SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS!

 #MINISTRYMATTERS

By : Pastor Bimbo Animashaun 

SPEAK THE "LANGUAGE" OF YOUR GENERATION!!!

(Key To Maximizing The Moment)

Nothing is as frustrating as trying to minister to  people who don't understand your language, except it is interpreted to them.

In ministry, it's very frustrating to try to bless or connect with people who don't understand what you're saying.

And on the other hand, nothing is as rewarding as ministering to people who understand what you're saying - they're blessed and edified.

Now, every generation has its peculiarities, and in the context of this piece, the LANGUAGE refers to the PECULIARITY of each generation.

Many ministers are not strategic in what the do; they just buy into someone's prejudice and allow such thinking to undermine their work.

The fact is that every generation has its SPECIFICS and PECULIARITIES, and it is good for a minister to bear that in mind so that his calling and ministry can find the widest expression on the landscape of time.

I have said over the years that A CALLING IS ALWAYS SITUATED IN A GENERATIONAL CONTEXT.

In other words, each minister has a CALLING and he belongs to a GENERATION.

For example, my own calling is not situated in the generation of the 1st century Christians and Apostles; it is situated in the 21st century, so wisdom and discretion tell me to understand and master the dynamics of the 21st century.

When you also look at King David, he too belonged to A GENERATION, which was not the generation of the apostles, and of course he made his mark while his work still endures till date.

ACTS 13:36

For DAVID, after he had served HIS OWN GENERATION by THE WILL OF GOD, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

So, "generational studies" are Scriptural. Consider another scripture here friend:

MATTHEW 1:17

So all the generations from ABRAHAM to DAVID are fourteen generations; and from David until the CARRYING AWAY INTO BABYLON are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto CHRIST are fourteen generations.

This scripture tells us that ABRAHAM, DAVID and CHRIST belonged to and ministered in DIFFERENT GENERATIONS, and each of these generations had its peculiarity.

We have other people like that in Scriptures, as well as other similar patterns.

Generations are not the same but God is eternally constant, and this God, in His eternal wisdom and discretion, makes allowance for "generational dynamics".

ECCLESIASTES 1:4

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

We have different dominant expressions of diverse attributes in each generation and you must understand yours.

A quick example here. When it comes to the worship of God, in the GENERATION of:

(1) ABRAHAM, it was more of ALTARS - they built ALTARS unto the Lord after each encounter - Gen.12:8.

(2) MOSES, it was more of TABERNACLES - there was THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION where worship was offered - Lev.8:10, Lev.17:4, Heb.8:5.

(3) DAVID, it was more of TEMPLES or SANCTUARIES - Ps.27:4, Ps.63:2 and remember that in that generation, Solomon built a befitting temple for the Lord - 1 Kgs.9:1.

(4) JESUS, it was more of SYNAGOGUES - SYNAGOGUES were common in those days - Lk.4:15-16.

(5) THE NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVERS, we WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH - location really is not a barrier - Jn 4:23-24, Phil.3:3, 1 Tim.2:8.

Now I just gave an example there. Imagine a Pastor now building an altar every Sunday morning to offer burnt offerings; you know of course that he's like going back to the days of Abraham.

So, it will look odd because there's a "generational progression" already in line with eternal purpose when it comes to the worship of God.

But I want to particularly focus on MINISTRY PLATFORMS here, and I want to briefly touch on one that is peculiar to our generation, which is SOCIAL MEDIA.

You may wonder why it's SOCIAL MEDIA I wanted to talk about and I gave so much of exegesis.

There's need for it because the kind of aversion against this platform even from Christian folks is alarming.

Some people just take what somebody said hook, line and sinker without thinking on their own or doing their own thorough and objective "investigation".

Whether we like it or not, SOCIAL MEDIA, no matter its negative use by some elements, impacts heavily on CHRISTIAN CULTURE in our time.

I discovered that SOCIAL MEDIA IS ACTUALLY THE MEETING POINT FOR THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD - there's no single time or moment of the day when people are not on social media - NOT A SINGLE MOMENT!!!

So, what do we do as a Church? We take the Gospel to them and we saturate that space with Christian contents.

I'm really shocked at the number of Pastors who still have aversion and prejudice against social media, and when you ask them their reason, they really have nothing tangible to say.

Now that's religion. Religion is doing something while you don't know why you're doing it.

I have heard ministers say in the past, "People do rubbish on Facebook" and something like "One has to be very careful oooooooooooooooo. It's a social media generation" and stuffs like that.

Now, because it's "A SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATION", that's why CHRISTIANS need to bombard the social media space with Christian contents.

