Friday Questions: An Interview with Aaron Armstrong

I really appreciate bloggers who consistently write good, helpful material. Aaron Armstrong is such an individual. Speaking of him, Tim Challies writes:

Aaron is one of those guys who poured a lot of effort into his blog in 2011 and the effort has paid off (at least in my estimation). He has become a go-to guy for solid theological content and excellent quotes from great writers of days gone by. He is at his best when discussing contemporary theological issues.

I'm pleased that Aaron agreed to let me interview him.

How did you get into blogging?

I got into blogging after getting "Forrest Gump"-ed into being the writer at a Christian charity in March 2008 (out of respect to my employers, they'll remain unnamed). I had no professional experience in writing to that point and hadn't even really tried to write anything since dabbling in blogging back in 2004 and writing some independent comics that were terrible during my college days. I kept my head above water for the first few months and churned out decent, but certainly not mind-blowing material. Around February 2009, I decided that if I was going to take this job seriously, I needed to actually get good at writing—and one of the best ways to do that is to write a lot. So I started Blogging Theologically and have been posting daily since.

You're a busy guy, with a full time-job, family, and other responsibilities. How have you protected your time to blog?

I don't watch a lot of TV, which helps, and I have a very patient and supportive wife, which helps even more. I also try to limit the amount of time I spend on the blog, ideally averaging out to a couple hours a night. Some nights I end up spending 30 minutes, others 4 hours.

How has blogging helped you?

Blogging has helped me in a number of ways:

• It's given me an outlet for working through theological issues as I've studied Scripture
• It's allowed me to keep up with my reading without having a book budget (Crossway and Baker in particular have been very generous)
• It's allowed me to interact with some really fantastic people like you, Tim Challies, Trevin Wax, Jared Wilson and a bunch more
• It's broadened my ministry, allowing me to serve not only my local church but serve more broadly through preaching periodically and now writing books.

What advice would you have for other Christian bloggers?

I've got a few small bits of advice:

First, and most importantly, be who you are. Don't try to be Tim Challies, Trevin Wax, Justin Taylor or whichever big name bloggers you read because you'll only be frustrated and disappointed (and really, no one wants to read a copycat, it's no fun).

Second, contend well. There is a great temptation to chase gossip and controversy like so many watch-bloggers do and it's just wicked nonsense. God is not honored by that sort of behavior. Don't shy away from addressing a difficult subject if you have something of merit to say, particularly on a pressing issue, but try your best to be known for what you're about rather than what you're against.

Finally, be content with whatever influence God gives you. If you have one person reading your blog and finding it helpful, praise God. If 10,000 read it, praise God just the same. Don't worry about things like traffic or trying to parlay your following into a book deal or any such thing. Just have fun and appreciate whatever impact God allows you to have.

Thanks, Aaron!

Blog Reboot

I began blogging here over ten years ago in July 2001. That's a long time ago in blogging years. This blog has been through some changes over the years, and it's definitely time for a bit of a reboot around here.

I have a passion for learning and for sharing what I've been learning. And I also love to write. This blog has really taken shape these past few years around a few themes: applying theology to everyday life, thinking about pastoral ministry, and sharing links and resources that I've found helpful. I am also a productivity and technology geek, although I try to keep that under wraps for the most part.

Now that I'm moving into church planting, I'm pretty sure some of that will seep into what I blog about here.

So what is this blog about? This blog is about how Jesus changes everything. He changes:

• Our relationship with God
• Our relationship with others
• Our vocations - how we live and work in this world
• Our ministries

This blog exists to explore some of the ways that Jesus changes everything. It provides resources and articles that will help you think about the ways that Jesus can change every part of your life.

Here's what you can expect, in general, around here:

• Monday - Some reflections on what I've been learning recently in my life and ministry
• Tuesday - A book review
• Wednesday - A short post on a theological issue and how it relates to life and ministry
• Thursday - A practical post on some issue
• Friday - An interview with someone who's caught my interest
• Saturday - Saturday Links
• Sunday - A quote that's got me thinking

This is ambitious. We'll see if I'm able to keep to this schedule, but I'll try.

I welcome your suggestions. Let me know if you have any ideas for how I can make this blog more helpful for you in the coming year.

Thanks for reading!

Recommendation: 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo

I know all about you. You blog, but you're stuck. You have good intentions of becoming the next Tim Challies or Justin Taylor or [fill in name of popular blogger here], but so far you have nothing more than good intentions.

If this sounds like you, then I encourage you to pick up a copy of a book that was just released this week. It's called 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo. There are three reasons that you're going to enjoy this book.

• It's funny. If you get nothing else out of this book, you'll get a laugh, and that's probably worth the purchase price alone.
• It's helpful. Really helpful. This book will walk you through finding your blog's audience, perspective, and content. You'll get ideas on how to generate content and build readership.
• It's practical. Take just one step a day and you'll apply this book over the course of a month.

You can pick up a copy of the book from Amazon or directly from the author for $4.99. I've read through it once, and I plan on going through it slowly and taking the suggested actions.

Full disclosure: I got a free review copy. But seriously, even I can't be bought for $4.99. This is a good book and it's definitely worth checking out if you would like to improve your blogging experience.

Welcome to the New Digs

Up until yesterday I had a number of different blogs, some of them more active than others. Today I've moved hosts and consolidated everything in one place using a different platform.

Besides making it easier for me, you can now find a few more resources at my site. Take a look around, and please let me know if you spot anything that doesn't look right!

On Blogging

If you're looking for some good blogs to read, it's worth checking the Top 200 Church Blogs by Kent Shaffer.

If you're a blogger, it's worth reading some of Shaffer's observations. Specifically:

• Blogs that have been successful for many years can afford to not post much and still rank high because they’ve earned a nice Google pagerank and stockpiled inlinks and RSS readers. After my light posting in 2010, I don’t deserve my ranking of #14, but having over 1,000 posts with strong search engine optimization sustains my traffic.
• Having a successful blog requires more luck or divine intervention than ever before. If you started blogging in 2000, you needed to be consistent to be successful. If you started in 2005, you needed to follow best practices. Now great content, consistency, best practices, and networking do not guarantee success. Some of the best blogs I have found do not appear on the list.

In other words, don't get too discouraged if you're not soaring up the list. Some of the best blogs out there will probably never be famous, but they're still making a contribution.