All posts by Pastor Jeremy

Church Blog, Grace Church

Tips For Faith Sharing: Glorify, Testify and Apply

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

One of the more difficult aspects to following Christ for many is actually sharing our faith story.  Whether it’s a cultural thing here in the US or the inability of the modern church to actually train people to share their faith, it’s a thing.

So, here are a few easy tips to sharing your faith and pointing people to Christ.

1- Let people around you know you are a follower of Jesus Christ.  Your co-workers, classmates, family, friends (facebook friends/twitter followers) should know you are a Christian by your words and deeds.

2- Actually invite people to share their story with you.  It can be as simple as-
“Hey, tell me about where you grew up.”
“What brought you here?”
“What are you doing this weekend?’

3- Listen, listen, listen.  Listening to other people share their story is a powerful experience if you really listen.  I’ve found that everyone has a pretty amazing life story if you just listen.  Listening means you care about someone enough to hear their story.

4- Share your problems with others- be honest and let people know how your faith has helped you.

5- Pass on some good reads to others like- “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan, “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson or “Heaven is For Real” by Todd Burpo.  Those are amazing books.

6- Speak well of your church and church leaders.  If you don’t, it probably reflects more on your journey than your church.

7- Invite, invite, invite.  Most churches have several seeker friendly events throughout the year.  Some churches actually make worship a safe and friendly place as well.

8- If someone asks you a faith question you can’t answer, set up a coffee with your pastor to talk about their question.

9- Start a Bible study and invite people to join.

10- Bring someone to Christmas or Easter services.

Finally, make sure that in all you do and say that you

Glorify God

That Your life is a living Testimony to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

and

Your apply the teachings of God’s word and Jesus Christ to your life.

If you do these things, your life will serve as a beacon to those who are far from God.  Your life will light the way in the darkest storms.

Go in peace and go with God.

p.s. It wouldn’t hurt to share the facebook status of your pastor or church page and invite others to join your in worship.

Church Blog, Local, Methodist

We Are All in this Together!

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

My beautiful and amazing wife often remarks that “we are all in this together”.  It’s a good phrase to remember during the tough days.  When driving to work and the traffic slows, it’s the man or woman who cuts through traffic, the person that is only out for themselves that doesn’t understand that we are all in this together.  The rude, the mean, the arrogant and the selfish does not bring us together.
In a deeply broken and sinful world, humility and thinking more highly of others is often absent.  The example of Jesus through service, compassion and love shows us one of many paths we daily walk.
It’s a new week and we have a chance to live into a life of service, or go back to our selfish ways.  Check your bank account, your calendar and your relationships- is there selfishness or God honoring service?
A life focused on Jesus does what is right, not what is popular.  It’s easy to speak or write these words, it’s much more difficult to live into them.
So let’s think about a few things.
If you can recycle in your community, then remember, we are all in this together.
When you see a single mom struggling with her kids, please remember, we are all in this together.
If someone else needs that promotion at work, help them get it, and not because they will do something for you, but because it’s the right thing to do- we are all in this together.
Some people get this- like firefighters, the police, EMT’s, nurses, docs and many, many others.
Do you get it?  Does our church get it?
If more of us got it, there would be less homeless, hungry, death, suffering, pain, hurt, struggle, anger, divorce, hatred…
We are all in this together.
I pray and hope that phrase sparks us to action.  We are one body, one faith, one church, one people and with one God of all.
We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord.

We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love
By our love
Yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
Go in peace and go with God

