Christianity Today report– Every time a new form of media emerges, there are early adopters and rejecters.
I wouldn’t throw my whole lot in with either camp. Some things are certainly fads, and it doesn’t make sense to invest much effort in them. Other things are solid, and we can resist them to our own insignificance.
Wisdom is knowing which is which.
God, Satan, or Tool?
Social media is here to stay. At once it represents technology at its finest, and humanity at its worst. But the same was said of television, and cinema, and probably the printing press.
So we can treat it as our god, which some people do, and their entire day revolves around consuming and interacting with every bit of information the 24-hour feed will deliver to them. We can treat it as Satan, which others do and rail against the evils that come through MySpace (not realizing that, maybe the Devil left there, too).
Or we can choose a smart approach somewhere between the extremes.
As is probably evident, I am a big believer in the advantages of social media. I know there are negative issues that come along with it. But let’s be honest. If you look around your kitchen or workshop you will probably find 10 or more awesome tools that can leave bad results.
Social media is a tool. A tool in the wrong hands is dangerous. A tool in good hands is extremely useful. Churches and leaders that remain absent from social media are not able to use this tool to expand the Kingdom.
Here are three ways social media can be a blessing for leadership in the Church.
Social media helps you…
1. Empower Your People
Engage in the parallel life that many people have online. They’re already there. Their friends are already there. If we encourage people to interact with our church via social media, they are more likely to use it as a missional tool with their friends.
You would encourage a soccer coach in your church to develop a mission mindset through that skill set and venue. You would empower a Christian businesswoman to use her marketplace platform to build the Kingdom.
So why not encourage the majority of those in your church, who are already in touch with nearly half of their community online, to actively engage in reaching people with what they have in their hand anyway? They are already engaged. They just need to be encouraged toward a mission focus.
A pastor, Sunday school teacher, women’s director, youth pastor, any leader who does not encourage their people to engage in mission on social media is missing a great opportunity to reach a huge segment of the culture.