Customer Reviews

The Blogging Church

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've really enjoyed reading this new book by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch. "The Blogging Church" is not only a great primer for those who are interested in making their church a 'Blogging Church' but it is also a terrific read for the experienced blogger.

Brian and Terry run the gammot on tools and tricks as well as providing great insight in how not to use a blog. One of the benefits to this book is that it takes into consideration the end users and their varied levels of experience. I can't say enough about how effective they combine basic information with stories of application, inspiration and any other 'tion' you can think of.

The novice will be given enough information to drown themselves if they try to absorb it at one sitting. At the same time the experienced blogger will gain a new perspective on just how influential their slice of the internet experience could be when used properly.

Brian and Terry hit the ball out of the park with this first-of-its-kind book for the Christian world. I highly recommend this book for anyone even remotely interested in understanding blogs and their potential impact for the Kingdom. If you're a current blogger who wants to gain a positive reputation for your blog this book is a must! If you've been around for a few years like myself, I believe you'll walk away with a deeper appreciation for what you do on a daily basis after reading what Brian and Terry share in this timely work.

I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of the "The Blogging Church" today.

Tally Wilgis

TallyWilgis.com

I could write so many positive things about this book, so i will try to limit it to a few.

I have to say that I loved this book. I even blogged about on my own blog at [...]and wrote that this book was able to help anyone come to see the importance of blogging.

I love to blog and found this book to be a great encouragement and reinforcement in why we blog. In chapter 5 Brian really does a great job in reminding us that Christianity is about others and how blogging is an incredible way to start conversations, reach out to others, develop relationships and build community.

This book is also good for those who do not understand blogging, not from the technical stand point but from philosophy direction. It will help to clearly shed light on how blogging can reinforce how the church is to be.

Go ahead and order a copy for yourself, blogger or pre-blogger.

What an extremely useful and helpful resource!

The book begins with an explanation of what blogging is and why it's important. They do a great job of showing how blogging can be an amazing resource for the church, and they cast the vision for how churches can use blogging to cast their own vision.

The authors then proceed to answer every conceivable question you might have about blogging. I'm not a technical guy at all and I don't understand technical mumbo jumbo, yet even I didn't have any trouble understanding anything in the book.

Bailey & Storch support their writing with lots of examples from actual blogs. One of the strengths of the book is the way they consistently turn to other veteran bloggers for input, which they do through some "5 Questions with..." sections scattered throughout the book and a "One Thing" section at the end.

As I read, I was constantly taking notes because there were so many great ideas for producing a great blog, as well as numerous suggestions for writing topics. They also give some great tips for finding the best blogs and managing your reading time.

There's even a section on podcasting!

The Blogging Church is an enjoyable read, but it's also a practical manual that I'll be turning to time and time again.

One of the things that impressed me most was not only the book, but author Brian Bailey. I had emailed him with a question I had about blogging, and he took the time to write a very helpful response. That's how I ended up with my blog on WordPress.

Brian Bailey and Terry Storch have brought together their practical expertise and clear writing style to deliver an extremely useful book that will help many churches to share their story and use blogging to help their ministry. The preface of the book explains... "Blogging is a revolution in communication, community, and authentic conversation; a revolution that churches cannot afford to ignore. Welcome to the blogosphere - the new online home of the curious creature. If you're feeling a little disoriented and having trouble reading the street signs, don't worry, you're holding in your hand the field manual for the blogosphere."

This is a good summary of the book - it describes why blogging is becoming so important, why it's a powerful tool for churches, followed by practical details on how to actually get started. Overall I found the book to be an excellent mix of why and how. Tips and discussion topics I found most interesting include: Don't bury the good stuff; Who is the blog for; the ten steps to a bad blog; pros and cons of comments; what problem are you trying to solve; what is the return on ministry; share the why behind the what; and, should my church become a blogging church. Between most chapters are 'Five Questions' with blogging pastors who have found blogging to be very helpful in spreading the word. The final chapter gives some sage advice from several prominent bloggers including Guy Kawasaki, Dave Winer, Kathy Sierra, Robert Scoble and many others.

The authors have covered a lot of material in 199 pages, and no doubt had to work hard to keep the book focused and brief. As one who likes tons of detail and discussion, I would have loved to see more info on the use of blogs for team and/or individual ministries within the church, as well as discussion about the relationship between blogging and other technology tools for building community and improving communication (e.g. portals, forums, social groups, wikis, video, streaming, and online collaboration tools such as those developed by 37signals). Then again, all this material would be enough for another whole volume.

If you're trying to figure out whether your church should get involved with blogging, or how to get started in a way that will maximize impact on ministry, "The Blogging Church" by Brian Bailey with Terry Storch is a must-read. (I'm not only a happy reader, but with the help of this book, a new blogger stepping up to the call.) -- Larry Baxter

Brian and Terry did an exceptional job explaining both the "why" and the "how" of blogging. The book is well written, easy to follow, and packed with valuable motivation and information. The most impressive part of the book, to me, is the focus on reaching and ministering to people.

If you are wanting to start a blog, this book is "one-stop-shopping" offering everything you need to know. If you are a veteran blogger, you'll be encouraged and pick up valuable tips. Stop thinking about it. Read this book and start blogging now!

This book is AWESOME!!! As someone that has just been blogging for a couple of months, I have absolutely loved this book.

I am on the staff at a megachurch that struggles with communication from within our staff all the way out to our church members. We are pushing towards reading this book as an entire staff... and within our ministry teams, so we can change our entire communication strategy.

Thanks a ton Brian for this book!

Malcolm

http://www.completinggodsmission.com

I just finished reading "The Blogging Church" and I found the book to be inspiring and realistic. The examples of how pastors and corporate bloggers use the tools of blogging to expand their vision was "inspiring". I work in Corporate America and I found that the ideas mentioned for the church were creating ideas for how we may integrate blogs into our work processes. Brian and Terry's passion for blogging, and more importantly, the global church is evident in his voice. This book is a homerun for church's and should be on the shelf of every pastor.

The Blogging Church exceeded my expectations. I expected it to give a solid, comprehensive foundation that would help new bloggers see why they should blog and how to get started - and it did. But I was surprised to see how much advice and insight the authors had for those who have been blogging for a while. The longer it's been since I read the book, the more I see their ideas and advice impacting how I blog. They've done a great job mixing their advice with that of other experienced bloggers - from both the Christian world and beyond. I'm passing the book on to others who need to read it!

As a church communications director and a longtime blogger I have followed the development of this book on the blogs of the authors. I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book and found it to be very approachable, clear and compelling. The authors do more than explain what a blog is, but they build a clear rationale for why the blog can be a powerful tool for your church. When I take off my techie hat and think about the book I am impressed with how the authors took a simple approach to explaining what blogs are and how they work, so that even the least technical person is not daunted by the idea of joining the blog world.

If you are a church leader or just someone with a story to share you should read and share The Blogging Church!

This book is well written and easy to understand. It is a must read if you want to take your church into the digital age. It contains helpful and practical advice on using blogs and podcasts as ministry tools. As a minister I can highly recommend this book.