Why Good Blogging, Journals, and Magazines are Needed Now More than Ever

This is a Christian blog, so you’d expect that I’m all for Christians writing and reading good online ideas. But I want to impress upon you that the publication and reading of good Christian periodical literature is a long-standing tradition that the Lord has used for centuries to equip His saints for the work of service (Eph. 4:12). And I want you to see that better online theological writing is needed now, and call you to pray for and seek this.

There are several basic reasons why many believers need to read good online Christian content (including books). The first is that the Internet has obviously turned into a place to flood your mind with corrupting waste, as well as with empty words. Christians need to be in the business of redeeming this avenue of communication to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus, and to teach people to obey Him (Mt. 28:16ff).

Secondly, believers need to be encouraged and trained to read more. Reading is one of the most frequently touted habits for people to improve their lives, and for good reason. There’s a reason that God decided to give us His Word in the form of a book. It’s because one of the best ways to learn, think, and have your mind renewed is by reading well. And one of the ways we can encourage good reading is through good online writing. Which is why I’m writing this to you.

The third reason that timely online writing is needed is because we live in such an information-overloaded, and fast-paced world, that we need voices calling us to stop and reflect on what’s most important. This world is constantly seeking to drag you into issues that don’t matter to the transformation of your soul into Christ’s image. That’s why online Christian devotionals and essays are useful tools to sharpen your thinking, warm your affections, and spur you on to greater love and good deeds.

Besides these basic reasons for good Christian online writing, I’m advocating for the theological devotionals, journals, and blogs that publish regular content. I’m convinced that it’s one of the most effective media for Bible teaching, education, analysis, encouragement, and even community on the Internet. But I’m hard-pressed to find much practical, timely, and bold writing that will bring light on the most pressing issues facing western Christians today. So in this essay, I want to show you the historical impact of regularly-published Christian short-form literature, and point to the best examples we find in modern history of Christian periodical writing that ignited repentance, reformation, and revival among the body of Christ.

The Current State of Online Christian Writing

One of my motivations in publishing this is to invite you to promote excellent Christian online blogging, and to call you who have a writing gift to join in this work. The fact is, much of the popular evangelical blog and journal content is missing the mark on what’s needed for a large portion of western Christians. What I notice is two extremes in the written teaching and encouragements online – either it’s so academic and scholarly that it comes off with a tone of intellectualism and unfamiliarity with normal life, or its so general and basic theology that there’s really no substantive instruction to do anything.

What most believers need, and especially young ones, is writing that strikes a healthy balance between well-read and thoughtful understanding of biblical teaching, and a passionate, timely, and bold application of Scriptural principles to the pressing issues of our day. This will often require writers not to write what most Christians want to think about, but what they need to think about. Some have called this type of teaching “prophetic,” as in that which speaks to the most desperate challenges, temptations, and sins that Christians are dealing with.

So, dear reader, please pray for the Christian online world, that the Lord would raise up bold, passionate, and insightful writers and authors to speak His Word and wisdom to people that are suffering from dullness of hearing, nearness of sight, and ignorance of the truths that are most poignant for our day and condition. But to encourage us to that end, let’s briefly look at the history of Christian writing ministry that brought us to where we are today.

The Exciting History of Christian Devotional Writing

Epistles and Apologetics

The beginning of Christian writing was clearly with the New Testament Scriptures themselves. And most comparable form of Scripture to what we’d call devotional is the New Testament epistle, or letter. Obviously, this is the divine standard for most of our Christian instruction and philosophy today. But this tradition of writing relatively short treatments of Christian belief and practice continued after the last apostolic letter was written. These letters continued to be written to assemblies into the next couple of centuries after the 1st, at least.

As false teachings about Jesus, God, and salvation began to fester and assault the body of Christ in the 2nd century, a new form of Christian literature began to be published. This is called apologetic, which means “a defense” or “an answer”. Theologians and Bible teachers saw a need to respond in writing to objections to the claims of Christianity, such as Justin Martyr. Not only were false teachers and detractors refuted in their errors, but believers were also helped in their understanding of the faith, the most effective ways to argue for the gospel.

Reformation Literature

Aside from these two forms of literature, there wasn’t much written in the way of popular devotionals or essays until the Reformation. And we need to remember that the way most believers received these writings was by having them read to them, rather than reading them individually. Most people at the time were illiterate, so there wouldn’t be anything like modern-day devotionals or written Bible lessons until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. By this time, literacy was becoming increasingly common, and a growing literate middle class was forming. Thus, we see the immense effectiveness of the publication of essays, tracts, treatises, and sermons by such groups as the Lutherans. Martin Luther was one of the most prolific writers of the Reformation, and was probably the most influential pioneer of popular devotional and theological writing. Although he was a trained scholar, he sought to write for the average Christian reader, as well as for formally educated theologians. And through his hundreds of writings published en masse, he spread the teachings of biblical Christianity like wildfire across Europe.

