Terry Virgo.org

Terry Virgo, the leader and founder of Newfrontiers, has started a blog.

And it's not just a blog either; there is a whole website at terryvirgo.org which draws together a wide range of resources from Terry, including preaches, an outline of his diary and other useful features for those (like me) who both want to be blessed by Terry's ministry, and who have often wondered how they can best pray for their leader (e.g. "I wonder what Terry is up to this week?").

Often during my year on Frontier Project I would steal a glance at the copy of Terry's calendar that my leaders would have, and be grateful for the opportunity to feel involved. It's easy to say "I go to a Newfrontiers church", or even (probably more what I would say) "I'm part of a family of churches around the world called Newfrontiers"; but saying it is very different to feeling it. This blog fosters that sense of feeling involved with the wider mission which only comes through an engagement with those who are going, or have gone.

Before my blogging days, when I started a tongue-in-cheek online petition called "Dear Joel Virgo...", Adrian Warnock found the website and commented:

"For those knowing the people involved this is hilarious. If anyone ever does a website about me I will know I have REALLY arrived. Actually it would be great if guys like Joel would blog- that would be my petition to him."

I presume that means Adrian is pleased with the Newday blog (where Joel sometimes writes); and now to have Terry blogging must be (I would suggest) at least in part due to the influence of Mr. Warnock. Well done, sir. Perhaps CJ had a hand in it too. After all, both gentlemen's blogs make it onto Terry's blogroll.

Already the articles on the blog demonstrate Terry's ability to combine Bible truth with his own experiences to share, with a healthy does of family news as well (with mentions of various church plants -come to Life Church soon please, Terry!- and personal relationships).

Why am I particularly excited about this new blog? ...

This week I was invited to an interview which forms part of some PhD research at The University of Sheffield, on blogging. The questions I was asked were quite interesting. One of the final ones was "will you carry on blogging?" to which I initially laughed (before realising that might be considered rude), and gave an unequivocal "yes!" The reason I said yes is the same reason I'm excited about Terry blogging.

In the interview I explained something which I had recently researched for my dissertation, about Francis Schaeffer's idea of an intellectual staircase. I first heard of this at the Mobilise Student Worker Day earlier this year, in a seminar by Andrew Wilson. Having chased Andrew for the source, I eventually got the name of the book from Joel Virgo and found that the ideas worked well as an introduction to my dissertation.

Schaeffer's point is one about how new ideas affect the culture; for his purpose it was effective to show that the new idea started with philosophers, before affecting art, music, and the general culture before affecting theology. He said that this type of change takes place in three different ways: geographically, socially, and through the disciplines. An example is that not all newspapers catch onto a new idea at the same time. Climate change would be one example, where Melanie Phillips is frequently given an opportunity to rally against the 'green agenda' in The Daily Mail, wheras a reading of most scientific journals reveals the scientific 'consensus' to be that climate change is happening, and humans are partially responsible. Whatever one thinks about that particular issue, it is clear that new ideas affect the culture gradually, with those at the top of the intellectual staircase having more influence than those at the bottom, or in the middle.

I think blogging is quite high up on this staircase. This is why I'm pleased to see Terry added to the world of bloggers. His blog will turn out to be another arrow in his already-full quiver of resources to affect change. But it will probably be one of the sharpest and furthest-reaching of the lot. To an extent blogging is simply a mechanism we can use to get the message out. It's not like preaching, for example, where there are fine, Biblical precedents which lead us to believe passionately in the proclaimed word of God. But, just as the printing press was a revolution for our message, to a similar (but lesser) degree, blogging opens up new potential for how far that message can reach.

A recent conversation I had with Becki Ring (my Student co-Worker at City Church) recently brought this to light. She made a comment that a someone had recently said to her: "everyone's talking about Mark Driscoll at the moment." I realised that, if indeed that is the case, it is about a year after the 'subject' of Mark Driscoll 'did the rounds' in the blogosphere. Obviously, he has subsequently come up every now and then, but (at least among the blogs I read) the bulk of discussion came a good while ago now. Which means that, even compared with prolific readers who are non-bloggers, discussion of current issues happens more quickly and thoroughly among bloggers.

I recently learnt about architectural modernists of the twentieth century,whose authenticity of message went hand-in-hand with the fact that they tied their designs in with the new technology of photography. They were more successful because they recognised the methods by which they could get their message out. With hindsight, blogging for Terry Virgo will surely prove to be a breakthrough discovery of this type.

Thanks to Jul for the tip off about www.janga.biz/terryvirgoblog/.