Pastor's Blog: Biting the (Facebook) Bullet
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In times like these we do well to open ourselves to new forms of learning. You’ve probably already stretched yourself in more ways than you ever thought you’d attempt. But the alternative, of course, is to stay mired in your rut, a fate that is far more worse now than ever, and let the rest of the world pass you by.
As for myself, I’m about to join the Facebook world. Heretofore, I had taken great pride in being one of the last holdouts for a variety of reasons, which I don’t have the time or space to go into right now. Suffice it to say, each of us has a bit of the contrarian somewhere in our constitutions and an aversion to Facebook just happened to be mine.
So, what has changed to bring me (admittedly) kicking and screaming to join the rest of the Facebook herd? The simple truth is that I see Facebook as the best platform to carry on so many of the ministries in our church. For example, this past Sunday I learned that a good number of our livestream viewers switched over from our church website to Facebook Live because of how it provided them a better viewing experience, and I also was made aware of the resulting explosion in the number of participants from the “tags” (whatever that is) Facebookers were sharing with their “friends.” So, my eyes were open…sort of.
Here, then, is my next move. Beginning Wednesday, April 1, I’ll be offering a “MBBC Midweek” experience on Facebook Live at 7 p.m. It will be a time when I will offer a devotion, bring you up to date on the latest ministry plans and opportunities, and lead in a time of prayer. The irony of my launching this initiative on April 1 is certainly not lost on me. Fortunately, we have a good number of tech-savvy folk on staff whom I’ll be leaning on between now and Wednesday so that I won’t make a complete fool of myself. But then, isn’t that what April Fool’s Day is designed to do anyway? I’ll just consider it another one of those acts of providence I’ve been noticing more and more of in these strange times.
Because I understand Facebook Live to be interactive, I hope you’ll join in and do so. Just be patient with me. My hope is that the experience will be yet another way we can encourage one another and maintain our sense of community at a time when “social respect” can only take us so far.
I’m looking at it as another concession to the old saw, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” In all seriousness, I hope you’ll break away from your favorite Cable News Network or entertainment streaming service for about 15-20 minutes of checking in on one another. All of us are carrying some pretty heavy loads right now. If God works through this opportunity to lift any of them, then perhaps “gaining face(book)” instead of losing it will make not just good sense, but good faith too.
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).