Pastoring a Virtual Flock
Five Ways to Protect Electronic Sheep and Minister Online
By Jason Illian

When asked about the colors available in the Model T, Henry Ford, the founder of Ford automobiles, answered, “You can have it in any color you want—as long as it’s in black.”  Unfortunately, many churches in the U.S. take a similar approach.  If you want to be part of the Body, you can use whatever gifts God has given you—as long as you exercise them on Sunday morning.  

 

But this stagnant, one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work anymore (and I’m not sure that it ever did).  The challenges of being a Believer in this glamorized, sex-saturated, Blackberry-enabled, Internet world are enormous, and many people are desperately looking for help.  Even though the church should be a primary change agent, on many occasions it is not.  And if we are being honest with ourselves, we are falling significantly behind when it comes to embracing new ways to touch people’s lives with the love of Christ.

 

Regardless of the medium, technology is not inherently good or bad.  It is simply an accelerator that allows people to communicate, search, and educate one another at increasingly faster speeds.  The more beneficial the tool is at good communication, the more destructive it can be at harmful communication.  The Internet, for example, is wonderful tool when researching sea otters or finding the closest Papa John’s pizza.  However, it is also the destructive force behind the rapid spread of pornography and the insidiousness of racism.

 

No matter how you slice it, your job as a shepherd has become increasingly more difficult as the pasture has extended virtually.  But the fight is not in vain—the goal is not impossible.  In fact, all the tools and strategies that have caused your flock to scatter can be used to gather them back up again.  Let’s look at the five key strategies for protecting your sheep and ministering online:

 

1. SHATTER the mindset – If the doors of your church are locked during the week, I’m talking to you.  If your entire team works the traditional 8-to-5 schedule, I’m talking to you.  If the only option for someone calling after hours or on the weekend is a list of Sunday morning service times, I’m talking to you.

 

What many of us have forgotten is that we are called to BE the church, not just GO to church.  While there is nothing inherently wrong with the “put up a building and let the people come” mentality, that doesn’t make it the best or the only option.  As leaders, we are called to provide and protect our flocks.  How we do this will change depending on their needs and the environment.   A shepherd’s staff works just fine if the wolf approaches from across the pasture—a firewall and a filter work even better if he tries to come in over the Internet.

 

According to Barna research, the number of people physically attending church on Sunday mornings will drop to 1/3^rd of its current level by 2025.  Don’t believe me?  Poll your young adults and baby boomers and you’ll find that very few measure their level of dedication on church attendance.   Instead of talking about God at the Tuesday night Bible study, they are chatting about Him over lattes at Starbucks.  Instead of worshipping the Savior in the pews, they are downloading Him to their iPods.  They are doing whatever it takes to get closer to God, even if it seems unorthodox.

 

There will always be a need for Believers to get together and break bread, but how and when we get together is changing.  To reach the next generation, we need to shatter the old mindset that traditional services are enough.  As Paul eloquently mentions, we need to “become all things to all men, that by all means [we] may save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

 

2. EMBRACE early adopters – In the 1980s, Betamax and VHS video were battling it out for supremacy.  Eventually, VHS won.  Today, there is similar battle taking place between DVD formats, Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD.  The winner will be the kingpin in the high-definition environment, and in essence, will determine the regulations surrounding quality standards.  Unfortunately, the deciding factor may be the porn industry.

 

Generating an estimated $57 billion in annual revenue worldwide, the pornography industry is a force to be reckoned with.  Unregulated and opportunistic, adult companies move quickly to adopt new technologies.   Although many people don’t know it, one of the primary reasons the porn industry is backing the Blu-ray Disc is because of its “interactive” qualities and its compatibility with the PlayStation 3.  Yes, the gaming unit that most kids use.  High-definition porn movies will play on the same box your 14-year old uses to play Super Mario Brothers.

 

The saddest part of this whole scenario is that the Church should have been the deciding factor in this debate.  But we’ve said nothing.  We’ve done nothing.  And we’re not equipped to make an educated stand.  We are often the last group to embrace any technology, which sends the message that we are not a thriving, living organism, but a bureaucratic, lethargic institution.  The porn industry and the church have something in common—we both have a message.  And right now, it is obvious which group is more passionate about spreading their message.

 

If Christians truly want to have an impact in a rapidly changing world, we have to become early adopters when it comes to technology.  Whether it is mobile devices, software applications, or online communities, these technologies are critical in sharing the news.  And if it is not our Good News, it will be porn’s bad news.

