I guess it's because I've been online in some form or another since 1997. By my count that's twenty years and still going. I began a blog back in the day, over at the now-defunct Xanga. And in all that time, I've realized something significant about an online presence for those in ministry: The rise of social media makes ministry that much more difficult.
It disturbs me to see the way that we Christians behave on social media.
I can post one thing -- whether serious or not (and I do use humor intentionally as a part of my online presence) -- and it never amazes me how someone might respond. I have referred to the practice as a "slam and run". I just have to thank God at times for the delete option. But, it's an example of a bigger problem. Christians aren't always behaving well online. What we'd never say offline we have no problem saying online.
Seriously, this isn't a personal plea. This is a Kingdom plea. Just as the world is watching how Christians respond in public, they are watching how we respond online. We must be careful then with what we post. All of us will be misunderstood. But, we shouldn't be blatantly offensive.
That's why I've taken to deleting posts that seem to issue in the disagreement that makes non-Christians fairly certain that we haven't gotten this whole reconciliation with grace and disagreement with love thing down.
That means:
1. No personal soapboxes. "Do everything without arguing or complaining" (Philippians 2.14). Sure, there's room for contending for the truth, but we do so with humility. Anything less is simply using the internet as our own bullying platform.
2. No public bashing. This is a big one. Matthew 18 is fairly clear that only after we've made the appropriate steps to secure reconciliation with the offending do we take the matter public. It's not helpful and it certainly doesn't promote the peace.
3. No personal jabs. We shouldn't say things about others that may be misinterpreted as a stab against them. Guard your online tongue (James 3). I see this especially as a passive aggressive tactic. We feel "safe" evoking insults or cuts to another person online that we would never say to their face.
4. Be encouraging. Social media is meant to make us more, well, social. That means being mindful of what we actually share and post.
It disturbs me to see the way that we Christians behave on social media.
I can post one thing -- whether serious or not (and I do use humor intentionally as a part of my online presence) -- and it never amazes me how someone might respond. I have referred to the practice as a "slam and run". I just have to thank God at times for the delete option. But, it's an example of a bigger problem. Christians aren't always behaving well online. What we'd never say offline we have no problem saying online.
Seriously, this isn't a personal plea. This is a Kingdom plea. Just as the world is watching how Christians respond in public, they are watching how we respond online. We must be careful then with what we post. All of us will be misunderstood. But, we shouldn't be blatantly offensive.
That's why I've taken to deleting posts that seem to issue in the disagreement that makes non-Christians fairly certain that we haven't gotten this whole reconciliation with grace and disagreement with love thing down.
That means:
1. No personal soapboxes. "Do everything without arguing or complaining" (Philippians 2.14). Sure, there's room for contending for the truth, but we do so with humility. Anything less is simply using the internet as our own bullying platform.
2. No public bashing. This is a big one. Matthew 18 is fairly clear that only after we've made the appropriate steps to secure reconciliation with the offending do we take the matter public. It's not helpful and it certainly doesn't promote the peace.
3. No personal jabs. We shouldn't say things about others that may be misinterpreted as a stab against them. Guard your online tongue (James 3). I see this especially as a passive aggressive tactic. We feel "safe" evoking insults or cuts to another person online that we would never say to their face.
4. Be encouraging. Social media is meant to make us more, well, social. That means being mindful of what we actually share and post.