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Our worldview with our ministry is to go into all the world with the practical gospel of Jesus Christ. Our specific aspect and gifting, as it pertains to the great commission, is discipleship—teaching others all that Jesus taught us (Matthew 28:19-20). Though we love evangelism and do not shy away from it, our unique gifting is in progressive sanctification, and the “redemptive use of technology” is how we express our gifts to the world.
In 2007, Apple gave us the iPhone, and shortly after that transitional time in our history, there was a proliferation of social media platforms. Before this advent, websites were the popular way of reaching the masses. But then there was a culture shift, and the masses migrated to their favorite social media platform, i.e., Facebook.
Thus, we had to change our “missional thinking” if we were going to reach the world with our message. There were two things that we had to understand. (1) Each platform is different, so we had to learn how to communicate our message to the unique expectations of that platform. (2) We no longer controlled the platform.
https://vimeo.com/479187897
This second point meant that we were at the mercy of the owners of the medium. And in this case, it was Medium, the social media platform. A term for this is “sharecropping,” which means you don’t own the land but are merely renting space on someone else’s property. As you can see, this puts any of us in a vulnerable position, especially if the platform does not like our content. And, this, brings us to Medium.
Here is the unedited message that Medium sent to us about a particular article, which you can find on our website, here:
Hello,
After review of the post(s) below, Medium’s Trust & Safety team has found it to be in violation of site policies
(https://medium.com/policy/medium-rules-30e5502c4eb4).
https://medium.com/rickthomasnet/the-gay-guy-said-i-was-born-this-way-5ee68dad7152As as result, it has been suspended from the platform.
Thank you.
Medium Trust & Safety
I have known for a while that social media networks and platforms would be censuring Christian materials. We are not the first and at the rate at which they do this will only increase in frequency and expand in reach. This problem is why we have a tenuous relationship with all our social media platforms.
The tension is that (1) those places are where the masses are (including Christians), (2) but the vulnerability is censorship. The consequence of these media relationships could be missionally disastrous if you put all your “ministry eggs in anyone’s social media basket,” e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Medium. They can “de-platform” anyone without warning or recourse.
Illustration – Many of you are familiar with Dennis Prager, a Jewish man who produces excellent videos on social and political issues. YouTube banned a few of his videos that were teaching Christian ethics. They equated his teaching to pornography. Dennis decided to take them to court, making a case for free speech.
Meanwhile, any Christian organization that is attempting to spread its values to the culture will be in its line-of-fire. It is because of this that we have been praying for years for the right kind of website that would accommodate our massive resource library while also provide a place where Christians can congregate without violating someone’s code of conduct.
Please pray for this ministry. Ask the Lord to do two things for us? (1) Bring volunteers who have the gifting to enhance anything that we’re doing. E.g., editors, web-developers, graphic designers, video experts, social media, and any other task that would help us to do what we do more effectively. (2) Bring the finances we need, e.g., our current $25K website project, as well as other ministry endeavors.
If you are looking for a place to use your gifts and they are in-line with what we do, please let us know. If you’re looking to support a growing ministry that is doing transformational, please become a supporting member or donor.
Here’s the Pivot – It is more vital than ever that we migrate folks away from social media and back to our website where we can control the narrative of our content without fear of reprisal or suppression. We are not a “brick and mortar” ministry. Our worldwide sanctification center is in cyberspace, and we must be wise and intentional in how we operate this ministry, as well as reach the world with the practical message of Christ.
Summary – There is so much more that we can do, but the vital thing is to move our community from these secular platforms, and into our “global sanctification center” where we can share, explain, teach, consult, collaborate, and reach the world, without the cultural-gate-keepers telling us that we cannot.
Will you pray about how you can help us?
Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.
In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).