iMonk Radio #93

Speaking on blogging at Asbury; housebreaking Maisie; defining post-evangelical for his friend Clark Bunch; listening to old fashion evangelical preaching while reading NT Wright’s Surprised by Hope.

iMonk Radio Podcast #114

A brief history of the Internet Monk blog; Michael’s dad and CB Radio; Christian movies (current at the time); Catholic friends and other assorted Christians.

Presented Commercial Free

For many years I saw this announcement at the bottom of every post on my blog. I didn’t know exactly what visitors saw since I was always logged in on WordPress when I was writing, checking stats or giving a new post the once over. I did suggest to the church that we pay the nominal fee to have ads removed from the church website lest something with a conflicting message appear on the same page as a sermon or church bulletin but never did so for my personal blog.

The Happy Monday posts are often done on Sunday evening, if not earlier, and set to publish at the appointed time. I was away from home some months ago and used my phone to check and see that the post was in fact up on the website. Happy Monday is very image heavy and what I discovered, looking at the post on my mobile browser, was that after every two or three images an ad had been inserted by WordPress. I was creating material with a certain aesthetic and not only was that being disturbed by the advertisements but of course someone else was getting traffic or selling product and I was not making a dime off of the real estate. WordPress, as the host, owns the real estate of course which bloggers use for free but it was my post with a bunch of junk scattered throughout and not just at the bottom below the line.

For what it’s worth, I have paid to have the ads removed from The Master’s Table. I have no plans to offer subscription only content or place ads of my own, but if you the reader ever think about linking content here from your blog or social media sites know that your audience will not be subjected to ads when they get here. Upgrade plans start for as little as $4/month (billed annually) if any WordPress blogger is interested in doing the same.

12 Years

There were 12 tribes of Israel, Jesus had 12 disciples, there will be 12 gates in the city of New Jerusalem. Seems like an important number to take note of.

Thank you WordPress, thank you readers. Long live the blog.

 

Satur-deja Vu

Mac & Cheese is a permanent addition to the Chick-fil-A menu. I think it’s very similar to KFC and Captain D’s if you are familiar with those. It reminds me of baked in the oven at home and is nothing like Kraft Dinner. It is the side I didn’t know I was missing.

The Changing Nature of Blogging

I was introduced to blogging by the original Internet Monk Michael Spencer. He was smarter than the average bear but lived in a rural community in southeastern Kentucky. Beginning just after the 2000 election he took advantage of the World Wide Web and as an early adopter of the new blogging platform quickly grew an online community of followers around the world. I had certainly never heard of a blog in 2000, back when I was accessing the internet via AOL and used their free hosting to create my own webpage. It wasn’t until after Michael started podcasting that I felt strongly enough that I had some things to say and joined WordPress in 2008. Hindsight being 20/20 blogging peaked somewhere between 2006 and 2008 so I came on board just in time to see blogging begin its decline across the board.

Back in 2012

Welcome Jimmy to the Table

I know I haven’t been posting daily like I was for a while there. The goal used to be two or three posts per week. Life comes at you fast and sometimes (for weeks at a time) Happy Monday was all that got published. He is still blogging but Paul Wilkinson has not posted a Wednesday Connect in a while either. This is a busy week and I know it but I don’t want to completely fall off the wagon.

Enter Jimmy Humphrey. He doesn’t know it yet but I’m about to introduce my audience to his website and podcast. Start here: Why The Church Should NOT Focus On The Family. The title may sound more sensational than the actual post. Read the intro, listen to the podcast, we can discuss. Check out other articles and podcast episodes, find Jimmy’s Table on Facebook etc. while I help my mother move this week and get into the new school year routine. I have updated the blogroll to remove some that no longer exist or have not been updated in a while. It’s time for a fresh face. Let’s all welcome Jimmy to the table.

Five Hundred Followers

I recently mentioned that The Master’s Table was nearing 500 followers. It turns out that the number of WordPress followers was 497 but there are also 23 that follow via email. I only realized tonight that we have a Facebook link on the sidebar but no clear and simple way to follow the blog. There is now a follow button on the right-hand sidebar. If you are not a logged in WordPress user you can enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts.

I’ll Never Get It

Shame on me for writing an ambiguous title. I’ll never get why Happy Monday post #125 is the most viewed of all time would have been a bit long. But seriously what is up with that?

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The Master’s Table is not monetized and we do not run any ads whatsoever. I have inserted a disclaimer a time or two at the bottom of Happy Monday that states any ads seen were not placed by Mast Tab nor do we receive revenue from such. This blog is hosted by WordPress for free and they occasionally, as I understand it, run ads which is how they make their money.