Facebook: The Apostle Paul

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. (Romans 16:1-9)

Is it just me or does this often overlooked passage of Scripture seem like a Facebook News Feed or at least a Facebook friend list? Maybe a Facebook group?

I didn’t quote the whole chapter but it goes on and on with props for peeps and homeys, warnings about stuff that’s lame and mentioning plenty of other things that always occur within a social network.

Paul is writing a semi-public letter to a social network in Rome to help them experience the Gospel, all the while hoping that many of his friends, co-workers, and even you and I would read it. He is mentioning people so that they and everyone else in their social network can know and react to them. We often skip over this part of the Letter to the Romans because it seems irrelevant to us. But it was riveting to everyone in that social network. This is often how people react to seeing someone else’s Facebook News Feed: it seems irrelevant, unless you are part of the social network mentioned.

Paul used the technology of his day to do ministry. Christian leaders have always been about social networking (i.e. building up the body of Christ). We’ve moved from scrolls and donkeys to bits and fiber optics. However, the goal of making disciples is the same as it ever was.

I say all this because I’m embarrassed how long it’s taken me to see Facebook as a primary tool for spiritual leadership. Maybe Luther balked at the printing press when he first heard about it. Maybe Paul thought it less than authentic to have Tertius write down his letters for him (cf. Rom 16:22). If so then I’m in good company.

However it happened, Paul and Martin Luther and Billy Graham and our own Bill Bright used available technology to try to put the Gospel within arms reach of every person so that everyone would know someone who truly follows Christ. Facebook has always seemed to me to be “another thing” that get’s in the way of my job. Yet I imagine that Martin Luther at some point realized that printing was not “another thing” but was actually a tool for doing his “job.” I’m starting to see Facebook as a primary tool for leadership.

Facebook is where students live. Students sleep in bed, in class and in short stints but they live on Facebook. If I want to reach students, I have to go where they live. I’ve started to learn how to connect with students using Facebook by spending time learning here:  Media for Ministry - Social Media Guide .

Now if you are reading this blog post, on a blog, you are probably also aware of the importance of Facebook for Campus ministry. But you might know someone who feels that Facebook is bad, or irrelevant. I hope this post provides some evidence that if the Apostle Paul could have used Facebook, he would have. In Paul’s words regarding viral social networking: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)