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The following article is by Luther Quest Webmaster,
LCMS layman, Brad Vincent.
“Luther Quest Reaches the Half-Million Mark”
Today,
May 10, 2003
, a bit of a milestone was achieved on the Luther Quest Discussion Group
(known as “LQ”, found at www.lutherquest.org).
The hit counter on the website reached the 500,000 mark. To borrow the words
of the catechism, “What does this mean?”
First, let me explain what a hit counter tells us.
There are two common methods of measuring traffic to an Internet website.
The hit counter and the visitor counter. A hit counter (more popular),
measures a “hit” each time someone loads that page in their web browser.
A visitor counter is more exacting. It will count only one visit when
someone browses a particular webpage. It “remembers” that you have
visited before and will not necessarily record subsequent visits. So, with a
hit counter, like we use, if you visit LQ ten times in a day, the counter
will record 10 visits.
So, back to what this means. For a discussion group
that began in the summer of 1999, with a rather limited purpose, focus, and
potential audience, it means that we’ve reached quite a few people. LQ has
experienced growth beyond what its owner and webmaster anticipated. To be
sure, many are repeat visitors. You can comb through the archives and see a
lot of the same names. Many will be active for a month or two and then move
on. Others a year or two before disappearing. Then there are those who have
been with us since the beginning. Like many discussion groups, we have more
readers than writers. With the introduction of required usernames a few
years ago (for those wishing to post messages), our list of users has gone
to over 600.
Our original purpose for the site was concentrated
around the same issues written about in Reclaim
News and published on the Reclaiming Walther in the LCMS website (both
may be found at www.reclaimingwalther.org).
That is why our homepage (under revision) lists mostly issues that are
specific to the
Lutheran
Church
– Missouri Synod. In the last few years the actual use of the discussion
group has changed. A wider range of doctrinal issues are being discussed, as
well as synodical happenings and controversies. As part of this expansion,
we have adopted a set of Guidelines to maintain a focus on
confessional/conservative Lutheran issues.
Many of the issues which have been discussed, sometimes
quite hotly, have been key points of doctrine and practice. Just to name a
few:
- Justification
(Objective/Subjective)
- Church
& Ministry
- Sacramental
Theology
- Church
& State
- Worship
& Hymnody
- Sanctification
- The
Call Process
- Evangelism
- Spiritual
Gifts
- Christology
- Trinity
- Unionism
& Syncretism
- Bible
Translations
- Sermons
- Law
& Gospel
The list goes on. It almost reads like a course list at
the Seminary. The great thing is it’s discussed by both clergy and laity
alike. LQ is not just for pastors. Nor is it just for lay people. It’s for
both sides of the pulpit to discuss, question, and debate. I won’t
embarrass anyone by listing names, but LQ has been privileged to have some
very knowledgeable and distinguished participants. They have shared their
knowledge, experience, and care with those seeking answers. Many of the
discussions are a treasure for research. The answers are available in our
archives, which go back to the very first messages from that summer in
’99.
Numerous issues discussed have made a few waves, as
well. No discussion group of this nature is without controversy. It is not
what we desire, but something that just happens on occasion. Issues you
would think are clear-cut can still cause confusion. Disagreements on the
Sacraments, Unionism, Objective & Subjective Justification, have burned
up quite a bit of bandwidth. LQ has even had the distinction of being quoted
by those who disagree with orthodox, Lutheran theology. That’s a
compliment to our participants.
Who would have known that the Internet would have
blossomed as it did? The Church has been given an opportunity within the end
of the 20th century not unlike the Reformers were given in the
middle of the 15th with the invention of the printing press. The
Word is best communicated by word. Discussion groups like LQ help serve a
purpose of clarifying doctrine in the present age of theological (and
denominational) confusion. LQ is not the first, not alone, and not the last
Lutheran discussion group on the Internet. We merely strive to be available,
and ready, as a forum for yet another 500,000 hits by those seeking a place
for questions and answers from a confessional/conservative Lutheran point of
view.
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