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Each week, I remind myself of the advice I often give to others: You are what you consume. If my diet consists of junk food each day, I will have lots of internal problems. If it is varied and has healthy options, my body and mind will continue to work with good energy. It’s the same with what you consume online.

If your digital consumption starts to change your heart, who you are, and begins to make you edgy, you should audit your consumption. The reason you get certain things in your newsfeed is because of what your phone hears in your conversations, what you click on, etc.

Make an intentional effort to find and follow content that promotes a healthier disposition. My favorite things to follow are pages that inform, make me laugh, make me think, challenge me, etc. It’s not only the words you say you have to watch, but it’s the words in your head that influence your heart. Even though you read the Bible regularly, follow the Bible apps. Snacking on Scripture each day through posts that pop up in your newsfeed will keep you focused.

James 3:4, “Or takes ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.”

Change the tone of voice in your head.

Creation Illustrated just published, “Four Legged Guardian” in their Spring edition. You can get your copy here.

Creation Illustrated will be publishing my piece, right now called, “A Fierce Guardian,” for their Spring edition.

Creation Illustrated is a publication about the outdoors and is a subscription digital and print publication. You can learn more about them here.

A conversation reminded me today how many choices the hearing has compared to the Deaf, especially when it comes to churches. Or how many translations of the Bible are available in our language compared to the Deaf. Just to have choices in what we do, where we go, and what our social calendar looks like is something the hearing like me take for granted.

There are ways you can help the Deaf feel like they belong:

• Livestream your interpreter and have an online host willing to engage with anyone who joins the Sunday service.
• Set up an interpreter and train them to communicate via email and social media with the Deaf (whether or not the interpreter will be there that Sunday and what time).
• Train your volunteer interpreter to understand the importance of showing up.
• Seat the Deaf in the front with a clear view of the interpreter. It’s tempting to think of the Sunday experience from the hearing point of view only.
• Make sure the interpreter is illuminated.
• Consider how the interpreter can lead a Deaf ministry rather than just offering a service. The Deaf need fellowship as much, if not more, than the hearing.
• Create Deaf events where the hearing serve the Deaf so the Deaf community can focus on connecting with each other rather than the dishes, the set-up, etc. This also allows the hearing to get a glimpse of the world of the Deaf and further learn their culture.
• Let your social media reflect all of your congregation, such as posting Deaf content.
• From the pulpit, when talking about the different ministries, don’t forget the Deaf. Recognize their value like you recognize the value of the hearing.
• Equip the Deaf to reach the Deaf and help in ministry.

It’s so important to understand and learn how the Deaf communicate, how they “hear” the Bible, and what they need. Today, I learned there are 300 Deaf in our area. The prayer becomes: How do we reach them all? How do we work with other church interpreters and create a para-church ministry that reflects biblical values and in-person and online fellowship so the Deaf can enjoy many of the activities the hearing take for granted at their church.

In this age of COVID-19, amid fear and panic, I am reminded of the Book of Esther. My favorite verse is,

 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:13-14)

We, too, are faced with a daunting challenge. Will our fate depend upon our own faithfulness to God? While Esther faced death for daring to approach the King without being called, we face the unknown. Many churches have stopped meeting in the face-to-face. Some have gone online. Small groups and Bible Studies are canceled. And yet, God has prepared us for this by giving us a way to talk to anyone we want around the world through social media and Virtual Reality.

So, why limit your church to a building, your group to your home, or your Bible Study to a room in the Sunday School wing of your church? Like Esther, we don’t need to stay silent. The Gospel is continuing. God is asking us to be faithful in using these tools to reach out to people online, build trust, and develop friendships. In this era where TP is being hoarded, we can shower our communities with the love of Christ.

I am available to help churches and individuals interested in making disciples and wishing to continue church even as we experience historical fear and panic as the globe begins to shut down. We don’t want our older people marginalized because technology scares them or they don’t understand or like it, and we don’t want to be on social media out of boredom, scrolling, and sharing, without any real thought or purpose. While the building shuts down, here are some tips to continue sharing the Gospel:

• Bible Studies: Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Discord can be used to lead a video Bible Study like your face-to-face. This is an opportunity to invite people in your community to join. Hold them during times when the rest of your community can join you, too. Think of the working class in your planning.
• Small Groups: Your small groups are going to need your continued support as we face the challenges of this period of history. Use Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, and Discord to continue meeting. As you meet people locally online, invite them to join you. When the church opens again, you may find them meeting you in person.
• Church on Saturday or Sunday: Virtual Reality has church every weekend through Altspacevr. Your church may use Youtube, Facebook, or IGTV to do your worship service. Instead of treating your online service as a pulpit, treat it as a coffee shop. Ask people questions. Pray with your words for people so they can read it and pray with you. Worship with your words in the chat. Share the live feed to local Facebook groups or invite someone to join you in a “watch party”.
• Socializing: You can use almost any video gaming system to play video games with people from across the world.

