By Jared Ratcliff | April 10, 2020
If you're planning on writing a post for our blog, thank you so much! We really appreciate it, and these posts have the potential to change lives. Below are a few things for you to consider as you write.
Three Appeals:
When writing a sermon (or blog post), appeal to the heart, mind and will.
Appeal to the Heart: Give a story to illustrate your point.
Appeal to the Mind: Give reliable facts to push your point.
Appeal to the Will: Give a call to action.
A friend of mine, Sean Nebblett, uses these three appeals whenever he writes sermons, and the same three appeals can be used in blog posts. If you are writing an article, it should ideally contain all three appeals, rather than only one or two. This will help to capture and hold the attention of the reader—and give a desired outcome. Facts without a story can be boring, while a story without facts usually fails to make a lasting impact on the reader. If there is no call to action, while the reader may be entertained or affected emotionally, the article cannot bring about a change in their lifestyle.
Sometimes, it is not practical to use all three, but as many appeals should be used as possible. Blog posts should not be long—in the modern age, many people do not have a long attention span. Posts should be short and sweet, and to the point! Don’t “beat around the bushes.”
A good post can be anything; an article, a poem, a few thoughts on a Bible passage. The topic could be health, personal experiences, non-controversial doctrine, or problems in daily life. But one thing all posts should have in common: they should point to Jesus in a way that could make a lasting impact on the reader.
We are His. He is ours. Forever.