Churches without policies for online activity risk embarrassment — or worse

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) —Sheryl Fancher tells social media nightmare stories that make ministers cringe—like the one about a pastor who posted derogatory remarks about church members on his Facebook page without realizing his account was public.

"There are all kinds of boundary issues around social media networks that we don't even think about until we begin encountering them," said Fancher, director of ministry development with the Presbyterian Samaritan Center, a clergy counseling service in Charlotte, N.C.

Statistics show religious Americans have adopted social media at roughly the same rates as unbelievers.

According to the 2011 Pew Internet and American Life Project, 79 percent of those active in religious groups use the Internet, and 46 percent use social media. That's compared to 75 and 49 percent of nonreligious Americans, respectively.

But Flancher and other experts say convincing churches to adopt policies governing online activity is an uphill slog. Either they are unaware of the need for guidelines or oppose them outright.

Others avoid the issue altogether by staying offline, which also is a mistake, said Natalie Aho, a social media adviser and consultant for Associated Baptist Press and for a number of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship state organizations and congregations.

"We need to be a voice for reason and Christ, and that's why we need to be online," Aho said. "But if you are going to be online and connecting, you need to have policy guiding that."

That approach is modeled in the business world, where social media is maximized for its marketing potential. But most companies are adopting rules to minimize the lapses in judgment or civility that can bring embarrassment and legal consequences.

A lot of it comes down to common sense, said Lauren Hunter, founder and chief blogger at ChurchTechToday.com, a California-based Christian blog site that monitors technology and Internet trends.

Not bashing church members on Facebook or making outrageous statements on Twitter should come naturally for Christians in ministry. But sometimes it doesn't, and a policy can caution against risky online behavior. Plus, a thoughtful policy can underscore the church mission by keeping different ministers and members on message when posting pictures on Facebook or using Twitter, Hunter said.

Hunter also recommends churches appoint someone to keep an eye on all church-related communications online. "Even if a church's only social media tool is a page on Facebook … someone could spam it or put an insult or negative remark on it, and then it's out there," she said. "Someone must be given the responsibility to monitor it."

These issues gain a sense of urgency when youth are involved, said Brian Foreman, president of b4man Consulting, a ministry coaching and consulting firm working with the Center for Congregational Health to develop social media guidelines for parents and youth ministers.

Parents should set rules for how their children use social media, he advised.

"My children aren't going to have Facebook accounts if I don't have access to it," he said. "They are going to have to add me as a friend."

Churches should encourage Sunday school teachers and youth ministers to use online communications as a way to enhance "in-depth, real-life conversations" while avoiding inappropriate communications, Foreman said.

"There are some real dangers in online conversations—you can flirt online as well as offline," Foreman said.

Youth minister Gavin Rogers, 30, said he avoids social media gaffes by following the same rules he has for personal contact with teens at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio.

Just as he wouldn't call or visit teens at odd hours or be alone with them behind closed doors, he doesn't send them private messages online or via text.

But it's important for him to be Facebook friends with them, Rogers added, so he sees when cyber-bullying or other dangerous behaviors are occurring in their lives.

"Sometimes I have to say to a kid, 'Let's talk about how your Facebook (presence) reflects your Christian witness,'" Rogers said. 

Rogers leans away from policies if they go too far, such as in banning online connections between ministers and church members. "If it says 'no contact on Facebook,' then that causes more damage than good."

Aho noted she encounters a lot of resistance to any rules, especially from younger pastors, because many of them grew up using Facebook and other online outlets and detest limits. But older clergy sometimes balk out of concern they'll lose what they consider to be a newfound avenue of unfettered expression, she added.

"Younger ministers have a greater chance of getting into trouble, but older ones do, too, when they think they have this freedom they've never had before," she said.

Rather than seeing policies as a hindrance, they should be viewed as tools for setting healthy boundaries that protect rather than restrict all parties.

Policies should be flexible and revisited regularly so they can be amended to reflect experience, Aho said, adding there is no one policy to fit every church.

"We're all pioneers in this," she said. "We're figuring it out together, and that is where policy comes in."