Let’s Stop the Arguments and Speculation Online

I am not a pastor. My primary job day by day is teaching about and developing internet marketing strategies for business. When I do this teaching and development, I am always careful to express and remain aware that published media online can have a powerful influence. It can impact your business or ministry for good or bad depending on how it is used.

I am concerned about some pastors and missionaries I find using the internet, especially blogs, to express controversial opinions or have heated debates on the news of the day. This concern is especially acute in the world of Baptist Fundamentalism.

Let’s say for instance that a Pastor or prominent Christian has been indicted by the news media in some sort of scandal. Several sides to the issue are expressed online and then linked by a Christian blog in an attempt to initiate discussion. The blog comment section then becomes a hotbed for speculation and opinionated rhetoric of all sorts.

Most of the comments are from Pastors, missionaries, those in Christian education or other official areas of ministry. Some are definitely on the borderline for communication that is “good to the use of edifying” and many are lengthy and represent a significant commitments of time and thought.

After numerous, vigorous and often tedious exchanges of wit, hyperbole, assumption and other jockeying for ideological-position, pretty much everyone involved begins to believe this dead horse has been sufficiently beaten. Was anything accomplished? Almost without exception, the answer is no.

How does this reflect on the character and ministry of the people involved in the debate? In my experience, almost always poorly.

Businesses often understand a principle that people in ministry don’t get. They know that everything they say is important – especially when it is said in a public and archived forum that is readily accessible to anyone, for any purpose.

If you are the minister who has written lengthy, opinionated rants on the hottest Christian news, what have you potentially expressed  (in a subconscious manner) to readers?

1. You have plenty of time on your hands. – I am astonished at how prolific some full-time ministers are on their own blogs and the blogs of others. I see comments in the morning, more bloviating in the afternoon, a fully researched article at night and sometimes a few Twitter posts as well. When, exactly is the ministry of their local church getting done? If I am thinking this, expect the lost and non-spiritual to do the same.
2. You are sold on your own opinion. – Many seem to be experts on nearly every theological issue and political or sociological debate. What’s more, even a greater number speak authoritatively on subjects with which they are clearly unfamiliar. This is what we call punditry – and it can be a significant turn-off for those seeking legitimate information.
3. You enjoy a good fight. – I will never understand why so many feel the need to argue over such a vast array of subjects in a public format. If the article makes us mad, we should think very long and very hard about responding, especially in a public forum.
4. You are willing to muddy the waters. – Speculation is a huge problem online. Let’s face it, most of us are neither trained journalists, nor have the time to track down the facts of the matter we are about to sound off on. If you have any inclination whatsoever to say “I don’t know all the facts, but…” – just don’t do it! This is not Godly behavior and could end up being a disaster.
5. You can be quoted at any time, for any purpose. – If you write something online that is wrong, incorrect, unbiblical or just flawed in some way, expect it to come back to bite you. Visitors to your church may see it, enemies may use it against you and when a public controversy arises, it may be quoted in the newspaper.

You may think this post is unnecessary, as most full-time ministers will obviously understand these dangers and avoid them altogether. Well…if you believe that you probably don’t read very many popular Christian blogs. This is a serious and very troubling problem that is getting worse, not better. If you are interested in some examples, please let me know and I will send them to you in private.

Our testimonies are at stake in these matters. My advice to blogging Pastors and other full-time ministers is to either disallow comments or regulate them vigorously and strictly. Publishing is serious business. It can cost a for-profit company sales and market-share (I have seen it), but it can cost a Christian ministry something far more costly: a good reputation.

Let’s think before we click, folks.

The Lost Content Dilemma

When you produce great content for a website, ideally, you would like the largest number of people possible to consume it. If you promote it on services like Facebook or Twitter upon release and it doesn’t find its way to the audience (for one reason or another) that would have appreciated it, there is a good chance it will be sitting in your archives, unread, for a long time.

I was thinking through this problem as I surfed the archives of a really great designer. Some of his older content was fantastic, but I had to do some serious searching to find it. Not a great thing.

Our best, most effective internet media should be front and center when someone visits our website. That doesn’t negate the need for regular, new articles, which are also very important. The thing we don’t want is the really great stuff our readers “would” care about, if only they could find it.

I’m still thinking through all the potential ways of making this happen without cluttering up a page with more links. If you have any brilliant ideas or examples you would like to pass along, let me know. I think this is of particular interest to those of us who are ministering full-time and blogging rather casually or – when we have a moment. It is crucial that the articles and other items on which we have spent our valuable ministry time are utilized, enjoyed and applied.

Quality Clicks 12-12-09

Sharper Iron is one of the more popular fundamental blogs. I have not always been a fan of their design, but believe they have taken great strides with a recent re-launch. I like the “In case you missed it…” links at the top and find a number of great articles site-wide.