A friend playfully nudged me recently about the lack of blog posts I’ve written.

It’s true, I had shut down the blog for a while. 

On the one hand, it was due to a few major life transitions (4th baby and a move to a new city), but on the other hand I needed time to re-think what it meant to be a local church pastor who uses social media (and a blog) during these incredibly divisive days. 

It’s challenging enough for pastors to lead their churches and ministries right now. The last thing pastors need is the loss of credibility due to unwise engagement with social media.

In this blog post, I share a few social media mistakes pastors can make during divisive times and conclude with a few practical exhortations.

Here are 5 social media mistakes in no particular order:

1. Be a “Prophetic Voice” Without a Pastoral Posture 

This is when the pastor “tells it like it is” without pastoral care and sensitivity. This pastor is great at giving the facts but in a way that corners hearers to cower in guilt or self-righteously pour gasoline on the conversation now turned debate. 

Yes, truth should be spoken. But Paul admonished the Ephesians to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). The goal of truth should not be to only inform but to form into Christlikeness.

If “the mode is the message” this method communicates unhelpful excess. If King David could find God’s rod and staff (which could be used for discipline) comforting, our people should find our articulations pastoral in prophetic sting. 

2. Offend Only Some People In The Congregation

While the context of every congregation varies, it’s unlikely that every person in your church holds to the exact same views on every single issue. And while every pastor acknowledges this, we can get swept up into re-tweeting, posting, and liking the things which only offends a certain portion of our congregation. 

This is problematic - not because it’s offensive, but because it’s not offensive enough. Biblical spirituality is an equal opportunity offender. The gospel kindly offends all worldviews, cultural assumptions, and political leanings because it exposes the futility in placing our full hope in anything else other than Jesus while extending a Christ-ward invitation.

Therefore, when we leverage our social media to speak truth, we should be gospel flavored so as to offend all rather than flavoring our perspectives with the seasoning of our culture or congregation majority.

3. Trap Yourself By Anchoring In a Lesser Authority 

When a pastor regularly re-posts or quotes the views of a popular cultural voice or organization, the pastor can gain immediate approval and applause from congregation members who also adhere to said voices. But a two-fold problem may emerge depending on where the perspective is coming from:

1) The pastor has now elevated these voices in the lives of the congregation as a voice of authority. And some will not be able to chew the meat (the good) and spit out the bones (the bad). 2) The pastor has now pigeon-holed himself. To turn to another perspective, voice, or to share the source less will begin to look like a flip-flop in conviction. 

I believe pastors can mitigate this by anchoring their views with Scripture and the gospel. Isn’t the Bible our highest authority? Could anything motivate more than the gospel of Jesus Christ?  

4. Believe You Can Stop Being a Pastor on Social Media

I was talking to a pastor many years ago about the tension of creating content and our role in the local church and he said something to the effect of, “I should be able to say whatever I want in public. My church should not be able to censor me.” While I understand the heart, I think it’s a mistake to think we can take off our pastor titles just because we’re on social media. People don’t see us differently when we’re on Instagram or Twitter.

So (as an example), it’s contradictory to have a philosophy of not preaching on politics from the pulpit, but to engage politically on Facebook. When you go up to preach that Sunday, people will be thinking about your likes, posts, and comments. And while everyone can go back and check Facebook to see what you wrote, no one will go back and re-listen to your sermons (which is a sobering thought about the makeup of our influence).

I heard great advice that we should imagine our social media activity being broadcast on the screen of our church’s worship screen. I think that’s a helpful test.

5. Live For a Digital Audience More Than Your Congregation

While I don’t think this is the case for the majority of pastors, God does uniquely gift some pastors to serve a local congregation and the wider body of Christ as social media influencers. But no matter the gifting, if someone wears the title of “pastor” their time should be invested more towards the people of their congregation than a digital audience. 

In other words, there is something off if a pastor is regularly fuming or pumped about Christian Twitter wars but doesn’t feel the same sense of burden or excitement for what’s happening in the actual lives of the congregation. It’s a sign that energy is being poured into the wrong thing. Sure, the pastor can keep pouring the lion’s share of energy into tweeting and blogging, but not by living off the tithe money of God’s people. 

Pastors can (and probably need) to engage social media. This needs to happen in appropriate proportion, giving first attention to “the household of God” and then to the social media “outsiders.”

Some Practical Thoughts:

1. If you’re processing certain things, it’s best to process them personally and in the context of community, rather than publicly. It’s okay to be silent on social media. You’re not losing your “prophetic witness.” You may be saving it.

2. Write as if you’d be sending it directly to someone in your congregation who holds to a different view. Would they feel understood and honored?

3. Write as if you’d be sending it directly to your supervisor, senior pastor, or elder board for approval. Would they feel comfortable with what you’re saying on their behalf for a digital world?

4. If you respond on Twitter or someone challenges your idea, respond as if the newest Christian at your church is going to be discipled in how to conduct online conversations from your response. Oh, and they are (along with the rest of your church).

5. Pray for wisdom every single day.

Leader’s set the pace for the rest. Pastors, let’s set the pace for our people in how we leverage our social media accounts for good, and not harm, during these divisive days.