I am still kind of new to the whole blogging thing but I think I am hooked.  I enjoy sharing my ideas, sharing things that I learn, and interacting with folks all over the world.

I also think that pastors should be blogging.  It is a great way to share your heart with your church throughout the week.  Think something this week that you want to share with the church?  Put it up on your blog.  Run across an article you wish the whole church would read?  Put it up on your blog.  Looking for a place for the church to see your heart in an informal manner?  Blog it.  Have some material from your sermon you hope they follow up with?  Direct them to your blog.  Have a document that you want to make available?  Blog again.  Does your church’s web site stink?  Use a blog!  It is simple to get up a good looking site that is easy to navigate.

But what blogging platform do you use?  I have tried the big three and let me share what I find to work best.

1.  Blogger – Blogger is free and we already have established that free is a great word.  I think for most people this is the best option.  Blogger used to be quite difficult to alter and customize, but with their recent upgrade is quite easy to manage.  With their new "drop and drag" formatting you can easily add widgets for things like books, a "skype" button, links to sites you want people to visit, pictures…really anything you want.  Putting content into the posts is a breeze too. 


For me, the biggest drawback used to be that the only way to archive material used to be date based.  But in the upgrade, you know can make your content labeled.  For example, that would mean if you posted some sermon notes on your blog people could find it by clicking on a "sermon notes" label, rather than trying to remember the date you preached and guessing when you would have posted the sermon notes.

But, there are a few things I don’t like.  One, the templates are somewhat limited.  So, unless you know how to code a web site you are stuck with what you can choose from.  Two, it is a free service so should you have any problems, you are on your own to fix it.  (That being said, if you stick to the basics Blogger should work well for you.)

2.  Wordpress.com or Wordpress.org -  Wordpress is all the rage in the blogging community, but I am not a big fan.  For my money the interface is clumsy…the other two are simply easier.

Wordpress.com is free.  You can set up your own site in a matter of minutes, archive by date and by categories, and more or less do anything you would want.  But, it is just not as intuitive as I would like.  Wordpress.com also has limits to the size your blog can be.  But…I really can’t imagine you hitting that limit unless are are uploading a whole bunch of files.  But, it is not the easiest thing to use either.  It seems like everything beyond typing requires an extra step or two.

Wordpress.org is free blogging software that you can use, but, you have to find a host.  There are all sorts of cheap hosts.  And once you find a host, then you have to install the software on your host.  And then, once you upload your blogging software via and FTP system, you have to configure (and upload) all your plug-ins and hope they are compatible with one another (and the template!). 

Wordpress.org is the most powerful and versatile blogging platform available, but I tried it and it was a nightmare.  I am pretty web savvy but I struggled mightily to get all the add ons to work.  (Many never did!)  Oh yea, if you do get all the ad ons you want to work and then decide to change the look of your site, good luck!  Some add ons only work with certain templates.  Oh yea, if you have a problem your web host well tell you it is a wordpress thing and you need to solve it there.  And wordpress.org has no one to e-mail or call…simply a data base of problems and solutions to search and hope you find the right information.

I am at odds with the majority of blogging pros, but unless you really get a kick out of working with bugs and tweaking code, go with Blogger or my favorite, typepad.

3.  Typepad -  Here is the downside to typepad…it is not free.  Where as wordpress.com and blogger are free, with typepad you must pay a fee for them to host your blog.  A basic blog is $4.95 per month, but, if you are committed to doing it I think typepad is the way to go.  The reason?  The support staff.  If you have a problem, typepad will help you figure it out.  They are very responsive.  Also, with it being hosted by them their is accountability…they back up your blog.

Typepad is easy to use – you are up and running in minutes.   Because Typepad is a paid service, the desirable blog names are more likely to be available.  For example, pastorjohn.typepad.com is more likely to be available at Typepad than at blogger.  At Blogger, you may have to go with pastorjohninsouthdakota.blogspot.com.

Now, if you are serious about blogging but not the geek, type Typepad is the only option I would recommend.  SmartPastor is hosted by Typepad and I have nothing but good things to say about them.  When their have been problems, and their have been some, I am not on my own.  They help me out.  If you want to map a domain, Typepad walks you through the process and helps out if their are problems.  (Blogger will do this too, but again you are one your own.)

Now, the only thing I do not like about Typepad is that, unless you want to modify code, their is no way to create a site map.  (A site map is a tool that Google uses to crawl your site.)  But, I have a feeling that that problem will be addressed soon and recent improvements make that less of a problem for people who come to your site via a search.

Typepad is constantly rolling out improvements and keeps getting better. 

I pay $14.95 a month and for that I get to set up unlimited sites.  Yes, I could pay less on a hosted wordpress.org system, but I tried that, and the extra 7 bucks a month are well worth it.

Whatever platform you choose, I want to encourage you again to enter the world of blogging.  It is a great way to keep in touch with your church.  If you set one up, drop me a note…I would love to check it out.