Check out WorldVenture’s Facebook page for more tech tips. I’ve been sharing there since Saturday.

Years of raising support can make you forget to enjoy the company of people around you. Conversations point back to ministry, and you forget what normal conversation looks like. Ted Esler, president of Missio Nexus reminds me to stop making my work an identity.

“Organizations can suck the life out of a soul. The travel, meetings, concern for sustainability, mission fulfillment, and other realities of our jobs take emotional and mental resources. As we wrap our lives around confronting those challenges, we can exchange our personal identity for an organizational one.” He goes on to say how the job shouldn’t define us and warns that conversations personally become limited to work issues. He asks, “When the job is over, what happens to their identity?”

How do I break the hold of a ministry that can become all-encompassing?

• Relationships take precedence over support. In order to maintain an example of authenticity in a marketing world, I must also model this in my life. I look beyond the support someone gives to me and pray and care about them. If someone doesn’t support me, I pray and care about them. A friend once sent an email to say she couldn’t give financial support ahead of a lunch date. I had to assure her that I was meeting her for lunch and not asking for support.
• Get a Hobby. While I combine ministry with rest as a lot of creatives do, using my camera to practice taking shots for story postcards, social media, etc is also therapeutic. A good camera causes you to chase light and detail. You find rest in waiting for the right shot and changing your focus. Sometimes, that is in the middle of a forest and all you hear is the hollow sound of a woodpecker knocking on a tree.
• Spiritual Care. After changing jobs from a church job to a secular job in 2017, I maintained my normal hours of rising early to get into God’s Word or just sit in His presence to wait on Him. I can’t serve others if I am burned out and empty.
• Marriage Care. I am married to a great man. He is my prayer warrior. My life must include him in it and it’s not always easy. Making disciples on social media isn’t Monday through Friday. Boundaries are important. I break off from my work to sit with him. We hike together. He loves my photo journaling. We made a pact to grow together.
• Physical Care. Take a walk, go for a run, and keep your physical healthy. That’s my lifeline to keeping up my energy.

Many different sources say the same thing—working long hours doesn’t improve work output. Respect the shut down to refuel for the next day. You’ll get more done. Work is not my identity, and I am practicing being more thoughtful to others in what I converse about, making sure people know I care about them.

* Inspired by Missio Nexus CEO Survey

(picture of my dear friend who shares Jesus online every day)

Pastor Steven Roberts (Life Church) said on Facebook, “I get nervous talking to people about Jesus. This truth helps. It’s not about how clever or cool I am. God is already working in their heart and I get to be a part of the process. The only way to mess it up is to say nothing at all.”

I find a nervous pastor comforting. It’s not just me that struggles with sharing my faith. Is it safe to assume that’s why most people find it easier to share a meme about Jesus or a bit of Bible verse instead of engaging online or face-to-face with the deeper questions? Is that like tossing a handful of seeds out into a field and hoping they land in the prepared soil? Pride and fear are emotions I feel when I share my faith.

What if I don’t have all the answers? What if I fail? What if I let them down? Pride causes me to want to find the answers, to engage in debate instead of discussion, to be right. Voices From The Field: Conversations with Our Global Family by TJ Macleslie comforts me.

In the chapter titled, Sodnom—Mongolia, the story shares about a Mongolian Christian named, Sodnom. She grew up in Communist Russia as a Buddhist. In this chapter, Sodnom shares her experiences about missionaries. For me, missionaries always seemed like people who had all the answers.

Sodnom disagrees.

 “Missionaries are impatient and try to force the Gospel on us without knowing the history and context of our lives. Missionaries must understand the journey we have to make in order to truly embrace the gospel.” (Location 200)

Sodnom also shares how missionaries impacted her life.

“Wisely they (Jon and Vonnie) didn’t say anything but prayed…I think this is a very important lesson for missionaries to learn. Remember that you are guests in our country and even though you disagree with us, please do not ridicule or judge us for our beliefs. You need to respect our beliefs and traditions. (Location 213). This older couple never told us what to believe; rather they prayed, asking God’s Word to speak into our lives in a way that we could understand. (Location 236)”

She shared, “Our American friends had taken us to God’s Word and allowed it to speak to our lives. (location 247)”

Translating this chapter into my work with social media, I requoted what Sodnom said on Location 259. When you share stuff online, serve online, realize you will be living in a new world. Seek to understand the online world and the people you will interact with. Be sensitive to God and His leading; be sensitive to your new environment. Be prepared to change.

Pastor Steven Roberts words resonate with others, too and he is right when he says, “The only way to mess it up is to say nothing at all.”

Friends, you are not alone in your fear and nervousness or in your grappling with pride. The most important thing I have learned is to let the Holy Spirit do His work. Follow God’s leading.