as we should be equipping individual Christians to operate in that space – within and without.

Instead of “who’s in charge?”, here are two questions we should ask about the Christian blogosphere instead.

Instead of regulation, maybe we should talk about discernment.

In a time of “fake news”, every Christian – and everyone else, for that matter – should be learning and practising critical reading, no matter what their source may be.

And in fact, that’s always been an important part of Christian life. As Paul wrote,

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service…

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (from Ephesians 4)

If there’s one thing that bothers me, it’s a strain of anti-intellectualism at church that suggests that Christians need to be shielded from tough matters, that they will believe whatever they hear if they don’t have guidance.

I don’t believe that’s true. But even if it was, it’s part of the duty of a Christian – and arguably their church – to learn how to “test the spirits” and discern what’s right and wrong.

That’s something you will need every day, anyway – whether you’re online or not.

As a Christian blogger, I need to hold myself to a high standard when I write publicly.

I may not need an authority figure to regulate my work. But I do need to be answerable to the Bible in what I say – and that takes careful work.

As Warren writes later in her piece,

When Christian writers or speakers make theological statements, we have a responsibility to give a specific argument, show our rigorous theological work, elevate the conversation, welcome strong criticism and debate.

On that, I couldn’t agree more.

I need to be transparent about my expertise (or lack thereof). I can’t pretend to be a pastor. But I can share what I do know, and invite discussion and debate.

For the many Christian writers out there, that’s an important conversation to have. Taking responsibility may mean running your work past a pastor, but it may involve private study of your Bible, reading commentaries, prayer or having a wise friend read it for you.

One thing that’s clear to me is that blogging isn’t the problem in itself. That would be to downplay the role of the Holy Spirit and individual faith insights. To me, God can speak through anyone, even if they operate outside church power structures.

And I believe that God can speak through me, too.

Who’s in charge of the Christian blogosphere? No one and everyone. That’s all part of the opportunity.