I’m moving on from my last post on why I started blogging to share some thoughts on what I blog about and my blog identity. There’s a lot of advice out there for new bloggers about how you should shape your voice and find a niche. That’s helpful if you have a specific game plan for what you’re wanting to do. But when I started I had no game plan and no agenda. I had the intention to blog about anything and everything I wanted to.I like writing about leadership, ministry, and several other things, but I classify my blog as a personal blog rather than a leadership blog or ministry blog. For me, the moment I start thinking about my blog as a leadership blog it starts feeling like a job and not part of my personal journey of learning. It would also become increasingly inappropriate to post awesome you-tube videos or photos of my 2 year old son dancing in his big sister’s tutu or clever Chicago Cub artwork. In short, my blog would lose its therapeutic element and only add to my neurosis.I love the freedom to post whatever I want – no matter how stupid, personal, or even semi-intellectual. Maybe one day I’ll graduate to a “big-boy” blog, but what I have going works for me and adds to my quality of life rather than detracts from it. Hopefully it adds something positive to those that read consistently or sporadically, but at least there’s at least one person benefiting greatly (me!).While half of my content is random or family oriented, the other half provides more of what might make up a more intentional effort to add some unique thought to the general leadership or ministry community. I like doing big picture book reviews. You won’t catch me doing a detailed book review because you can probably google those or find it on amazon, but I’ll share my bottom line thoughts on what value a book has for leadership or ministry.I love leadership content, but there’s tons of it out there so I’m not going to give my tips on vision casting or aligning. I spend most of my thinking time in the realm of systems – congregational and family and a bit organizational. I also have invested a fair amount of time exploring issues pertaining to the use of and stewardship of power in community and in leadership. If there’s a unique element to my blog in light of most of what those in my world talk about and write on, this would probably be it.So my blog identity pretty much just flows from me. I’m not looking to impress folks (otherwise I wouldn’t write posts on Harry Potter or Twilight), but just offload what’s going on in my head.If you are are starting a blog and can’t figure out your identity or don’t have a specific purpose in starting your blog, I suggest just blogging about whatever you feel like and whatever you are enjoying thinking about or experiencing. In time you might find a niche or you might just find out that you like the freedom of not having a niche.If you’re feeling pressure, then something’s wrong and it’s time to rethink things. It’s in those moments where I start posting pictures of my kids or other things that don’t require a lot of intellectual or emotional effort. It’s fun, those are the things that keep my mother-in-law reading my blog, and it buys me time until something more substantial flows more naturally. It works for me 
What works for you?
