Training baptist pastors in internet information dissemination capabilities in their ministries. An appraisal of the impact

Masterarbeit , 2009 , 117 Seiten , Note: 4.5

Medien / Kommunikation - Multimedia, Internet, neue Technologien

This study investigated the impact of training Baptist pastors in using the Internet to disseminate information in their ministries. Quasi-experimental research design was used to examine the impact of training in some aspects of Internet information dissemination and the effects it would have on the ministries of the pastors. Thirty pastors were randomly selected and trained from the pool of pastors without experience in the use of the Internet. A course content was designed for the training.

A questionnaire was administered to the pastors before the training as a pre-test and the same questionnaire was administered again to the pastors after the training as a post-test. Ten church members were also randomly selected from each of the churches of these pastors who assessed the impact of the training after the pastors have used the acquired knowledge in their ministries for one month. After the pastors have been using the knowledge in their ministries for one month another questionnaire was administered to the church members for the appraisal. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data collected.

Table of contents

CHAPTER ONE
Introductory Statement
Background to the Study
Statement of the Problem
Research Questions
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Scope of the Study
Operational Definitions of Terms

CHAPTER TWO
Concepts of Communication
Purpose of Communication
Means of Communication
The Pastor’s Ministry
Internet as Means of Communication: A Focus on its Features
Elements and Uses of Internet
Internet as a Means of Information Collection
Internet as a Means of Interaction among Christians
Impact of Internet on the Pastoral Ministry
Internet and Christian Ministry

CHAPTER THREE
Research Design
Population and Sample
Sampling Techniques
Instruments for Data Collection
Validity and Reliability of the Instruments
Procedure for Data Collection
Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR
Analysis of Data
Discussion of Results

CHAPTER FIVE
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
Suggestions for Further Research

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

APPENDIX C

APPENDIX D

APPENDIX E

REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Introductory Statement

There have been various means of communication among human beings generally, and pastors in particular. The Church has always been at the forefront of communication because her essential mission is to communicate Christ to the world. Internet is a relatively new means of communication. It comprises many aspects that people are making use of nowadays. Pastors have to know these aspects and make use of them effectively in their pastoral ministries. This will, indeed, help them reach out to people in contemporary ways.

Background to the Study

The world has become a global village where information technology has taken the centre stage. A prominent aspect of information technology is the Internet. Although, the Internet was originally designed around 1969 to allow the exchange of packets of bits between computers, it became a popular means of communication since 1993 when the Mosaic web browser was released, and especially when electronic mail (popularly known as e-mail) and bulletin boards became increasingly popular among those who have access to it. It has grown to be one of the fastest means of communication in the world today (Hardcastle, 2007). Tusubira and Kyeyune (2001) gave a vivid explanation of the evolution of the Internet when they affirmed that:

Advances in information and communication technologies and the need to share information globally led to the evolution of the Internet. What is popularly called the Internet is really a network of many independent internets linked together for mutual benefit. The Internet is a global connection of computers. These computers are connected via a huge network of telecommunications links. The Internet allows access to a wide resource of data and information stored adifferent sites (called hosts or servers) and locations all around the world. Each computer connected to the Internet can act as a host (6-7).

Halcomb, et al (2000) rightly observed that, “computer, the Internet, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, remote education, TV, radio, and other media permeate our culture. All of them can be used for communication” (52). In addition, Halcomb, et al (2000) referred to this present era as the “Information Age” (52). In Nigeria, this is now gradually replacing some of the conventional means of communication. Adeoye (2008) painted this picture vividly. According to him, “There has … been a sharp decrease in the circulation of newspapers as readers now turn to the Internet for their daily news. The poor readership of newspapers is also affecting the revenue of the newspaper industry in the country, and some are already shedding their staff strength” (11). Adeoye (2008) had earlier cited American Journalism Review that stated that because of the advent of Internet, “the last newspaper in the United States, US, would be printed in October 2044 (11).”

Kerrey and Isakson (2000) were of the opinion that:

The Internet is a powerful new means of communication. It is global, it is fast, and it is growing rapidly. Reaching to the far corners of the earth, the Internet is making the world at once smaller and more connected, transmitting information at nearly real-time speed. …The World Wide Web is bringing rapid and radical change into our lives—from the wonderfully beneficial to the terrifyingly difficult (i).

