The Top Five Ways Nakedpastor Stays Naked

Last updated on: May 10, 2007 at 2:35 pm by David Hayward

The Top Five Ways Nakedpastor Stays Naked 2007-05-10T14:35:25-04:00 David Hayward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This blog is in response to a contest going on over at problogger . Read and enjoy!

Persist: I believe in full-time nakedness. I believed that if I was naked long enough, people will eventually notice. I’ve been getting naked for over a year on my blog, frequently contemplated getting dressed, but because of my persistence it has paid off with a small collection of watchers. I’ve kept a paper journal for getting naked privately for 20 years, so getting naked publicly in my blog is au naturale for me.
Varietize: Before I really dove into nakedness I did quite a bit of research. I read anything from “Your blog has to be finely-focused to capture a reader” to “People want variety”. I’m a pastor, writer, musician, artist, family man, outdoor sportsman, party-animal, whatever. So, instead of just baring my brain, my heart, my artistic side, or my pastoral side, I decided to take it all off. I’m going to show everything! People seem to be responding positively to it.
Be myself: My blog name is, after all, “nakedpastor”. I try (and still have a long way to go) to be as transparent and real as possible. I often feel quite vulnerable being so naked in front of so many people. My initial thought was to encourage other pastors to get naked… to throw off the heavy burdens of quenching their personalities, hiding their struggles and fulfilling other people’s expectations. As a result, I have many other kinds of people that read my blog who appreciate and believe in nakedness.
Nurture: I’m not into exhibitionism, but into actually encouraging others to be real. So, from the very beginning I decided that even though my blog was online and could easily be non-personal, I decided that I was going to respond as much as I reasonably could to each and every comment made. It’s one thing to be naked in front of unseen strangers. It’s yet another to get naked in front of people who know you! I even worried about my own church finding out some unsavory things about me. But I wanted to form real relationships, not a collection of superficial readers. As my traffic increased, along with the comments, I decided that I would shoot off a personal email to first time comment-makers welcoming them and inviting them into correspondence with me. I still try to do that. On top of that, if anyone makes a really remarkable comment, I try to respond personally to it. I also engage people within the comment section of the blog itself if I think it needs it. I’ve made some very interesting connections and even made friends. In fact, my readers have helped me to get even more naked than I ever dreamed. Honesty encourages honesty.
Minimalize: I used to have adsense and other advertisements on my blog. I didn’t like the way it looked, and the ads often didn’t compliment the content of my site at all. It was like I was claiming to be naked but was carrying around a sandwich-board advertisement or balloons peppered with ads. So I decided, after reading some of gapingvoid and problogger (an interview with someone who published an online book I think), that I would trust that over time income would generate indirectly from my blog through other means. It hasn’t happened yet, but I really think some day it will. I love the critiques that I get about my blog such as, “uncluttered”. Yes! Is there any other way to be naked?

Previous Post

May 10, 2007

Pastor Ponderance #2: Money and Influence

Next Post

May 11, 2007 Interview With the Devil #6

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category art cartoons cartoons 2 freebie music one minute message podcast Sophia teaching technology thought

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who found baby Moses in the river?

Select your answer to see how you score.

An Egyptian priest Pharaoh’s daughter Pharaoh himself Miriam