Suggest A Post

One of the stated aims of this blog is to get the audience talking, and to encourage Indie folk to think and create outside the usual limited set of topics. Blogging can often seem like a one way “broadcast”. The blogger writes up what interests him or her, posts it, and waits to see what happens. It is very easy, as a blogger to fall into the very trap you’re trying to avoid. Because I write about what catches my attention and we all have a particular set of ideas and issues that attract our attention, it is I think a good idea to actively seek to push beyond that particular “set”. This is my attempt at not only cultivating more engagement with my audience, but also helping me to lift up this rock over here and see what lies beneath.

In the space provided below, I invite you to suggest a topic, or ask a question. Every good blog has a niche, and strives to remain grounded within that niche. Anyone familiar with modern social media will also be aware that buried in the streams of crack-pot comments by ideologues and cyber-wankers, are gems of thoughful ideas and discourse. The thing is – you need to have the time (and the patience) to wade through the slurry before you find them. When you are formulating your suggested post or question please keep the following in the forefront of your thinking:

• Keep it relevant: your suggested post or question will only see the light of day if it is relevant to Christian theology or practice, and it can be addressed or explored from an OC/IC ISM perspective.
•  The importance of being Pith: If I need twenty minutes to figure out that there might be a question or suggested topic tangled amongst the morass of words, then it is unlikely that your suggested post will come into being. Keep your suggestions to three (3) sentences or less. This should be fun, engaging, and not painful for everyone concerned.
• Rudeness will be rewarded: It goes without saying that all thoughtless, rude and spurious suggested posts will be deleted, and you will be banned from commenting in future. Yeah, its harsh, but the goal is thoughtful conversation and not eating our young, or complaining about other communities.

Here are some things I try to keep in mind when writing a post for you:

• Multi-layered Mumblings: Occasionally a suggested topic might be best answered by someone else – or by more than one person. When that happens I will reach out to that person and ask them to contribute a guest post (no guarantee that they will agree to it, but I will ask all the same)
• The Pit of Pith: Generally I try to keep my posts short – between 300 and 500 words. It is a “working ideal” and is not always practical. If the answer to your suggested post is substantial I will do what I can to break it up into easy to read chunks. While the long-read movement in social media is gaining ground, I appreciate that many people are overloaded with posts, articles, and videos and aim to make posts here as easy and informative to the reader as possible (barring of course the limitations of my own skill, or lack there of, in writing).
• Information Breeds Confidence: If I choose to write on your topic or question, I will drop you a note, so you can know when to expect to see it.
• Time is Interest: If you have taken the time to suggest a topic or ask a question, then I think it is only right that I post the topic in a timely fashion. Unless I need more time to research and “craft” text (and I’ll be sure to let you know), I aim to post on your topic within a week.

Now its up to you, what would you like to read in a post here?