Church Fights and Blogs

The Associated Baptist Press ran an article the other day about the growing trend of internal church fights being fought in blogs. The story gives several examples where members not happy with the leadership or the direction of the church have posted their complaints on a blog. Is this public airing of our dirty laundry good? While it is important that everyone be given a voice, should that voice be used in such a public manner?

The article quotes Bob Perry (a great guy who works for a great organization). He suggests that while blogs can be positive at a denominational level, it may not be right for local church conflicts. He explains:

I think at the local church level, it is very, very wrong. ... I just can’t imagine that there’s any real value to this. ... God only knows the damage it does to the cause of Christ. ... You’ve got people reading blogs in India and China -- folks we are hoping to evangelize -- and they are reading about local disputes in Baptist churches. I think it’s just very unhealthy.

He makes an excellent point about being mindful of the possible damage that may come from our words. On the other hand, some of the others quoted in the article do make good points about the need for openness and information being available. This is a very fine line to walk. If Christians feel they must blog about local church conflicts, hopefully they will at least keep Perry’s advice in mind. May everything we write about our brothers and sisters be for good.