Signs & Wonders Blog

Social media is a powerful tool I use for ministry. It has also been a distraction. Many of us will admit to spending hours scrolling through our news feeds. I enjoy the occasional humor and cute pet photos. Still, a lot of frivolous things appear I don’t care to see and read. A few are insulting, such as saying I’m “old” if I recognize a particular item. I don’t mean to be critical of what people post on their social media pages. That’s their business. Fortunately, there’s a way to stay connected with select individuals without unfriending them and having their posts appear in my news feed. I’ve been unfollowing Facebook friends who repeatedly do the following: Make too many posts. I’ve seen as much as forty a day by some folks (rarely do I exceed two or three). I don’t need the same individuals overwhelming my news feed. There are other friends I want to hear from. Post chain letters , hoaxes, and memes that contain profanity . Make requests for money. Some ministers send me fr...

For 15 years now, I’ve been on Facebook plus added other social media platforms. Since I use Facebook as a tool for ministry, I will accept most friend requests as long as my potential friend appears to be a God-fearing person and has a legitimate profile photo . If a person I don’t know doesn’t have a sufficient number of Facebook friends, then their request is deleted. I’m suspicious of individuals who immediately go outside their circle of influence before connecting with people they already know. I’ve learned to set other boundaries . Some of my Facebook friends post too much stuff online. I noticed one woman make over 40 posts on the same day! Digital entrepreneur Neil Patel says, “If you post too infrequently, your audience will forget that you exist and you will quickly fade into the deep dark recesses of their minds. However, if you are posting too often, you will become a complete nuisance and they will dread seeing your posts overcrowding their feed.” Most studies agree that...

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, I’m a traveling missionary who’s been using Facebook now for over ten years. It’s a marvelous tool to help me reconnect with old friends, meet new people and minister to them . However, there are a couple of things I don’t like about your social media site. They are serious enough to me where I’ve considered leaving Facebook completely. One of them is being forced to use Messenger if I want to send a private message through my smartphone. It often results in other Facebook friends trying to start up chat sessions with me. I liked it better when my chat room could be kept off and not let everyone know I’m online. I’ve had to use the “block messages” function with individuals who persist in initiating conversations with me. I don’t want to be rude but maintain boundaries and limit distractions. Some of my friends won’t even use Messenger because of privacy concerns .  Another intrusive feature I loathe even more is Facebook groups. Since 2010, fri...