The impact that the Internet is having on every facet of life cannot be overemphasized. In fact, it has been observed that “the Internet is a driving force for much development and innovation in both developed and developing countries” (Khvilon 2002, 9). More and more people are making use of it in their day-to-day activities. “The speed and extent to which the Internet has been embraced by a wide diversity of people in such a short period of time are unparallel in human history” (Dawson and Cowan 2004, 5). The fact that it is a fast means of communication has endeared it to many people.

The Internet has become the new mission field of the twenty-first century and an assertive evangelisation tool (Edmiston, 2007). In fulfilling the mandate of the Great Commission, pastors have the great opportunity of making use of the Internet (Discussing Internet ministry with pastors, 2008). In an interview posted on the web on October 11, 2007, Tanto (2007) observed, “Modern communications, particularly the Internet, do not only offer us a variety of media with which to transmit the Good News but have given birth to a ‘new culture’ (Binju-Nkambe Parish Weblog, 2007). Babin and Zukowski (2002) referred to this new culture as “new territory or frontier” and “new marketplace of public information and communication” called “cyberspace” (4). It is “a new culture with a new language, a new psychology, and new technologies for communication and information” (Babin and Zukowski 2002, 157).

Robbins (2000) rightly observed that, “ the Internet is revolutionizing mass communications for virtually every facet of society, and is becoming a world-wide gathering place for the global community... including vast numbers of Christians and clergyman, [therefore] it behooves the church to bring its presence there” (Robbins, 2008). Edmiston found out that there are over 275 million Internet searches each day, eighty percent of all Internet sessions begin at a search engine, and religion is one of the main topics people search for (Edmiston, 2007). More and more people are turning to the Internet to find information, to use it as a pleasure, or to use it to send information to other people.

As Robbins (2000) pointed out, ministers of the gospel are not left behind in making use of this modern means of communication (Robbins, 2008). According to the Gospel Communcations (an organization that is an umbrella of some Christian ministries that involve themselves in online ministries), “When traditional means of ministry fall short, the Internet provides a way to speak directly to people about their spiritual beliefs, fears, and questions on their own terms” (Why Gospel Communications Does Ministry Online, 2008). According to Tanto (2007), “the Internet is not the only means of communicating Christ to the world but it is the most appropriate means to integrate the Good News of Jesus Christ to the new culture in which the Church finds herself” (Binju-Nkambe Parish Weblog, 2007). In Wilson’s (2000) words, “God is doing something big, and we had best be clearheaded about what is going on around us. The church is in the information business, and we should not be surprised that God has raised up information technology to communicate His word to the entire world” (xiii). Therefore, many pastors have seen the Internet as a veritable means of communication in their ministries while some have not seen it as such. In fact, in Jewell’s (2004) words, “Christian leaders who do not have access to the Internet or e-mail… will be increasingly out of touch with most of the people in their faith community” (162).

Nevertheless, result of a preliminary survey (see Appendix A for detail) conducted by this researcher on the pastors in Ibadan metropolis during one of their meetings on September 2, 2008 discovered that most pastors, especially Baptist pastors in Ibadan metropolis, do not make good use of this great opportunity. How will these pastors know how to use the Internet in their pastoral ministries? The personal involvement of this researcher in using the Internet as a veritable means of communication in his pastoral ministries has made him to decide to delve into this research work.

Statement of the Problem

Information dissemination nowadays has taken new dimension with the advent of information and communication technology in general and the Internet in particular. Inasmuch as the Internet has become a veritable means of information dissemination, and since the use of information and communication in general, and the Internet in particular among pastors is not very popular as evident in the preliminary survey that many of them are Internet illiterates, the training of pastors in Internet utilization will likely improve their information dissemination capabilities to their members that are using the Internet.

Research Questions

The following research questions were addressed in this study:

1. What is the level of the difference between the knowledge of the pastors in using Internet to disseminate information in their ministries before and after their training on the use of Internet information dissemination?
2. What ways do pastors use the Internet in their ministries?
3. How do members of churches rate the level of information dissemination of their pastors through the Internet?
4. What specific areas of pastoral ministry do the Internet information dissemination influence most?
5. What specific areas of pastoral ministry do the Internet information dissemination influence least?
6. What ways can pastors be encouraged to use the Internet more in their pastoral ministries?

