That’s what I used to think. I was wrong.

I’ve begun reflecting on what I’ve gained from blogging. And some of the most important lessons so far have been about writing. To be honest, I’ve learned more in the last two years about how to write well than I learned in any of my college or seminary classes.

1. Brevity breeds understanding

I used to hate word limits. If there’s one thing every academic knows, it’s that the value of a thought is directly proportional to the number of words you use to express it. A single sentence is trite, and anything less than 1,000 words is a mere summary. So, away with word counts! Let verbosity rule.

Blogging taught me to value brevity. You don’t have much time with a blog post. Unless you’re writing about the most controversial subjects, people aren’t going to last to the end of your 5,000 word treatise. Odds are, they won’t even make it through the introduction. So, if you have something important to say, say it quickly.

And to my surprise, I discovered that not only can you say important things quickly, but they often have greater impact when you do. Fewer words means that there’s less to distract your reader from your main point. So they’re more likely to appreciate your point and its significance. Done well, brevity beats verbosity every time.

2. Clarity is king

Brevity and clarity are not the same thing. I’ve read pithy statements that were close to meaningless, and long books that were masterfully clear. Indeed, brevity can sometimes be the enemy of clarity. Some writers use brevity as a rhetorical device to say things that sound meaningful but have no substance. Or worse, brevity can actually hide outright incoherence. Just read many blog posts. (Not mine, of course.)

Academic writing often makes the opposite mistake, valuing information and argumentation over clarity. It doesn’t really matter if I’ve written clearly, as long as I’ve gotten everything down on paper. It may take you a few days (or weeks) to figure out what I’m trying to say. But once you do, you’ll be really impressed.

Blogging is different. I can’t assume that people will take hours to unpack my densely worded and almost intentionally obscure argument. So I have two choices: (1) restate the argument so people can figure out what I’m saying more easily or (2) skip it and save the argument for some journal article that most people won’t read. For the most part, I’ve opted for #1. And that’s pressed my writing in new and helpful directions.

3. Creativity isn’t just for artists

As a youth pastor, I was encouraged to think creatively about how to communicate. I spent hours coming up with interesting introductions, compelling stories, and meaningful life applications. As an academic, it was a different story. I spent so much time on research and argumentation that I had little left for creativity. Besides, I thought, who needs creativity? This is an academic work. Academics don’t need to be creative.

Blogging has helped me realize that there is a place for creativity in academic writing. My writing doesn’t have to be so stale and formal. I can loosen up a bit and let my inner muse out for a walk. And when I do, I think my writing becomes more effective and enjoyable.

4. Grammar is good

Before I started blogging, I thought I was reasonably well versed in grammar. I may not have learned much in my English classes, but I’d taken enough foreign languages to grow in the grammatical graces. And I’d written a ThM thesis, a doctoral dissertation, and a couple of books. Surely I knew something about grammar.

That’s true. But I didn’t know as much as I thought.

Blogging improved my grammar for two reasons. First, because I wanted to write with greater clarity, I started to pay more attention to how good grammar leads to good communication. I realized that the rules are there for a reason and should violated with great caution. And second, I found out that the grammar goons are watching. This wasn’t a problem earlier in my blogging. But once some people find out that you’re trying to write well, they being pointing out all of the ways in which you are failing. That can be frustrating, but at times it’s also helpful. So blogging has improved my grammar and, along with it, my writing. (Of course, now I’m nervous that everyone will point out all of the grammatical mistakes I’ve made in this post. Such is life.)

5. Accessibility stretches you

Academic writing works very well for a particular audience. We can get away with our convoluted sentences, awkward grammar, and impossibly technical jargon because we’re writing for an audience of sufficiently motivated and adequately trained co-specialists. For that niche, academic writing works just fine.

But when I started blogging, I decided that I wanted to write for a broader audience. I still enjoy engaging my fellow academics, but I wanted to extend the dialog to include non-specialists as well. And I came to realize that writing for a broader audience can actually stretch you more than writing for specialists. In academic writing, you can often hide your ignorance behind those technical terms and convoluted arguments. Sharp readers will still see what you’re doing, but many will miss it. Writing for a broader audience forces you to operate without those safety nets. And that can stretch you to understand your material even better than before.

