If you are a blogger, one of the keys to getting more traffic and readers is getting other bloggers to mention you and your blog on their websites. There are numerous ways of doing this, such as commenting on people’s blogs, writing Guest Posts, and joining blogchains and Synchroblogs.

My favorite Synchroblog is found at synchroblog.wordpress.com, and I participate every single month. This month’s topic looks particularly interesting, and I invite all bloggers to join in.

Here are the steps:

1. Write a post about the topic by April 16th.
2. Put up a link to your post on the Synchroblog website.
3. When the link list is published, add it to your post.
4. Interact with the other writers on their posts.

It’s that simple!

What? You don’t have a blog yet? Yikes! Start one today!

Here is why I am inviting you to participate this month. The topic is…

What if the Bible is a Myth?

Here is the description:

When I was young, I loved to play the ‘what if’ game.  It went like this:  I would imagine an unlikely scenario and present it to my mother to find out what she thought.  Since I had an active imagination, I engaged in this til I drove her to distraction and she would declare, “No more ‘what ifs’!!”  Now that I’m older, I’ve discovered there is a whole group of people who play the ‘what if’ game.  They’re called philosophers!

This month we invite you to play the ‘what if’ game with us.  Try to imagine that some or all of the Bible narrative is not necessarily true history, but is myth of one sort or another.  What sort of effect would that knowledge have on your faith?  What effect might it have on the larger church?  How would it change you?  Would it change you and how you view the world?

We recognize that this might make some or all of you uncomfortable and while we recognize the struggle involved with that sort of discomfort, please feel free to blog about that fact as well.  The ‘what if’ game can involve some prickly feelings and we welcome that as well.

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I do not know the secret to blogging.

I write about what I am learning and what interests me. In other words, I write about what I want to read.

And over the past 10 years of running this website and blogging, lots of people seem to have similar interests and ideas, and have participated with us here on the blog.

But I was shocked to see recently that the Till He Comes blog made #34 on the list of the top 250 Christian blogs over at Jared Moore’s blog. Honestly, I have a little trouble believing these results, but they are based on Alexa’s Traffic Rank (You can install their toolbar or Alexa Extension to check all websites you visit).

I believe the primary reason that the blog is ranking well is because of you… the readers. So thank you.

And I don’t just want to say “thank you” — I want to show my thanks. Here are two ways I do this:

Giving Away Free Books

This is one reason I give away free ebooks to my newsletter subscribers. Last week, I gave away over 1200 copies of my newest ebook, The Death and Resurrection of the Church. I enjoy giving away my books because it is one way of saying thanks.

But I also want to start thanking readers in other ways as well…

Mentioning Your Blog

Another way I want to thank you is by mentioning someone else’s blog once a week or so, and highlighting one or two of their posts. This will help all of us get to know one another more, and may even allow your blog to get some more readers.

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This post is part of the March Synchroblog, which is on the topic of God and Guns. Check back tomorrow to get a list of other contributors to this hotly debated topic.

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Would Jesus own a gun? Probably not.

On the one hand, Jesus ate meat (lamb and fish at least) and probably had no qualms about killing animals for food.

But on the other hand, I doubt Jesus would ever hunt purely for the sport of it, and I definitely don’t think Jesus would own a gun for self-protection. When He says that if someone wants to take your cloak, give him your tunic as well, or when someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to them the other also, it stretches the imagination to think that He would be fine with killing someone when they try to do more than slap you on the cheek or take your cloak.

So as a follower of Jesus, why did I recently join the NRA?

Well, it is not because I am a true fan of the National Rifle Association or because I own guns.

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