Should Churches Monitor Staff’s Twitter?
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has been suspended and banned from all team activities while NFL is investigating his shameful use of gay slur when he questioned coach Todd Haley’s football credentials in an exchange with one of his followers on his Twitter account on Monday (October 26). The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, said his twitter comments violated the league’s personal conduct policy
Johnson’s agent Peter Schaffer alleges the game check and other lost revenue would amount to a penalty of about $600,000 for the former two-time Pro Bowl player. Ouch! That will make you think twice before twittering next time won’t it?
This brings up an interesting point. I wonder how many churches monitor their staff’s twitter accounts? I wonder if any churches have twitter policies in place that dictate what they can and can’t say on twitter? If they twitter something inappropriate are they going to dock them their next 15 years of salary? 
Maybe the deeper question here is do you think churches have the right to monitor their staff’s twitter?
While I don’t really “monitor” our staff’s tweets, I do follow them. It’s a great way for me to keep up with some of the smaller details of their life I might miss otherwise. Here’s a list of several of our staff who twitter. You should follow them. They’re a lot of fun.
50 Comments:
I would hope that social sites would not become a problem, but the reality is they do. I don’t add anyone from work to ANY of my accounts- facebook, myspace, etc. You never know when something you say is going to be taken the wrong way, misconstrued, etc and you end up getting in trouble. I politely tell people it is my general rule to only add coworkers after we stop working together. Twitter is new to me so I’m not so sure about that!
[Reply]
Jessica
6:53 am
No. Churches should not monitor and follow people.
It’s interesting how we look back in history or look at communist countries today and abhor the thought that certain groups of people (Jews, Christians, the political minority) are “monitored” or “followed,” yet in the church, many feel that this “accountability to group” is a good thing.
Does the New Testament teach a gospel of freedom or of conformity?
Is the word accountability even used in Scripture?
What do you do with the verses that indicate that our only authority is God/Christ and not to let anyone judge you for what you eat or drink or what days you honor as holy?
Do we have the right to tell people how to think and what to say? If we do this, aren’t we playing God in their lives? What does this say about our trust in God?
At my last church, where I worked in ministry and then worked as a staff member at the school, I was literally monitored and followed. I found out later that some of my friends were being shadowed as well. Literally. Physically. Followed. (No wonder they needed to keep increasing the staff; they needed more pastor’s wives to assign to the “troublemakers.”)
And please don’t think that church is some wacky cult that I happened to fall into. It’s a well-known, used-to-call-itself-Baptist-and-now-goes-by-a-more-PC-seeker-friendly-name after which many up and coming mega-churches are modeling themselves. The pastors are well-known authors with multiple doctorate degrees from established seminaries.
But that church is not about connection; it’s about control. It markets itself as all about family; if it is family at all, it is a seriously dysfunctional one. It continues to grow by leaps and bounds on the surface. No spotlight shines on the revolving back door where people trudge out after they are “used up” in “ministry.” No one sees the way people are wedged in and pushed out because they have been found to be “disloyal” or “sinful” or “not on board with our vision.”
For the record, I don’t go to church anymore. Because of what he saw and was subjected to there, my son now calls himself an atheist. But, believe it or not, I still love God with all my heart and soul. I still can’t get enough of this wonderful, mysterious I AM despite his crappy church. If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is…
[Reply]
ttm
7:20 am
This is becoming a “corporate” issue as well. Here’s my opinion: You represent your company. your tweets represent you. Hence your tweets represent your company. Be yourself, but make sure that your tweets are appropriate and use discretion at times.
When issues arise, it is important to remember that Twitter is not the problem, but it can and will magnify the problem. Usually there is a bigger employee issue at hand.
Lindsey Nobles´s last blog ..Nuts About Southwest
[Reply]
Lindsey Nobles
7:35 am
If we take this out a bit…not just church but business in general. The whole “monitoring” idea gives me the creeps. Let’s monitor email and twitter and facebook and blogs…where does it end?
