Our New Electronic Age

One of my fellow Elders just e mailed me a link to a story about a church that now allows twittering during service. Really, Twittering? You can read it yourselves at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30970139//

This got me thinking that perhaps we have gone too far. I can agree with using all the tools available to us but this may be over the top. As the Pastor said its not like I can say double click here to be saved or click here to have communion sent to your desk top, etc.

This same Elder and I got to thinking, what kind of message we could expect during a sermon? "Didn’t you preach on this last year"? "Isn’t it a bit too cold or too warm in here"? I used to preach in a bi-racial church where the "Amen’s" and "Praise the Lords" were a sense of encouragement and urged me on in the word. I dare say there is no encouragement in something twittered behind me that I can not see or hear.

On one of the forums I participate on, a newly hired pastor let us know that he was an assistant pastor. The senior pastor had just left some months back (under good conditions) and he was made interim senior pastor. After a couple of months the congregation voted to remove the "interim" from his title. He got resounding congratulations and prayers of encouragement. One Pastor however made a statement that got to me. "It’s nice to see a congregation test driving a minister before they hire him". Test driving ministers? That got me to thinking again. By now you probably see I think way too much about such things.

What if we instituted a system like "Pastor fax" for ministers we hire? Like Car Fax where all the previous repairs and accidents are listed so the buyer has an informed history before buying. Perhaps his doctrinal stand was a bit skewed and had to go into an authorized dealership for realignment or had some major body work done. Maybe we could classify pastors as we do cars? Those who graduated in the 60's’ rather then senior ministers, could be called muscle ministers. Those older ministers could be called classics. The Gen X ministers could be called hybrids and those smaller new church plants who can’t afford a minister yet and have sermons pod cast into the assembly can be the new electric ministers? This may catch on.

Don’t get me wrong I love the new tools available to us in ministry but we should be careful not to remove the human factor. Community and personal relationships are very important. Right before each time I preach I ask the assembly to go and greet any visitors or to greet someone they had not spoken to that day yet. Watching this interaction is a blessing for me in the preparation to speak Gods word. I cannot see the same blessing if they all remained in their seats twittering hello’s to each other.

John