Methodist

Bishop’s Week 2013- Pipeline to Ecosystem

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather
This past week approximately 250 United Methodist’s gathered in Southlake, Texas at White’s Chapel UMC for Bishop’s Week.  This was the first “Bishop’s Week” in a few years.  Bishop’s Week used to be a learning event for Bishops and their Cabinets.  A revisioned iteration exploded onto the scene this year in the South Central Jurisdiction.  Titled “Excellence in Ministry: Developing Fruitful Leaders”, the event attempted to be a collaborative learning experience to help all our Conferences strengthen clergy and lay leadership.  Several of our longer serving Bishops called together the SCJ Bishops, Cabinets, Extended Cabinet and a few other leaders from the Conferences.  Other clergy and laity from outside the Jurisdiction also were in attendance.  The main goal of the two day event was to refocus our efforts on clergy leadership.
The Missouri attendees included our Bishop, Cabinet and Extended Cabinet, Conference Lay Leader, Chair of BOOM, two younger members of BOOM, our Director of Hispanic Ministries, a few others and me (Chair of Conference Nominations).
The opening session was led by Bishop Janis Huie and was a brief history of our clergy credentialing system and some of the major shifts that need to take place.  A brilliant metaphor was shared early on that stayed with me throughout the event.  Her talk really hit home.  She shared that the traditional view of those entering clergy ministry was seen as a pipeline.  Sadly, the pipeline had become rusty at one point and time, and now all together is clogged up.  She proposed a shift from pipeline to Ecosystem.  The story below is my best notes and recollection of how this metaphor came into existence.
—
Yellowstone National Park
In 1988 Yellowstone National Park suffered a devastating fire that destroyed nearly 1/3 of the Park.
Why?  Before then, the practice of beneficial and necessary burns was deemed to be outside the bounds of normal Park Service activities as many believed that we should try and fight fires instead of let them burn.
In 1996 Yellowstone was suffering in many ways.
Too many Elk, as many were dying from starvation.
Willows along the shores were being eaten by Elk.
Beavers had no willows to build dams with because of the Elk.
Fewer Beaver dams meant less fish as they were swept through the park by rushing rivers.
The response of the Park Rangers was to help try and balance the Ecosystem in two ways.
One- allow for beneficial burns.  And since 1988, the Park has not suffered another devastating fire.
Two- reintroduce the Gray Wolf to help lower the population of the Elk.
In both cases, the Park Rangers believed that a healthy balance had been restored.  Both were ripe with controversy, as you can imagine.  Many were against the “beneficial burn” policy, and even more against the reintroduction of grey wolves.
Was balance restored?  I don’t know.  But the stewards of the park believe so.
How can we then bring health and vitality into our Ecosystem?  Over the two day event many ideas were offered, some of which I will share over the next few blogs.  Some acknowledgements to our current struggles with the 37 (yes there are 37) different routes into a form of clergy ministry.  Understanding that we all live amidst a complex set of relationships and diverse communities, must be apart of any discussion going forward.  Also, as a denomination, we are not reaching people in the U.S. as we once did.
An honest assessment of our old pipelines (Sunday School, UMYF, Camps, CCYM, Wesley Foundations) was given.  Basically, those have all but dried up.   Ultimately, we need to be willing to change the default setting from “acceptable” or “nothing bad” to “fruitful” (Bishop Schnase’s words).
We live in a complex and complicated ecosystem of relationships and communities.  There is not one answer to the decline of the UMC or the decline of younger people going to seminary or seeking ordination.  Can it be fixed?  Should it?  Or, can we through a strong and collaborative effort turn the tide of exodus into new wineskins?  A path of fruitfulness and revitalization is possible.  In Missouri, we have seen our overall worship attendance grow these past few years, while most other Conferences have seen decline.  Through lifting up entrepreneurial leaders, balancing our leadership ecosystem with diversity (age, gender, race) and starting new churches/revitalizing congregations, we have seen a significant shift in our ecosystem.
There is still lots of work to do, but Bishop’s Week helped many of us honestly name the problems before us and we continue the holy work of transforming the world in Jesus Christ.
Go in peace and go with God.
Methodist