The Puritan Explosion

After the main Reformation settled down into permanency in the 1600s, the next group that pushed Christian literature even further was the Puritans. These were English Protestants that sought to protest against the continued Catholic beliefs and practices of the Anglican Church. If any group exploded the writing and distribution of biblical literature to the common people during the 1600s, it was them. Throughout that century, hundreds, if not thousands, of Puritan preachers, Bible teachers, and educators produced an almost non-stop assortment of transcribed sermons, tracts, essays, devotionals, and books that reached thousands of people at the time. Through their teaching, the Anglican Church was reformed, and new Christian groups were formed and strengthened in the faith. Out of the Puritan movement came the Baptists, Congregationalists, English Presbyterians, the current form of British government, and the American Puritans of New England. And their literature had such a powerful impact on their generation, and those succeeding them, that many of their books are still popular and helpful for Christians today. One could think of Of Sin and Temptation, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and hundreds of other wonderful Puritan books and tracts.

The Golden Age of Christian Literature

Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, the Lord used His people to bring about a golden age of Christian writing and publishing. Historians agree that in the American colonies before the Revolution, religious tracts, essays, and sermons were the most common form of literature published and read. And this trend may have stopped in terms of publishing numbers (though doubtful), but the bare number of Christian publishers surely increased in the English-speaking world as the 19th century went on. Due to the Second Great Awakening in the early 1800s, and other awakenings and expansions of Christianity in the rest of the century, the sheer number of Christian writings and publishers increased dramatically. This was especially the case for evangelistic and missionary organizations that used the written word to update believers on their work, call for prayer and support, and offer Christian instruction and encouragement. In early 19th century America, several influential Bible and tract societies were established, which made great efforts in publishing Bibles, tracts, and devotional literature for the masses. As for the end of the century, one of the biggest publishing works was done for the writings of Charles Spurgeon, the Martin Luther or Billy Graham of his day. In the English-speaking world, his sermons, devotionals, books, and tracts were some of the most popular forms of reading in the homes of average people.

The Fundamentalist Magazines

By the end of the 1800s, the publication and reading of daily devotionals and Christian periodicals was a standard part of western Christian living. But this was further accelerated in the early 1900s through the Christian Fundamentalist movement. This was that effort of conservative Bible-believing Christians to oppose the Bible-despising teachings of humanist and scientist movements. The Fundamentalists joined together across many denominations to produce accessible Christian writing especially for pastors and teachers. To that end, they published a collection of essays on basic biblical teachings called The Fundamentals. In conjunction with their efforts, and as a result, some more journals, devotionals, and books were published for average Christians to read and be instructed by. It was during this time that My Utmost for His Highest was published, and Studies in the Scriptures was being published. The last one is one of the shining examples of Christian writing from that time for us today. It was written and published by the Bible teacher A.W. Pink for decades, and resulted in the spread and defense of the doctrines of grace across the world. Pink is most known for his landmark Calvinistic book, The Sovereignty of God, which has planted the seed of an understanding of God’s supreme control in many a heart.

The “Evangelical” Magazines

Finally, western Christian devotional publishing came into the last great era of theological periodicals and devotionals. The Lord wrought a great work of revival and purification in His people during the last half of the 20th century, through the ascendancy of Reformed theology to popularity, and formation and rapid decline of the evangelical movement. In the middle of the century, some Christian leaders and scholars felt that Fundamentalists had largely become too closed-hearted, stern, and legalistic. So they attempted to form a more open-hearted and gentle movement through what’s now called “evangelicalism”. They sought to unite only based on their beliefs about the gospel and its obvious implications, rather than matters of Christian liberty, preference, and conscience. Some of the names that came out of this movement were Fuller Seminary and Christianity Today. With the establishment of Christianity Today, we had one of the most influential Christian publishing works until recently. Being Billy Graham’s work, it become one of the most powerful instruments for analyzing the condition of western Christianity, and popularizing its standard beliefs and practices.

Revivalist Writers

In contrast to this popular evangelicalism, there were some outliers that called out the great errors and compromises of western Christianity through their prolific writing. The two most excellent were A.W. Tozer and Leonard Ravenhill. Although not as popular or well-known as many others during the time, they were prophetic voices that brought the truth to bear on some of the most pressing matters Christians were facing. Tozer wrote for one of the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s publication, and produced hundreds of essays on various matters. His writing was so clear, practical, cutting, and Christ-focused, that he serves as a shining example of a writer that said it like it was, and often is. Leonard Ravenhill wrote for lesser known publications, but as a full-time evangelist and Bible teacher stirred Christians up to acknowledge their besetting sins and false beliefs, and to seek reformation and evangelistic revival across the western world. He’s best known for his books Why Revival Tarries and Revival Praying. At least one of those was originally published in a series of essays in a Christian periodical.

