Several years ago, I thought I would try my hand at Twitter (now X). After only a week, I closed my account. It was obvious that Twitter wasn’t for me. My experience with Facebook has proven more enduring. Not long after I became a pastor, I opened an account, but always maintained a love-hate relationship with it. After about seven years, I closed my Facebook account. These days, I share a joint account with my wife.  

Social media is a tool. Like most tools, there are pros and cons to it. While some pastors shun the use of SM, most pastors utilize some form of it.

It is not hard to see the upside to SM. There is a good chance you are reading this because you found it on Facebook or another platform. SM opens us up to an information world that can be enormously beneficial. You are also aware, I’m sure, of the downside to SM. If you don’t winsomely use this tool, this tool will use you and will hinder your ministry.    

Here are four tips to help pastors wisely navigate their use of social media.

Social Media can be a time waster

This statement will come as no surprise to you. It is not hard to jump on Facebook or Instagram and just start scrolling and clicking. Before long, half an hour is gone. And yes, your second cousin had some nice pictures from the beach. There were other interesting articles and videos, of course. But seriously, was that the best use of your time?

You probably don’t spend 30 minutes of uninterrupted time on SM. But how frequently are you checking your accounts? 5 minutes here. 10 minutes there. It all adds up quickly. Often, we are oblivious to how much time we are spending on SM or just surfing the web.

I don’t think the solution is not to impose strict minute limitations upon your SM consumption. That won’t last over the long haul. Instead, be aware and cautious. Even when you are being exposed to good materials and resources, SM is enticing and distracting. It is easy to waste loads of time.    

Don’t buy into the myth of “platform”

I have noticed over the years, particularly among young pastors, a desire to build their “platform.” In other words, they want a big following. In the old days, it was only the mega church pastors had a following. Things have changed. These days, anyone can have a big platform, and SM is usually the vehicle.

It is easy to deceive ourselves. We can say it’s all about Jesus and advancing the gospel, when it’s really more about getting noticed, gaining a following, and building a little kingdom of our own (Jeremiah 45:5).      

If you are a pastor, you already have a platform – your church. Stop trying to expand and grow your audience and “reach the world.” Instead, “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). By all means, use SM to minister to them, but always keep your focus on them – the flock in your midst. If the Lord sees fit to expand your influence beyond your local congregation, so be it. However, that is not your prerogative.

Be content with what God has given you, and channel your energies into ensuring that your people grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18).     

People are watching you

Whether you like it or not, eyeballs are on you. If you have a young family, your kids are watching you. No doubt your congregation is also watching you. They see what you are posting. They see your comments. And they sometimes see your head looking down at a screen when you should be engaging with others in the real world, not the virtual.

There are many pastors who regularly share solid biblical, gospel-centered resources on SM. In this way, they are shepherding their congregations, and I commend them for that. I could also list a dozen examples of how pastors utilize SM in unhelpful, unedifying ways.   

As a pastor, you are a public figure. Likewise, SM is a public domain. As Paul told Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). The pastor must “watch” every area of his life, including this. Your influence will be felt, either through wise stewardship of SM, or of reckless (unwise) use of this tool. 

Closing your SM accounts might be best 

Last year, I read a piece from Ray Orlund, “Why I got out of Twitter.” This decision surprised many, given that Ortlund had a Twitter following in the tens of thousands, but it was a reminder of the downside of social media. Ortlund puts it well, “The good that can be accomplished on Twitter can also be accomplished, and far more fruitfully, in real life.”

I am still on Facebook. I still feel it is a helpful tool, but I try not to spend too much there. I hope and pray the time I do spend will be edifying.

You will have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself. For some of you, closing your account may be best. 

What your congregation needs most is a man with a heart that burns for God. Social media, to state the obvious, can keep you from what is best. If you are spending more time on social media than in prayer, bible study, or one to one discipleship, that is problematic.

I am ever mindful of the words of Acts 6:4 concerning the apostles. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.” If you are a pastor, make sure you don’t get distracted. Take inventory of your SM usage. Keep the main thing the main thing, and do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).