Purpose of the Study

The main objective of this research is to assess the impact of the Internet on information dissemination capability of Baptist pastors in Ibadan metropolis to their members. This research specifically aimed at:

1. discovering the various aspects of Internet that pastors can use as a means of communication;
2. finding out ways pastors can use these aspects to effectively communicate in their pastoral ministries;
3. learning the extent pastors are making use of these aspects in their pastoral ministries;
4. encouraging pastors to make good use of these aspects in their ministries;

Significance of the Study

This study was significant in that:

1. It explored the Internet as one of the most useful and contemporary means of communication among human beings in general and pastors in particular, especially in their information dissemination.
2. It helped pastors to be more efficient in their ministries as they make use of this modern and postmodern means of communication to disseminate information.
3. It also helped to advance the Kingdom of God on earth as this means of communication does not limit pastors to their locality but enable them to fulfil the mandate of the Great Commission to be witnesses of the gospel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV).

Scope of the Study

This study focused on the use of four aspects of the Internet—e-mail, short message services (SMS) or text messages, online chatting, and websites—as means of information dissemination among pastors of churches in Baptist Associations within Ibadanland. The study trained pastors on the use of the Internet in Ibadan metropolis without any experience of the use of the Internet. The training covers four aspects mentioned above. Ibadan metropolis was chosen because there was accessibility to many Internet services providers (ISP) in the city, and most elites in the city have started using the Internet in their day-to-day activities.

Operational Definitions of Terms

This researcher gave operational and technical definitions of these terms:

- Information Dissemination

This is the collection, analysis, and giving out of information useful for both the sender and the recipient(s).

- Internet

The Internet is simply a network of computers across the globe. It is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It is a “network of networks” that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web.

- Ministry

Pastoral ministry is the act of nurturing and care giving by a minister of the gospel whose primary task is to render ministry and services to meet both spiritual and physical or otherwise needs of his or her parishioners and community people.

- Pastor

From a Baptist perspective, a pastor is a divinely called and theologically trained person that is called into the pastoral ministries of a local church, employed as a ministerial officer in a denominational office or a theological educator in a theological institution. He or she can also be a chaplain in any other institution engaged for the spiritual matters of such institution. Furthermore, he or she can also be a freelance evangelist or a divinely called and theologically trained person in the mission fields.

CHAPTER TWO

SYNTHESIS OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter dealt with review of literature pertinent to the topic of this thesis. It highlighted views of different authors on various sub-topics of this work. This was done with a view to establish what was already known about the subject matter and also provided guidance in the direction of the research.

Concepts of Communication

Meaning of Communication

The ancient mission of the Church is to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to the entire world and to disciple all those who respond to maturity in Christ (Jewell 2004, 83). Kraft (1991) opined, “Communication requires that there be a message, one or more people to whom that message is directed, and a messenger to take the message across whatever gap between the source of the message and the intended receptor(s)” (10). From Kraft’s definition in conjunction with Jewell’s opinion, the Good News is the message that the Church as the messenger has to pass across to the entire world. However, Olatoregun and Binuomote (2007) gave these comprehensive definitions of communication:

1. The means of sending messages
2. The transmission of information
3. That situation in which a source transmits a message to a receiver with conscious intent to affect the latter’s behaviours.
4. The verbal interchange of thought or ideas
5. The process that links discontinuous parts of the living world together
6. A process that makes common to two or several what was the monopoly of one or some (57-58).

Saunders (1974) did not attempt to define the word communication, rather, he looked at the different aspects of the subject by giving seven questions. These questions are: “Who? Says what? With what purpose? To whom? In what situation? By what means? With what effect?” (7). These seven questions are about the communicator, the content of the communication (or simply, the information), purpose of communication, the recipient(s), context of communication, means of communication, and the outcome of communication. Therefore, communication is the process of sharing thoughts, ideas or values in such a way as to have an effect on the recipient’s life. Attempts will be made to review related literature on each of these components of communication.

