Reflections on GodBlogCon

by Joe Carter and Matthew Eppinette

Joe and Matthew traveled to California last week to attend GodBlogCon, a gathering of Christian bloggers. In addition to several personal blog projects, Joe and Matthew are now both blogging at bioethics.com.

Nine years ago Biola University hosted a conference of scientists and scholars on intelligent design. The conference goals were modest—to build a community of thought, to share ideas and knowledge, to unite on common ground—yet from this humble beginning a formidable and controversial intellectual movement was born.

It would be presumptuous to think that the latest Biola hosted convention—GodBlogCon—would have as significant an impact as that academic research conference. Yet it is undeniable that there was something momentous about the occasion, and that its effects will reverberate throughout the blogosphere. Although the plenary and breakout sessions were certainly fruitful, the most important aspect of the conference was the one-on-one interactions of the bloggers. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to meet and fellowship with over 100 of our favorite bloggers.

One strong theme running through much of the conference was ironically the importance of face-to-face community. Blogging, which primarily involves sitting alone at a computer and typing, is in no way a suitable substitute for direct human contact. In fact, blogging is at its best when it serves to foster face-to-face meeting, interaction, and genuine community.

The dilemmas of bioethics arise in the midst of real human suffering. The suffering of others is a summons to each one of us to come along side and offer support, encouragement, and help—in a word, compassion—to those in need. The literal translation of the word compassion is to bear with or to suffer with. In both blogging and bioethics, there is no suitable substitute for direct human contact.

A second theme was that of servant leadership. The speakers and panelists at GodBlogCon are leaders not only in the field of blogging, but also in various vocational arenas. They were, without exception, people of great personal warmth who wanted only to see others grow, develop, and succeed.  CBHD