A certain stench accompanies a post like this. Smells like hypocrisy mixed with irony.
I get it. In fact, that is why I am pointing it out, right upfront. I promise that the fact I am writing a blog, on my personal blog, to then share on my various social media platforms is not lost from my view. If you're new here, this blog exists for a few simple reasons. For example, I often have thoughts that, hopefully after much prayer, I really want or need to, sort of, work out. I have found that a great place to do that is on the page. Writing has many benefits, and for me, clearing my head is only one of them. Another reason for the blog is that I really do want to get better at writing. I write every single day. Whether in sermon preparation, journaling, in correspondence, or for some other reason, I am writing something, at length daily. I want to be better. This is a great way to do that.
Most of all, as I shared with my wife after she repeatedly asked me to come back to this process; I want to utilize this as an opportunity to say, again hopefully after much prayer and His prompting, what God wants me to say. Over the last several years, one of the many areas of my personal sanctification has dealt with my social media. Please note the emphasis added in the previous sentence. It is not there by accident. I want to emphasize again that God was, and is dealing with me about my use of social media, and about social media's effects on me. The journey has been a bumpy one at times. After waking up around 2:00am this morning, being unable to return to sleep, and after some prayer and honest reflection, I believe I can say that of all the areas of my sanctification, this is an area with progress. It may not be impressive progress, but it is progress. So, count it. He is once again faithful to finish what He started (Jhn. 4:34, 19:30; Phil. 1:6, 2:12-13).
I need to be very clear here. The journey is not complete. I have a long, long way to go. I am confident in Him and His promises. He "foreknew" me and He knows me. Those, who through the gifts of grace, faith, and repentance, are saved and known by God. He has "predestined" us for this, so that we might be made into the "image of His Son" and forever bring glory to His name. He has "called" us, "justified" us, and we know that this work of sanctifying us will be completed when we stand before Christ Himself. In the culmination of His promises, we will be "glorified" and nothing will ever separate us from His presence again. (Rom. 8:28-30).
With all of the disclaimers out of the way, I feel that I am ready to move on to the issue at hand. Consider this an alternative to the vague post that everyone knows is about someone, many think is about them, but others know the truth.
Disclaimer, Appendix "A": I am hoping you found the previous statement refreshing. To the alternative, I am also hoping you didn't read it and think to yourself, "Finally, the good stuff!" If that is you, I am afraid you've missed the point, and you may not like what follows. I hope you continue if you've made it this far, and that God uses this somehow to further accomplish His purposes in you.
In case you missed it, God did what He does and went above and beyond anything I could ever imagine, and far more than I deserve. At the end of December (21) our family obeyed God's call to move to Ehrhardt, SC to be the undershepherd to the congregation at St. Johns Baptist Church. I've been known to derail on details, so let me give you the highlights:
- Deserves God's wrath, but in Christ receives mercy and God is faithful to put me in, restore me to, and keep me in the ministry.
- Through a difficult time, God leads our family to a difficult decision to leave a ministry and step out in obedience, not knowing what was ahead. It was heartbreaking, terrifying, and wonderful.
- For 3+ years, we watch God work miraculously and sovereignly, in real-time; not only providing for every need, but healing, growing, connecting, and preparing us for something we never saw coming.
- With too many details to name, God once again demonstrated His faithfulness and sense of humor in calling us to SJBC and South Carolina.
Again, leaving out many important details for the sake of cloud storage, I have spent the last 20 weeks or so, navigating all that comes with a step of obedience such as this one.
Of all the details and bullet-points involved, the weight of being an undershepherd has been the heaviest of all. Before you assume what follows is a bitter diatribe of ministry that exalts me for being a pastor, followed by self-loathing and eventual self-promotion; let me assure you that isn't it. Hopefully, by God's grace even now as I am writing, if you continue to read, you will find a pastor's heart, with all of his own flaws in full view, speaking honestly, and desiring the good of those I have been charged to shepherd, for the glory of God in Christ, their true Shepherd.
As God has been working in the area of my social media, I have to admit my surprise when I began to discover that the first hurdle of cutting back my public social media use (ie. the amount of personal content going out) was not as hard as I expected it to be. Turns out that allowing for the exception of ministry-related posts, dropping content dropping was basically easy. In fact, I quickly became very good at just creeping on social media. I wasn't posting content but my weekly Screentime Reports proved I was actually spending more time just gorging on other people's content. Eventually, God began to put His finger on this issue as well. You'd never believe it. After very little effort on my part, it got easier to cut down my usage of social media. But wait, there's more!
It wasn't long before another issue developed, because I am awesome. Soon, I found myself becoming frustrated with what little I did see on social media. To be specific, I was getting ticked off over how much nonsense I was seeing in the small amount of time I spent on social media. Just a reminder, I am still being sanctified. This is only one area of continued education in God's classroom. Hypocrisy, erroneous judgments, and hilarious character/behavioral ironies are included, but not subject to discussion or exploration in this particular blog. Trust me, it's easier to focus on one of my flaws at a time.