The Communicator

The communicator is very important in communication process. He must be actively involved in the process. Failure to communicate is always the fault of the communicator. Since the pastor is the presumed communicator in this study, more will be said about him later in this review. Although, the members of a local church also can be the communicator, they will be treated mainly as the recipients in this review.

The Content of the Communication

Mostly, the word of God, or the gospel message, is the content of the communication of the pastor. It is “the unchanging foundation for what we proclaim and how we proclaim it” (Avant 1995, 96). However, the content may also contain other information that the pastor may want to pass across to his congregation. As highlighted and explained by MacArthur (2005), delivery of the content of communication which in pastoral ministry is mainly preaching (and teaching) must have the proper priority; the content must have the proper foundation in the Scriptures; the content must have the proper content of the sound teachings of the Scripture; the content must have the proper commitment; and the content should be viewed as the pastor’s highest calling (204-213).

Oyinlola (2006), however, lamented about the adulteration of the contents of the present-day preachers (47). To him, what the people of the world want to hear is the “message of prosperity,” and such kind of message would make the preachers get followers, and enrich their purse. Albrecht (2008) alluded to this adulteration of the words of God because, Ours is an age that has largely subscribed to the Post-modernist creed that “all truth is relative. What is right for you may not be right for someone else. Therefore you cannot say that you are right and another is wrong.” Churches, once distinguishable by doctrinal positions, have united under the cover of religious tolerance and broadmindedness. What matters today is not what is believed but how firmly and passionately one believes it (2).

In spite of this adulteration of the words of God, Albrecht (2008) advised that the word of God should be fully made known in spite of opposition and suffering, while confident of its power, using the law to expose sin, proclaiming the unconditional gospel, in a spirit of humility and gentleness, and by holding fast to pure doctrine (2-8). Wellum (2006) also emphasized learning to preach and teach the whole counsel of God accurately and faithfully (2-3).

According to Jewell (2004), it is essential for “a church or ministry’s message… to be concise, easily understood, believable, and clearly manifested in the actual life of the group” (148-149). Careaga (2001) corroborated this by saying that, “Our witness to cyberspace must resonate with the truth of the gospel, as well as the truth of our own experience” (142).

Purpose of Communication

When one determines the main purpose of communicating a particular information, one would be able to focus on how to present it and the effect it will have on the recipient(s) of such information. Byrns (1994) gave three general purposes of speechmaking that are also applicable to communication generally. These purposes are to inform, to persuade, and for special occasions (72). Communication should be made with a purpose in mind. McLaughlin (1968) expatiated on this: “Communication is the sharing of information for the purpose of affecting the receiver in some predetermined way” (17).

The Recipient(s)

The importance of the recipient(s) of the information cannot be over-emphasized. This is in line with Babin and Zukowski (2002) that said, “Clearly, in media the audience decides the timeliness, the importance, and the meaning of the message” (60). That is why, for effective communiscation, the communicator must know his audience. Jewell (2004) reiterated this by saying that it is a primary concern for the communicator to first identify who he wants to communicate with. To him, the recipient is important than the content of the message (83). Okunlola (1999) cited Holinsworth who identified five types of recipient(s) as follows: (1) pedestrian audience, (2) passive audience, (3) selected audience, (4) conserted audience, and (5) organized audience (388-389).

Kraft (1991) was of the opinion that the kind and nature of the impact that a message has on the recipient(s) is a crucial factor in communication (47). He then explained some principles that relate to the recipient(s) “on the basis of which messages are disposed toward or away from greater impact” (47). These principles include acceptability to the recipient(s); relevance to the recipient(s); specificity to their needs; unexpectedness or unpredictability to the recipient(s); and ability of the recipient(s) to discover insights and answers on their own (Kraft 1991, 47-50).

As the key participant in communication, Kraft (1991) noted that the recipient(s)’s interpretation of the message is important; that they have needs that they want to be met; that they belong to reference groups that will greatly influence them; that they are already committed to some values and beliefs; that they are active in communication, even when it seems they are not; and that they make decisions on any given information (67-80). Following Smith, Kraft (1991) identified seven stages of reaching decisions of the recipient(s). These stages that may not necessarily occur in sequence are: awareness, interest, evaluation, choice, implementation, readjustment, and reassessment (78-79). More will be reviewed about the recipients under “The Pastor’s Ministry” below.

