“As a pastor, I shouldn’t be just leading a church but connecting with people using the same formats they use every day,â€? says Pastor Ben Arment of the HIstory Church in Oak HIll, Va. “Blogging is a forum that’s successful because it corresponds with how younger generations think.â€?

Mark Batterson, the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washingaton, D.C. Batterson estimates he spends 20 percent of his workday updating his blog, “Evotional.�

“I used to think that the blog supplemented my weekend message,� said Batterson, who draws upwards of 25,000 visitors a month to www.evotional.com. “Now I wonder if it isn’t the other way around. It’s hard for me to imagine why a church that has younger members wouldn’t have a blog component

NPR’s On The Media spoke at length yesterday about the power of consumer generated media, blogs, video and podcasts. Politicians need to take heed of the power of the Net, was the overarching message. Smart politician’s know that they need to take their message directly to the audiences relying on the Internet for news and information.

Senator Lieberman’s loss in the Connecticut Democatric primary to Net-savvy newcomer Ned Lamont was a case in point. Indiana Senator, Evan Bayh, is posting messages aimed at the younger generation on sites like YouTube and Facebook in preparation for his anticipated 2008 presidential bid.

And there’s a lesson to be learned here by business bloggers: that old PR adage that you should use the channel most familiar and acceptable to your audience still applies.