Members Using Blogs to Attack Their Pastors

Bill Seaver, a guest blogger at Church Marketing Sucks, talks about the growing trend of disgruntled church members to vent their frustrations and disagreements with their pastors and church leaders.

I personally know of four churches that are dealing with this to some degree right now. Here are two examples from Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, Tenn. (these are not blogs in the purest sense of the word but are text-only web sites that serve the same purpose).

The issues that prompt the attacks vary, but in each case the church is under fire from a small group of individuals who disagree with the leadership (either the pastor himself or the leadership as a whole). Also, in every case the churches had no idea what hit them.

He suggests five steps to take for pastors in this kind of situation and for those who want to prepare for it.

1. Start a Blog ASAP
   If you start a blog now, before a crisis, you will have more credibility when/if an issue pops up. I think it’s a good idea to be blogging anyway just for communication and feedback purposes, but now more than ever I’m convinced that it’s necessary for such a case as this. . . .
2. Get Notifications
   There are two great places to easily find out what bloggers are saying about you and your church. Technorati.com is the hub of the blogging universe and allows you to search on words and phrases to see if any blogs mention the words. . . . You should also set up Google Alerts. . . . [I’d also recommend using the new Google Blog Search.]
3. Be Open and Honest
   Here’s the thing about blogging, it’s a great medium that facilitates conversation and understanding, but if you’re not telling the whole truth, you’re going to wish you never said anything at all. Whether you get busted in your own blog’s comments or on someone else’s blog, I can almost guarantee you’ll be caught (probably by another blogger) if you give half truths, misleading statements or outright lies. As long as you respond openly, honestly and candidly, people will see that you don’t have anything to hide and that you’re willing to address the concerns of the attack blog. . . .
4. Everyone Reads Attack Blogs
   Recent studies show that only about 30% of Americans read blogs, but that number will increase dramatically if there’s an attack blog targeting your church. Attack blogs are both easily accessible and raise curiosity once discovered. . . .
5. Ask for Help
   If you don’t understand how to get a blog started or how to respond (if you find yourself in a crisis situation) find someone to help you. . . .

Read the whole article.

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