On Social Media, you get accustomed to seeing the occasional offensive or inappropriate drop on your timeline. I am of course speaking of those that I personally know who either claim and pursue a relationship with Christ, and those I am acquainted with and on shared social media who claim the same identity (emphasis on "claim"). I remind myself often that we all share a different context. These contexts, whether in the past or present, shape who we are. Not everyone is offended by what offends me. It doesn't necessarily mean that the offensive party is any less a regenerate believer, seeking to live in obedience to Christ than I am. I am also aware that what I post may be offensive to others. It does not mean that I am an unbeliever any more than it means they are.
I am aware of all of these pitfalls, temptations, and issues. I am also aware that social media is as much a tool that can be utilized for the glory of God as it is a necessary evil. The convenience of communicating with an entire community is awesome. The fact that so many people can gather, be reached, and engaged is incredible. Can we be honest? It is also kind of fun. My camera roll is filled with memes, videos, and all sorts of goodies I have snagged from the digital fields. You take the good with the bad, right? "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" and all that. I concur. We should also be clear on who we are, how our identities as Christians are affected by social media, and how they affect social media. At some point, what we claim about truth, the Gospel, God, Jesus, the Word, etc, should shape our worldview in kind. Otherwise, what kind of truth is it?
That is why I still struggle when I see believers, even those I know and love, act online as if they've never read the Bible, much less genuinely believed it. I see heresy shared and paired with a series of emojis. Praise Hands. Clap Hands. Tear Face. 100%. Hashtag Blessed. It is a regular occurrence to find myself frustrated, grieving, or ranting over some post, comment, like, follow, or lack thereof, from my dear brothers and sisters. Stick around. You will see or hear an example of these, and countless other scenarios, all of which end up with me needing to repent for my response to a digital imprint from someone who claims to have been impacted by Christ. All of this, of course, is accompanied by the exposure of my own hypocrisy in these matters. It's a real roller-coaster. Fun times.
Ultimately, what matters in this world, digital or otherwise, is the glory of God in Christ. What matters is seeing the fulfillment of that through the hope of the Gospel, and taking its message to the world. Everything else is secondary. Nothing else is as important as this. The Gospel changes everything, and that's by design. Everything is broken and in need of redemption. Only Christ can offer it. For those who have received redemption in Christ, "all things are made new" and all the "old has passed away" (2 Cor. 5). If that is true, shouldn't our online behavior reflect this change?
Even today my timeline was marked by seasoned believers promoting and laughing at Biblical commands, and the importance of loving one another. In fact, the Apostle John said that anyone who "hates" their brother or sister in Christ, is "deceived" in believing that they have "fellowship" with God (1 Jhn.). Before you say, "It was a joke" and in no way hate, remember all that Jesus said about the heart, and what defiles us. I can send you links from today's batch of believers, whose timelines and feeds are records of violence, hatred, slander, heresy, and all manner of anti-Bible, anti-Gospel, anti-Christian propaganda. Some, even in the name of God Himself. As I've already said, I am sure that evidence of my own condemnation can easily be produced.
At some point, the bar must be raised. Somewhere truth must transform. There could be as many reasons "why not" are a close match for the reasons "why", depending on who you ask. But as believers, we don't ask just anyone. We ask God, the Father of all Truth. Someone once called it "true Truth." What God has clearly said and revealed by His Spirit, in His Word, through the person of Christ is the absolute and only standard for us. God has spoken and what He has said to His children, the Church is clear. The question for us is first, have I believed and been transformed by God's revelation, and second, am I living in response and obedience to His revelation and work in me? If so, then somewhere we have to answer for this social media indictment.
John Piper said, "One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” It could be amended to further prove that studying and knowing the Word, living in obedience to it, and the practice of utilizing everything at our disposal to promote the goal of the Gospel, was not from lack of time. Our feeds and timelines will serve as an indictment against us. Social Media will contain an untold volume of evidence that serves to convict us as willing participants in direct disobedience to God's commands.
This reality has consumed my thoughts regarding social media. As an individual, I know how I fail to live in obedience in the digital world, and in the real one. As a husband, father, friend, brother, and pastor; I wish it were all so different. In the end, my responsibilities are the same. It is how I respond to who God is, what He has said, and what He has done that matters. Every day obedience. Every day surrender. Every day logging in with Him, over a feed. Allowing Him by His Spirit, through His Word to shape every part of my life.
I can't keep my passwords from Him, and I can't delete "it" before He sees. I can pursue Him by His grace, in every moment, and with every click, seeking His ultimate glory in my life, among the nations, and in all things. May the truth of the Gospel shape every facet of our worldview, and expose us anywhere we may be indicted. For the good of His church, to the glory of His name, forever. Amen.
P.S. Don't forget to like and subscribe.
P.S.S. That was a joke.
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