I can see to some extent the importance of being careful at what your staff members place out there. But are we really worried about the staff members lives or our “church image”?
Was this about Larry Johnson? or the Chiefs’ Image?
jessica´s last blog ..Bearing Burdens
[Reply]
jessica
7:40 am
The real question is, do churches monitor the staff members who do not use twitter?
I think you bring up a good question though. I think if we start monitoring tweets from your staff you get into having to monitor everything.
Tweeting is life, as cheesy as that sounds, tweeting is often an overflow of who you are.
Kyle Reed´s last blog ..The State of Small Groups
[Reply]
Kyle Reed
7:52 am
Do any of them “Chirp”?
http://www.christianchirp.com
That would solve any “potential” issues because:
#1 Only Christians are pretty much allowed on there, and if you say anything they disagree with, they will “pray” for you.
#2 The founder of the site is pretty determined to keep it “Christian” so, he literally deletes posts that he disagrees with.
Who needs to “monitor” their staff’s Tweets? Just get them to Chirp, monitoring is included for FREE!
Nick´s last blog ..Hope in Despair
[Reply]
Nick
8:04 am
I do not twitter
*gasp*
But if I did…..I guess I wouldn’t be so keen at the thought of someone monitoring me.
Just in general life, I know I am held accountable for what I do/say and would tweet to my higher ups, fellow ministry members, everyone actually….but the most important thing I know is that I am held accountable to The Highest One regardless.
But to be monitored takes it up a notch towards Big Brother, if you ask me.
*~Michelle~*´s last blog ..Are you there God? It’s me….Nev
[Reply]
*~Michelle~*
8:07 am
@Lindsey, I like the way you put that. Well said.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
8:50 am
@Kyle Reed, I totally agree. The issue is not really just twitter but extends much further. I do think staff need to be conscious that they do represent the church and should be mindful of what they say not just on twitter but in life in general.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
8:52 am
I think that if the account is public, there is nothing wrong with following them on twitter. That’s just an advantage / disadvantage of anyone being able to follow. I also think the employee should have the right to block the employer.
It is possible to privatize your twitter account. That should be okay too.
Helen´s last blog ..Remember
[Reply]
Helen
8:55 am
I don’t twitter. I need more than 140 characters just to say hello. Obviously.
I would like to think churches are not monitoring staff twitter accounts…in all likelihood if someone says something way out of line you will hear about it and address it at that time. Within your church staff you’re all probably following each other for the most part anyway. In a sense you hold each other accountable just by following them on twitter.
joyce´s last blog ..Life Lessons Remembered
[Reply]
joyce
8:56 am
I look at twitter as sending a text message about anything and everything to everyone who follows me. I love transparency and being real but the reality of me putting out tweets that could come back and bite me so to speak does allow me to watch what I tweet. I am totally addicted to twitter and I have made some very cool connections along the way.
Holly Myers´s last blog ..My name is Holly and I am addicted….
[Reply]
Holly Myers
9:21 am
I don’t think monitoring is the way to go for churches but if you are following someone on your staff and something questionable comes up, then it should be handled case by case. Most of the time it’s a good indicator of where they are at in life and a great opportunity to pastor them into maturity.
[Reply]
J. Ashley Jensen
9:28 am
I replied to your tweet, but more than 140 characters, so here it is…
I think the question if they do monitor is do they (the church) trust their employees to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of God? And if the answer to that is no, then should they really be an employee of the church? Or maybe the senior pastor/executive pastor/whoever feels they should monitor, should not be in the position of authority they are in. Just a thought.
[Reply]
Shelli @treatsforme
9:30 am
Pete,
Not that any of your team would do this, but say they put something that you would deem “inappropriate” on there. Used a questionable word, etc. Would you address it with them? Do you feel like twitter should be mandated by the preferences of the pastor?
just curious.
one love,
jfarm
[Reply]
jeremy
9:32 am
We have had some instances with staff & key volunteers who have left questionable comments thru social networking. Even a staff member who says “rough day at work – they’re killing me” leaves it open to a lot of questions & guesses about who/what is going on.