So those are some of the lessons that I’ve learned in my two years of blogging. I realize that this isn’t how everyone experiences blogging. For some, blogging is like journaling. How you write doesn’t really matter. The blog is simply a forum for getting your thoughts down “on paper.” And there’s nothing wrong with blogging like that. But I’ve come to value blogging for something else: learning to write well. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I’ve made some progress. And I’ve learned some great lessons along the way.

Thus in no case will any one be able to injure a man who does not choose to injure himself: but if a man is not willing to be temperate, and to aid himself from his own resources no one will ever be able to profit him. Therefore also that wonderful history of the Holy Scriptures, as in some lofty, large, and broad picture, has portrayed the lives of the men of old time, extending the narrative from Adam to the coming of Christ: and it exhibits to you both those who are upset, and those who are crowned with victory in the contest, in order that it may instruct you by means of all examples that no one will be able to injure one who is not injured by himself, even if all the world were to kindle a fierce war against him. For it is not stress of circumstances, nor variation of seasons, nor insults of men in power, nor intrigues besetting you like snow storms, nor a crowd of calamities, nor a promiscuous collection of all the ills to which mankind is subject, which can disturb even slightly the man who is brave, and temperate, and watchful; just as on the contrary the indolent and supine man who is his own betrayer cannot be made better, even with the aid of innumerable ministrations.

This at least was made manifest to us by the parable of the two men, of whom the one built his house upon the rock, the other upon the sand: not that we are to think of sand and rock, or of a building of stone, and a roof, or of rivers, and rain, and wild winds, beating against the buildings, but we are to extract virtue and vice as the meaning of these things, and to perceive from them that no one injures a man who does not injure himself. Therefore neither the rain although driven furiously along, nor the streams dashing against it with much vehemence, nor the wild winds beating against it with a mighty rush, shook the one house in any degree: but it remained undisturbed, unmoved: that you might understand that no trial can agitate the man who does not betray himself. But the house of the other man was easily swept away, not on account of the force of the trials (for in that case the other would have experienced the same fate), but on account of his own folly; for it did not fall because the wind blew upon it, but because it was built upon the sand, that is to say upon indolence and iniquity. For before that tempest beat upon it, it was weak and ready to fall. For buildings of that kind, even if no one puts any pressure on them, fall to pieces of themselves, the foundation sinking and giving way in every direction. And just as cobwebs part asunder, although no strain is put upon them, but adamant remains unshaken even when it is struck: even so also they who do not injure themselves become stronger, even if they receive innumerable blows; but they who betray themselves, even if there is no one to harass them, fall of themselves, and collapse and perish. For even thus did Judas perish, not only having been unassailed by any trial of this kind, but having actually enjoyed the benefit of much assistance.

Good Reads

• The New Black Theology: Accordingly, the new black theology is best described as the new theology, no (dis)qualifying adjective necessary. In it we see Christian theology at long last incarnating the material conditions whereby the good news becomes good news. (On a related note, you should check out Anyabwile’s Where Does Blackness and Whiteness Come From?)

• Depression and Serotonin: If you have been a pastor for longer than one week, you have probably counseled someone who was taking medication for depression. This presents a consummate pastoral dilemma because pastors want to bring the Bible to bear on all of life, and at the same time, we didn’t go to medical school.

• Grace and Truth Beyond the Elephant Room: We need charity and clarity. But civility is not a love-fest. We will disagree – strongly at times. Why? Because theology matters. The stakes are high. Bad theology hurts people.

• Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons: The real issue for many evangelicals is Mormonism’s remarkable success and rapid expansion….Put simply, the Baptists and Methodists, while still ahead of the Mormons numerically, are feeling the heat of competition from Joseph Smith’s tireless progeny.

Other Info

• The Biggest Myth in Time Management

• Jason alerts us to an important show on Animal Plant called My Cat from Hell.

• 10 Secrets of the Vatican Exposed

 Just for Fun     

• And here are 15 Funny Facebook Timeline Cover Photos

So every Thursday, I’m announcing a new book giveaway. And this week’s book is The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy.

The Historical Jesus: Five Views provides a venue for readers to sit in on a virtual seminar on the historical Jesus. Beginning with a scene-setting historical introduction by the editors, prominent figures in the Jesus quest set forth their views and respond to their fellow scholars.