Context of Communication

Every communicated message has its context, and it must be communicated in its context. Failure to consider this will affect the outcome of the communication. Still (1996) was of the opinion that the message of the gospel “is ever contemporary” (51). He continued to say that, “…the Word as ministered in the manner and setting of other ages, without contemporary application, is doubly unsuitable to our age, in that it speaks to a bygone and therefore fails to speaks to our own” (51). In other words, the message must be contextualized. In Wilson’s (2000) words, “In order to be effective in our witness, we should be relevant just as [God] was relevant [in doing something tremendous at this moment in history]. In that context, we should understand the environment in which we live and how ubiquitous technology will impact that environment” (43-44).

Means of Communication

A message does not exist in itself. It must be communicated in some mode either orally or visually (Litteral 1988, 81). There are various means of communication. Litteral (1988) identified oral means of communication as dialogue, monologue, and song, while visual means are art and drama (81). Avant (1995) asserted that there has been diversity of means of communicating the gospel now than one can think of in any period of the history of the church. He identified “seeker services and satellite communications, contemporary Christian music and computer technology, power evangelism and power teams” as examples of these diverse means (95). Philips (2000) explained better about computer technology. According to him, Computer networking has changed the ways in which persons now communicate. Huge amounts of text, sounds, and images can be transferred to or from anywhere on earth almost instantaneously. What someone has written, recorded, drawn, or stored in one place can be read, heard, seen throughout the world, given the proper equipment and computer software. …the Internet, especially the World Wide Web has become a driving force in both business and society. Web browsers bring together text, images, and sounds in provocative ways (61-62).

Likewise, Babin and Zukowski (2002) stated, “While our traditional means for communicating the faith remains valid, they are not exclusive. The Internet offers new or additional opportunities to image and position the Good News within a growing matrix of religious and spiritual realities in cyberspace” (7). In line with this, Careaga (2001) corroborated the Internet as one of the most “authentic” methods of communicating the Word of God to people online. He explained about a software of the Bible that he termed “Bible-bot”—a robot of the Bible “created to manage chat rooms and electronic mailing lists and to perform other routine functions on the Net” (119). Also Careaga cited Jimmy Long that was of the opinion that an effective approach of reaching people online is merging “our story” with “God’s story” as we diligently share with them (142).

Babin and Zukowski (2002) opined that the message of the gospel does not change, but its delivery must change because “it has to do with capturing the attention and/or the imagination of our intended audiences amidst the many packages displayed before them. The presentation or the packaging of the Good News of Jesus is imperative today. We believe it is not the message that is obsolete, but the way it is being delivered” (144).

The Outcome of Communication

Communication has not taken place without an outcome. According to Halcomb et al (2000), “Understanding is an essential part of communication. If understanding or grasping the meaning does not take place, there is no true communication” (50). When there is poor communication, there are “misunderstandings, confusion, grumbling, frustration, loss of creativity, and distortion of the vision and goal” (Halcomb et al 2000, 51).

The Pastor’s Ministry

The preacher or the communicator of the gospel is very important before the communication of the gospel can take place. According to Criswell (1980), “In God’s economy, there is no such thing as the delivery of the glorious message of truth without a preacher. In the elective purpose of God his will and work are made known to us through a living personality” (25). Ishola (2008) asserted that the life of the preacher or the communicator is his message because he is louder than what he says (1). While stressing the importance of the minister that will use modern technology, Jewell (2004) succinctly said, “Who we are in Christ shapes how we are in the world” (10). He went further to say, “The truly Christian leader who will have an impact in our disconnected world is theologically grounded, spiritually centered, and technologically informed” (159).

