Father Longenecker skriver om pave Benedikts oppfordring til prestene om å bruke Internet mer, om hvordan han selv ser på sitt bloggende arbeid; ikke så mye som (kringkasting) ‘broadcasting’ som ‘narrowcasting’. Moderne teknologi gjør det veldig mye lettere enn før å blogge, lage radioprogrammer (podcasting), og til og med videoer, og man konsenterer seg da gjerne heller om en litt smalere interessegruppe, heller enn å prøve å nå alle. Men selv om han nok har en nokså fast lesergruppe, opplever han stadig å få tilbakemeldinger fra andre som nokså tilfeldig har kommet over et av inneleggene gjennom Google e.l. – det samme gjør jeg selv også ganske ofte. Slik skriver han:
My blog, Standing on My Head has a daily readership of about 2,000 people. They visit my blog from across the USA and around the world. They come back for my own peculiar blend of Catholicism, comment on converts, apologetics, humor, inspiration and personal information. Not only can I publish instantly and globally, but the medium is friendly. Regulars make comments and discussions get started on what I have posted.
Because of the “narrowcast” element it sometimes feels like I am not evangelizing at all, but simply “feeding the sheep.” There is nothing wrong with a pastor feeding the sheep, but I have had enough e-mails over the years to know that a good number of people have returned to the Church, come into full communion with the Church, or had serious questions answered about the Catholic faith through my writings. They tell me that my blog encourages them, entertains them and makes them think about the faith, helps them through difficulties and keeps their faith alive.
Many Anglicans on the verge of coming into full communion read my blog and a good number tell me that it has been one of the helpers for them in their journey home.
I would encourage priests who like to write, and have good communication skills, to launch out into the new media. The technological side isn’t too difficult to master, and once you get going you’ll be surprised the number of people you touch.
What to write on a blog? Keep it short. Make it daily. Most of all, speak the truth simply and with enthusiasm, and before you let down your net make sure you have spent time with God, for before Christ told the disciples to let down their nets he told them to “cast out into the deep.”