5 Blogging Questions with Frank Johnson of Strategic Digital Outreach

[ Read all the previous posts in the Blogging 101 for Pastors series, including 5 Questions responders. ]

Frank Johnson is an Internet strategist blogging at Strategic Digital Outreach.

Here’s his answers:

1. Why (or how) did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2003 with my first (now dormant, but about to be re-launched) blog, ProdigalGod. I had been developing websites for churches and ministries for a couple of years. In the course of that activity, I came across a blog run by Dean Peters called Heal Your Church Website. I was fascinated by the technology behind the site. I had been a pastor several years before but had left pastoring because of a variety of circumstances. I still felt I had something to say, and blogging seemed like a perfect fit. I launched that first blog on the Movable Type platform.

Later, I launched a community site for believers called ChristianCruz, also originally utilizing the Movable Type platform. ChristianCruz is designed to be an online portal for believers living in Santa Cruz County, Calif. My desire with ChristianCruz was to serve the church in our local area in whatever way I could. I am convinced that all effective outreach has as its foundation a public display of authentic Christian community in a local area (John 17:21-23). ChristianCruz is my small contribution to building unity among believers in our local area across denominational and individual church lines. While not outwardly a blog, ChristianCruz definitely uses blog technology. It, along with many of my other sites, currently runs on Expression Engine from pMachine.

Finally, I started a blog called Strategic Digital Outreach in late 2004. SDO is meant to be an ongoing discussion of ways the Christian community can use the internet to spread the gospel.

My next projects include the relaunch of ProdigalGod.com on the Expression Engine platform and the launch of a new blog, DigitalKids.info.

2. What subject do you post most about?

It’s a toss-up between internet evangelism (on Strategic Digital Outreach) and news of interest to believers in Santa Cruz County (on ChristianCruz).

3. What are your favorite blog tools?

Expression Engine, DreamHost, Sage, Technorati, BlogPulse. I’ve experimented off and on with Performancing for Firefox and Qumana, but haven’t settled on either (and may ultimately settle on neither). I have plans to expand my blogging well beyond what I’m currently doing, so I’m looking for a tool to help me write articles for various blogs.

4. How often do you post?

Currently, my posting frequency can vary quite a bit. In my day job (as an internet strategist for a catalog company), the last two-and-a-half months of the year can be extremely busy and sometimes I don’t feel like looking at the computer when I get home from work! On average, I would say I post somewhere between every 2-3 days to once a week, although sometimes I can go longer without posting. Sometimes when I feel especially inspired, I will prepare several articles and set them to appear over several days.

5. What one piece of advice would you give for prospective blogging pastors?

Not really a piece of advice, but a suggestion. Think about blogging in order to attract local people in your geographic area to experience the life of your Christian community (join you for your regular gatherings). I am convinced that the best use a church can make of the internet is to persuade unbelievers in the church’s local area to check out the life of the local congregation. It’s in the midst of Christian community that an unbeliever will be convinced of the love of God, so I am particularly intrigued by people who reach out to their local geographic area via blogging.

[ Read the previous posts in the Blogging 101 for Pastors series here. ]

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October 29, 2006 · Filed Under Church Marketing

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