I’ve talked to a number of
pastors and other Christians who have taken a stand. They say, “that’s
why I don’t facebook.” And those who do facebook, seem to struggle with
just what it should be. They find themselves frustrated by a social
media that is so popular (and even essential) yet doesn’t work for them
or their church in terms of evangelism. What a shame that our church is
unable to share such an important story as Christ when companies are
able to use facebook and twitter to so effectively to market cheetos and
radio talk shows.
What is wrong with us? Well the
problem is not in the social media. I mean, social media has its
problems, but it has the potential to be a highly effective tool and it
has the potential to be used for the greater good of growing people in
faith. So it seems that ignoring it is to turn our backs on a new
frontier of evangelism. Now, having said that, I don’t blame any pastor
for turning their back...up until now. This new frontier is scary and
confusing.
The problem is that as churches we
have become confused over which story it is we are sharing. Too often
we use social media to share the story of the institution. Worse yet,
it isn’t even really the “story” we share but information (and
begging). The primary story that we are to share is a story of faith,
that is, the story of Christ told through our: lives, faith,
circumstances and our reactions to those circumstances.
