Why do you blog – I was asked – and it is a good question.
Is it not a form of exhibitionism to share one thoughts with potentially million of people?
Can it not be an obstacle for a career, if one is too outspoken? Well, the latter I know about for certain out of experience.
But fact is, that ways of communication has changed dramatically in the last years. I believe one must make the best out of this changes and in this more a more complex world, one should use all provided forms of communication to spread the word and to share what one things might be worth sharing.
The pulpit in a church of a priest has become very limited – too many people don’t find their way into church anymore. Blogging is another form of speaking about what you experience, what you believe in, what you believe makes the world a good place to live and to develop for more humanity, love and hope.
Why I am doing it in English, as my mother tongue is German? Well, it is quite simple: More people are speaking English as German – and having lived in South Africa for the last years I feel more comfortable to express myself in English. English to me is more precise and sometimes one can say things nicely and openly at the same time. In German, you are mostly too direct. But of course I will not lose my German accent while writing 🙂 And for those without English, there is in our days always a possibility to translate via internet – you find links also on this blog.
Last but not least, blogging is a form to stay in touch with so many people, I have met, I have shared life with for a time – and for me it is impossible to keep contact with all of them in a very personal way – even emailing sometimes are becoming a burden… and they are too fast in most instances.
With this blog, I am still able to share thoughts and experiences with them, even if they are spread all over the world.
The contents of the blog is also diverse:
HOPE Cape Town and my work in the fields of HIV and poverty relief are surely very predominant, but I also share stories of my church work, my pastoral work, my life in Cape Town and South Africa for more than a decade. I am looking back and forward and at the same time I am writing about my present thoughts – every blog, every chapter is like an instant picture mirroring a moment of time in my life or a thought falling from heaven.
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 