Bishop’s Week 2013- A Culture of Call

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather
How do young people find their way into ministry these days?  Is there a traditional route?  Is that route still viable?  Maybe there are multiple and diverse routes into ministry?  The Call to Action report pushed us all to dramatically reform clergy leadership development, deployment and evaluation.  We are suffering from a crisis of relevance as a church and in our clergy system.  More and more young people are choosing to find other ways to serve in ministry instead of the route of seminary, commissioning to ordination.  Each Conference at Bishop’s Week was asked to prepare a “Community of Practice” paper about how they develop fruitful clergy leaders from entrance to retirement, or exit.  These papers were similar, but also vastly different.  Similar in that most focused on the entrance of clergy.  Different in that some only focused on clergy entering their ministry and “residency in ministry” process.
The Conferences that seemed to be really focused on excellence and fruitfulness found ways to celebrate success, equip and train anyone willing to learn and keep working to open the call process to a wider pool. Reading these papers brought me great joy in knowing that numerous Conferences are truly working to make things better in their respective forests.  On the other side, it looks like there is a lot of work to do for some.
As we all think about how to develop a culture of call in our respective areas of ministry, a few thoughts come to mind.
1. To take the metaphor offered by Bishop Huie a bit farther, I wonder who the invitational park rangers in our ecosystem are and do we encourage them or even acknowledge them?
To develop a culture of call means that we begin as early as confirmation classes, planting the seed that maybe someone in the in the class could one day become a pastor.  A continued focus in youth ministry and college aged ministries helping people discern their call, whether into ordained ministry or another avenue of service, is a vital part of this process.  We have some churches in Missouri that have produced numerous fruitful and effective leaders.  How?  They train, equip and resource them.  It is done with great intentionality.    We have several of those invitational park rangers in Missouri.  Some are clergy, some are laity.  You know them by their fruit.
2. Our Director of Pastoral Excellence works closely with the the Board of Ordained Ministry to equip, train and resource our Residents in Ministry Program.  She also works with every new certified candidate through our candidacy summits.  We also host two ministry inquiry events every year.  Finally, through our Seminary and College student internship programs, we are broadening the opportunity for young persons to explore ministry on site.  In transitioning our clergy process from one of pipeline/weed out/check list to a program of discernment and training has radically changed the conversation for exploring candidates.
3. In developing our culture of call, innovation and experimentation must be valued.  A more open and welcoming attitude to churches that are seeking fruitfulness in new ways is foundational to changing how people come into leadership in the church.  As the culture and country become more global and multi-cultural, the pace of change in the church needs to be accelerated to adapt and better relate to the major shifts in expectations of candidates.  Leaders that demonstrate and desire and gifts toward risk taking, innovation, missional service, a sacrificial life, depth of spiritual life and invitational spirit must be moved through the apparent hoops quickly.  The great impediment to some younger people with a desire to enter ordained ministry are the massive amount of hoops and the length of the overall process.  Anything that a Conference, DCOM, BOOM, DS or Bishop can do to expedite the process will be greatly beneficial for candidates.
An openness and willingness to discuss cultivating fruitful leaders before ordination, even before seminary needs to be part of our ongoing learning process.  Our Pastoral Leadership Development program is mostly playing catch up to the things that we should already be gifted and trained in.
Changing a culture or an ecosystem does not happen overnight.  It also does not happen from the top down.  All these changes must come from the margins, as Bishop Schnase often says.
Go in peace and go with God.
Methodist

Bishop’s Week 2013- Learned or Learning

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

n one of Bishop’s Schnase’s talks, he shared about Wesley and the Early Methodists.  He said:
Wesley and the Early Methodists
-Bold Originality
– Outward Focused and Future Oriented
– Creative and Experimental
– Risky and Countercultural
– Mission Driven

They were also not afraid to push back against a system of learned scholars and challenge many long held assumptions about church, religion, faith, community and evangelism.

Methodists pastors should be committed life long learners.  Always the student, walking together with others on a journey of discovery and faith.  Once out of seminary, it takes a great deal of drive, passion and courage to begin the learning process again.  There is a strange middle ground when you have achieved so much (graduating seminary, probationary membership, ordination) when you feel prepared to preach, lead, teach, care and serve.  Walk into any pastors office, there are probably books on the shelves, scattered about, some even on the floor.  That is the life long learner.  But, learning can only take you so far.  Like paint in a can, it must be applied.  Fruitful leaders apply the best teachings to their situations.  A life long learner knows that the more they know, the less they understand.