Our pastor has does not monitor us, but he does follow us. He’s also given us two words to think about when it comes to social networking – Discernment & Influence. Use those two words to guide you in all you decide to share.
[Reply]
Chris Condit
9:38 am
@Shelli, Dang that’s a good questions!!!
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
9:41 am
@Jeremy, I think I would probably just go personally to that staff member. When we all started showing up on twitter I think we had one meeting where we just said, “hey, let’s all be mindful of what we’re putting up there”. Hasn’t ever been an issue for us at this point though.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
9:42 am
The word “monitor” sounds a little too Orwellian, but I think churches should know what their staff members are posting. In the Bible leaders are called to a much higher standard and that standard applies to our Tweets, blog posts and status updates. I’m a youth pastor and my supervisor and our senior pastor follow me on Twitter. If I ever posted something that was questionable or cast our church in a bad light, I would expect them to address it with me.
[Reply]
Scott Higa
9:44 am
Think I’m stepping on Scott’s comment, but I typed mine a few minutes ago and it would not post…
The word “monitoring” is odd to me. The purpose of Twitter, in my estimation, is transparency. Those of us that choose to use it do so of our own free will. If we decide to say something that one of our followers does not appreciate, that person can stop following.
I am fully aware that anyone and everyone has the opportunity to see what I say, and I have chosen to allow that. I let everyone in my church know what my Twitter handle is, and invite them to follow. My prayer is that something I say may be of benefit and give God glory.
Using Twitter is not a requirement. It is a choice. If someone chooses to tweet a job-threatening statement, they should be aware that scads of people will see it. We should guard what we say, not out of fear of “monitoring,” but out of a fear of God!
JW
[Reply]
@jonwellman
9:48 am
I think that monitoring (or more realistically…following) church leaders twitterers is fine. I really don’t see why there should be a controversy…I know there is one, but I don’t see why there SHOULD be one.
When you work for the church, you’re in the hybrid of the corporate setting as well, and so what you say and what you do has a larger influence than just if you were a member. You’re more vocally representing Jesus and your specific church brand.
If people are saying things on twitter that they’d be ashamed of, or in trouble for if the lead/exec pastor knew about it….then isn’t there a larger problem here anyway? Isn’t this a condition of the heart instead, and twitter is just a symptom?
If we look at twitter as something that we do ‘in secret’ aren’t we deceiving ourselves that there is anything we can possibly do that is kept from God? And if God already knows it (and ofc he does), why should we be more afraid of our pastor/boss discovering as well?
Danny Bixby´s last blog ..God Does Not Give Us Mediocre Passions
[Reply]
Danny Bixby
9:50 am
Seems like this was addressed in scripture…er, uh, AS scripture. What the Apostle Paul tweated to church friends (followers), as an example, became VERY public. We call it the New Testament.
[Reply]
Brad
10:05 am
Waving my hanky to Lindsey N I like what she said. I love the quick glimpse twitter gives me to people’s coming and going… helps me keep praying (I really do when I see their name/request) or also makes me smile. I know corp America is really taking this whole social media thing to a new level. I really started twittering because of Zappos but my brother’s med company has a whole ‘nother idea about it all.
[Reply]
Kristi O
10:08 am
ttm, my heart aches for you! I’m so very sorry you were hurt by the people in the church!
The leadership of the church should not monitor tweets or e-mails.A pastor should know his staff on such a personal level that monitoring is not an issue. If someone has to report to the pastor about his staff then the pastor has a bigger problem than what they tweet!
