U2 hits

I finally added a site counter to my blog last week. I decided I wanted a better understanding of who visits and reads my blogs.
There’s some interesting results.
I noticed today someone from the Department of Justice visited. That’s a little worrysome.
But I also noticed that most people who came from a search engine, were looking for something related to U2.
So maybe I should be writing more about U2. You know, Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton.
The best band in the world, U2.
Or maybe I should focus on other subjects to attract other audiences as well.
Or maybe I should just write like I always do and not worry about traffic so much. I think I like that idea better.
Except traffic on your blog is somehow like friends on Myspace.
Somehow you’re a better person with the more you have of both.
Or so “they” say.

Style guidelines

As a reporter, we’re always following AP style guidelines. And we dream often of a day when someone will put together a patch for Word and Office products that will change the auto-format, correction etc., in the software to go along with AP style, rather than MLA, or whatever style Microsoft has chosen to use.

Churchmarketingsucks.com has an article this week encouraging churches to adopt a style guide as well.

If you have any sort of background with words you understand the importance of a style guide. Is it Gospel or gospel? Are pronouns referring to God capitalized? Is it Church or church? Oxford commas, or no? In many cases either option can be correct and it’s a matter of opinion. But having both options in the same brochure would be kind of silly. Consistency is the key, and for that you need a style guide.

I think this is a good idea for anyone who does any type of publishing.
You can start from scratch or adopt and amend exisiting style guides.

Here are some pre-existing guides:
Wired Churches
AP Stylebook
Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Pilgramage to Metropolitan Tabernacle

Andrew recently took a trip to C H Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tablernacle.
He has pictures of Spurgeon’s pulpit and other interesting things in the church.
I was very intrigued by his thoughts on the trip…
After meeting the current pastor, Dr. Peter Masters:

I introduce myself and my baptist heritage, as well as my current interest in the emerging church. “The emerging church”, said Dr Masters, “from what I have heard, is so diverse that no one really knows what it is.” Thats exactly right, I said. Good to see he was on the right track.

And while the church sermons can be heard on podcasts:

Sermons here are old skool. No visual media. Just Bible reading and preaching. King James prayer language also. Its refreshing to sit there and imagine what it was like in the days of Charlie – not too different, I suppose.

On the church’s hymnal:

So has the ministry changed to meet the times at all? And where have those contextual changes taken place?
Probably in the hymnology. Peter Masters has written an excellently worded apology in the preface to their hymn book:
“Our Own Hymn Book has therefore served as a model for the present selection of hymns and their arrangement, but we have employed a degree of editorial intervention which Spurgeon would never have countenanced in his day.”
WHAT INTERVENTION?
“We feel that language has changed for more in the 125 years since Spurgeon’s hymnbook than during the 150 years which seperated Spurgeon from Watts. We are now confronted with numerous quaint and jarring words or phrases which ought to be edited. Editorial changes have aimed at achieving instant comprehension whenever possible, thus enabling worshippers to honour the apostolic principle – ‘”I will sing with the understanding also’ [Dr Peter Masters, Preface, Psalms and Hymns of Reformed Worship, 2003, Wakeman Trust]
Wow – If i had to explain the contextual approach to ministry for the emerging-missional church to Dr Masters, I would probably start with his own words here.

And of the church organ?

And I thank the kindly and informative ushers and elders (Chris Law) who answered all my questions, including the one that went… “what would Charlie think of the organ?”
Of course, he wouldnt approve. But sometimes you have to step out from nostalgia and into the real world with the timeless Christ.