Fruitfulness is then born of a life completely devoted and souled out to God.  That life is shaped and formed daily by deep spiritual disciplines.  One of those disciplines, not often shared, is the desire and appetite to learn.  We grow by learning, listening, praying and seeking God daily.

To be bold, outwardly focused and relevant to those who seek God, we must become life long learners.  No longer are clergy seen most in the culture as the authority of much more than weddings and funerals.    So, we listen, we learn and we cast of the title of learned and become someone is always learning.

Go in peace and go with God.

Methodist

Learnings From Bishop’s Week 2013- Endangered Species- Young Clergy and Barbers

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

About once a month I visit my local barber shop.  In my thirty some years on the planet, I’ve had two barbers.  A few others attempted cutting my dwindling hair, but I’ve basically had two barbers throughout my life.  In my hometown, my dad went to Jim the Barber, so I went to Jim.  After moving away from home to attend college and grad school, I continued to come back to Jim.  He is an excellent barber.  He offers great conversation and cuts my hair the way I like it.  About fifteen years ago, I slowed down on my pace of going home due to the weekend commitments (first appointment to the local church).  I searched and searched for a barber to cut my hair the way I like it.  I did so with little fruit.  I even tried a few of the “chain” hair places.  Finally, about nine years ago I met Bob, my current barber.  A great conversationalist from religion to the weather.  In one of our spirited and lively discussions, he confided that in a few years he might be retiring.  He is slowing down a bit, so much so, he has no desire to take new clients.  He likes things the way they are and when he retires, he will close his business.  A few years ago he believed he might sell his shop to some young guy starting out in the profession.  But alas, he feels today that “young men just don’t want to be barbers anymore”.  He then said that beautician schools were booming all over the place.  Times were changing, and he was rather indifferent as to whether the changes were bad or good.  We commiserated over the state of the world, and I was quickly dispatched as a few of the other regulars started to line up.

I’ve heard a few similar statements about seminary.  “No one wants to go to seminary anymore.  It’s just too expensive, too long and does not train clergy to lead the church.”
It is a fact that there are less young clergy today than in years past.  One of my good friends says it’s because we don’t have a military draft going on right now.  If we had a draft, the line to seminaries would be overflowing.  Maybe so.
But it seems that younger clergy might be an endangered species, as are young barbers.
Bishop Schnase said to us, “I can’t send you someone you didn’t send me first.”  Too true.
With many churches dying, our pool of leadership is dwindling.  The traditional Sunday school hour is slowly fading from the menu of local church offerings.  The pipeline, as it were, has become rusty, which was the title of some gathering Bishop Huie attended in the 1980’s.  The lack of younger clergy leaders and younger people in church is not a new phenomenon.  It’s been going on for some time.  The  decline of attendance and members in the local church is not something new either.  But, right now, we are talking about it like never before because our Episcopal leadership has taken quite seriously the Call to Action report.  Their leadership, significantly and especially at SCJ Bishop’s Week, should serve as an opportunity to start doing something about it.
If you remember the ecosystem reference a few blogs ago (read here), then you realize that the problem is systemic.  The ecosystem must be altered and changed by park rangers to allow for young clergy to survive and thrive.  We don’t need General Conference legislation or permission.  There is no one thing to turn the tide.  This will not be easy.  A few possible easy ways to get the ball rolling might be:

1. Promote younger clergy into leadership positions so that when younger people enter the process, they encounter someone close to their age (DCOM/Mentors/BOOM)
2. Promote younger clergy into larger churches as Senior Pastor.
3. Develop opportunities for clergy of all ages to interact in learning groups so wisdom and innovation may be shared.

Some of these things have already been tried and met with some success in the Missouri Conference.  My hope and prayer is that we might set aside our institutional mindset of old school stair stepping into local church, district and conference leadership.  And maybe we could value a diversity of age on all teams, committees and boards.  Honestly, in Missouri, we are doing this as well.  In 2012 we put forth the youngest and most balanced slate of leadership in the last twenty years.  It was a huge victory for diversity and an amazing victory in Jesus Christ.  We are better when all voices are at the table
Go in peace and go with God.

