GodblogCon Wrap
Religion & Liberty Online

GodblogCon Wrap

Day 2 marked the end of GodblogCon 2007. A highlight of the day was LaShawn Barber’s talk which provided both concrete advice for clear and concise writing, as well as testimony to how blogging can become a profession. The latter depends on the former, of course. She closed with the mandate: “Be bold, confident, and passionate.”

We concluded the day with a large roundtable discussion including the forty or so Godbloggers who persevered to the end. John Mark Reynolds facilitated a lively discussion about the promises, perils, and the future of blogging and new media. We closed the roundtable by going around and having each person make a bold statement or prediction. Mine was “Bloggers will soon be the new webmasters: everyone is going to need one on staff or have ready access to one’s expertise.”

Much like the practice of blogging itself, GodblogCon is a meeting, or fellowship, rather, that is still in its infancy. The conference went very smoothly and was excellently coordinated. But much like the new media itself, GodblogCon has a great deal of promise and potential. I hope that I personally and Acton as an institution can become more involved as the “Godblogosphere” continues to mature.

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute. He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.