4. We engage because it’s the mission of the church.
It is impossible to fulfill the Great Commission as Jesus gave it without engaging the culture around us. The members of the earliest church in the city of Jerusalem would confirm this. Jesus had plainly commissioned them to not only share the gospel with their surrounding community, but also to do so to the uttermost parts of the earth. They did well locally, but they failed to leave their city. So persecution came. What happened next? The Bible says that “the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). They had to learn the lesson the hard way that God is serious about us going to every piece of the planet with the good news.
Obviously, social media won’t help us reach every people group left in the world. Many do not have access to electricity, much less the Internet. But the online world does give us a window into an ever-widening portion of the world’s population. And the United Nations, on June 3, 2011, declared Internet access to be a basic human right: “Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states.” Corporations and governments are seeking ways to extend the reach of the Internet to everyone. In other words, more roads are being paved for the church to complete its mission.
5. We engage because people need us to engage.
Why does the United Nations consider access to the Internet a basic human right? Because the world’s leading thinkers understand the Internet is a virtually limitless source of knowledge updated in real time. Living conditions can be improved by giving people access to knowledge about anything from better architecture to advanced medical training to new farming methods and more.
And then there’s the fact that in every country in the world, there is a church. It may be small and underground, but churches exist virtually everywhere. The Internet affords churches access to this massive infrastructure for helping mankind. Even in impoverished nations, church leaders tend to gather to discuss the needs of their respective congregations. Some places have no hospitals or grocery stores, but there are churches. These churches, with the aid of the Internet, can help to serve and lead their communities. Imagine the results we could see if we really used social media to meet the needs of people, not only in places where the Internet is just now becoming available, but also in our own backyards.
People have real needs that can be met via social media. Therefore, social media is a tool that cannot be ignored as a viable means of extending the Great Commission and helping others heal with the message of Jesus. There’s a purpose for everything under heaven. This means that there’s a purpose for the Internet, and there also ought to be purpose in the way that we use it.
This is an excerpt from Rewired by Brandon Cox. Used by permission.
