Carbon Copy > Dries Cronje

The Blogging Church

I finished The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey on Saturday evening.

Before reading this book, I experimented with a few blogs at Blogger, Wordpress and Voxtropolis. To no avail... I had no real sense of purpose, no plan and (of course) no success.

But now, I know why I blog, how to blog, when to blog and what to write about. In addition I now know a lot about he blogosphere. I know how to set up a feed at feedburner, track subscriptions, and what the purpose of technorati.com is...

And... I started seriously reading other blogs. If nothing else, The Blogging Church introduces you to many excellent blogs... I hope to share my favorites sometime soon!

The book is an easy read. I read it while on holiday, keeping one eye on our toddler, and keeping up a conversation in the background.

I am a total activator, so I act before I think, then monitor the results of my actions while thinking and making adjustments. If God blessed you with other strengths and you don't operate in this  manner, I highly recommend getting your hands on this book before starting to blog.

Brian wrote the book for pastors and other staff (or volunteers) of churches. I have an independent ministry of reviewing and recommending helpful Christian books and other media, so I guess it was a slight misfit, but it still resulted in the creation of this blog, and helped me immensely in understanding the latest trends online.

If you have any desire to start a blog, for a church or otherwise, read this book. It will be helpful...

Check out Brian's blog at LeaveItBehind.com. I have only started reading recently, and I already find his posts helpful.

The Role of Good Books...

I love reading. Always have.

For me, there is no better use of spare time than to dive into a good book. When growing up, I liked fiction. The Hardy Boys, then Terry Pratchett, and later on the African adventures of Wilbur Smith...

Then I started developing interests in specific things, and there was a strong shift toward non-fiction.

Eventually, after becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, I started reading Christian books or secular books that are helpful in this new mission.

As I was reading, I noticed something. These books were having a profound impact on me. On my thoughts, my passions, and eventually my actions. I realized that God was using books to change me and to develop my character.

Then, I started reading with an increased vigor. I set out and intentionally bought books on subjects that I needed to learn more about. Books offering solutions to the problems I was facing, and books detailing new, fresh ways of thinking about old truths.

I sincerely believe that God uses the efforts of Christian and secular authors to produce fruit for Him. He uses books, especially those by trusted Christian authors, to reach people who don't consider themselves disciples and to help disciples to grow. Books are a central part of the process of sanctification.

So, next time you start looking for a book to read, or walk past a bookstore, shoot up a little prayer and ask God to lead you and help you find something that you need to read. Something that He wants you to read!

I hope that, like me, you will not be disappointed.

Hit and Seek...

Golf... What a game!

I get the opportunity to play only for a short time of the year, and even then it is only because my family plays and want me to play with them, that I do.

I am not good at golf.

Currently my wife, baby daughter, and I are visiting my parents-in-law at their beautiful beach house on the Kwazulu-Natal coast of South Africa. It is awesome. But then every other day I get to play golf... After three rounds I have carded scores of 97, 97, and (you guessed it!) 97.

We played at Southbroom Golf Club today. Do not get me wrong, it is a stunning golf course with some splendid views of the ocean and houses of some rich(-er) folk. But walking after a little ball, uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill, hit and seek, hit and seek. It gets to you man. And then you do not even have a low score to celebrate afterwards...

In any case, I am looking forward to a good day on the beach and some serious reading tomorrow. I am busy with The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and I have a few other promising books lying around and begging me to pick them up...

I need to be disciplined though, and finish what I am busy with before tackling the next one.

See ya...

Your Carbon Copy...

This is my first post on a brand new blog - Carbon Copy. My name is Dries Cronje, and I am a South African follower of Jesus with a passion for Christian media - books in particular. Actually the passion is a bit wider, and I guess you can say I have a passion for communication in general.

Hence... this blog.

Carbon Copy will tell you my story and stimulate conversation, while keeping you updated on the hottest new books, videos, audio (podcasts etc.) and online resources helpful to followers of Jesus.

I am webmaster of a website that reviews and recommends Christian books, which also has a blog/feed to keep followers up to date. See BookDisciple.com.

Speak soon...