Church Blog, Local, Methodist

A World Without Borders

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

My son will grow up in a world without borders.  It’s true.  There will be no borders.  Many people, maybe not many, have discussed this topic for a few years.  Recently, it has become more of a relevant topic.  This past week the word came out that there will be no more borders in the whole wide world.  Who announced this?  It was announced in the Wall Street Journal.  Why would they announce it?  Because the Borders I speak of are not borders around countries, or fences between neighbors, it’s the Borders book store.  They closed a bunch of stores, tried to keep a few open, but alas, they are all closing.

We shop, well shopped, at Borders.  It was a great store.  It was the only retail bookstore chain in Lee’s Summit.  We purchased lots of books there (we like to read).  We also purchased many Christmas gifts there, as they always have the coolest stuff for kids.  We don’t have a kindle, except on phones/tablets.  I hear that the reason they are closing is competition from Amazon, ebooks, etc.  Maybe that’s true.  Barnes and Noble are still making it though, or are they?

My son will never enter a Borders bookstore.  Borders has been around since 1970.  And now they will all be gone soon.  I started thinking about many of the things I grew up with that have since closed.  Remember Polaroid Cameras?  They closed in 2002 after 60 yrs in business.  Arthur Anderson, a huge consulting and accounting firm opened in 1913, then closed in 2002.   How about Tower Records?  They had a 60 year run. Now closed forever.  And you might not believe this one, but Olan Mills closed in 2008 after a 70 year run.  Yes, the people who did church directories no longer are trading stock.
Anyone remember TG&Y?  Opened in 1935, closed in 2001.  My sister worked there.  GM almost closed, if it weren’t for the Federal Government.  Lots of other companies closed during the latest recession 2007-2011.

Lots of things change.  Lots of things end.  What will my son see go by the wayside in his lifetime?
The United Methodist Church has been declining at a rate of 500,000 members every 10 years.  We were founded in 1968, and with the average age of an organization being 60-70 years, will we come to an end around 2030?  What would a world look like without the United Methodist Church?  What would my son’s life look like without the United Methodist Church?

We are a church that has a dual focus- making disciples for Jesus Christ and social justice/missions.  Known to us as personal piety and social holiness.  There is lots of talk about measures of vitality and fruitfulness by tracking worship attendance, professions of faith, baptisms and people serving in mission.  Those are great indicators, but just tracking stuff will not turn the ship.  I don’t have all the answers, but I do know one thing.
If the church (every church and pastor) doesn’t begin to take seriously the call of Christ to love their neighbors, there will be no United Methodist Church for my son when he graduates from college in 22 years.

As for Grace, we continue to grow and reach out.  Our attendance, professions of faith, baptisms and people deployed in mission are all going up and we are doing very well.  Keep it up Grace.

And although I am sad that Borders is closing because I enjoyed going there, but something else will come in and I will find somewhere else to buy books.  Let’s make sure there is a United Methodist Church that is making disciples and serving those in need for the next 100 years!  Not because we enjoy going there, but because lives are being eternally changed!
Go in peace and go with God.

