The One About Disruption, Digital and Smart Stewardship
We are in the middle of a great disruption. And that’s OK. Over the last decade, thought leaders have encouraged communicators to go online. Some of us started blogs, podcasts, or streaming Sunday services. Coronavirus has pushed all of us online. Stay online, and go bigger. Digital is stewardship at it’s best.
1. With digital you're not working for today, you're working for tomorrow.
You’ve put things online. Nothing happened in the moment. You got some views but not as many as you’d like. No one commented. You think of your work as a fail.
But then the right scenario, the right situation, the right person looking at it or getting touched by it, creates a whole new life for it at any moment. Mike Todd of Transformation Church, in Tulsa reminds us, “When you're consistent and faithful, digital can have as much impact two years from now as it did in the moment.”
More people now than ever are finding value in posts written 12 months ago on my REVwords.com site. And all the work was done 12 months ago.
2. Being faithful makes you fruitful.
The beautiful thing about technology is if somebody finds you on YouTube or Insta or a blog, they then find everything that comes with you. Don’t discount the consistency and the faithfulness of a thing because you don’t see immediate results. When you grasp that, you won't be so frustrated about what’s happening in the moment. You are exporting a message to the entire world for the rest of your life.
3. You have nothing to lose. Stop contemplating; start creating.
If you have a cellphone, making content is free. The playing field has been levelled. Everyone can and should be online for ministry purposes. Are you spending more time contemplating or creating? Are you holding back because you want your product to be perfect? Post away. You can always take it down.
Take Pastor John Stewart in Kitchener, Ontario for example. John uses his iPhone for inspiring daily Facebook live broadcasts. And John is far from perfect.
4. Your words stretch further.
This is health for your pastoral soul. You used to work for days, or weeks crafting a message. Then 35 or 350 or 3,500 people decided to come to church. They were the only people that heard your message. Your message online has a life of it’s own. It can be viewed as real as it was onsite for somebody online. And it can viewed anywhere in your community, or province or the world.
Family and friends in New Brunswick who are new to evangelical faith are watching Pastor Harvey Hussey in Vermillion, Alberta.
You believe in your content. You have the greatest story in the world to tell. Putting it in a digital space where it can live on is wise stewardship of your time, and your family, as well as the responsibility you've been given.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.