Pastors posting on the BB

Didn't have computers when I was in ministry, but I am sure I wouldn't have much time for it.

Cheers,

Jim

 

No, of course not, it's only acceptable if YOU have down time.

How dare a pastor, in study, have time to interject thought throughout the day on the BB, and sharpen his apologetic skill against error regularly?

How could one ever have the same freedom as you, when in study all day long and in access to the internet, from say, 3 a.m. to 7-8 p.m. daily?

Only you should have this right! :laugh:

 

Unfortunately, this pastor is...

....retired. :thumbsup: Wouldn't be here if I had a job, or were leading a church. Don't think I'd have the time to even know about this BB.

Thanks for asking, It is a very good question, and it deserves some very honest, candid answers!

Pastor Paul

 

I think you're on to something.

 

It is real easy to say that one is a pastor when one does not leave any information on what church they are pastor. If they claim they are worried about persecution, then maybe they should not be here. But, I think it is mostly because they do not want their members to see what they say and how they act on line or (most probable) they are pastors in their own mind and really do not have a church.
This would give them plenty of time to be on the board, I would not be surprised if this applies to half.

 

Perhaps you could post a list of the most notable offenders.

 

I certainly see nothing wrong with pastors posting on here as long as they limit it to not taking time from their pastor duties. It gives them an outlet away from pastoring. Assuming members of their congregation are not also on here, they also can say some things on BB that they could not say to their members without being misinterpretated.

However, a few years ago, there was a thread on BB that asked pastors what was the normal attendance in their church. As I recall, most pastors had under 100 in average attendance and no pastor had over 150. I suspect some pastors in larger churches fear to post on here for fear of their members learning about their positions, questions and weaknesses.

I know the senior pastor of our 1800 average attendance church sometimes reads some of the forums, but does not post on them. I know because he read some of my posts and had some comments for me on the side.

 

Let's broaden the scope of the question so as to step on everyone's toes: Is this a normal and accepted practice of the Christian? If the work of the minister is to prepare you for the work of the ministry, shouldn't we all be as equally busy doing His work?

Is there a different standard for "clergy" than other "normal" followers of Christ? If so, is that a biblical concept or just something we've created by which to judge another?

BTW, I'm not a pastor either (though I do preach on regular occasions), so I'm not asking this as a defense, just something more to consider...

 

Since it would be only a semi-educated guess, it would amount to gossip and you would know that. Are you trying to lead a brother to stumble? :laugh:
Shame on you. Rest assured, some toes were stepped on.

 

Skandelon and I have something in common.....go figure. LOL :wavey:

Some of the topics that I encounter on the BB have caused me to study deeper and with much more conviction on obtaining the meaning of the word.

Yes Salty, I am sometimes on multiple pages at the same time

 

The brother has a point.

 

no did you? :wavey:

 

This is my practice also...

And, yes, I spend WAY too much time here. I tend to cover a lot of ground when I check in, and it can seem as if I am always on, but most of the time, I'm away and working on something else. Oh, and I am a pastor, but not currently leading a church. I do my ministry in other ways.

 

Ah the Catch-22.

For what its worth, I disagree with the OP on two fronts:
1. Who cares what someone does and how much they are on the BB. I think its foolish for a person to think all a pastor does is pray, visit, and study. That isn't my day. My days are filled with meetings, meeting about meetings, pre-meetings, amongst other duties. There are often several days a week that will go by without me encountering a parishioner if I labor at my desk under the stack of paper that is consuming me.

2. That just because the BB says someone is online doesn't actually mean they're online. Not too long ago I came back to my laptop after being gone for several hours and discovered I had forgotten to go to another site. It probably looked like I was around that whole time...I wasn't.

In general I like coming around here as a relaxer. I've got an iPad now so I can pop up safari and swing through for a couple minutes while waiting on a meeting to get going (everyone is insufferably late recently) or if I'm waiting on something else. I'm a speed reader so I can breeze through posts and replies quickly. When I post replies I try to be concise and often don't reply until I've got a free moment.

I also use my iPhone when I'm out and about. Probably between the two, and because I don't always minimize the browser the BB doesn't realize I'm gone. The tracking software is only so smart.

These might be reasonable points as to why it appears some are around.

Rather than throwing around accusations maybe we can engage in a balanced discourse first to see what others might be doing and observing.:thumbsup:

 

I post in meetings A LOT. It's that or fall asleep, but if I'm multitasking I actually listen better in the meetings believe it or not.

I also post while I'm watching tv at night sometimes for the same reason. If more than one thing is going on I seem to engage better in both. I don't know why.