The Reformed Magazines

As the 20th century advanced into its latter decades, another Christian writing movement popped up that took the doctrines of grace taught by A.W. Pink, and joined them to the fire and boldness of Tozer and Ravenhill. During the 70s and 80s, a few excellent magazines began publication to disseminate Reformed and Calvinistic beliefs, and instruct believers on how to apply them to everyday life. Under the leadership of the Bible teacher R.C. Sproul, Table Talk began in 1977 to promote Reformed Presbyterian theology and practice, and is still published. In the next decade, John and Ernest Reisinger began reviving Spurgeon’s teaching with The Sword and the Trowel, which started off as a republication of his original magazine, but transformed into a platform for contemporary teaching. After being forced to leave the work on this magazine, John Reisinger began publishing a new and improved theological one called Sound of Grace. This work eventually became one of the greatest teaching instruments for theology of the New Covenant, commonly called NCT. At the same time, Bible teacher Jon Zens helped to start another magazine called Searching Together, which eventually became one of the biggest promoters of the house-church movement in recent times.

Reformed and Revivalist Influences Today

Through these publications, and ones like them, western Christians were regularly encouraged, instructed, and reformed in their thinking and practice. One of the contributions to making Reformed theology so mainstream now was the magazine writing work of Sproul, Reisinger, and their co-laborers. Many of the elders, Bible teachers, and seminary professors that so powerfully indoctrinated their followers with the doctrines of grace during the Reformed resurgence of a decade ago had been heavily influenced either by readers of the aforementioned magazines, or by those magazines themselves. And since those publications moved to a digital format, there has been a rediscovery of the experiential and revivalistic teaching expressed in the writings of Tozer and Ravenhill. Even though there works are relatively brief, they are extremely powerful.

The history of God’s Christian people has proven that regular, timely, brief, and mass-produced writings can be an effective means of teaching the most needed truths of Scripture, and showing believers how they need to respond to the times in which they live. And we see many examples of a couple generations ago of excellent Christian devotionals, essays, tracts, and journals. But what’s the future of this type of service? The future looks very promising, and encourages me to continue publishing on my blogs.

The Future of Web-Based Christian Periodicals

The whole point of this essay is to show you that the Lord has seen fit to use the prolific and regular publication of brief Christian writings to build His Assembly by equipping His saints. But with the use of Internet to do this, it makes the opportunity for mistakes, failures, and errors all the greater. It’s amazing how many Christians write articles online, and still more amazing how many Christians actually read most of them. As with all things on the Internet, greater opportunity for content means a greater opportunity for sin-tainted influences. It’s probably safe to say that most of the believers writing regularly on the Internet shouldn’t be. As with the Corinthians’ disorderly gatherings, or the men ignorantly spewing empty chatter, there are many believers who write things for bad reasons, or simply speak things in error or in the wrong way. Much of the Christian blogging and journaling world offers little to enlighten the mind, nourish the heart, and convict the conscience. And still less of the regular writing online makes it clear on how to specifically live out Christlikeness in the most trying situations.

What I’m saying is that, although there’s tons of good writing online, there isn’t enough, and it has to compete with way too much popular junk that purports to be from a biblical perspective. Yet I’ve noticed recently that there’s a growing movement of wise, godly, passionate, and insightful Christian writers who are taking the Internet by storm with words of rebuke, reproof, teaching, and training in righteousness. I commend to you the blogs This is Foster, Insight to Incite, The Cripplegate, Things Above, Reformation 21, Truth Unites, and even Mere Orthodoxy. Western believers need to read more thoughtful, biblically wise, lovingly confrontational, and intensely practical writings, especially as they use their Internet sources. The body of Christ is in need of men, and sometimes women, like the Puritans, Methodists, Spurgeon students, Fundamentalists, Pinks, Tozer’s, and Reisinger’s, to produce timely, Scripture-saturated, Christ-focused, beautifully written, and reformation-oriented devotionals, essays, and lessons that will continue to help western believers deal with the pressing issues they face in their everyday lives.

We need to teach biblical masculinity, evangelism, biblical leadership, church practice, vocational skills, counseling, and educational subjects to a growing audience of online readers, especially the young ones. So please promote those writing ministries and writers that are being faithful, teaching truth and wisdom, and showing what it means to think biblically online. On the other hand, avoid the “ministries,” organizations, and teachers that are contributing to the brain-rot, confusion, sin, and error that pervades the world both online and in everyday life. Seek to know Christ and the power of His resurrection through the publication and reading of the written word, so that the ultimate Word will dwell more in your heart through faith. Until next lesson, bear Christ and Him crucified for the honor of His name.