I know that I have commented about this before, but I have to admit that I bounce back and forth between laughing and crying for my colleagues in ministry who also regularly make use of the new, high tech world of Facebook, Tweets and Twitters, blogs and a hundred other new high tech ways of communicating. The issue is not whether we as a pastor have a right to our personal views, because we certainly do. The issue is whether or not we should continue to pump those views out into cyberspace everyday for the world and more especially for our parishioners to read.
I personally don’t care what your views are on Gay marriage, Abortion, Democrats, Republicans, George Bush, Barrack Obama, torture, or any of a host of a thousand other divisive issues that we face today. However, while I personally may not care, I will tell you, with out a doubt, that your parishioners are very interested in your views. While some may strenuously agree with you, others may not, and dare I say, WILL NOT. And, if that person happens to be the chairman of your Pastor Parish Relations Committee you can find yourself moving way before your ministry is completed.
I think that one of the greatest disservices that my Seminary did was not emphasizing pastoral care enough. They did a remarkable job of beating the drum everyday on issues of social justice and saving the world, but they were incredibly weak in training the students in the art of diplomacy, tact and perhaps even common sense. I still remember a conversation at lunch time where a Bishop had encouraged a group of female students to join her at a protest at their Annual Conference for Reconciliation Ministries. While this may be a worthwhile cause, it is incredibly controversial within the church, and while someone who has achieved the level of Bishop may feel comfortable enough in their career and position to be seen protesting. The same could not be said for these young women who are at the beginning of the process of entering ministry. They were torn between not wanting to disappoint this Bishop and not wanting to do anything to jeopardize their career in ministry even before it had begun.
However, what I read on Facebook makes that situation pale in comparison. I once, very early in seminary, had a talk with my District Superintendent about a controversial issue within the church and he simply looked at me and asked, “Jim, am I a radical feminist, or am I conservative?” I thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know.” To which he replied, “and that is the way it should be in your ministry as well.”
Our job as pastors is to shepherd the entire flock. Some of them will be very liberal in their thinking, others will be very conservative. Some will be young, others will be old. Some will eat biscuits and gravy at Cracker Barrel for breakfast while others will eat bean sprouts. The point is that we simply can not allow our personal political views to get in the way of our ministry. Jesus reached out to all, to those who were oppressed, to those who were in power, he reached out to those who were in pain and to those who had inflicted the pain.
It is certainly our job to speak truth to power, it is our job to challenge injustice where we find it, and it is our duty to help those who are marginalized. But my friends you can’t do it when you yourself are marginalized by your own churches. You can’t make a difference if you don’t have a church to serve. It is very difficult to preach truth, peace and toleration when you have no congregation.
Perhaps some of you will find yourselves in large congregations that are social justice oriented, perhaps you will find yourself in a place where everyone agrees with you, but the reality is that most of you will be serving small rural conservative churches.
Those of you who were fortunate enough to have Dr. Withrow as a professor probably learned that it is much more important to ask the right questions in order to help the person that you are talking to arrive at the right answer, than it is to short circuit the process and simply tell them the right answer. (or at least right from your viewpoint) I owe Dr. Withrow a great debt of gratitude because she helped me to understand many areas that I had preconceived, embedded theologies and ideas. She didn’t help me to discover these areas by telling me I was wrong or that she was right, she did it by simply being willing to ask me the right questions to which, over time, (which is key) the light came on and I was able to understand what it was that she wanted me to see. I still didn’t always agree, but I was able to see the other perspective.
People! Quit posting the stuff (I had another choice of words) you do on Facebook! Next time you get the temptation to tell the world your views on some controversial issue, Resist the temptation! Love your people, ALL OF THEM! Ask them questions, lead them like a gentle shepherd and preach the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ. I think that you will be much more pleased with your results!
Blessings
PS: For those of you, who want an example of someone who uses Facebook very well in ministry, check out my buddy
Charles W. Ferguson. Now that man knows how to preach, how to effectively use Facebook as a tool and at the same time, he doesn’t necessarily shy away from controversial topics, instead he invites dialog. Now isn’t that a radical concept!
