Saturday, September 05, 2009

Doing Mission Work in the Sixth Most Populus Country in the World - Facebook!

That's right - If Facebook was a country, it would be the sixth largest country by population on earth! It seems that as time goes by, the Lord provides more and more ways for His people to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel." The question is: what are we doing with these opportunities? Are we using these opportunities to take quizzes like "what color Crayola crayon are you" or "what Harry Potter character are you most like"? Do we show that we are more concerned about politics than righteousness? Jesus said:

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man" (Matthew 15:18).

I would suggest that the things that proceed out of our fingertips do the same thing. We often times reveal where are hearts are by the things we talk about, text about and post online. We have a great opportunity online to share our faith, encourage our brothers and sisters and reach out show what is really important to us. I would like to suggest a few things we can do as individuals to use these online opportunities to their fullest.

  • Practice the presence of the Lord - Whether we are in a physical situation or a 'cyber" situation, we need to remember that the Lord is there with us. Would he approve of the quizzes we take, the comments we make and the language we use in Facebook?
  • Become an encourager - The apostles called a man named Joseph, Barnabas, his name meant "Son of Encouragement" (Acts 4:36). We need to have a heart like Barnabas must have. Facebook gives us all a chance to encourage others when things aren't going so well for them. Start a prayer group to encourage someone struggling with health issues or just send some electronic smiles and hugs to someone who needs them. You could really make someone's day and demonstrate the love of Christ in your life.
  • Share a Scripture - We all have favorite Scriptures that lift us up, make us think, or just touch us in one way or another. Why not pass them along. Type your favorite verse as your status early in the day and meditate on it as the day goes on. You can help others think spiritually by sharing and remind yourself of them blessings of God at the same time.
  • Post about what you are studying - As you do your personal Bible study, share what you are reading. We often see things in our studies that are new and fresh to us - share those things - maybe they will be new ad fresh to others as well.

If you work at it, I imagine you can add to this list easily. The trick is to think about it - pray about it - practice it! We have an opportunity through tools like Facebook and Twitter to teach people about Jesus, to share our faith in a new and exciting way. Let's use the opportunity well.


3 comments:

James T Wood said...

I've found it to be the most helpful to ask questions. I've asked about the meaning of life and the problem of pain. As I study through scripture, questions naturally arise. Instead of supplying the answers, I engage in questioning with people. It has led to some great conversations in the FaceBook-everse.

J. Michael Hite said...

Great suggestion James...we need to get people thinking. The Bible will provide the answers.

Mike Green said...

As usual, you're spot on with your thoughts. Facebook allows you to see both directly and indirectly the lifestyle choices and worldview of the people you are friends with. A pertinant question is, "What are we doing with these opportunities?" Ministry being defined as "serving others," Facebook and other social networking tools give rise to a whole new class of "ministers."