Last night, I read an amazing article by Bobby Gruenewald,
pastor at LifeChurch.tv, in the latest issue of Outreach Magazine,
November-December 2013. It made me think very hard and touched my heart enough
that I want to share some of the ideas in it with the hope that it will awaken
many of you Christian online social media users (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
etc.).
Last month
in another magazine, I read of a church that asked its members before the
beginning of the service to “Turn ON their Smart Phones” instead of asking them
to “Turn it OFF”. They asked them to use social media to share with the outside world what the Lord was
saying and doing during the service. Amazing! That is thinking outside the box
alright. Well, I was so impressed with the idea that I adjusted it a bit, and
now at the conclusion of the service, I ask all those present to “Turn ON their
phones” and send out a message to all their friends about what the Lord may
have said to them during the service. Let the world know. A kind of “Thus saith
the Lord” (that sounds kind of prophetic, doesn’t it?). A new form of
evangelism and of church public relations. I am not sure how many of them are
actually doing it, but I will keep at it. I think it is a good way of having
others (perhaps even non-church users) hear portions of the Sunday message, and
it might also encourage them to hear the entire message on our website.
However,
back to Pastor Grunewald’s article. He writes: “Sometimes people treat online
interaction like a disposable commodity . . . And yet, the things we say and do
online are actually more visible to more people – and more permanent – than our
in-person conversations and actions. What we share online is magnified, and
it’s out there indefinitely.” Think about these two words “permanent” and
“indefinitely.” Once you write something or take a picture of something and
send it out through Facebook or Twitter, you will never be able to retrieve it
again. It becomes the possession of the outer world. We have heard of numerous
instances where employers, schools, and even the courts would be able to know
and see your thoughts and actions of days past. You are actually building a
lifelong record of who you are and what you think. I have heard of individuals
fired from their jobs because of some indelicate pictures they took many years
earlier. Think about your Facebook postings and your Twitter comments of the
past. Are there any of them you wish you could retrieve or change now. You may
have forgotten most of them, but they are out there, and one day they could all
become visible.
The other
and perhaps an even more important point the article makes is this: Is the
online me a follower of Christ?” What is the testimony of your Lord that you
are giving to those who view your Facebook page or receive your Tweets? Review
your last ten Facebook postings. Is God being glorified? Are you sharing the
Lord with those whom you know and care about? Would they come to know Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior following your example in the pictures you posts and
the words you write? Would they even know that you are a Christian? I see, in
Facebook, very passionate people, even people that would say they are
Christians, sometimes using the grossest of words, complaining angrily about
some restaurant or store or some sports figure or team or posting very seductive
pictures. Is this how you want to be known by your friends and by others?
Believe me I am not trying to be puritanical, the Lord knows that I am not and
I know all my faults and failures, but the gift of all these social media tools
we have at our disposal today can be used productively and to the glory of God.
It is an amazing opportunity to share love, forgiveness, constructive
criticism, grace, faith, and charity towards others, and in such a way that we
bring attention to our Lord, and how he can transform a person.
Think
about it.
Let’s
blog!
Fr. Jose+
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