How do we share our faith online?
Wow, this was an interesting revelation for me. I hadn’t really thought about this until I was asked to write on this: How do we share our faith online? At first I thought the internet provides anonymity to people and it is difficult to build the type of relationships that we do at the Bean. But then I realized we can touch people and build relationships wherever we work and play – and in today’s instant access internet environment we can touch people’s lives.
I remember a year or so ago Roger Mohrlang (yes, Mark’s Dad) sent me an email and asked if I would be willing to send a student of his an email and talk about the opportunities in Police work. Roger knew my background and I told him I would be glad to send him an email. The student and I sent several emails back and forth – and one day our emails started to change. No longer was he talking about the facts of his school experience and police work.
We started to talk about relationships and core values. He wanted to know how I ended up in Police work. He posed the question – “I do wonder one thing though, when you worked for the jails and as a Police Chief and saw all those different things, good and bad, how did you mentally get through it all? Was religion and the church that got you through it, or was it something more?”
Needless to say this opened the opportunity to share my faith, my story, and my relationship with Jesus Christ.
When I look back on this encounter I can see that God uses me in building relationships online just the same as at the Bean. There are several keys:
Be available to people.
Spend time in honest dialog.
Let the person know you are willing to talk about things that matter.
I think this all goes back to our mission statement for Sanctuary: Making Space for God in our hearts, our relationships, and in our world. At the Bean I could see daily how God used me to come along side people in their walk. The same thing happens online. When I ask students questions I can frame the question from a factual perspective, or I can ask an opinion based question. We can talk about their core beliefs and how their beliefs affect their views about social justice. What goes into the ethics of their decisions? Needless to say some of these discussions can be quite interesting.
With today’s social media the connected generation have all sorts of ways to connect with people. Have you taken a look at how you come across on your Facebook account? What do your pictures show? Are you receptive to talking with people about things that matter? Do you demonstrate that you are Making Space for God in your heart? In your Relationships? And in your World?
Bob Jackson
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