OMTL: Why should I participate online?

Why should I participate in OMTL online?

Perhaps you don’t or won’t want to do so. If you have the book and are participating in a small group; it is very likely that you have everything you need for a really good exploration.

On the other hand, you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t already spend some time online. It is fun to be a part of a small group and get to know people better in that comfortable setting. It is also an adventure to meet people on this same 30 day journey online.

The online study is both timely and timeless. That is to say you may engage in the 30 day challenge concurrently with those of us in western Oklahoma or you may start earlier, later, or go through it with us and then again with your local church, family, or other group. What makes it timely is that someone will likely being going through the same study at about the same time. 

What makes it timeless is the comments section. Your inspired thought of the day, aha moment, or answer to the day’s questions or provocations may touch others for a day, month, year, or yes possibly a decade depending upon the life of the base article. Be fearless here. Share something bold that you might do with only a month to live.

The online study also crosses generational and geographical boundaries. That is, most small groups gravitate to age and sometimes gender specific likeness. The high school youth and the old folks (I can use this term because I am pretty close to being one) are probably not in the same group. Online, there is no age or gender or racial, or denomination segregation.

We also cross geographical boundaries with ease. These postings were prompted by theFebruary 2010 launch of One Month to Live in western Oklahoma. The questions and provocations, however, are not anchored to any one set of zip codes. 

This online track is offered because some folks just don’t read books any more. I say that with some angst being one who loves to write in the traditional hard cover, book jacket, smell the new ink on the paper, traditional way as much as I do online. The truth is that some folks just don’t read books.

Many of these people do read online posts or blogs or more traditional articles such as you find here.

My intent is not to detract from Kerry and Chris Shook’s books sales. On the contrary, I purchased almost a dozen personal copies of the book. Our church ordered an additional 30 copies. Some church members already had a copy. If anything, people that begin this study online may find themselves looking for the hard copy experience as well.

My intent is to broaden the base and the experience.

Broadening the base means reaching beyond the book readers. Some people may view the daily posts and just skip to the make it count moments or the additional daily provocations. Excellent! Those are folks that might have been left out of the loop altogether with only the book and meet format. Some may gloss over the article and provocations and just post a comment that has been on their heart once they heard the title of this challenge.

Broadening the experience means some folks want more than the book has to offer. They want more than a sermon and a small group. They want more than most churches can offer in their physical venues. For those folks, we hope to provide a supplemental venue and comfortable place to post your thoughts and listen to others.

For those that both read the book and follow online, I think that you will find that I am faithful to the day’s challenge without regurgitating what the Shooks offer in their original work. I try to include the make it count moments and make it last for life challenges as close to the original as practical. Occasionally, I will adjust the syntax or make a three part question into three questions, and yes, I did alter a couple questions to make the subject and verb agree—something I would have done even if I only had a month to live.  By the way, I do appreciate it when I get the occasional email that gives me some editorial advice. Self editing is tough business. Our own writing always looks write right to us.

Why would you participate in this challenge on line? Why not tell me and the others embarking on this journey in the comments section below.