Blogging: Osama Bin Laden Style

Well, I haven’t blogged in a while, mostly because of time constraints and trying to actually do more and talk and express myself less.  I’m constantly wrestling with myself about whether I am more effective as a man who does what is important to the Kingdom or as a man who (yes, continues to try to embody the Kingdom, but) focuses on articulating Kingdom values and realities and calls others to walk them out.  So for a while I will go silent while I try and walk out the Kingdom and then I will re-emerge with all of these thoughts about the Kingdom that I’m dying to release…and you’ll see a flury of blog postings or something. 

Lately I’ve been thinking about my blogging style and I came to this conclusion: Most Christian bloggers I know could learn a thing or two from Osama Bin Laden.  Here me out on this–I’m not suggesting any of us convert to Islam or begin terrorist attacks on some nation we don’t like.  But Bin Laden has a communication style that fascinates me.  Let me give you an example.

Most of the Christian blogs I see out there are talking about everything and anything that happens to them on a daily basis.  I know for myself in particular, blogging makes it very difficult to have a secret life in God because when I’m really keeping up my content to draw in traffic, I have to talk about everything that God is doing in my life.  There are no secrets. 

Compare that with Bin Laden*.  He has no homepage on the internet.  He probably has no internet connection in whatever little cave he’s living in.  All he has is a fierce commitment to the cause he’s serving and a connection with a spirit (definitely evil) that gives him instructions about how to move forward his cause.  When he has enough content from this spirit to bring together a message, he gets some guy on his team to video tape him and when they’re finished, that guy rides a donkey to the nearest arabic news station on whatever continent they’re on.  Every news station in the world is waiting for the next Bin Laden tape, because they know what they’re going to get.  The five minute tape spreads all across the planet in a matter of hours.  The result?  Bin Laden is one of the most widely known thinkers on the planet influencing many people.

All of this is to say, I think we can learn something from Mr. Bin Laden.  We have a message (of God’s Kingdom) that is more powerful than his message of terror.  We have a Spirit (the Holy Spirit) that is more powerful than the demons Bin Laden is listening too.  But substance will trump volume every single time.  We must become people more content with substance than volume.  This is the path to really changing the world.

So, if you don’t see me blog every day, don’t worry.  I may be in my “cave” trying to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.  But I will come out and share.  And so should you.

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*I should note that I have done very little study about the methods and life of Osama Bin Laden or other terrorists.  These generalities are ones gleamed from TV News programs and comments I’ve heard.  Do your own research and check it out.  This blurb is in the interest of self-disclosure, honesty, and the benefit of my fact checking friends.