Several years ago a friend who works for one of the online preachers’ magazines and I were having\u00a0a conversation about what works for\u00a0pastor-blogs and what doesn’t.<\/p>\n
Anyone reading sermoncentral.com and churchleaders.com and such has observed that these programs\u00a0prefer essays\u00a0which offer\u00a0‘Seven ways to do this” or “Five ways to do that.”\u00a0 A close second would be “How I learned to love (something we normally despise)” or “Why I\u00a0came to\u00a0reject\u00a0(something we do all the time).” That sort of thing.<\/p>\n
I said my goal for the next year was to write something that went viral.<\/p>\n
I was being silly.<\/p>\n
But it happened.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now, in my humble opinion, as the saying goes, no blogger who sets out to catch the attention of a large portion of the planet with\u00a0a few paragraphs on paper\u00a0stands much of\u00a0a chance.<\/p>\n
A better approach is to pay attention to what’s going on in the world or in the church, in the ministry or in your own personal life, and write about that.<\/p>\n
That’s exactly where all the 2,729 articles on www.joemckeever.com originated.\u00a0 Something was bothering me, or someone was hurting, or something had happened, and I\u00a0wrote about it. And, once in a rare while, the piece struck a nerve.<\/p>\n
That’s how it has\u00a0happened that a few of\u00a0these articles\u00a0have actually achieved that exalted status of “Viral!”\u00a0in\u00a0recent\u00a0years. Now,\u00a0 “going viral”–to me at least–is a highly subjective term.\u00a0 Figuring\u00a0the number of times an article is read, printed, reprinted, and passed along in the various internet manifestations would seem to be\u00a0impossible.\u00a0\u00a0 The point being, we’re citing no numbers here because we have none.<\/p>\n
All right. On with the show.\u00a0 Here are some of our articles that have hit the big time for one reason or other.<\/p>\n
First: Three that almost everyone loved…<\/strong><\/p>\n This one on worship<\/strong> has been in play for 5 years and is still standing.\u00a0 Just three hours ago, a pastor from a thousand miles away called to ask for permission to\u00a0run it.\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/my-seven-worst-mistakes-as-a-pastor\/ <\/a>(Okay, a problem.\u00a0 I copied the wrong one here. Still trying to find the one on worship, but will leave this one up until I locate it.) (See response to Brian in the comments.\u00a0 I think this is the correct article.)<\/p>\n This one on pastors’ wives<\/strong> may be the most popular\u00a0thing we’ve done.\u00a0I love pastors’ wives–obviously!–and will do anything possible to make their lot in life more bearable. \u00a0http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/pastors\/pastor-articles\/170133-joe-mckeever-pastors-wife-is-the-most-vulnerable-person-in-your-church.html<\/a><\/p>\n This one lists 5 things about pastors<\/strong> you need to know and evidently struck a nerve with a lot of folks. Likewise, it has been copied and recopied ad infinitum, for which we are honored and grateful.\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/lead-pipe-cinch-realities-pastors\/\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n And then\u00a0came the more controversial pieces from our blog. Not everyone liked these, but they sure did generate a lot of talk back and forth…<\/strong><\/p>\n Few doctrines are as controversial as the one variously called “Security of the Believer”<\/strong> or “Once saved, always saved.”\u00a0<\/strong> When this one was reprinted in a charismatic magazine–for some reasons, charismatics seem to despise this clear teaching of Scripture–the editor was almost tarred and feathered!\u00a0 (He survived, he assures me.)\u00a0 http:\/\/www.crosswalk.com\/blogs\/joe-mckeever\/7-questions-about-once-saved-always-saved.html<\/a><\/p>\n We were almost hanged in effigy when we warned young pastors to be alert to some of the women<\/strong> they will encounter in churches.\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/young-pastors-7-women-watch\/ <\/a>\u00a0Several responded that sometimes the pastors are the aggressors and urged articles on that subject. We wrote those pieces, but they never caught on like this one.<\/p>\n And how about “7 sexual lines no pastor should ever cross.”<\/strong> The first one\u00a0 said\u00a0“Use no cologne.”\u00a0 I’m smiling even now.\u00a0 Although that\u00a0suggestion came from my wife, people accused me of being crazy and sexist and probably anti-guns also.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/pastors\/pastor-articles\/168065-joe-mckeever-sexual-lines-no-pastor-should-cross.html<\/a><\/p>\n I did a series of articles in December 2011 (for the entire series, go to www.joemckeever.com and scroll down to the archives, then click on Dec 2011 and you’re there) on the subject of “League of Extraordinary Church Leaders.”\u00a0 All the articles got great play, but this was the most controversial one, for a rather apparent reason–I’m urging people to seek out “that ugly woman in the church balcony!”<\/strong> http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/reach-the-ugly-woman-in-the-balcony\/<\/a><\/p>\n Okay.\u00a0 Now, do the math.<\/p>\n Out of 2,729 articles, perhaps ten\u00a0or twenty\u00a0went viral and are still circling the globe.\u00a0 That’s a tiny, tiny percentage, which ought to say volumes to anyone starting a blog intending to change the world.\u00a0 Plan on writing a hundred pieces for every one that catches on.<\/p>\n And the final four. When I asked on Facebook for favorites, these were mentioned.\u00a0 In each case, they are still being reprinted and used today….<\/strong><\/p>\n This may be my all-time favorite:\u00a0 “How God fooled Satan at Christmas.”\u00a0 It’s certainly the most creative out-of-the-box thinking this country boy has ever done. See what you think.\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/how-god-fooled-satan-at-christmas\/<\/a><\/p>\n Every pastor wonders how to preach the same (wonderful) story every Christmas.\u00a0 Actually, the story is loaded with amazing insights.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.christianity.com\/christian-life\/10-things-about-the-christmas-story-you-may-have-missed-11642639.html<\/a><\/p>\n As a guest preacher every Sunday (it’s my retirement ministry), I see every kind of worship service.\u00a0 Here are a few thoughts on making one more effective:\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/dull-worship-service-alive\/<\/a><\/p>\n This was inspired by something that happened to a lovely family I know.\u00a0 Let every church leader take note.\u00a0 http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/people-break-church-pastor-them\/<\/a><\/p>\n Well! That was fun!\u00a0 And I’ve thought of a few others to add, but won’t. Your tolerance thus far is wonderful and should not be put to the test.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This was a first for our website. Let me know if we should do this again, perhaps annually.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several years ago a friend who works for one of the online preachers’ magazines and I were having\u00a0a conversation about what works for\u00a0pastor-blogs and what doesn’t. Anyone reading sermoncentral.com and churchleaders.com and such has observed that these programs\u00a0prefer essays\u00a0which offer\u00a0‘Seven … Continue reading