As Christians, we talk about the "body of Christ." And we know what it means. The body is people who lead others to the Lord. It is a casserole delivered to a grieving family. It's the fervent prayers of an elder when we are sick. The body is also a grandmother's hands opening the Bible for young ones.

For the most part, it's a wonderful body, and we needn't ask for anything different. Yet, as the world changes, so does the body's manifestation. Take now, for instance. In the technology realm, a new kind of body is on the move. It does many of the same things as the body we're used to, yet we find it with a click and a keystroke.

This new body, part of a major revolution, is the body blogged.

Blogging is a phenomenon that's gaining steam at an amazing rate. According to Technorati, an Internet blog tracker, 120,000 new blogs are created every day. And according to some sources, as many as 70 million blogs exist at this moment.

A variant of the word weblog, a blog (as defined by Dictionary.com) is "an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page." Formerly considered the exclusive haunt of hotheaded ideologues, gabby teens, and video game fanatics, blogging now includes all kinds and ages. Everyone from amateur birdwatchers to professional journalists maintain blogs. The medium is especially attractive to communities of people who share a passion for a particular subject (e.g., politics or sci-fi movies) or avocation (e.g., doll collecting or motorcycle riding). Hence, the blogosphere's role as a community magnet for followers of Christ.

In this new body-of-Christ scenario, anyone can spend a morning as an evangelist, or encourage someone who's grieving, or enlist a prayer warrior, or infiltrate a group of wise and friendly grandmas. A blog-of-one's-own is not needed to participate, but many people find reasons to start such an online journal that's open to comments from readers (see "Becoming a Blogging Believer").

Unlike private journals, blogs tend to focus on particular topics, because bloggers often try to serve a certain community. Consider Sara Janssen's blog. She originally started blogging to share about her favorite foods and teas. But over time, she discovered that blog visitors seemed drawn to her occasional posts on "green themes." So, now, she concentrates on issues of simplicity, financial stewardship, and care for creation.

Sara marvels that she's gained a wide readership around these topics, including visitors from Japan and Germany. "And some of these people would probably never step foot in a church!" she remarks. In this way, Sara serves as a friendship evangelist, Internet style—the body of Christ thread across wires and signals.

Other Christian bloggers try to support people who are already members of the body. Mark Waltz is a pastor and author of the book First Impressions. He wrote his book to help congregations make the most of a church visitor's initial impressions, but now he uses his blog to continue the conversation. In this way, he's helped people in networks as far off as Singapore and the U.K.—right from his humble abode in Indiana.

Mark's experience resembles that of DJ Chuang, a former pastor and current church-growth consultant who promotes the health of Asian American congregations. DJ lives in Washington, D.C., but says blogging helps him form "relationships across the miles." It's not surprising, then, that he recently brainstormed with two church-planting blogging associates who reside in San Francisco and Malaysia.