"There's a Reason Paul Didn't Preach in Outhouses": More Thoughts About Apostolics on the Web
A couple of months ago, Kent of ninetyandnine.com sent around some questions he was planning to use for an e-panel on Apostolic web ministries and asked for suggestions. I took an hour and fired off passionate responses to his questions -- only to receive a reply from Kent that he intended for us to make suggestions about the questions themselves, not answer them. Boy, was I a little embarassed!
Where are the Apostolics? On the Dearth of Apostolic Web Ministries—A 90&9 Web Panel has been finally published, and it makes for interesting reading. Despite the high quality -- in my opinion -- of my unsolicited answers, Kent elected not to publish them. Therefore I decided to make them available to you on my blog instead.
90&9: Why are there so few Apostolic web ministries today?
It’s hard to know for sure, so all I can do is offer my opinions. I believe that because of the traditional stance against television, people (and pastors especially) tend to be a little cautious or perhaps even fearful of "new" types of technology. That's to be commended, because you can never be too cautious. However, because we fear the evils of the Internet, we are missing out on all the potential good to be gained from the Internet as well.
90&9: What would you advise someone contemplating a web ministry to do to be successful?
This is an area I'm still not too certain about, but I think the core principles of success center on solid, relevant information communicated in a solid, relevant fashion. I believe that what you say is just as important as how you say it. For instance, you could be telling someone the truth but saying it in such a hateful way that people will not be willing to listen.
For example, I tend to be turned off by websites that use ALL CAPS to communicate IMPORTANT points, because I prefer a more gentle approach. (All caps in Internet communication is also associated with shouting, and I don't like to be hollered at outside of church.)
I tend to be more easily persuaded by a wise tone of voice that conveys information with clarity. I also appreciate websites that examine both sides of an argument before coming to a conclusion either way. I'm more likely to put stock in the conclusions of someone who is obviously aware of all the issues involved. You don't get that much with Apostolic websites (www.onenesspentecostal.com being a great exception.) With most Apostolic websites I visit, only one viewpoint is presented. If another is presented at all, it's with derision towards those who hold it, accusing them of not wanting to be holy, et al, which may be true but doesn't build the credibility of our cause in the long run. An "our way or the highway" attitude that pervades much of Apostolic preaching does not translate well onto the web. I think we definitely need to keep these things in mind if we want to reach out to non-A/Ps.
90&9: To your mind, what percentage of current Apostolic web ministries are “by Apostolics for Apostolics” with little entry for non-Apostolics/believers? Would you define that as a successful ministry?
Most of the ones I read (and there aren't many; maybe three or four?) are geared towards A/Ps mostly, although non-A/Ps are always made welcome. However, I'm not in the habit of visiting Baptist resource sites, or Catholic resource sites, etc. (although I might read the blog of one) unless I'm interested in finding out their doctrine so I can deconstruct it from a scriptural perspective. So, you could say that A/Ps writing for A/Ps will not be very effective in reaching non-A/Ps en masse.
However, I would not go so far as to say that such sites are not ministries. I believe there are basically two types of ministry: front-end/evangelistic ministries (reaching and saving the lost) and maintenance ministries (keeping them saved and growing). So you could say that A/Ps reaching out to other A/Ps is maintenance ministry, which is vitally important. However, for the most part they are not evangelistic.
90&9: What would it take for more Apostolics to catch the web ministry vision?
Two things: What group of people in our organizations most hinder the growth of Apostolics on the web? With plenty of exceptions in mind, I have to say that it has been my experience that the older folks and older pastors are against it. Some even preach against its use or heavily discourage it. This is not in itself a bad thing, as older folks simply tend to be more conservative on all issues, whether it concerns what they eat, where they go, or what kinds of new technologies they use. However, you will not find many younger people (teens, 20s, 30s, and some 40s) having a huge problem with the Internet. In fact, my daughter's generation will grow up being raised on it. So, as the older folks eventually die off (and we are not looking forward to those days), and their leadership is replaced by those of my generation, you will see more and more A/Ps get on the web. Please don't take that as a slam against older people, because we need their wisdom desperately as well as the balance they bring to our churches. But as racial prejudice decreases with every new generation, so too will prejudice against the Internet.
Second thing: Apostolic doctrine is being hindered and possibly even harmed by our lack of presence on the Internet. I think once more people realize this, they will be more willing to get on the bandwagon. If the Internet is way the people of our time and even more in the future chose to communicate, we are not wise to resist that. We have to choose whatever method of communication the world uses in order to reach them. There's a reason why Paul didn't preach in outhouses. He went to where the people were. In his case, that happened to be places like Mars Hill, where the great philosophies of the day were discussed.
I have jaunted around the Internet many times in search of Apostolic doctrine. Sadly, for every great nugget I find, I find ten other websites bashing A/P beliefs -- with lots of scriptures and seemingly good arguments to back those viewpoints up. People post all these Bible studies against our doctrine on the web for free, yet we A/Ps are still writing books people must pay for in order to learn about them. That's not saying books don't have their place; they certainly do, but our definite lack of accessibility is hurting us, especially in the face of an ever-growing voice of opposition. We will never change peoples' minds by remaining silent. With the growing acceptance of speaking in tongues and the growing dissatisfaction with churches that lack the spirit of God, the harvest is ripe for our message. However, if we aren't willing to do the work of the reapers, others will enjoy the fruits of the harvest.
90&9: Is there anything you’d like to add that wasn’t asked?
I'm very optimistic about A/P believers today, especially because of reading ninetyandnine.com. We A/Ps may not be very vocal on the web as of yet, but ninetyandnine.com is proof that it isn't because we aren't as smart or gifted or otherwise qualified to be.
However, a word of warning and caution. The world is changing, and so is Christianity's methodology in response to that change. If we are not on the forefront influencing that change in a positive way, choosing rather to cling to the status quo, we will have no influence on the church of tomorrow, on the way Christianity will finally look once the paradigm shift is completed. We will be the Jewish church in response to Christianity or the Catholic church in response to Protestant reformation -- largely irrevelant and ineffective. We A/Ps have a lot of catching up to do in such a very short amount of time.
Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me! I reserve the right to quote you unless you ask otherwise.
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