My Sally Field moment

"You like me, right now, you like me."

I'm bursting with a little bit of pride right now, for two reasons. The first, is that this humble little blog has now had three weeks in a row of more than 100 hits. I hope all my visitors enjoy what they find and keep coming back. Your participation is always welcome as well, of course.

Second, my friend Liz (a college classmate, all-around wonderful person, and mother of the cutest baby boy ever, in my unbiased opinion) drew my attention to the July/August issue of "Seeds for the Parish," a resource newsletter for ELCA church leaders. A significant portion of the issue is devoted to online ministry, and they kindly included this blog in their list of Lutheran blogs. (If you're a first-time visitor who read the article, I'd love to hear from you in the comments or by email!)

It is so important that all churches seek to connect with multiple aspects of people's lives. We've all heard the cliche that the Internet is like the American frontier of the Wild West - a free-wheeling place of immorality, crime, and vice. That may represent the early stages of development, but I think it's time to extend the metaphor. As soon as the frontier towns were settled and families began arriving, churches were built to minister to the community. The newsletter does a great job of reinforcing the idea that churches need to be online, reaching out to people in that familiar environment and engaging them in a modern way.

I'm so glad that my little effort can enhance the outreach mission of Bethany as well as give me an outlet for my Lutheran church music geekiness.