This 15-year milestone might be worth celebrating!
The ministry of CultureWatch has now been going for 15 years. On April 5, 2006 I posted my first article on this website. This current piece happens to be the 5,465th article to be found here. Except for one piece written by my wife, all the rest were from my own hands.
For those keen on numbers: If we take as an average at least 1450 words per article, the math works out to something like this: in the past 15 years I have penned nearly 8 million words. As I keep saying, it keeps me off the streets at least. At this rate with some 525,000 words penned each year, by 2025 or so I will have hit the ten million word mark. That might be worth some sort of celebration I suppose!
So why spend all this time and effort, and all these words on a website that has only limited traffic? Well, mainly because that is what I have been called to do. When God has a mission for you, you do it. It is a contradiction in terms to say “No Lord”! And I have enjoyed being involved in this work, despite all those who want it stopped.
Friends and foes
A ministry like this is not for the faint-hearted. It brings out all sorts of reactions – both good and bad. While many folks appreciate this ministry, many detest it – and me. The almost regular hate mail and occasional death threats are an indication of this.
With well over 79,000 published comments on this site, there has been plenty of interaction over the past one and a half decades. Of course another 20,000 or so comments have not been printed, as they are either too foul and odious to print, or they do not follow my commenting rules.
While I seem to have a collection of regular and committed ‘fans,’ I also have a collection of regular and committed opponents. Some are just serial trolls, who keep sending in their hateful remarks that can only be sent straight to the trash bin.
But I keep these folks in prayer. If they keep insisting on coming back to this site, they better be careful: too much exposure to truth just might wear off on them! Indeed, as I have reported before, some of my harshest critics – some who even had entire websites set up just to attack me – have had a change of heart over the years. That always makes all the abuse and attacks worthwhile when that happens.
And feedback from those who are much more friendly and onside – those who do appreciate this ministry – is always heartening and really helps to keep me going. Let me mention just one gal – an older woman from interstate. She recently sent me a snail mail card along with a financial gift. Let me quote just a bit from it (I trust she does not mind):
“I have a relative in Montenegro from my mother’s side, a 30-year-old child of Christ. She has heard of you and is familiar with your writings (your blog). It is translated into Serbian and she holds you in high regard – a champion of the culture wars. Thank you, once again for all that you do. For decades now you have been warning any who will listen. God bless you. Dana.”
Wow, that certainly helps me to keep going as well. Indeed, you never know what sort of global impact a ministry like this might have. I know that people from all around the globe are sharing my articles and commentary online, and reprinting some of my things in magazines or even books.
In fact, just today a friend on the social media sent me a picture of a short article found in the latest Billy Graham Evangelistic Association magazine, Decision in which I was quoted about the dastardly Victorian “anti-conversion” bill. So it is good to know that I am having a bit of an impact both here and overseas.
Of course for every positive comment and response, there are numerous bits of hate mail and diabolical commentary. As mentioned, pretty much every day I have to deal with this. The comments alone can be quite overwhelming to have to put up with. There sure seem to be a lot of haters out there.
For example, dare to write an article stating the most basic of truths – that every child has a fundamental right to their own mother and father – and the hate mail comes flooding in. Here is just one of such tolerant comments: “I couldn’t think of a worst person to be a parent than you Muehlenberg. You and your bible thumping bulls**t .”
Hmm, feel the lurve! And it is not just the daily comments that come into my site or the emails, etc. Plenty of websites exist that are happy to also attack me. For example, an ugly hit piece on me appeared just several months ago in a major leftist site, Patheos: Victoria ‘declares war on Christians’ by banning conversion therapy
And many other groups and sites love to tear me apart, painting me as even more evil than Atilla the Hun and more despicable than Hitler. One secular left website has a lot to say about me, including this opening line: “Bill Muehlenberg is an American-Australian Christian and homophobic/transphobic hate leader.” rationalwiki.org › wiki › Bill_Muehlenberg
The future of CultureWatch
These first 15 years have hopefully been just the beginning, with many more years to follow. I certainly have no plans of retiring or calling it quits. As long as God gives me strength and health, I will continue this work which God has given me.
The old saying that Christians should wear out and not rust out is one that I fully support. With the world getting ever darker, and people becoming ever more desperate for truth and light, a work like this must continue. I will get my eternal rest in the next life, so here I will keep going at it. What Christ did for me makes me want to give my all for him in return.
Indeed, one quote from the late great revivalist Leonard Ravenhill is always something that spurs me on, no matter how tiring things might get, or how much resistance and hatred comes my way: “Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?”
So I will keep at it, including all the speaking and teaching engagements here and elsewhere. And the daily articles will keep on coming – and some days I might pen 2, 3 or even 4 pieces! But other options are also possible. While I happen to be a words and ideas kind of guy, I know that some folks prefer things like images and graphics and the new media technologies.
I do have a “latest video” section on my site, but it is not updated too often. But various folks have said they would like to see my articles turned into audio podcasts or videos. While I happen to think it would be all rather boring to hear or see me read my own pieces, I suppose I should move in that direction. Let me know if you would like to see more of that in the days ahead. We can make it happen.
And I suppose that at some point – because of physical incapacities or whatever – I will have to think about what to do with CultureWatch. Does it just die a natural death, or should consideration be given to maybe finding someone else to continue the work? Dunno. Please keep me in prayer about that future eventuality thanks – one day it will have to be seriously faced.
Thank you!
Obviously this ministry would not exist without the support of friends, followers and readers. For one, it is a faith ministry. I of course get no salary for doing all this, so I depend on the gracious provision of God to meet our needs, feed my family, and pay the bills.
And God normally works through his people. So I always need to thank them, not just for their financial support, for their words of encouragement, but especially for their prayers. This work is clearly something Satan and his minions hate, and many are working overtime to see it shut down altogether. Indeed, keep me in your prayers in regards to a recent legal challenge that has been brought against me.
So spiritual warfare is essential if we want to see CultureWatch continue and have an impact. Thank you so much for praying, and for giving, and for sending in words of encouragement. It all means the world to me. God bless you so much. It is because of folks like you that I am able to keep on keeping on.
So I will keep at it. And perhaps in another five years I will write a similar piece to this on the 20th anniversary of CultureWatch. Until then, keep standing strong for Christ and the Kingdom. We all have an important role to play in this work.
As the Apostle Paul put in in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
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