Friday Reflection from Today's Devotion

When reading Friday's devotion from ODB (Our Daily Bread) it made me think of this topic, why many churches still view the internet as a bad thing and how they can not understand how people can form friendships with people they have never met. It's amazing how many churches still think of many people that use the web as "very lonely souls." They wonder how can someone befriend someone who they have never met or how can someone "hook up" with someone via internet?

I have to be honest I have been in the blogging community for over a year on Vox and this year I have been on Twitter and late this year I have joined Facebook I have met some very cool people last year and this year. It may be said in the eyes of some pastors that people can form friendships with people they have never met, never seen but what is really sad to me is that people can form stronger bonds with people in a internet community than church members.

It's amazing how we as Christians are sometimes the last to know the true meaning of some mediums...we trash it then after a long, hard look at it we accept it but by that time many in the secular world dismiss what Christians have to say because we many times, "shoot first(with our words) and then ask questions later and it's sad to say but it seems it takes many church community sometimes to adopt and adapt to current times. Not to do as the world does but to use the electronic tools that God has blessed the secular world to use. Yes pornography is one the web and yes we MUST monitor what our youth on the web on a daily basis but many youths use the web for good day in and day out and many adults use the web for good on a daily basis as well. What churches need to ask is "why" people are turning to the web instead of the church instead of bad mouthing the internet community.

One thing that the church community gets wrong time and time again is that people are upfront and "fake" when it comes to communication on the web. One of the best things about being a geek is that we are not afraid to say when we do not know something. If we need help on trying to figure out something whether it's coding, tagging our music, moving files, we throw the question out there and we try and give an answer to the best of our knowledge. We don't go behind someone's back tearing them down, trying to make them feel stupid because we think back to when we were starting off using computers, searching the web. Why can't that same principle be applied in our churches? Have the time when pastors tell their own congregation to meet and greet one another we do not move out of our own aisle to meet someone. Now I know there is no perfect church, never has been never will be but why in the blogging community most times we are quicker to forgive than in the churches?

I think one of the main reasons is that even Christians think we have to paint ourselves as "perfect" in the eyes of others and our Heavenly Father throughout the Bible used many "imperfect" individuals for his work. I think that sometimes this is the reason that many of our youths turn to someone on the web instead of the church because they see sometimes the hypocrisy in our churches and children are not looking for people to be perfect, they are looking for us as adults to be honest. God knows we are flawed, the youth know we are flawed why can't we as adults and Christians allow them to see us flawed at times?

I'm not painting the entire church community still living in the stone age because many church organization now have podcast of their programs, wonderful websites, mp3 downloads of their services (biblegateway, Harvest Online, Crown Financial Ministries, Enduring Truth) and as a said in the beginning no church is perfect but maybe if not only the outside world but members could feel that oneness inside the church than via web more churches would be packed.

I know what keeps me balanced is what an older Christian taught me years ago, "You got to know that man(God) for yourself." and "Never stop learning because once you stop learning you become old." I have not and will not tell Christians to compromise God's word because being a Follower of Christ is the best thing that has ever happened to me and there is nothing in the world I could go back to for me to turn away from God but we as Christians have to realize that just because people chat online does not make them "lonely souls".

I just think many on the web realize our flaws more so than the "church folks".

Be Blessed, Be Safe
and have a Wonderful Day.

Don’t waste your breath on fools,
for they will despise the wisest advice.

~Proverbs 23:9