American culture is hurt by the Church. The long-standing history of the Church and the pluralistic view of American society has brought about damage to the Church’s reputation in society (Willard, 1992). This poor standing by many in America hinders the engagement with many potential disciples by ministers, especially on social media. This separation is due to ethical scandals long-reaching into a culture whose processes of rebuilding a damaged image can be cumbersome (Sims, 2009). What can a minister do on social media with this understanding?

Cultural change must occur. This change is not one within the American culture but is one within the Church herself (well, at least on this point, as America can do plenty of changing in other areas). Although there are many mediums in which the Church engages with cultures, it is the new social technologies that can be, and are, used to build virtuous behavior in others (Brusoni & Vaccaro, 2017).

Social media strategies for churches most focus on building strong discipleship strategies, a culture of ethical accountability, and cultural awareness on social media.

The ethical position of an organization is a unique way in which it differentiates itself from its competitors. Church ministerial strategies must recognize that their ethical positioning will be the standard by which they are measured. Technologies in the social media sector are one way in which the delivery of these ethical values can be spread. Thus, this writing seeks to convey the need for churches to become pillars of high ethical accountability and to share these ethical standards with people on social media in attempts to disciple the lost in America today.

Discipleship Strategies

Discipleship within the Church is based on patterns built by God. On His time on earth, Jesus initiated His discipleship with people through a broadcasted proclamation, a mentoring courtship, and personalized calling (Crow, 2008). Through these three stages, Jesus commits Himself to a few people, instead of many. He works on a holistic model and in one-on-one and small group interactions, being relational, intentional, and informational (Huizing, 2011b). He would provide His disciples assignments which encouraged the multiplication of the discipleship process, growing His effect on others. This discipleship process was not only the main form of follower recruitment but of their development as well.

In the discipleship strategies built by those ministering in the Church today, leaders would do well to follow Christ’s model for discipleship success. In such model, every Christian is given the right and ability to lead by the power of the Holy Spirit’s movement within their lives and proclaim the gospel (Huizing, 2011a), with worship as the foundation of spiritual discipline and development (Vos, 2012). Such worship must be founded on the calling, mission, and servant nature of the disciple (Huizing, 2011b). The training of the disciple must be praxis-based, acting on knowledge obtained in everyday life. The one discipling must recognize that they too are disciples of Christ alongside the one whom they disciple.

In Christian leadership development, the disciple must become the one discipling others. Inclusive leadership is essential for the development of disciples in Christian ministry—learn more about inclusive leadership. With discipleship being the method of leadership development, spiritual formation is the crux of the Christian leader’s strategy for developing disciples. Understanding one’s own spiritual formation is a fundamental part of Christian ministry (Vos, 2012). Recognizing that God is working uniquely in each of His people, the foundation of Christian-based inclusive leadership is the platform by which the disciple is allowed to become their best person.

Creating Ethical Accountability

Being a Christ-follower, and not just doing the works of Christ, is the answer to unethical practices by those within the Church today. Peter writes that it is the knowledge of Christ that keeps Christians from ineffective lives (c.f. 2 Peter 1:3-8). This statement by Peter shows that the Bible gives teachings on how to have a life of godliness through knowledge (Vos, 2012).

Therefore, to create ethical accountability within a new church, ministerial leaders must incorporate learning of biblical ethics, the knowledge of Christ as found in the scriptures, and the understanding of the cost and pains of sin. Ethical accountability will be built by the church’s commitment to knowing one another, uniting the body of Christ. A community focused on one another will bring about discussion on the needs of such community and the ethical values required for livelihood in it.

Success in ministry requires a community’s life-eudicot to be directed by scripture and continually discussed and reviewed in a living, revolving code of ethics document. This living document is transparent and accessible by all people, the foundational requirements for the development of accountability in the Church. A living code of ethics document relies on the church’s processes, its leaders, their decisions, and the culture of the community (Verbose Gerard, Forshey, Harding, & Miller, 2007).

With these pieces of the community being ingrained in writing, ethical accountability will be directed from the top-down and the bottom-up, from the neighbor to the elder in the room. It is a community that shares power and accountability with its members that will develop accountability for all involved.

Social Media Strategies for Churches – Developing Cultural Awareness

When sharing the gospel, in any context, Christians must be aware of the news it provides. To believers, the gospel is good news, and to unbelievers, it is bad news, the ‘aroma of death’ as Paul mentions in scripture (c.f. 2 Cor 2:16). In social media conversations, ministerial leaders must recognize this sense of death by unbelievers—awareness of the nature of the internet is the first step of engaging within it (Shirley, 2017).

The distancing factors involved in such internet dialogue can cause miscommunication and more harm between people in their relations (Sinai, 2014). As well, ministers on social media must also recognize that these misunderstandings through communication hinder the sharing of the good news to those who seek it (Dunaetz, 2019). Knowing that social media can be a place of misunderstandings means cultural awareness is essential in online discipleship.

Social media can help churches outreach into their communities. This outreach includes building disciples and serving others while building program support (Lee, 2018; Shirley, 2017). On the other hand, social networking can come as a double-edged sword, perpetuating potentially devastating results to churches who are not wise in their online usage. Ministerial leaders operate today in a global, highly-connected world, making them global leaders and also susceptible to massive global errors (Dean, 2009). Being aware of the potential impact, both positive and negative, is key in being intentional like Christ was.

As global leaders, ministers must have the ability to understand other cultures and build strong, positive relations with those to whom they communicate (Javidan, Dorfman, Luque, & House, 2006). These ministers must possess the psychological ability of cultural adaptability to engage with people in many cultures at one time. In such scenarios, displaying absolute rightness is inadequate and limiting to the engagement of a leader’s ministry (de Villiers, 2018). Instead, ministers must seek to share truth in love, sharing mercy and God’s Word through fellowship online. With so much hostility on social media today, being that difference, that calm in the storm, is how people will notice Christ in your digital ministry.

Conclusion

Social networks are like the Church, it takes a community of people discussing life to make change occur with those within and outside of such communities. Ministers are the charge in this change. Social media must be used with wisdom and guidance by the Holy Spirit. What is required is intentional discipleship strategies that mirror Christ, a culture of ethical accountability, and cultural awareness on social media.

 

References
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de Villiers, D. E. (2018). Christian ethics and secularisation: Business as usual?. Verbum et Ecclesia, 39(1), 1-9.

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Willard, D. (1992). Being a Christian in a pluralistic society. The Student. 1-3.

Verbos, A., Gerard, J., Forshey, P., Harding, C., & Miller, J. (2007). The positive ethical organization: Enacting a living code of ethics and ethical organizational identity. Journal of Business Ethics, 76(1), 17-33.

Vos, B. (2012). The spiritual disciplines and Christian ministry. Evangelical Review of Theology, 36(2), 100-114.