 

3. REDEFINE community – Why is MySpace so popular?  Because it encourages individuals to express their beliefs in the midst of community.  It allows people to connect with one another in hopes of building relationships and sharing dreams.  Sound familiar?  It should.  The premise is a lot like Christianity.

 

Of course, we’ve all seen what happens when MySpace runs amuck.  Fifteen-year old girls get raped and 16-year old guys plot terror.  But most of the trouble we’ve witnessed isn’t because of the platform, but because of the user.  Users can lie, manipulate, and deceive and some do.  But the platform itself is astonishing.   That is why MySpace is the most visited website in the world with over 185 million users.

 

MySpace has redefined community—the Church needs to redefine community as well.  It’s not that we have to replace Sunday morning church services or Wednesday night Bible studies, but we do have to complement them with social networks, chat rooms, and video conferencing.  We need to text message prayer requests to one another and instant message pastors for scriptural references.  We need to build vibrant online communities that act as virtual sanctuaries and focal points.  In other words, we need to cultivate new ground and meet people where they are.

 

For too long, we’ve narrowly defined community as those neighbors who sit next to us at church.  We need to redefine it to include those neighbors who surf, chat, and blog with us as well.  Remember, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” (Acts 17:24)  Our God knows no walls.

 

4. FAIL forward – One of the things that is prominent throughout scripture but absent in most churches is failure.  Men of great faith failed spectacularly.  Abraham lied about his wife, Moses struck the rock, David took Bathsheba, Peter saw the waves, Paul persecuted the church…I could go on and on.  Men and women who heard from the Lord leapt out in faith, and in their attempt to grasp holiness and eternity, often failed. 

 

But in the modern church, we do everything in our power to guard against failure.  Why?  Because we hold tight to the false belief that our perfection brings people to Christ when the opposite is really true.  Only when we are empty, vulnerable, and openly imperfect will Christ’s power work through us.  Only then do broken people relate to our brokenness and long for the Savior who makes everything whole.  In fact, when our primary motive is to limit failure, we silence the voice of God.  Like Moses and the Red Sea and Jesus and the Cross, God will call us to the impossible so that He can show up and show out. 

 

From what I’ve experienced, most modern churches haven’t changed much in the last 20 years, even the ones we consider “seeker friendly.”  There is no genius in swapping traditional music for contemporary, slides for video screens, or water bottles for cappuccino bars.  Those are cosmetic changes.  What we need are Believers to risk humiliating failure and find a way to reach inner city kids through an interactive website that leverages video blogging.  We need a team of rabid grandmothers to dive into Second Life and start ministering to those avatars who promote sex and drugs.  We need a technologically inexperienced but passionate team of volunteers to arm themselves with cell phones and be on-call 24/7 to anyone who needs to talk.

 

In other words, we need to fail forward; we need to fail in such a way that we are maximizing our efforts and relying on God’s providence to change lives.  We will never attain the excellence that God desires if we continue to operate with the fear of failure instead of the fear of God.

 

5. RECRUIT sheepdogs – If you are shepherd, you need at least one good sheepdog.  Your job is to protect and monitor the sheep.  You don’t have the time, or the skills, to chase the wolves through electronic valleys or over cellular hills.

 

Because most churches don’t have the budget to hire a team of technological experts, I recommend that you leverage the knowledge you have in your congregation.  Most churches have at least one gentleman (or lady) who has a strong grasp on technology.  Figure out a way to get him/her involved and make the Internet a priority.  Just like you would take significant steps to purchase a new building or remodel the current one, take uninterrupted time to explore how you can grow through online avenues.  Physical structures are expensive and time-consuming—virtual chat rooms and social networks are relatively cheap and can touch many more lives in a fraction of the time.

 

One good sheepdog can run off a hundred ravenous wolves.  Besides, it is always nice to have a loyal companion when searching for strays.

 

Regardless of how advanced our technological tools become, nothing can replace real face-to-face communication.  The best way to touch a person’s heart is still to stand in front of him and look him in the eye.  But all of these new tools should complement our interactions and support the people with whom we minister.

 

Henry Ford built Model T’s on the assembly line because he wanted all of them to be exactly the same.  Your flock is not all exactly the same.  Take the time to develop the resources that will help each of them know God intimately and unlock their spiritual gifts.

 

Jason is the author of the book, “MySpace MyKids:  A Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Kids and Navigating MySpace.com” and CEO of MySpaceMyKids.com.  Jason has been writing and speaking on relationship and technological changes for the last decade.  He and his wife, Alisha, live in Dallas, TX, and attend Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, where the senior pastor is Dr. Tony Evans.