Therefore, the communicator of the gospel in particular must possess these things:

a. Regeneration: This is a pivotal qualification of a communicator of the gospel. The communicator of the gospel must be regenerated and must have experienced new life in Jesus Christ because he cannot share what he does have (Stanton 1995, 154). Ilori (2002) gave a description of a Christian education teacher that is also applicable to any other communicator of the gospel. According to him, such a person must be “born-again,” “regenerated,” those that “know Christ in salvation,” and one that demonstrates “devotion and personal loyalty to Jesus Christ and Christian zeal to serve” (112). Stanton (1995) said, “The moment a person accepts Christ as Lord and Savior, he or she has the initial preparation for witnessing. Now [he] can introduce Christ [he knows and loves] to others who need him” (157).

b. Divine Call: Apart from being born again that is general for every child of God, a pastor must have a divine call into the ministry. In fact, Prime (2003) viewed the ministry of a pastor as “the answering of a specific call from God” (14). Lutzer (1998) defined this call as “an inner conviction given by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the Word of God and the body of Christ” (11). It means that the pastor must have had a conviction that the Holy Spirit has specifically called him into the ministry (Derek 2003, 14). This call must be according to the Word of God, that is, the person must have some traits of a minister of God spelt out in the Bible. Furthermore, the body of Christ must confirm the call after he has received theological training. Succinctly, he must be someone sent on a heavenly mission to declare the message of God to the world (Criswell 1980, 23). George (2005) cited Calvin who divided the call of a minister into two parts by saying: “If one is to be considered a true minister of the church, it is necessary that he considers the ‘objective or external’ of the church and the secret inner call ‘conscious only to the minister himself’” (83). Apart from this, the pastor must be convinced of the scope and content of his call (Ishola 2008, 4).

c. Creativity: The pastor must be creative in all his endeavours because the Lord has given every believer a creative mind. MacArthur (2005) argued that God is sovereign in salvation, sanctification, and building of His church, but He has given men “creative gifts” and “fertile minds” (305). He sighted Paul who had a “well-thought-out strategy,” the prophets in the Old Testament who did amazing things to get the attention of the people, Jesus Christ who used miracles as a means of collecting a crowd, and even God, who, on the day of Pentecost, used the speaking of languages in a creative way to get the attention of the people to the new Way (MacArthur 2005, 305). MacArthur (2005) believed that a minister must think through careful strategies, and do anything he “can to enhance every opportunity to present the gospel and bring out spiritual development” (MacArthur 2005, 305).

d. Integrity: The pastor must be known for his integrity. It should be his watchword. David said, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity” (1 Chr 29:17, NIV). God depends on him in this regard. People should be able to rely on him. Duewel (2000) equated integrity with godliness and said, A man of God must be known for holy integrity. Nothing is more important in a Christian leader. Godliness is more than total mental commitment to the authority of God’s Word and the doctrines of Scripture…. [It] includes a commitment of the will that results in righteous actions and holy living. The eye must be clear and good before the body can be flooded with light (Matt. 6:22). The heart must be pure before the attitudes, thought, and words are consistently pure (284-285).

Ishola (2008) summarized this thus: “A life of holiness—total dedication to God is very important for every preacher” (7). Duewel (2000) later highlighted some areas in which the pastor has to be a person of integrity—integrity in word, in personal ethics, in finance, and in ministerial ethics (286-291). From the highlighted points of Duewel, these points are relevant to the communication of the pastor especially through the Internet:

i. express full and cordial credit to all those to whom you are indebted for ideas and help;
ii. avoid plagiarism in writing;
iii. do not assume the attitude of an authority in areas where your information, experience, and training are incomplete;
iv. be totally honest in intention in everything you say;
v. speak to bless, help, and guide;
vi. be aware of exaggeration, understatement, or over-generalization;
vii. avoid ambiguous statements;
viii. be above repproach in all your personal actions;
ix. recognize that you are always on call to represent God and to meet the needs of your people; and
x. most importantly, keep confidences inviolate (Duewel 2000, 286-291)

An unsuspecting, but very alarming area of integrity is the issue of what the pastor watches on the Internet as he uses it in his ministry. According to an online source, the number of pastors that entangle themselves with Internet pornography use is on the rise at a fast pace (Facts About Porn, 2008). The source attributed this to what it termed “the three A's of cybersex” (online porn's accessibility, anonymity, and affordability) (Facts About Porn, 2008). Some pastors who would have never dreamt of visiting an adult bookstore or renting explicit videos found themselves downloading images and watching live streaming video from the privacy of their homes or offices. If the pastor keeps integrity as his watchword, he would find it difficult to fall prey of such immorality.