Local

A Desperate Plea- Stop Changing Things

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

We are pretty loyal to the places we shop, the restaurants we frequent and to the denomination I choose to serve in.  Brand loyalty is a big deal in the corporate world.   Once you have a loyal customer or consumer, you have to do a lot to push them away.  When humans find something we enjoy or like, we stick with it.  Even though change is in the very nature of creation, many of us like consistency.  I’ve heard stories of people driving hours to get their favorite Bar-B-Q.  Living in the Kansas City area, I am not surprised by that passion.  Brand loyalty goes beyond just agreeing to repurchase items from the same company.  Real brand loyalty drives people to share their experiences and invite others to be apart of their positive experience with the brand.
On the other side of that are the negative reactions that people have to certain brands.  Few people will share positive experiences (unless they are way over the top experiences) because we expect a positive experience with the things we like.  But, if you have a bad experience somewhere, you are more than likely to tell others about it.  No matter how many good experiences you’ve had, we will tell others “don’t go to that restaurant, the service is awful”.
One of my all time favorite places to eat is Wendy’s.  I love their burgers.  For me, they are almost as good as a “gourmet” burger.  For fast food, I choose Wendy’s.  We did not have a Wendy’s in my hometown, so going to Wendy’s was a big deal.  The toasted buns, the square, juicy hamburgers-Dave Thomas naming the company after his daughter.  The frosties are amazing.  The chili is awesome (I mean really, who else serves chili all year long?).  And the fries.  That is what I remember from my first few experiences at Wendy’s (the burgers, fries, frosty, chili).
Since then, I have been a die hard, loyal customer.  Even during the bogus food scares in California (of which most don’t remember).  I had chili the day some lady accused them of putting something disgusting in the chili, and the day afterward too.  Why?  I am loyal.
Lately though, my brand loyalty has been strained.  Why?
Change.
I never thought I would be someone who would gripe about change.  Most of us have a “roll with the punches” attitude, but a few things have me not as fired up to go to Wendy’s these days.  Here are the things that have changed, or I miss at Wendy’s.

5. The buffet from many years ago, where did those go?
4. What happened to Frescatta Sandwiches- those were amazing!
3. Baked potatoes with cheese/bacon- gone.
2. The pickles now taste exactly like the ones from Five Guys
1. They changed their fries ;0(

Those are just a few small things, but they add up to a few big things.  I now have to go elsewhere to get fries because the “new” sea salt fries are not my favorite anymore.  They are not dippable in the chili or frosty.  I love them less, which in Biblical Jesus terms is pretty bad.
See, I am a nut about Wendy’s.

Hopefully by now you realize I am not just talking about Wendy’s.  Change is life.  How we react and deal with those changes reveals the content and character of our hearts.  I’m sure that the changes in our lives are sometimes purposeful.  When we better understand the changes around us, we more easily accept them and sometimes become champions for change.

When change comes without warning, almost with an aggressive, haphazard or fumbled delivery, we shy away from the change.  Sometimes we end up on the other side against the change.  Most people in this world are reasonable, and if spoken to in a manner of respect and love, they will hear out why changes are being made.  They are may not agree with the changes, but they will go along with them because they were respected enough to be considered.

The #1 reason most people will walk into a new church is not because of word of mouth, or they thought the website was cool.  Most of them are in a time of transition and they are seeking a place to experience God.  They are motivated to go.  They haven’t been coerced or made to come, they made a choice to try and change their lives.  And what do many of us do with the gift of someone new?  Not enough.

I pray for you during your times of transition and times of change.  Some changes are blessings, some seem like the end of days.  Let the changes in your life be purposeful and filled with meaning.  Help others to move through their times of change as well.

Oh yeah, hey Wendy’s, please bring back your old fries.   I know they were ranked 3rd on the list of America’s favorite fries.  It’s ok to be in third place.  McDonald’s and Five Guys are just better.  After 41 years you changed to be like someone else.  Be yourself.  Be unique.  I still love Wendy’s, but I love them a bit less these days.

Go in peace and go with God!

