Did you ever wonder what it was like to be a member of one of the first churches back in the first century?
Peter and Paul and friends had to figure everything out —
- how to get along with each other (many were still Jews and some were new to both Judaism and Christianity),
- how to welcome Gentiles into a religion that had shunned outsiders,
- how to deal with different customs and languages, and
- and grasping the idea that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
They were wrestling with big questions and new concepts. Was Jesus the Messiah?
Hierarchies were created because that’s all the people in the first century knew. Governments were hierarchical. Tribes were hierarchical. Even families had a top down structure.
The church is at that stage again. Our hand is on a huge restart button. What will happen if we press it?
This time hierarchical thinking is waning. The internet puts equal power in every hand. Every man, woman, and child with a cellphone has more power than an old-fashioned king or even a national news network 40 years ago.
There has never been more potential—if we learn to use the power of the internet.
Here’s a good place to start.
Remember the WWJD movement. People wore bracelets to remind them in times of uncertainty to ask one question. What Would Jesus Do?
Let’s tweak that question a bit.
Let’s ask, “What would Peter and Paul do?”
Peter and Paul were working as itinerant pastors, traveling from city to city, giving advice and putting out fires when trouble was brewing. Much of the church leadership was in the hands of the laity.
The church is going to go through some of the same re-birthing pains. Lay leadership will once again be crucial to a successful Social Media ministry.
Many of the answers will be affected by how we use Social Media.
For a look at just how Social Media will be the driving source in ministry from now until something even better develops, download our Guide to Modern Ministry? What would Paul and Peter do?
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