by Mark Huey
On behalf of Outreach Israel Ministries and TNN Online, I would like to officially welcome you to the launch of our new “McHuey Blog.” Without the current efficiencies of almost universal access to websites and cost effective e-mail services, our ability to freely minister to the Messianic community of faith scattered around the world would be greatly hindered. We have already made use of standard websites, e-mail update lists, PDF formatted documents, and MP3 audio broadcasts for a number of years. This new area of outreach—blogging—will enable our ministry to communicate to you in a new and exciting way, making use of a new technology medium whereby we can post our comments, thoughts, and opinions regarding time sensitive issues that standard websites do not easily facilitate.
As we have witnessed during much of our lifetimes, it appears that some of Daniel’s prophecies are occurring right before our eyes, as we take advantage of these incredible tools for sharing—understanding that our knowledge gained from imploring God and studying His Scriptures can help Believers in their walk of faith:
“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase” (Daniel 12:1-4).
The advent of aviation in 1903 no doubt contributed greatly to people traveling “back and forth” at remarkable speeds and frequencies—and we now live in an age where commercial space travel may be a soon reality. In a similar manner, the inauguration of the modern computer over the past thirty years, and the rapid expansion of the Internet since the 1990s, have accelerated an exponential increase of knowledge and information. If Daniel’s prophecy is applicable in 2008, then surely the community of faith needs to be on the front lines, lest only the enemy alone make use of the tools available. As a ministry that always desires to be on the forefront of what God is doing, the opportunity to expand our outreach through the blogosphere was something we just had to consider.
For the past year or so, we have been internally discussing the pros and cons of blogging, especially as we have witnessed its proliferation in a variety of venues. Some of these trends have been good, and some not so good. Many questions arose, especially,
1. Are blogs useful to the spiritual growth of the faithful?
2. Do blogs add or subtract to those seeking answers in their pursuit of God?
3. Will this vehicle help or hurt from our contribution to the Body of Messiah?
Since the birth of the TNN Online website in 1997, and the subsequent launch of Outreach Israel in 2002, we have maintained an Internet presence for over ten years. As a family dedicated to ministry, we recognize that for over a decade, we have been writing and posting articles, Bible studies, essays, editorials, and FAQs that express our views on a very wide variety of topics. While these avenues will certainly continue, the blog “phenomenon” offers us a new way to communicate, that has presently not been used with our monthly articles, weekly studies, or FAQs.
Having thought and prayed about this quite a bit throughout 2007, the more we realized that many of our internal discussions on various issues—ranging from theology, world events, global culture, and specific spiritual occurrences—often had a unique triangulation that benefited from our distinct perspectives. Frequently, we have discussed how some of you might just want to be the proverbial “fly on the wall” in our ministry office, that gets to hear the issues which matter to us be analyzed, dissected, masticated, digested, or sometimes even vomited. Well, “flies” are certainly welcome to our new McHuey Blog!
This year our overall ministry focus has shifted to “Messianics and modernity,” and we have seen how starting our own ministry blog can actually help us address a number of subjects that do not necessarily warrant a comprehensive article or FAQ entry—much less a booklet or book. Starting a blog can be an excellent way for you to see more of who we are as individual people, so you can know more of what motivates us to minister and serve you, contributing to your spiritual well being and further growth in God’s grace.
Let’s face it: the rapid increase in knowledge is coming at each of us in such tsunami-like waves that various topics might only be able to be commented upon with a few short paragraphs. All members of our family are planning to participate in our new McHuey Blog, and we trust that our thoughts will result in us having even more of a positive influence on the emerging Messianic community. If this communicative tool provokes our readers to think, pray, and then act according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, then our efforts will surely not be in vain!
I sincerely pray that you will be blessed by the insights and opinions generated by the new McHuey Blog!
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