Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets are very useful tools to connect with other believers and possibly take a stand for Christ. I heard someone call Facebook a digital town hall meeting. If you think about it, town hall meetings are where people share ideas and opinions about certain topics. There are at times when town hall meetings did become a little heated which the same can be said about social media.
I know for me, social media has been a blessing because of the people I connected with over the years and reconnect with friends I have not seen in years. Social media has allowed me to rejoice when I see what God is doing in various churches in other parts of the world and across America. Of course, social media, at times, can bring out the worse in people. Christians are not exempted from this.
There are also times when someone decides they do not want to see your tweets on Twitter and vice versa, so they decide to block you. You might feel it was something you said, which if you are a Christian communicated Biblical truth it is expected because those who walk in darkness do not want to see or hear the truth of the gospel. When someone blocks you on social media because you stand on Biblical truth, don't take it personally. We were warned by Jesus, the world will hate us, but do not take this as persecution. Same thing is true if someone unfriends you on Facebook.
There might be times when you are blocked by other Christians for various reasons. This also includes Christian leaders such as pastors and seminary professors. I discovered I was blocked by a Christian leader (I will not say who because that does not solve anything). I am not sure what the reason for the block was for but I have had disagreements in this leader's theology on secondary issues. Should I reach out to that leader? I could, but I am not obligated since he does not hold a leaders position in my church. If he was an elder in my church, that is a whole other story.
Social media is great, but it is not where one gets their approval from. Sure it is nice to have a nice number of followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook, but you already have approval in Christ. You have your church where you fellowship with like-minded believers and proclaim the gospel in your city. You can edify on social media but it should not replace the church.
When you are blocked on social media, don't beat yourself up about it. If it is a false teacher that blocks you, praise God. If it is a Christian who you have disagreements with, pray for that person. If it is a lost person, pray for him/her and continue to communicate the truth of the gospel.
Thank you for this post. I was trying to google whether someone else had had these experiences. As a finnish person I might be a little more straightfoward and give my honest opinion quicker than people in other countries like US f.ex. i do not see it myself but I know finns can be quite direct. I have always tried to be as polite as possibile and thoughtful with my words. However, I have met a couple of people like this - mostly women - calling themselves preachers and acting nice for a long time but then when I have made just one or two comments (not hostile, just telling I do not agree and verses to explain it. I have only done this if I habe felt it was worth pointing out) suddenly all of their politeness goes out of yhe window! One of them (a male) told me to obey my husband (I dont have one) and learn how to cook or clean (did not even know me or about my skills, it was a veru strange comment) and tried to exorcise me as a demonic being since I "typed too fast" to be a human and believer, apparently! A couple of other preachers were trying to make people to feel guilty about not sending money. One of them even embarassed me infront of other followers saying that "don't worry xxx is a real person but has not signed up and paid for any of my courses and tried to make me feel guilty about not buying her online course.
ReplyDeleteI think if one can't take critisizim how are they called to minister? Blocking, embarrassing people and acting hostile because people don't agree on everything you preach are a sign you are either not ready for preaching or you need to mature in the process or even a sign you need to check if it was you or God who called you to preach.
I think it's a huge red flag! Preachers and ministers should be open to varying opinions and insights on bible and not take too personally if someone agree's on one point in their preaching. If you need to hide people who disagree with you then you really need to check whether your preaching can handle the bible!
Behaviour like that makes a follower feel like christians are not any different than the people in the world.
That's my opinion.
... if someone disagree's on one point in their preaching.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typing mistakes!