On the eve of a new season of pastoral ministry a little over a year ago, I deemed it good to shake the dust off of a church administration book that I was assigned to read during my seminary days. The book is second to none on the topic, in both its comprehensiveness and detail. There is even an entire section devoted to providing templates of all the job descriptions for all the different church staff personnel—from the lead pastor to the church secretary to the worship director to the facilities manager. All…except one.
There was no template for the position of church social media director.
From Facilitation to Globalization
The book, after all, was written before the eruption of social media platforms that so many churches employ today, often for marketing purposes. Yes, marketing purposes. While some churches may use social media exclusively for facilitation and communication amongst members, most now use social media platforms in an effort to gain audiences beyond the boundaries of the local body. Because of the global accessibility of internet resources, churches have realized that the theological material that their ministers produce can reach people in just about any region of the world. Today, there are full-time church staff whose job description is solely devoted to making the church’s—or the individual minister’s—ministry of the Word accessible to people outside of his local congregation. And this is not a bad thing.
In fact, it is a good thing. God does not mandate for biblical exhortation and instruction given to a particular local assembly to remain within the confines of their assembly. In the same way, church congregants were never meant to receive their biblical instruction exclusively from their local ministers. Those churches that insist or imply otherwise are flirting with cult-like behavior, if they haven’t crossed over the line yet. The local church was never meant to be an insular community. Personally, as a Christian and a minister of the gospel, I have benefitted tremendously from the biblical instruction of other ministers outside of my congregation. And the fact that I’m writing this article for an online publications ministry hopefully demonstrates that I’m in no way opposed to reaching a wider audience. In fact, for many of us, it is the church congregants themselves who desire to spread the instruction we gave them to more people. That was the same case with the Samaritan woman when she was transformed (John 4:39-42), and it is true for many of the church’s saints today. And when it happens, it’s wonderful.
The problem arises when the individual ministers themselves become consumed with reaching the wider audience at the expense of personally ministering to the individuals in their congregation. It’s problematic for two reasons. First, it’s a problem of integrity. In the same way that the man who cannot care for the members of his household cannot care for the people in the local church (1 Tim 3:5), so also the man who cannot care for the members of his local church has no business trying to minister to people from other churches. God has commissioned local church pastors specifically to shepherd the flock of God among them, not beyond them (1 Pet 5:2). But second, it’s a problem of irony. The ministers who neglect personally ministering to individuals in order to gain a wider audience are doing the very thing that loses a wider audience.
Most ministers who are interested in the wider audience are ambitious to be watched or listened to by people in the global realm. But when the Bible talks about the wider audience as to what is happening in the realm of God’s redemptive work, it speaks of an audience far beyond the global. The words of 1 Peter 1:12 remind Christians that God’s redemptive work in the lives of humans are things “which angels long to look.” The minister who truly has succeeded in gaining the wider the audience is the one who has managed to grab the attention not just of people on a global realm, but of the angelic hosts in the heavenly realm. Angels, after all, have a status that is, for now, exalted above humans (Psalm 8:5) and are endowed with a power and wisdom that far exceeds that of humans (cf 2 Sam14:20; 2 Chron 32:21).
And what is it that specifically grabs the attention of the myriads of angelic hosts in the heavenly realm with respect to man’s endeavors? The words of Christ recorded in Luke 15:7,10 reveal:
“…I tell you that, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous person who need no repentance…In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:7, 10, emphasis added)
“[O]ne sinner who repents….one sinner who repents.” The repetition cannot be ignored. Angels are not impressed by the physical or intellectual endeavors of humans, all of which they themselves can outdo. Angels who can deliver messages to the four corners of the earth are not impressed when they see a minister’s sermon receive one thousand “like” notifications on YouTube. But God’s work of redemption is exclusive to the human realm. Fallen angels don’t repent. Spiritually dead angels aren’t regenerated. And in the same way that you can have over fifty thousand people in an Olympic stadium longing to witness the athletic feat of a single individual athlete, you can have myriads of angels in the heavenly stadium longing to see God’s redemptive work in one sinner.
A Private Ministry and the Greater Audience
That the myriads of angelic hosts in the heavenly realm rejoice upon the transformation of one sinner speaks of the true dignity the individual soul. The angels understand this, because they watched our Lord Jesus Christ minister to individuals. Watch him teaching Mary at his feet one-on-one in the privacy of her own home, and meeting with Zaccheus likewise in his. Listen to him personally speak to the paralytic to communicate that his sins were forgiven. Look at how he took Peter aside to personally converse with him after his resurrection. Observe how he personally defended the immoral woman who sought his forgiveness, and how he personally affirmed the faith of the bleeding woman. Notice his private and secluded appointment with Nicodemus at night, and likewise with the Samaritan woman at the well. Learn from how he personally summoned Nathaniel, and how he privately encouraged a repentant thief on the cross. Behold him raise the little girl to life with just her parents present, and personally summon a child to himself to demonstrate the value of humility. Read through the gospel accounts and behold our Lord Jesus Christ, who crowds and multitudes were continually following and seeking, taking the time to minister personally and privately to one person at a time, one life at a time, one soul at a time.
Truly He is the Good Shepherd who seeks, saves, and sanctifies each one of his sheep. Individual souls mattered to Christ, and thus must matter to us. Sure, we can reach the masses. Sure, we can reach those beyond our campus walls. But may it never be at the expense of our private and personal ministries where we truly do admonish and teach each person with all wisdom and with sincere tears (cf Col 1:28; Acts 20:31), in order to present each person complete in Christ.
And when we do have that kind of redemptive impact on a single soul, we can rest assured that we will have gained the attention the greater audience.
