Content Creation

Initially, there was fear within the Brazos Valley House of Prayer organization about opening up a wiki that anyone could edit. I lobbied for wide open editing, requiring only that the anonymous editor give some name, without any kind of authentication or authorization. Others wanted a full account auth system with logins and passwords, like the Joomla website we had before. We compromised by having a wiki with a single, site password which we told to anyone who asked.

Our experience confirmed what wiki operators worldwide know: the problem isn't in regulating all the people who want to write on the website at all. It is rather encouraging anyone to write anything. Some weeks, even a spam or two would be welcome, letting us know that the system is at least operational and waiting, even though nobody is writing.

Why is the majority silent? Creative expression requires something original to say, instead of just forwarding someone else's email. By definition it gives the author exposure: making her vulnerable to others reading the content. And of course, the reader may have an opinion or judgment about what she reads, perhaps unfavorable; there is that danger. So, there is a definite cost to prophetic, or let me generalize by substituting the word creative, expression.

In 1 Corinthians 14, scripture commands to seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. Those who prophesy are speaking to people to strengthen, exhort, or console.

Yes, God's desire and the Bible's instruction is that we need to pay that cost, bear that burden, and use the talents and gifts we have, especially creating content having verbal expression, which edifies the believers in some way; and this command is given by an apostle directly to the common person in the congregation.

Yet the ratio seems to remain about 100:1 consumer to producer in the Body of Christ. How can we reward and encourage creative expression of this sort, desired by God to edify the Body?