About Face Book and Human Relationships

Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson

I took a bold and somewhat frightening step a few weeks ago and set up a Face Book page for myself. For those who are not familiar, Face Book is touted as a social networking tool on the internet. I began only a few years ago as a way for college and high school students to stay connected and become connected with each other. It has mushroomed in popularity and usage. People who work with high school and college students say that it is an important way to stay connected with this age group since they do not e-mail anymore. Apparently a few other “adults” have taken the plunge because I have “seen” lots of you – although the crowd still tends to be younger adults. One of my own sons was a little disgusted with me, saying, “all of you old folks will ruin it for the rest of us.”

So far, my time on Face Book has been helpful as well as interesting. I know I will be able to connect with people in a completely new way. This will never replace, I hope, good old-fashioned face-to-face, sit down and talk to one another in the flesh conversations. However, I will learn more about many of you in ways I cannot otherwise, just in passing on Sunday mornings, or even by sitting in your living room for 45 minutes.

I have decided to set some guidelines and rules for myself. A whole lot of time can be gobbled up real fast if I don’t maintain a lot of discipline for myself. I will agree to be a “friend” to any member who asks, but I will try not to request of you to be a “friend” in case you do not wish to be. I will not use Face Book to play games with others and do not accept Easter eggs, fuzzy bears, or other such things, or join Face Book “causes” as a rule. It will usually be better to contact me personally or by e-mail that is more private if there is something you want to be sure that I know, as I cannot daily check Face Book and even when I do I have learned to is easy to miss some things. It is also very easy to hit a wrong button that quickly changes a message from very personal to very public.

As I said earlier, Face Book, My Space and other internet networks are probably around for a long time in some shape or form. Please use them to supplement and enrich your relationships with one another. But in the end, nothing is better than one-on-one face-to-face human conversation and interaction. It is part of sharing God’s love in the flesh to lend a listening ear, to share a word of congratulations or sympathy, or a to offer hug of appreciation or encouragement.