A new ChogBlog - Beware of imitations!

Over nine years ago, in the midst of the rapid emergence of blogging, I started this blog as a way to engage in an increasing online dialogue that was taking place in the Church of God over issues related to our identity and future. Over the years I posted over 300 times, covering a wide range of issues and often with healthy feedback through comments and other forms of engagement. A few of my posts were even quite controversial, raising the ire of some individuals who felt threatened by my observations.

Those of you who have been following me know that I have been less than prolific in the last few years. In fact, this will be only my fifth post in 2014. Life has been extremely busy with my work as a Regional Pastor and recent doctoral studies, so blogging has taken a back seat. In addition, the proliferation of social media has changed the venue for online discussions, and in general blogging has declined significantly, except for a select few, especially those that are part of larger media machines.

I share all these reflections because it has come to my attention that someone else has started a new blog with the same creative name. Certainly I have no trademark, and due to my relative lack of activity it should be no surprise that someone else with more time and passion is going to the blogosphere to express their views on the Church of God. My biggest concern is that people might think that the new blog is my work. It isn't.

The copycat ChogBlog is a serious venture, with a design that mimics the Church of God national site and with a real domain name (www.chogblog.com). In fact, at first I thought it was a product of Church of God Ministries. Upon closer examination, however, I discovered that it is the work of one or more individuals who obviously come from a conservative arm of our movement that resists our current trajectory and wants to return us to some romanticized view of our past. For example, a recent post is entitled, "Have the congregations of the Church of God, Anderson ceded their autonomy to a de-facto hierarchy?"

I don't begrudge someone for wanting to express their deeply held convictions and ideas about the Church of God. Yes, I am annoyed that they "stole" my clever name without asking permission, but I suppose they saw an opportunity in my inaction. What really concerns me, however, is the fact that the author(s) of this new ChogBlog are completely anonymous. In other words, they are wanting to disseminate their views across the movement but lack the courage to identify themselves. This is what really bugs me about many of these well-intentioned Church of God traditionalists - they are unwilling to truly engage in the issues through dialogue. They are more interested in just a one-way conversation. Their deliberate cowardice is even seen in how they registered their domain name. They paid extra to have their ownership information hidden. In my opinion, all this secretiveness is unhealthy, unbiblical and makes their efforts lack credibility.

What does this mean for the authentic, original ChogBlog? I don't know. This might be a good time to end this venture and allow these new bloggers to hide within the confines of their online home. Or, I could change the name and initiate a new effort to engage the Church of God through this medium. I'm just not sure I have the energy to do the latter at this time.

In any case, I want to thank the many of you who have followed me all these years and have contributed to the conversations that have taken place both online and offline. For me it has been cathartic, and hopefully it has made a valuable contribution to our movement. The Church of God is changing (for the better I believe) and perhaps my blogging isn't needed at this point. In any case, I will still be around to continue these discussions in other forums.