MSNBC is reporting a story about a girl who killed herself over what someone else wrote about her on MySpace. While this is disturbing in itself, it forced me to think about how seriously some people take their online persona. Whether it’s Facebook, MySpace, or some type of message board, these are public places of a sort that are meaningful to their users.
Many in the Church are hesitant to get involved in these types of environments because they have heard stories of the unsavory things that go on. They can point to stories such as this as an example of the bad things that can happen there. But yet…just think what a difference someone could have made by making a positive impact on this girl. The youth pastor at our church was at first reluctant to go into MySpace to reach the high schoolers at our church. After we discussed it, he decided to jump in and give it a try. He now tells me that it is a key part of his ministry.
We cannot be scared to go where the people are. If they are in MySpace, go there. If they are in Samaria, go there. If they are in Facebook, go there. If they are Gentiles, go there. If they are in Second Life, go there. We must not be afraid to find people where they are.
Lessons From Babel 