On the one end Robert M. Price lucidly maintains that the probability of Jesus’ existence has reached the “vanishing point,” and on the other Darrell Bock ably argues that while critical method yields only a “gist” of Jesus, it takes us in the direction of the Gospel portraits. In between there are numerous avenues to explore, questions to be asked and “assured results” to be weighed. And John Dominic Crossan, Luke Timothy Johnson and James D. G. Dunn probe these issues with formidable knowledge and honed insight, filling out a further range of options.

Entering is simple. Just do one or more of the following. And, as usual, the more of these you do, the better your chances of winning. (To make my life easier, please leave one comment for everything that you do. So, for example, if you “like” the post on Facebook and also Tweet about it, leave two comments – one for each.)

Congratulations Andrew. Send me an email and we can make arrangements for me to get the book to you.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another great giveaway courtesy of IVP. And thanks again to IVP for sponsoring these giveaways. They’re greatly appreciated!

Good Reads

•  How Our Words and Actions Change the Lives of Children: A life can be literally launched with as little as a single word, an uplifting comment, a well-timed hug, a tender prayer, a compliment, the holding of a frightened hand, or the gentle wiping of a tear — all in just a minute.

•  We’re on the Cusp of a Golden Age in Apologetics: I’m very optimistic about the future of Christian apologetics. Apologists are effectively refuting the recycled objections of the atheists while at the same time presenting a clear and compelling affirmative case for the truth of Christianity.

• James McDonald resigns from the Gospel Coalition. And here’s a brief response from Don Carson and Tim Keller.

Other Info

• Win a free copy of Logos Scholar’s Library

• Tim Challies offers an interesting visual chart for understanding the attributes of God.

 Just for Fun     

• And here is some amazing video of a volcano in action. Apparently volcanologists are insane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAxj2ob_JoU

As man he was baptized, but he absolved sins as God; he needed no purifying rites himself – his purpose was to hollow water. As man he was put to the test, but as God he came through victorious – yes, bids us be of good cheer, because he has conquered the world. He hungered – yet he fed thousands. He is indeed “living, heavenly bread.” He thirsted – yet he exclaimed: “Whoever thirst, let him come to me and drink.” Indeed he promised that believers would become fountains. He was tired – yet he is the “rest” of the weary and the burdened. He was overcome by heavy sleep – yet he goes lightly over the sea, rebukes winds, and relieves the drowning Peter. He pays tax – yet he uses a fish to do it; indeed he is emperor over those who demand the tax. He is called a “Samaritan, demonically possessed” – but he rescues the man who came down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves. Yes, he is recognized by demons, drives out demons, drowns deep a legion of spirits, and sees the prince of demons falling like lightning. He is stoned, yet not hit; he prays, yet he hears prayer. He weeps, yet he puts an end to weeping. He asks where Lazarus is laid – he was man; yet he raises Lazarus – he was God. He is sold, and cheap was the price – thirty pieces of silver; yet he buys back the world at the mighty cost of his own blood. A sheep, he is led to slaughter – yet he shepherds Israel and now the whole world as well. A lamb, he is dumb – yet he is “Word,” proclaimed by “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” He is weakened, wounded – yet he cures every disease and every weakness. He is brought up to the tree and nailed to it – yet by the tree of life he restores us. Yes, he saves even a thief crucified with him; he wraps all the visible world in darkness. He is given vinegar to drink, gall to eat – and who is he? Why, one who turned water into wine, who took away the taste of bitterness, who is all sweetness and desire. He surrenders his life, yet he has power to take it again. Yes, the veil is rent, for things of heaven are being revealed, rocks split, and dead men have an earlier awakening. He dies, but he vivifies and by death destroys death. He is buried, yet he rises again. He goes down to Hades, yet he leads souls up, ascends to Heaven, and will come to judge quick and dead, and to probe discussions like these. If the first set of expressions starts you going astray, the second set takes your error away.

Anyway, I’m sure you’ll understand why this letter jumped out at me. If you’re facing rejection of any kind, I’m sure you’ll appreciate it too.

Over the next few days, I’m going to explain why. I’m sure there’s more that I could add to this list, but here are the four main reasons that I think two years of blogging has definitely been worth it.

1. Blogging has made me a better writer.

2. Blogging has made me a better teacher.

3. Blogging has helped me stay sharp.

4. Blogging has helped me connect with a broader community.

I’ll explain each of these more in subsequent posts. So stay tuned.