As many topics of possible discussion there are offline, there are multiple people online who would love to join a mailing list that you can create to advance the Kingdom of God.
Consider starting or joining a list based around Christian topics as well as secular hobbies and interests.
You can fish for men and women of all ages to let them know how God has made a positive difference in your life and can do the same for them.
Do not practice isolationism when it comes to the Kingdom while you must indeed stay away from discussions that have no redeeming value.
The level of honesty on the internet is far greater and amazing than you will find offline.
In the offline world, people will simply avoid any conflicts by staying away from those who have opposing views. But online, people will get up close and personal to let you know that they do not share your opinions and tell you how you can keep your opinions to yourself.
We must remember that we are sent out as lambs among the wolves and must be clever as serpents. Fishing for souls is not hard if you are committed and remember to do it in the spirit of love.
Love clearly shines through on the internet and more possibly so when you do not have physical traits and appearances clouding the impressions that people radiate (often falsely).
Remember not to allow anyone to drag you into an online battle (called a flame war) without you refraining from the negative side of interpersonal interactions. If you must bite your tongue and not send any messages until things cool down, then by all means do so.
Winning the battle while losing the war is not an option that must be taken lightly. You can defend a position so well that no one will want to hear or read any of your opinions ever again.
Before you actually start a list, consider joining one on a particular topic.
Conduct a search on Google or Yahoo! to determine if there are any mailing lists on the topic already in existence.
I have created mailing lists on websites that have been eventually acquired by Yahoo! as Yahoo! Groups. They offer a free service while being very easy to maintain.
There are lists available at Topica as well.
I remember a website that listed various mailing lists that was entitled Liszt. I just checked for it and it has been acquired by Topica.
Here is a link to search results on Google for mailing lists.
Several management policies that I have successfully implemented when starting a mailing list are to:
1. Keep the list of subscribers viewable by only the moderators;
2. Allow subscribing members to create posts and send messages without moderation after they typically demonstrate that they will do so without sending messages that could be considered spam;
3. Moderate and approve messages from all new members since there are people who will join a mailing list in order to send spam (and stay on the list until you cancel their membership or ban them from the list altogether);
4. Keep previous posts (the history) viewable only to the moderators if at all. Depending upon your topic, some members will not want their previous posts to be viewable if the messages are of a personal nature.
There are several lists that have served as an owner's manual for products and services and have worked far better than the original manufacturer or service provider's own documentation. Such lists should have their history available for any current members to review at will.
5. Make the messages viewable only to members. Your mailing lists will indeed become more valuable as time progresses. Each message contributed to the list will prove to be valuable to members that will subscribe to the list days, months, or years later. Therefore, you will want to enhance the value of joining your list versus leaving the content (messages) available for public consumption.
6. Create a website or blog to advertise and promote your mailing lists since everyone can find your lists whenever they are actively searching for the topics being discussed.
One by-product of such a website or blog is that people may be interested in your secular topic and become curious or interested in joining your Christian list whenever the timing and/or need is appropriate. You will never know how God is using you with this tool to answer prayers.
On your website that mentions your list, create a directory or list of all the various lists that you have either created or started. Some directories can be based around a theme such music, entertainment, products or services, groups or associations belonged to etc.
7. Start a new mailing list for a topic if the owner(s) and/or moderator(s) have not kept the energy levels of the list at an active pace. There is one list that comes to mind which was started after I joined an existing list and saw that:
A. The list had the wrong name and was hard to find as a result.
B. There were no interesting questions or posts sent to jump start the conversations when no one seemed to have anything to say.
8. Offer to take over or assist within the management of an existing list when more help is needed. Managing lists should not become an everyday job if there are more than 5 people on the list. You can change the management settings to allow you to moderate messages by e-mail or view the messages on a website for moderation.
9. Offer and request members to become moderators in order to obtain a greater sense of belonging and community for a list. Some subscribers will have ideas that exceed yours even if they do not post a lot of messages. Other subscribers will only want to be members and not have any additional responsibilities with the list.
10. Remember that starting a mailing list is an online form of servant leadership at its best. You cannot lead if you cannot serve and you cannot serve if you are unready, unwilling, and/or unable to lead. You must have a sense of vision, purpose, and destiny for the topic at hand.
Overall, you can make a difference regardless of your past success or failures elsewhere. Pick up this challenge to see how far you can go to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One thing about starting and joining mailing lists is that you will expand your reach and influence around the world with people that you may never see or meet otherwise.
There are mailing lists in which I have met other subscribers and remain close to them even though they are miles and time zones away, other lists that I would love to have the opportunity to meet other subscribers, and lists that I hope to never meet a few other people or get deserted on an island with;)
People are people no matter where you are, so remember this when they get on your nerves and humble yourself in knowing that you may get on other nerves eventually at the least.
Clearly mailing lists have become a passion and effective tool of mine. I can probably say more but I will end this with the website created to serve as a directory and portal on mailing lists that I have created:
http://www.electricslide.com entitled Electric Slide.com: Would You Like To Dance? (tm)
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