[Reply]
Sherrie
10:11 am
I agree with @jonwellman. The purpose of Twitter is to connect and I would hope that Christians are connecting to bring glory to Jesus. And, to try to reach people for Him. As for monitoring: personal account they should not be held accountable by the “church”. Jesus should do it. Churches name on it: then someone should monitor it just to make certain she is protected because she is an extension of Jesus.
Cindy Brown´s last blog ..Acceptance of Salvation is the Individual’s Responsibility
[Reply]
Cindy Brown
10:28 am
don’t mean to hijack the discussion, but since TTM threw this out there publicly and it may be relevant to others I’ll respond
He said, “For the record, I don’t go to church anymore. Because of what he saw and was subjected to…”
TTM,
This is meant to be a loving rant, though it may not feel loving. You need to find a church! Ministry is tough, i’ve been in ministry for 17 years. Some churches are messed up (they are full of sinners after all): but some are great and are a beautiful display of the gospel and God’s glory.
Even though some do chew people up and spit them out, opting out of all churches because of your bad experience is LAME. It’s like someone rejecting Christianity because they know 5 Christian jerks. Clearly that’s not fair, and neither is rejecting all churches because some of them are bad.
I know too many pastors who had a bad experience and did the same thing, NO ONE WINS when they do that, not the kingdom, not their family, not the churches who would otherwise be served by your abilities and who would serve you back.
Can you really love God and reject His bride? Loving God, means loving what He loves and loving the way he loves. He loved the church so much that he sent his Son to die for her. Jesus died for his bride, ugly warts and all. Jesus died for thieves, murderers, and adulterers. If you want to be like Jesus, you have to learn love the bride, even when she is unlovable.
Will you get hurt? Yes. But you won’t get crucified, and that is what happened to Christ as He showed his love.
“while we were still sinners Christ died for us”
[end of rant]
[Reply]
han solo
10:35 am
Thanks, Sherrie. I am healing from the spiritual abuse. My heart aches for the hundreds of people that I see flocking to that church all excited and pumped up for God in the beginning who are likely to walk away with serious psychological wounds and massive spiritual doubts in the end.
It’s all done in the name of God–for His glory, for His kingdom! (But it’s actually for the staff–for their image, for their success in corporate growth and influence!) It is shameful what is done in secret and an incredible burden to have witnessed some of these secret manipulations and crucifixions. Even though I am no longer there, my heart burns against the legalistic hypocrisy and breaks for the casualties of that place every single day.
Forgiveness truly is a process…
[Reply]
ttm
10:37 am
if one feels they “need” to, or should, monitor their staffs tweets then i would question how well they know their staff….if theyre monitoring bad content. could there be a trust issue?
i know you said you like finding out the other details of your staffs lives – which i think is great….cuz your a great leader who cares.
tam´s last blog ..mind spew
[Reply]
tam
10:40 am
I think a church has a reasonable case to monitor their staff’s Twitter accounts. We’re in a media driven culture where a lot of the media is hostile toward Christians who are truly living the faith and not bending God’s truth to the whims of popular culture. If they can get one staff member of a big church to say something they might be able to twist, they will do it.
In a sense, it’s being a wise steward of the people God’s provided to be in leadership. I’m not saying you censor them or pre-screen postings but you should know what your staff members are saying in public broadcasts like Twitter.
Jason´s last blog ..Remember
[Reply]
Jason
10:49 am
My dear Han Solo:
Thank you for the loving rant. You’re right; it doesn’t feel loving. It feels intrusive and manipulative and makes me wonder why you are so invested in giving me a formula instead of just caring. (And reminds me of my former pastors… )
Why do I NEED to find a church? Is my body the temple of God or isn’t it? Do I need to go somewhere for the Spirit to speak to me or can the Spirit speak and heal and move and enlighten wherever the Spirit chooses? Do I need a church building, church membership, or a church congregation in order to let the Spirit use my spiritual gifts?