Some people have indirectly advised me in the past to stop using socal media and I thought, "Dear Lord, what kind of a thinking is this?".

I do things based on CONVICTION, not because of COMPULSION.

If something is working for you, I don't think it is wisdom to abandone it because somebody said something.

Now this is the bitter truth; THE LANGUAGE OF THIS GENERATION SEEMS TO BE SOCIAL MEDIA, so simple wisdom says that for you to really reach and "impact" this generation (I'm not talking about the generation of Moses o), you have to SPEAK THAT LANGUAGE.

Now please get me right friends. I didn't say that you would not make any impact in ministry if you're not on social media. No No No!!!

Of course you will at your level but a major tool for GLOBAL IMPACT in ministry IN THIS GENERATION is THE SOCAL MEDIA.

Check this out friends; many young ministers who came into the limelight in the past few years came to be known through the platform of social media - mention names.

You probably might not have known a minister by the name of Pastor Bimbo Animashaun or Bimbo Animashaun Teaching Ministries - BATEM  if not because you came across my contents online.

But then, truth is that before the advent of social media, many of us have been ministering the Word of God by God's Grace.

That's why I will not let someone who is speaking from ignorance, and saying something like "All these Facebook ministers don't understand ministry; real ministry is not online; it's real life".

Well, such people need some kind of education and enlightenment.

Most of us preaching, teaching and writing online have been doing that when there was nothing like Facebook; Facebook came as a platform to spread the Word to the ends of the earth, and I'm saying that with utmost sense of humility.

We're not Facebook ministers; we're minsters of Christ, called, anointed and set apart for the work of the ministry, so STOP BULLYING PEOPLE ONLINE; FACE YOUR WORK SIR AND MA.

When the Archbishop Benson Idahosa went on mass media, they called him names and tried to bully him, but thank God for strength, doggedness and resilience, and today, the rest is history.

Fathers like the Archbishop broke the ground for many other ministers and today, Jesus is glorified everywhere.

If someone is a young minister and he's confessing the Word in prayer, "Lord, my ministry is global in expression. Global coverage. Global expression" and the likes but doesn't make use of social media, it doesn't add up for me.

You prayed and God answered your prayer and he opened up social media platforms for you (which is peculiar to your generation) but you're saying "NO, THE DEVIL IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA".

So, are you saying that the devil is not where you're ministering currently or that he's not also infiltrating any platform you're using currently?

You said you have received THE MANTLE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL IN LETTER WRITING, and that it's letter you too will be writing to different nations.

Well, bless your darling hearts Beloved but you may actually conserve time and energy reaching out to several nations and your impact will be MASSIVE.

Letter writing was a major platform in Paul's generation; there wasn't social media then. I'm very sure that if there was, the Apostle Paul I have read about would have made use of it - Paul wasn't given to traditions and prejudices as an Apostle.

You know; people say something like "It's not about social media followership. Followership means nothing on social media...".

Well, CONTEXT has to be properly defined because if someone has 5 million followers on Facebook and another person has 50 followers and both of them push the same MESSAGE with THE SAME FIRE AND ANOINTING 🔥🔥🔥 on their platforms, more people will definitely be REACHED and BLESSED with the 5 million followers than 50 followers - THAT'S A FACT!!!

So, you can't really say it's not about followers. Sometimes some people who talk like that will change their position when they hit large followership, so they aren't really talking out of conviction but out of pressure.

Let's just say it the way it is, whether it suits our fancy or not. FOLLOWERSHIP matters but the balance is that don't kill yourself gathering followers; just keep blessing lives and be consistent with your ministry and the Lord will reward your labour of love.

Sometimes by 2am or 3am, you still see people online. While you don't have control over their time, your own duty is to TAKE THE GOSPEL TO THEM.

The LANGUAGE of this generation seems to be SOCIAL MEDIA, so WE WILL SPEAK IT, with ALL THE GRACE OF GOD UPON US and THE STRENGTH OF THE HOLY GHOST WITHIN US.

We will inundate ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS with the GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF CHRIST, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.

If people are making millions of naira and dollars online without being fraudulent, why can't we preach and teach the Gospel online too?

By the Grace of God, in my own generation, WE WILL USE TIMELY TECHNOLOGY TO PREACH AND TEACH THE TIMELESS GOSPEL, and Jesus alone shall be glorified in all nations of the earth.

Trusting God for this little contribution to birth and trigger a new consciousness in our hearts such that everyone partners with the Spirit of God to advance Kingdom frontiers through the use of social media to the praise of the Glory of His Name.

Amen!!

I trust this made little sense Sirs and Mas?

#Selah