Technology and Mutual Encouragment

Technology has added plenty of pitfalls for believers to fall into over the last few years. And the ills associated with some of these are far beyond the scope of this post. But I do believe that certain forms of technology and communication have also become venues of encouragement that were not previously available. And this is not to say that these forms of communication are perfect, nor should they supplant person to person relationships in the body of Christ, but simply that they are helpful.

Blogs, social-networking sites, computer bible research programs, and free mp3 sermon downloads, just to name a few, have become a regular part of ministry in our day. And one of the great aspects to this is the regular mutual encouragement that they provide. I don't think a day goes by in which I am not lifted up or refocused or challenged because of a Facebook status or blog post. It is a good reminder that there is a community of believers out there who know Christ and know me, and we are all on this journey together. It's like the church at large. These are powerful influential tools. Not only are we pushed to think through issues, but we are given another view into the lives of other believers. And many of these believers are people that we could not normally have contact with because of distance alone. And many of these encouraging tidbits are not done by the "professional" ministers. And thus these venues provide all believers the opportunity to minister to the body, and be ministered to by the body. And to this we are called.

"...till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." -Eph 4:13, 15, 16

So, I guess I want to say thank you to all the believers who set aside time to minister to the body on a blog or some other techno-ministry. Thank you to all of you who share your life and what God is doing in it on Facebook or Twitter. Keep doing what you are doing. It is a huge ministry to my life! And to those of you who are not on Facebook, or who don't read blogs, please consider this an invitation for the sake of the body. Or maybe those who don't view it as a ministry, it is. You could really add to the edification of the body of Christ in this fashion. As believers we must keep using all available means to bring Him glory.