All churches are messed up. All churches–all humans!–are warped and bent toward their own self-preservation. All humans have a love of persuading others to their point of view–and if they can call it “leading someone to the Kingdom” it’s makes them feel even better. ALL churches and humans are messed up. (This chick included.)
Is there beauty in the ashes? Yes. Is there love in the pain? Yes. Can Christ be glorified in our weaknesses? Of that I am certain. Am I looking for perfection in a church? No! Am I looking for a place where I am absolutely guaranteed not to be hurt? Nope! That would be fruitless. You don’t need to convince me of that.
But you don’t need to convince me of anything. You don’t need to “get me connected” to something in order to save my soul. I’ve already found what I need. It isn’t the church. It isn’t a set of laws. It isn’t even the Bible. It isn’t the approval of or fellowship with men (even “loving” Christian men).
I’ve found what I need in the I AM–in relationship with that mysterious breath of life. And for me, for now, that is more than enough. But, thank you for your sweet rebuke.
Princess Leia
P.S. Wasn’t Han Solo that reckless, rebel who ended up in a carbonite popsicle?
[Reply]
ttm
11:02 am
People over the age of 18 shouldn’t have to be monitored—they should be grown up enough to mind their manners and watch what they say, blog, tweet, or comment.
Jan C.´s last blog ..Hilarious Halloween School Traditions
[Reply]
Jan C.
11:11 am
This is a good question Pastor Pete. I know in my line of work as a pilot, I am prohibited from making public statements to the media regarding events at work. I recently had a news worthy event that I intentionally did not tweet about the specifics as to comply with company policy. If Cross Point has a specific policy for privacy, it should be honored in all public forums, including Twitter.
Sensitivity in private emails is also something we have to consider. If we have a personal email forwarded and it is no longer simply private between two parties as well. That extends what we have to address in email as well, do you monitor work emails for privacy too?
[Reply]
lance lockhart
11:20 am
I think we are accountable for what we say and do. I know that my church encourages people to be in FB and twitter and it’s a fun way of connecting. I also know that the staff at church is supposed to spend an hour a day on Facebook, not to “monitor” but to stay connected to the people in our church.
What we say and do on twitter can be seen as evidence of who we are and what we believe. It’s an extension of ourself. I don’t like to be “monitored” yet the plain fact is if one is in a position of authority, one is perhaps looked to more often than others. Pete, you and I have never met. I have formed an opinion about you from your tweets, blog posts and all that. Am I wrong to do so? It’s not monitoring but that’s what people do. So… is it wrong to do that on one’s own staff? I can guarantee, right or wrong, your parishioners (you probably don’t call them that but I LOVE to use “churchy” words because I know I’m not supposed to) are watching and learning, and looking at staff tweets. One would hope with grace and love. One would hope they are above reproach. Should they be? Should a church expect their staff to be?
One person I knew put on FB about his son viewing porn and made a joke about it and did not address it as a serious issue. Would it matter if he was on staff or in some type of volunteer leadership in the church? Would that need to be addressed?
I sometimes think that we need to take responsibility for our words. Yes; people WILL form opinions based on them. So we have an obligation to be careful. Yet honest.
I was reading a book the other day called SIMCHURCH and the author, Douglas Estes, brought up the fact that nowadays what we write, and post on the web is searchable. Would a church google a potential candidate for ministry? Should they? It’s a whole new world out there of things to be aware of and accountability. Things that transpire behind closed doors DO matter if it’s posted for all to see. People will see it. Why shouldn’t church staff?
Torybee´s last blog ..In the Name of The Father…..
[Reply]
Torybee
11:42 am
Princess Leia (aka ttm):
Amen Girlfriend! I love this…
“I’ve already found what I need. It isn’t the church. It isn’t a set of laws. It isn’t even the Bible. It isn’t the approval of or fellowship with men (even “loving” Christian men).
I’ve found what I need in the I AM–in relationship with that mysterious breath of life. And for me, for now, that is more than enough.”
