I have only been blogging for a little over a year, so please take any advice given here with that in mind. There are some great pioneers in using the internet to spread the Gospel. I am only riding on their able coattails.
But what I have found is that when it comes to evangelizing online, one size does not fit all. There are different approaches that should be taken in different venues and there are different methods of giving and acquiring information.
BLOGGING
I have found blogging to be like giving a sermon. Thoughts are collected in advance and then presented to the community. There isn’t a lot of interruption or questions. Blogging reflections and essays forces you to collect your thoughts into some kind of coherent unity so that you can express yourself effectively. And just as long sermons tend to upset more than they uplift, long blog articles do, too. Blogging is not like writing a book. You must be concise and clear in a few paragraphs or you will lose the interest of the audience.
MESSAGE BOARDS and COMMENTS
I remember when I first started delving into online evangelization. I would frequent one particular blog where a horribly nasty person would constantly goad everyone in the comments section. I tried engaging this person is reasoned debate and conversation. Others on the board told me I was wasting my time. In my arrogance I thought that all that had been lacking was the keen insight that I was now providing. And of course, I was the idiot.
Here is the problem with trying to debate someone on a message board, comment section, twitter replies, etc.: It is too public. Sometimes we fight, not because we know we are right, but because we want to save face. It is very human to not want to admit you are wrong. In these forums, even if the most reasoned argument is presented, the will and human pride can blunt their effect.
Also, the sense of anonymity can give people freedom to be horribly vulgar.
The best use of these venues is, instead, encouragement. If you’ve read something that you enjoy, let the writer know so that they can continue to build up the Kingdom. Sharing your own reflections and insights can show the author how their work is evocative or provocative.
But what if you do want to have a deep conversation with someone who does not believe?
Comparatively, email is now the slowest of the digital communication mediums. But it can still be the most effective. In emails, you can take your time in writing back and forth with another. And best of all, it can be private. Here, you are free to make mistakes and admit it. Here, you don’t have to worry about impressing anyone else. Here, you can carry on a true dialogue with someone in a personal way.
I have found that there are some questions that students very much want to ask, but would not dare in the classroom. They only ask in private. The same applies to using email. I sometimes get some of the most profound questions from former students in college asking honestly about issues of faith.
As with message boards and comments, Twitter is not really the place to have rational debate. It can be a very ugly place. Don’t believe me? Check out the replies people make to Pope Francis’ tweets (be warned, many are NSFW). When I look at those, I do not get angry. Instead, I take a moment and I pray for each person who attacks him. Twitter lets you target your prayers on the poor souls who are screaming out their emptiness without God.
Twitter can be a great source of inspiration. Because you get to choose who you follow, you can fill your twitter feed with inspirational words from the pope, the saints, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Scripture, etc. Then you can pass them along. The text limitation forces you to be pithy and to the point.
Twitter can also be a fast source for breaking information. When Pope Francis was elected, I didn’t have to look him up on the internet. Within minutes I got his entire biography through my twitter feeds and I was able to pass it along to anyone who followed me.
I am not on Facebook. They encourage teachers to stay away. But what I have noticed that you can create a sense of community. Often when we fight the good fight, we feel alone. That is not an accident. The media wants you to feel like an out-of-touch freak. Facebook lets you know that you are not as out of touch as they want you to think.
YOUTUBE
For good or for ill we are a multi-media culture. For many of us our most emotional artistic connection is to movies and music. Youtube offers a way to tap into that art and share it all over the world. There is a wonderful opportunity to inspire and inform. We can capture and post the great preachers we know. We can create movies that lift our thoughts to God. We can post online musical reflections that stir the soul and inflame the heart.
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I am sure there is much more someone more experienced could say. But be wise and pick your battles carefully. Know what arena you are stepping into so that you can most effectively preach the Gospel by the power of the Spirit.
Copyright © 2013, W.L. Grayson
