Guidelines for Church Blog
Background
The experiences of many people collaborating through web tools supports the idea that there are three primary areas that need to be defined, to make online collaboration and information-sharing successful:
- Technology—what technological tools can and will be used? What are the capabilities of these tools?
- Policies and procedures—what are the “rules of the game?” What are the roles people will play in this process?
- Content—what will be put on the blog? What is the purpose of this content?
Each of these areas must be defined individually, and they must be aligned, so that one area does not conflict with the other two.
To help Pilgrim established a successful experience for its blog, here are some initial recommendations for these three areas:
Content
The primary purpose of the blog is to be an external communication site to the wider community. The blog can duplicate information that is published in our church bulletin, newsletter and website:
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- Promote church events, activities, and resources to the broader community, thus attracting new people to Pilgrim.
- Share information about Pilgrim with current members, so they can be well-informed about opportunities to participate in church activities.
- Encourage Pilgrim members to share their enthusiasm about church activities, making Pilgrim a welcoming place for people in the broader community
- Engage the Pilgrim community in theological conversations.
Non-members can post messages to the blog, but the Administrator will ensure that these posts are appropriate and relevant to the purpose and content of the blog
The blog can be an extension of the communication methods Pilgrim presently uses, as well as a supplement to these methods:
· Church newsletter articles can be posted on the blog, for comment by members.
· Announcements of upcoming events can be made.
· Designated Pilgrims may choose to post updates about our sister church in Tanzania.
The blog is not a place to conduct debates about the church or to criticize Pilgrim, its members or staff. Criticisms should be handled in private, face to face communications.
Inappropriate posts include:
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- Posts that use derogatory language about any person or organization.
- Political statements, references to political events, or political position statements.
- Statements that include offensive language (e.g.,cursing, derogatory slang, racist or sexist remarks).
The administrator reviews and can edit any posts that are posted to the blog. Posts that contain inappropriate language will not be posted. The poster will be invited to edit their post. If they refuse, their post will not be posted. This purpose statement and statement of appropriateness should be posted on the Pilgrim blog weekly by the Blog Administrator.
While partisan political statements are not appropriate for this blog, statements can be made on positions, particularly if they are consistent with public policy initiatives of the Lutheran Church (example: Ending Poverty in Minnesota initiative).
Recruiting volunteers for activities should be done primarily through our church bulletin and newsletter, since they are the most comprehensive communication channels of our church. Invitations to participate in church activities can be duplicated on the blog.
Detailed minutes of church committees should not be posted on this blog. Better posts are short summaries of committee activities.
Policies and Responsibilities
Main posts to the blog can be composed by a vestry members, committee chairs, staff, and the Blog Administrator, appointed by the Vestry. An example of a “main post” might be:
“We had a great book discussion about John Dominic Crossan’s God and Empire. If you would like to post your thoughts about this book and/or the book discussion, post them here.”
The Blog Administrator should have the technical expertise to open the blog, compose and post messages, and edit/eliminate inappropriate postings.
The administrator will report regularly to the Vestry and the Evangelism Committee on the number of posts made to the blog and the general content of the posts.
The administrator will bring to the attention of the Evangelism Committee any inappropriate posts that were attempted.
These policies and procedures and definitions of roles and responsibilities will be regularly reviewed by the Evangelism Committee and the administrator, for the purposes of updating and improving them. Regular reports will be made to the Vestry on blog activity.
Technology
The blog should be coordinated with the webmaster for the church. A link from the church website to the blog should be established.
A simple blogging tool, available from wordpress.com should be used. This tool has basic capabilities for delivering a blog on the internet.
WordPress.com provides these blog spaces for free, so there is no cost to Pilgrim.
The wordpress.com blog allows for the oversight required by Pilgrim, to ensure that only appropriate blog entries are posted.
The wordpress.com blog does allow the posting of pictures taken at church events.
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Following are some examples of church blogs and resources, created by “mainline” churches:
http://blahguy.com/
AJ Swodoba, Campus Pastor
AJ Swoboda is the college pastor at the Onyx House, the college ministry of Eugene Faith Center on campus of the University of Oregon. Along with his wife Quinn, they live in a Christian co-op with 60 students just off the campus at the University. He recently graduated from George Fox Evangelical Seminary with a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies and is working on a PhD right now in England at the University of Birmingham. Currently, he is leading the community at the Onyx House, writing, teaching classes on the Pentateuch and Pneumatology, and reading a ton. He loves the environment, the green cause, reading books by dead Christians, Brian McLaren, and watching “The Office” on Thursday nights. Feel free to email him at mrajswoboda@hotmail.com.
(George Fox Seminary started out as a seminar of the Ev. Free Church and The Friends. It now trains ministers for 30 denominations.)
http://www.faithandweb.com/about/
Anna Belle Lieserson, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville, TN
http://mynameisbrandon.wordpress.com/about/
Brandon Smith, Campus Ministry, Northwest Missouri State University
http://cheltenham.wordpress.com/
Jim Waters, member and blogger for Cambray Baptist Church, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK
http://weekirk.wordpress.com/about/
Presbyterian Church in New Jersey