I too am on the other side of church…and I get sick and tired of being told “you need to be in church”. All those well-meaning words mean nothing in comparison to time in solitude and silence with God. I hope and pray that someday I’ll be able to walk back through church doors. But the truth is that The I Am I’ve met outside those walls means so much more out here.
Blessings on your journey.
Yoda
{after signing that I feel like I need to go back and reword this comment…To church I no go.}
jessica´s last blog ..Bearing Burdens
[Reply]
jessica
12:08 pm
Jessica,
My prayer is that you will be blessed on your journey as well. Your comment inspired me to look up some Yoda quotes. Surprisingly, a short-story rough-draft version of my experiences with church can be told quite simply through four of them:
“Named must your fear be before banish it you can.”
“Blind we are, if creation of this clone army we could not see.”
“Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice.”
“Around the survivors, a perimeter create.”
The ending remains to be told! :^)
[Reply]
ttm
12:25 pm
I think it’s great for staff to follow one another on twitter just like you would follow any of your other friends.
If you feel the need to move from “following” to “monitoring”, then you need to ask what’s going on (most likely inside of you) that is causing suspicion. At that point, there probably needs to be a face-to-face discussion. It’s gone from being a tech issue to a heart issue.
AdamF´s last blog ..Do you wonder, “Do I even matter?”
[Reply]
AdamF
12:41 pm
@Adam F., I totally agree!
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
1:32 pm
Accountability is always a good thing, that’s why I have @almightygod following me. I don’t have to worry about @pwilson seeing my tweet when the Holy Tweeter is monitoring my tweets.
I do think staff should be held accountable if they are saying anything, tweet or no tweet, that is damaging to the church. There has to be some freedom of speech, but there is a time and place for that. Just because I can say it doesn’t mean I should.
Pat Rowland´s last blog ..One Thing
[Reply]
Pat Rowland
2:55 pm
Stupid discussion by bunch of people who haven’t a clue anyway. Nothing to see here, move along.
[Reply]
Bobby
5:26 pm
@Bobby, dang you know how to bring a party down.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
7:24 pm
I love when others come in and pronounce something stupid based off of their expertise.
I guess I love it so much that I am doing it.
Kyle Reed´s last blog ..Resource of the Day #67
[Reply]
Kyle Reed
8:02 pm
I believe it is ok for leaders to follow and even monitor the staff. Church staff members are still employees and some waste so much time tweeting and playing on facebook. If they are behind in their work or the quality of their individual ministries are lacking the follow for awhile and see if they need a lesson in time management.
[Reply]
Paul Friend
10:13 pm
Controlling churches have one more way to enforce conformity and increase the burdens on members in the name of Christ.
[Reply]
Provender
10:26 pm
What if you have chosen not to Twitter at all? Does that make me dork? Oops good thing that wasn’t monitored.
bill (cycleguy)´s last blog ..Wearing Masks
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bill (cycleguy)
2:53 am
Policing staff? No
Keeping an eye on them? Yes
There’s wisdom in that
[Reply]
ChristianHaiku
5:21 am
@Provender, Dang a couple of you guys attend some hard core churches!
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
5:28 am
Coming out of the corporate world, one of the things I’ve noticed the most is how senior pastors tend to be control freaks.
There’s a higher trust factor in corporations, but also a higher expectation for results.
[Reply]
Jjoe
8:09 am
I don’t think the church is any different than any other business. Yes. They should have social media policies in place and yes they should monitor their employees twitter accounts.
Jessica Turner´s last blog ..Less Words Wednesday: Halloween Edition
[Reply]
Jessica Turner
4:15 pm
so…@jarrodmorris didn’t make the list…afraid of what he might say???
[Reply]
Laura
6:53 pm
@Laura, Oh my GOSH! I can’t believe I forgot him. Of all people I can’t forget Jarrod. Just added him.
[Reply]
Pete Wilson
7:13 pm
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