I received a call from a missionary in the 10-40 window today. He called to encourage me and thank me for the blog that I had been posting over the last months. Of course, I thought of the report on SBC Outpost that told of Dr. John Floyd, BOT Chair, saying that morale on the field is low because of blogging.
I asked the Missionary if he had read that statement and he said he had. He chose not to speak of Dr. Floyd personally, but said the accusation was “one of the most ridiculous things [he] had ever heard.” He went on to say that morale on the field was low, but it was the Trustees who were making it so.
It has also been my experience that Missionaries were positive about the information they were able to get from blogs. They had indicated to me that they were in the dark, and kept that way purposefully, concerning the IMB.
Maybe both views are right. Maybe the M’s are upset about what the BOT is about but never would have known it without the blogs. If this is the case, I suppose you could level the charge that the blogs are responsible for informing the folks on the field and that the knowledge of Trustees playing politics with the IMB is lowering morale.
What do you think about this situation? Is the charge accurate and, if so, why is it accurate?
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Wes Kenney
on Jul 19th, 2006
@ 5:03 pm:
Cool! I finally have an excuse to put a non-gratuitous link to my blog here!
For a slightly different take on the chairman’s comments from that reported by Wade and Marty, see my blog, where another trustee is quoted with a slightly different recollection.
Really, the medium is neutral. Some blogs are encouraging, some discouraging, dependent on their content and the reader’s point of view.
art rogers
on Jul 19th, 2006
@ 5:36 pm:
Wes,
You are not satisfied being on my blogroll?
I read your post. I can see the difference of interpretation.
Are you implying that my blog is discouraging and yours is encouraging?
When it comes to playing politics with the IMB, I am often discouraged and my posts are not always upbeat. I don’t like what is going on there.
On the other hand, my post last week about the pastorate seemed to be taken well by those who read it. Dontcha think?
Wes Kenney
on Jul 19th, 2006
@ 5:59 pm:
Yes, Art, your blog is discouraging, because no matter how much you talk about white carpet, your background is still black, whereas my background is, um, wait a minute…
;-)
Ok, really, I didn’t mean to give the impression that your writing was discouraging. As I said, the medium is neutral, and you publish things that are actually happening, which may at times be discouraging, but that is not your fault, or your blog’s, for that matter.
And yes, I’m very happy with the link. I was just enjoying the opportunity to self-promote at the home of a well-documented blog, um, promoter… ;-)