Missing the Point
I hate Facebook.
Well that’s not exactly true. Let me try again.
I dislike Facebook.
Well that’s closer, but I’m still not comfortable with that either. Let me try one more time.
I think Facebook is like the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-16): lukewarm; neither good nor bad; it’s neither a cold drink on a hot day nor a hot drink on a cold day; ambivalence. Ok that’s it.
My online personality is very limited. I post pictures of the food I’m eating (which really annoys my sister) and all kinds of slams against hockey teams that are not the Toronto Maple Leafs (especially anti-Montreal Canadiens material). Other people have a far more active online life than I do – they routinely post messages about their personal lives (they really should buy a paper diary with a lock on it) as well as a bazillion links to ministry related articles about current shortcomings or upcoming church trends.
Honestly, I would rather smoke (I’m talking about a nice brisket in my meat smoker. What did you think I meant?) and watch a hockey game than scour the inter web for thought provoking articles.
But I do enjoy reading them.
Lately I’ve been wondering if you are reading them? I mean really reading them.
Right now I have that Carly Simon song going through my head – “You’re so vain; I bet you think this song is about you”. When I see you post the article about the next wave of change that is coming to the church, I wonder did you actually read this article because I think it might have been about you.
If you are relinking, retweeting, sharing or liking it as a way to challenge the church to think about mission and not mode, I think that’s great. But if you read it and it speaks to you about the church, do you recognize that it should challenge you to do something about it? After all, you are the church. We are the church.
You see, if you listen to Carly Simon sing “you’re so vain” and it doesn’t prick your ego and challenge you to think less about yourself, you may have missed the point. The same goes for the articles that you’re reading and reposting on Facebook – if you don’t allow them to impact you, maybe you’ve missed the point.
Disclaimer – Where the word “you” is used, it also means “me”. Read Matthew 7:3-5.
Garth began ministry as an Associate Executive Minister in September 2012. Garth directs the Centre for Leadership Development and gives oversight to the Board of Ministerial Standards & Education. Previously, Garth served in several CABC churches as well as the Board of Ministerial Standards and Education and the Convention Council. Garth and his wife Heather reside in St. Stephen, NB with their two sons, Connor and Kenton.