Church Blog, Grace Church, Methodist, Uncategorized

Social Media and the Church- Part 7

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

7. It’s All About Connecting

In the last thirty years, staying connected to others has taken a giant leap forward. Think about it for a moment, do you remember in the early 1980’s and making a long distance phone call was a big deal? Or those new car phones that were outrageously expensive and rarely worked. Then pagers for people other than doctors. Cell phones came along in the mid 1990’s for some of us, but reception was still spotty. Personal computers and email hit in the 1990’s big as well. Google came around in the late 1990’s as well, but didn’t start really being used by the masses until 2001 and thereafter. Yahoo was a big deal, not so much anymore. Aol was a big deal, not so much anymore. And the now ultimate way to connect is facebook. 800 million users, with a limit of 5000 friends per user (who really has 5000 friends).
The church has many roles in the world today. One of the most important roles is helping people stay connected to God. Out of that relationship, we are called to love God, neighbor and enemy. We are also called to serve God and neighbor.
We have never in the history of the world had as much information as we do now available to us.
We have never in the history of the world been better connected to our neighbors as well.
But there is something missing. Information alone cannot convert. Information and argument alone cannot change people.
If you watch politics these days you see an inherent belief in all sides. If they can just get enough people to agree with them (because they are right), then they will feel justified in their behavior and beliefs.
And that somehow, someway, that winning arguments rules the day.
The church sadly has adopted a few of those principles. They sound like this-
We are in and you are out.
We are going to heaven, and if you believe what we believe, you can too. Just don’t pay attention to how we treat others though, our message might not match our behavior.
There is an inherent arrogance there as well.
Life is not about information and arguments.
Life is about loving God and neighbor. If every church in the world would drop the “we are right, and you are not” mentality, and start focusing on connecting people to God, the world would be a much different and better place.
Back to this again, the role of the church is to connect people to God and neighbor. Jesus says that “we are a light in the darkness”. Are you the light?
Using social media to bring people closer to God meets that goal.
Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we find communion and connection to God. Jesus Christ bridges the gap and offers salvation to anyone.
Connecting and communicating that message to the lives of every soul on earth is our chief priority.
Using social media to that end is just another way to convey the timeless, life changing message of Jesus Christ.
Check your social media in your church to see if it:
Shares the message of Jesus Christ in a way that not only informs, but transforms.
Brings people closer to God.
Offers a way to connect to God and neighbor.
Helps others find a way to serve.
As many churches seek to enhance the way they communicate the message of Jesus Christ, please pray for all of us as we succeed and fail in following Jesus.
Be holy. Stay connected to God.
Go in peace and go with God.

Church Blog, Grace Church, Methodist

Social Media and the Church- Part 6- Pastoral Use of Social Media

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

6. Pastoral Use of Social Media

Pastors don’t have much of a “private” life. Being a pastor has been described as living in a fishbowl. Some like it. Some don’t. It’s a fact of service. We are on call 24 hours a day for pastoral emergencies. What we say on Sunday morning should be what we say the rest of the week. What we say during the week should be good enough for Sunday morning. If it’s not, we have a serious problem. The choice to use social media like Facebook, Twitter or a blog is never a private choice. Whatever is said on Facebook or Twitter reflects on you and the ministry/church that you serve. There is no fractured dualistic path to say “this doesn’t represent the church I serve” because these are my private opinions. Does that sound consistent? Now, this is just my opinion. Some clergy disagree and feel that they may say one thing through social media, but then on Sunday morning would never dare speak of such things. For me it does not work. Stand by what you say in private and in public, on the web or in church, together.
So, when it comes to certain issues Pastors should keep their mouths shut. Yes, they should.
A few pieces of advice.
Don’t endorse candidates or political parties, unless it’s you or a family member. It only divides people. Your job is not to spout about politics and if it’s takes up a considerable amount of your time, you are probably not serving well.
Hiding your Social media behavior from the UMC boards or your brothers and sisters in Christ is pointless. Your pastoral voice (whether in church or the web) should always be consistent and honest. People talk. Friend other pastors, and follow back on Twitter. It’s kind and courteous. Defriending other clergy is not a good idea. It shows poor judgment and poor character.
Watch what you post because just reposting or putting a link on your pages by default is an endorsement of a viewpoint. And it viewpoint is not consistent with you and the church, it becomes quite confusing to your church.
Be careful what you post, because it is always there. Google saves every piece of information on the web, whether you delete it or not.
Do not address church controversies through social media or “church wide” emails. Speak directly to people. Emails and social media rants and messages can be misinterpreted.
As a pastor, you are a spiritual leader. Lead.
The comments and way you interact on social media shows who you really are- especially when it comes to endorsing your favorite sports team. Be careful.
Here is a very simple rule.
Don’t be a jerk on social media. If you are there, you probably are in your church as well. Humor is great. Humor at the expense of others is not so great.
All in all, make sure your online life is consistent with your pastoral ministry life. This goes for all Christians as well. Be consistent so that the world knows your witness is true.
Go in peace and go with God.