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August 24, 2006
The Power of the Blog
(Filed under: Technology)by Joe Suh, Guest Blogger
Everyone reading this blog knows the benefits of church blogging. Sometimes the soft touch of a personal story convicts us of its power.
We've heard the same old talking points about blogging within your church community. From guys who pastor, to guys who know more than our pastors, to guys who think church marketing sucks. We know blogs engage the congregation. We know they are culturally relevant for outreach. We even know they increase your church's Google page rank. We know already!
Like Jesus' disciple Thomas, many must see to believe. I saw. Actually I heard. It was from a presentation by Rick Klau, a vice president at Feedburner, addressing an audience of Lutherans at the ELCA Conference.
He shares the story of Rosemary Quigley, a friend of his who he once blogged about. She was a professor at Baylor College of Medicine after a tremendous academic career detouring through Harvard and Michigan Law. She was also suffering from cystic fibrosis, a disease that would kill her.
Rick Klau saw a spike in his blog traffic one day. It was the same day Rosemary Quigley passed away. His blog remarkably became a medium for people to discuss what Rosemay Quigley meant to them. Some were old friends of Rick. Others were complete strangers. The most powerful comment came nearly two years later.
Rick Klau has been blogging for five years. He told me this comment is the one thing he is most proud of on his blog. And he didn't even write it. This commonplace statement nearly brought tears to my eyes. Blogs connect people and provide a stage for discussion for those who wish to connect. But we already knew this...
Posted by Guest Blogger at August 24, 2006 6:35 AM
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Comments
Joe -
Thanks for the kind words, and the link... it's indeed a powerful story, and I've just been overwhelmed by the response to my presentation. Great to see!
Now tell the ChurchMarketngSucks guys they should be using FeedBurner! :)
--Rick
(VP, Publisher Services at FeedBurner)
Posted by: Rick Klau at August 24, 2006 10:22 AM
Rats, It doesn't look like his presentation is available on that website like some of the others. Will it be in the future?
Posted by: The Aesthetic Elevator at August 24, 2006 11:33 AM
Hi - I've been meaning to post it on my blog, I'll get to that by the weekend. Thanks for the reminder.
--Rick
Posted by: Rick Klau at August 24, 2006 12:47 PM
Contact Church Marketing Sucks