A Time to End Ecclesiastes 3 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, … There was a time to blog, There was a time for the blog to thrive, There was a time for the blog to wane, And now is the time for the blog to die. I’ll post 3 more posts to make this transition complete, and you have 30 days to comment on these posts.
posted by Brian at 10:06 AM
12 Comments:
hey brian, what's your reasoning for closing down the blog?
There is a time to end all things. There was a day when this blog was thriving and causing many to think and consider. But in my evaluation, that day is over.
I'm moving on to some new projects. Coaching and Grassroots Church Planting being the big two. It is time to prune to allow me to be more effective.
Brian,
Is this blog requiring some kind of time commitment from you? I would think it was pretty much self-sustaining at this point.
My concern is, as pathetic as this may sound, this blog is pretty much my only contact with our denomination. Without this, I don't see that I will have any interaction with anyone in the cggc. Sure I would be open to other ideas, but I'm not holding out hope for anything that doesn't include those already part of the "in" group.
Just seems like kind of a strange and random idea to me.
Dan,
You make a great point. That is why it is important to see some transition. It is my belief that if you look at the life cycle of this blog, it is in the decline. We need to transition while there is still enough life to transition.
So thought and prayer need to be given to where it will occur. And certainly, there is no reason someone couldn't start a new emergingcggc blog.
I looked at who is receiving notifications from this blog, and it is only the people who regularly contribute. So if there is an agreement among the contributors to start a new conversation, nothing will be lost. If there is not an agreement, then the loss has already occurred.
I believe it will be healthy to see a restart.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brian,
I want to thank you for the ministry you initiated when you created this blog. It has been a counter-culture forum badly needed in the CGGC. This thread saddens me.
In 1860 and 1863 the Church of God took two huge hits that impacted its future. In 1860 Winebrenner died. In 1863, G U Harn, Winebrenner's most likely successor, a man of incredible passion and charisma, was killed in the Battle of Vicksburg. From that moment, the Church of God has never recaptured it Kingdom building passion and has suffering from a creeping pastorism which became a domineering pastorism by the 1930s.
This blog has been a force standing in opposition to unbiblical pastorism.
This blog has given a home to apostles and prophets. It has given a voice to those who otherwise could not have a meaningful way to speak in the CGGC community.
The years since the creation of the blog have been perhaps the worst years in the history of the CGGC. Since you launched it, we have tried, failed and are still failing to articulate a new Doctrinal Statement. Apparently, there no longer anything we believe in community. And, because we no longer believe together, we are struggling mightily to develop meaningful standards for credentialing.
There seems no longer to be a central truth core in the CGGC. From 40,000 feet it appears that we are on the verge of imploding. This blog spoke against the entropic culture, more powerful than any one leader, that seems to bless that implosion.
This blog has provided a gathering place for people with a burden for a future of the church that is rooted in the New Testament plan, is Spirit-empowered and unfettered by human tradition and by institutionalism.
This blog has provided a voice for Church of Goders who have a heart to call people who live in Heisenberg's Age into a relationship with Jesus.
This blog has been the only place in the CGGC where APEST has functioned in any meaningful way. Perhaps, this will be our greatest lost and we struggle to remember The Forgotten Ways.
I despair for the CGGC's future more without the blog than with it.
Dan,
I wish you had not removed your comment. It was raw and honest. We need more of that, not less of it. There is no reason for you to feel embarrassed or to regret what you wrote.
The fact that we can't rewrite We Believe suggests that many have already given up on a CGGC that has a meaningful existence. The level of cynicism in the CGGC is ridiculously high. It's just that most of us don't have the courage, even in a moment, to express the sentiment you shared.
Your question should be asked proudly and forcefully. And, a meaningful answer should be demanded from people who matter.
Brian,
Overall, I do agree that this blog has been a positive place to exchange ideas and challenge one another. Although, I will stop short of linking any future decline of the CGGC to your decision to discontinue this blog.
I've been around from the beginning, I believe. From my experience, there were three turning points within the life of this blog that helped set its course:
1) The decision to prohibit anonymous posts.
2) Changing the name.
3) Conversations such as this migrating to Facebook.
None of these were inherently good or bad, but simply helped shape what the blog has become. The first two were your decisions but the third was entirely out of your hands.
I support your decision to move on.
I think it might serve as an interesting question whether or not Brian has the 'right' to decide to close the blog down. (I don't mean this in a negative or mean way at all)
You began it, but the authors are numerous.
You have no requirement to participate or moderate. It is not in your name.
Why not take your name off the list (if you so choose) and let whoever wants to continue while you go about your other ministry commitments.
[I'm not necessarily opposed to you shutting it down by the way, just found it interesting that you feel so strongly that you have the right to).
I sincerely hope you don't find my above comments offensive, as they are not intended to be so in any way and I fully respect your right to do as you wish. :-)
Dan,
Since you raised the question, I'll share my thoughts.
Yes, Brian has the right to close the blog. This is under his name as far as Blogger is concerned. The thing about Brian that I appreciate is that as long as this blog exists, he will feel a certain level of obligation since he began it. As he stated, he longer wants to feel that obligation, so he is shutting it down. That works for me.
But, I do like your other idea about the moderated blog. What did you think about my reply to that post?
I think he could get his name off it easily enough, but I'm guessing you hit it with the personal sense of responsibility. And if that is the case, I certainly respect that.
I came late(er) and never thought of it as being 'Brian's blog any more than anyone else's.
Dan,
Interesting question about my rights. Not offended. Over the life of the blog when decisions have had to be made, I made them -- such as no anonymous posters or changing the name of the blog.
The other really interesting thing for me was a comment that Bill made about how the blog is one place where we operate on an APEST model.
Most of the comments today are Prophetic and do not engage the other areas. Shepherds have never engaged here. Apostolic posts have almost ceased and were never very well responded to.
It can't be a healthy transformational community without full APEST, which it does not currently have.
As one with apostolic giftings, I started this blog, and it is my belief that it is time to transition.
The transition could go one of two ways.
1. Fizzle
2. Spark -- we could find answers for a lot of what was not happening on this blog and see re-engagement.
Post a Comment
<< Home