{"id":32486,"date":"2022-09-10T16:11:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-not-to-use-texting-in-ministry\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:11:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:11:27","slug":"how-not-to-use-texting-in-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-not-to-use-texting-in-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not To Use Texting in Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Luke Holmes<\/em><\/p>\n

On December 3, 1992, Neil Papworth fired up his computer, dialed on to the still-new internet, and typed \u201cMerry Christmas.\u201d In a feat of engineering that had never happened before, Papworth sent that message to the cellphone of Richard Jarvis\u2014and text messaging was born.<\/p>\n

It took a while for texting to catch on. With the arrival of the smartphone, however, the number of text messages ballooned. Messaging is easy, simple, and now ubiquitous.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder many people have found ways to use text messages as part of the church ministry. It\u2019s a quicker, easier version of the \u201cphone tree\u201d system.<\/p>\n

Churches use text messages to allow people to ask questions of the pastor, to give to the church, and to quickly disseminate information to large groups of people. Pastors can share Bible verses, encourage someone who is struggling, or remind the congregation of upcoming events.<\/p>\n

There are many advantages to including texting as part of a church\u2019s communication efforts. What used to be at least a five-minute phone call is now a 10-second text.<\/p>\n

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Texting has become so easy that some people prefer to use it for everything. Some would rather text than talk on the phone, especially us introverts.<\/p>\n

Texting has many uses in ministry, but it lacks the face-to-face element that some situations require. Emojis don\u2019t always cut it. There are some situations in which you shouldn\u2019t text as part of your ministry.<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t use texting to have difficult conversations.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

You know you need to talk to certain people about letting go of a ministry, about their attitudes at meetings, or about sin you have seen in their lives. It\u2019s tempting to think texting is an easy way to have those conversations, but you should never put your ease over someone else\u2019s feelings.<\/p>\n

Even if you know people well, it\u2019s incredibly difficult to read emotional cues through texts. You are better off having those hard conversations in person. You can hug them, tell them you love them, and be the hands and feet of Christ for them.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t use texting to fight back.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

As a church leader, you might get combative texts asking why an announcement didn\u2019t get made, why the budget was changed, or a thousand other things people get upset over.<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sometimes people text things that are just plain mean because it\u2019s easier to say something that way than to someone\u2019s face. It\u2019s tempting to text back and forth with them, maybe genuinely trying to understand or to snipe back at them the way they did at you. But texting is no substitute for face-to-face communication in these situations.<\/p>\n

You will almost always lose these texting battles, often eating time away from your family or other things you need to focus on. A simple \u201cI would love to talk about this with you in person. When can we meet?\u201d can save you hours of heartache and stress.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t use texting to say something you wouldn\u2019t say aloud.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The past few years have been full of people getting in trouble or losing their jobs over things they say in texts, emails, and other electronic means. If you are not willing for something to be read aloud, you should not put it in writing.<\/p>\n

Hopefully you have trusted friends who would never share your personal, off-the-cuff remarks, but we can\u2019t trust everyone. As leaders of the church we are held to a higher standard, and all of our communication should reflect that.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the incarnation of Christ gives us an example to follow. Jesus had some hard conversations with Peter. I can\u2019t imagine him texting Peter to \u201cfeed my sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n

We should use every means possible to lead our churches to share the good news of Jesus in our communities and neighborhoods. But we must also use the discernment God has given us to know when a tool can help or hurt that cause.<\/p>\n

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Luke Holmes<\/h2>\n

@lukeholmes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Luke is husband to Sara, father to three young girls, and, since 2011, pastor at First Baptist Church Tishomingo, Oklahoma. He\u2019s a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and can be found online at\u00a0LukeAHolmes.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n