Pastors and Facebook
A major change in the Pastor's role in my 51 years of ministry has been caused by the proliferation of social media. In simpler days, Pastors had times when they were "off". If people wanted to reach the Pastor, they called the church office and left a message, or if something was urgent, they would call the Pastor and leave a message if their call was unanswered. The Pastor had time away.
Then came Facebook. I personally love social media. I was born to socialize on Facebook—not only for fun, but also as a powerful tool for ministry. I have always seen myself as a Pastor, whether I'm in prayer or on Facebook. The latter gave me multiplied ways to minister to the people I loved. This blessed me.
The down side of social media is; the Pastor who uses it is always "on". There is no place and no time to hide from the need to communicate. Life becomes a constant flow of info flowing through the brain.
Some say, "Well, just get off Facebook." That sounds good, but doing so puts a Pastor in danger of being out of step with the congregation; like it or not, we live in the twenty-first century. And then, on the other hand, once you enter the social media world, you have to play by the social media rules. If you don't respond in a quick, orderly way, people get their feelings hurt, and this scares Pastors as much as anything else. Easily susceptible to paranoia, they can feel their jobs are on the line.
This is a very complicated issue. I'm sure experts are somewhere working on solutions to the social media dilemma Pastors are facing. My intent in this blog is to call attention to problems, not offer solutions. I am clueless on how to advise Pastors about this.
Then came Facebook. I personally love social media. I was born to socialize on Facebook—not only for fun, but also as a powerful tool for ministry. I have always seen myself as a Pastor, whether I'm in prayer or on Facebook. The latter gave me multiplied ways to minister to the people I loved. This blessed me.
The down side of social media is; the Pastor who uses it is always "on". There is no place and no time to hide from the need to communicate. Life becomes a constant flow of info flowing through the brain.
Some say, "Well, just get off Facebook." That sounds good, but doing so puts a Pastor in danger of being out of step with the congregation; like it or not, we live in the twenty-first century. And then, on the other hand, once you enter the social media world, you have to play by the social media rules. If you don't respond in a quick, orderly way, people get their feelings hurt, and this scares Pastors as much as anything else. Easily susceptible to paranoia, they can feel their jobs are on the line.
This is a very complicated issue. I'm sure experts are somewhere working on solutions to the social media dilemma Pastors are facing. My intent in this blog is to call attention to problems, not offer solutions. I am clueless on how to advise Pastors about this.