100th Post: 3 Reasons I Created the Average Churchman
Today marks the 100th post on “The Average Churchman.” I really can’t believe it has been over a year since I started The Average Churchman. I’m grateful to the Lord for this opportunity to write and reflect on His truth. I’m grateful to my wife for all her support. And I am so very grateful to you, my readers, who have encouraged me along the way and appreciated my thoughts. In light of this milestone, I thought it would be useful to write out some of the reasons I created The Average Churchman.
1. To keep track of all the Bible study tools I found
The first of several reasons why I created the Average Churchman was both personal and practical: I simply wanted a place to contain all the different Bible study tools I found. Before this website, I simply used a massive Google document full of different Bible study methods, application questions, tips and tricks and anything else related to Bible study. It got a little unwieldy, so I thought a better solution would be a website.
This idea especially came to me when trying to teach younger men at Church how to study the Bible. Why not have a website with the different tools I had found so I could give them the resources they needed? This became the “Tools” section of my website in which I write some of my favorite and most technical posts. Even though I have written on topics such as outlining, applying a text, structuring a sermon, and many others, I still have a ton more Bible study tools to share with you. Hopefully in the coming years, I will be able to get more and more resources that I have found on this site for you to utilize.
2. To practice writing
I have always been an avid reader, but I had never tried my hand at writing consistently. After I started the Average Churchman, it became clear to me that I wasn’t just creating a place to store Bible study tools. Another one of the reasons I created the Average Churchman was to give me a place to practice my writing. If you look at one of my early posts compared with a recent one, you can see how far I’ve come. I’m more than a little embarrassed by the quality of my early posts.
Practicing writing also had a personal and practical purpose. My local Church has given me more and more consistent opportunities to teach and preach. I currently am teaching Kids4Truth every Sunday night, teaching Sunday School once or twice a month, and preaching several times a year. I realized that, as a busy husband, father, and employee, I needed to become better at writing in order to create better teachings at a faster rate. I needed a place to practice taking my Bible study or personal thoughts, structuring them into a logical flow, and then expounding on them in written prose.
Honestly, looking back over the past 100 posts, I am so grateful for the ways God has grown me through simply writing what I am learning and what I am reading. The simple act of writing several days a week clarifies your thoughts, improves essential skills like analysis, communication, and outlining, and also has the added reward of externalizing your thoughts to share with others. If there is one thing that has surprised me, it is how much I have enjoyed writing posts for others to read.
3. To encourage average Church members in their walk with the Lord
I chose the website name “The Average Churchman” for two reasons. The first, is that I am not an Elder at my Church, nor a Pastor. In that sense, I am just an “Average Churchman” who writes his thoughts on Scripture and Church-related topics. No MDiv. No ordination. I am just a Christian who is a member of a local Church. But the second reason I named this site “The Average Churchman” is because I wanted to encourage all Church members in their walk with the Lord.
I wanted to write about topics normal Church members who work a 9 to 5 think about and deal with on a week to week basis. To talk about things as simple as “how should I do my work?” and “I feel lonely at Church. How can I grow closer to those Church members around me?” Every Bible study tool I have shared, every book quote I have analyzed, every reflection I have shared has been for one purpose: to encourage you as you seek to glorify God and imitate Christ.
Conclusion: My love letter to the local Church
I love the local Church. And as much as I have been encouraged by my Elders and my Pastor, ultimately every Sunday morning service, every small group, every Bible study is made edifying by normal Church members. People who aren’t called to formal ministry but who do ministry every day in their homes, at their work, and yes, in the local Church. I’d like to think that this website is, at it’s best, simply my love letter to the local Church. I owe everything I am today to God using “average” Church members in extraordinary ways.
And if my writing encourages one Church member to be more faithful to the Word of God, then this website is a success and has done exactly what I intended it to do.
Soli Deo Gloria.
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