As people continue to come across my blog, I thought it was time for me to articulate some disclaimers about Beit Carr. But first, a little explanation. I find blogging to be a useful tool. It allows me the opportunity to present my thoughts in a public forum. Sometimes there's a cultural issue that I want to comment on. Maybe there's a news story that I feel deserves more attention. Or perhaps I just want to brag about my family or friends. I post it on the blog, and it's out there.
In addition to personal benefits, I think this blog can be useful to the reader as well. Every few weeks, I get comments from people who have read my blog and say something to the effect of: "I can't believe you're a minister. You sound like a normal person." Not quite sure if "normal" is the best term by which to describe me, but I'm glad people see that pastors can be human.
But blogging can be a risky undertaking for clergy because it exposes them to direct criticism. If they present an idea isn't Christian enough or admit a personal flaw, some individuals may use that information as ammunition in order to attack the pastor. This is why few pastors are willing to blog and those that do are fearful of being anything but generic with their thoughts.
But I'm going to keep on being me and using Beit Carr to throw my ideas out there. That being said, here's my list of disclaimers.
1. The thoughts posted here at Beit Carr are ideas I am comfortable with as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My daily aim is to live my life under the authority of God as specifically explained in the Holy Christian Scriptures. I will sometimes post incomplete thoughts that I'm wrestling or use humor that people might not get. Hey, that's me and how I live life. But I take seriously my calling and don't abandon it when I get behind a keyboard.
2. The thoughts posted here at Beit Carr are not representative of Echo Church. That might seem like a laughable statement since I teach/preach using personal thoughts every week. But Echo is much, much bigger than me. This is my personal voice, not the church's. Additionally, if anything I ever write/say is objectional, I'm in submission to the leadership of the church to correct me. So if I ever cross the line, I'm accountable.
3. I take no responsibility for outside comments posted at Beit Carr. Blog comments are an opportunity for people to interact with things I've written and, even when I disagree, I appreciate them. However, there will always be comments posted that some people will find more objectional than others. Unless I find it blantantly offensive I'll allow for free speech and let it stand, but that doesn't mean I agree with it.
4. I take no responsibility for the content found on any of the links at Beit Carr. The links here at Beit Carr are a collection of sites that I find useful and blogs by people I've met throughout the years. Sometimes content on a referred site will be objectional or a person will say a ridiculous statement. I can't monitor everything on all these links, so instead of choosing to have no links at all, I'll refer them but send you out at your own risk.
Friends, the internet's a crazy place. True, it's home of some of the ugliest, repulsive content that humans could ever imagine. But the medium itself is not evil. There's a lot of good that can come out of it as well. That's why I like my little corner here on the world wide web. Just trying to do some good and make some people smile. Hope you enjoy it.
Blessings, steve