e. Commitment to the Great Commission: When Jesus Christ was about to leave this earth after His resurrection, He entrusted into the hands of His disciples a task that has been termed “the Great Commission.” This task (that can be found in Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16; Lk 24: 46-49; and Acts 1:8) is basically about making the gospel known to people of the world and making them to become more like Jesus Christ everyday. A pastor has to be committed to this Great Commission. Ajimatanrareje (1997) is of the opinion that,

Commitment in Christian ministry cannot … be reduced to seasonal practice. It must be in season and out of season, in rain and in sunshine, in time of sadness and in time of joy. Indeed, for a true believer, commitment to God and His command is a rule for authentic Christian living…. Serving the Lord of life demands our all. It demands all of our hearts, all of our mind and all of our soul. Commitment from an act of obedience through faith is indeed a life that is pleasing to God” (30).

Ishola (2008) explained four mandates of the Great Commission for a preacher: to open people’s eyes, to turn people from Satan’s power to God’s power, to help people experience forgiveness, and to lead believers to experience God’s inheritance (49-55). For a pastor to be committed to this great task with all his heart is to be ready to “focus on producing and conveying Spirit-inspired information” (Halcomb, Hamilton, and Malmstadt 2000, 52). Coleman (1993) was of the opinion that Jesus Christ expected the men that followed Him to obey Him. These men known as disciples were not required to be smart, but to be loyal (51). It does not matter how successful a minister of the gospel is, what matter most is his faithfulness.

Careaga (2001) saw the Internet as a way of fulfilling the Great Commission as the pastor has a new people group that cut across all barriers on the Internet (151-152). This new medium gives the pastor, and many other Christians, “an opportunity to get back to … New Testament roots of evangelism: meeting real people a few at a time and establishing meaningful, personal relationships with them” (151).

f. Care for the Led (the People): The words of Wilson (2000), “In the world of Internet technology, communication is not place-specific but person-specific” (62), cannot be overemphasized. In order to be able to care for the people a pastor is communicating with, the pastor has to have a good understanding of them. Having underscored the importance of people to the ministry of a pastor, Taylor (1983) highlighted four ways of understanding people. These ways are biological, sociological or anthropological, psychological, and religious (34-35). He further emphasized that apart from these ways, there is a distinctively Christian way of understanding people (35).

In spite of the fact that a pastor that will be people-centred should interact well with the people, he should realize that the love of Christ should be utmost in his interaction (Carson and Murphey 1992, 151). Roper (2008) is of the opinion that “Affection for God’s people in itself will not sustain us. His sheep can be unresponsive, unappreciative, and harshly critical of our efforts to love and to serve them. In the end, we will find ourselves defeated and discouraged” (Our Daily Bread, August 14, 2008). According to Spurgeon (1954), “A man must have a great heart if he would have a great congregation. When a man has a large, loving heart, men go to him as ships to a haven, and feel at peace” (183).

Mosley, Pietri, and Megginson (1996) rightly observed that it is people that communicate, not organizations (333). Christian ministry in general, and pastoral ministry in particular, is people-oriented. According to Ajimatanrareje (1997), “The central focus of the Christian ministry is people. Jesus Christ came from eternal glory because of the eternal love of God for the people of the world. Jesus bled and died on the cross for the people. Hence, Christian ministry should be people-oriented, and anything short of this will be out of the will of God for the Christian Church” (18). Pastors relate with people. Ajimatanrareje continued, The significance of people in Christian ministry cannot be overemphasized. We might say precisely that people are the mission of God. We may build buildings or magnificent sanctuaries, but without people there is no ministry. Christian ministry begins with people and ends with people. People are the issue, people are the focus. Indeed, Christian ministry has no mission apart from the people (19).

g. Effective Communication: The importance of communication has been reiterated in many parts of this review. As the great communicator of God’s truth to God’s people, the minister must be effective in his communication. According to Halcomb, Hamilton, and Malmstadt (2000), “A God-inspired leader must be an effective communicator but not necessarily an eloquent orator” (50). Hiebert (n.d.) was of the opinion that communicators of the gospel need to recognize that effective communication is central to their task (383). It was demonstrated by Paul that God uses a leader that is “an open channel for the Holy Spirit to instruct and inspire so that his or her words and actions are understood as intended by the Lord” (Halcomb, Hamilton, and Malmstadt, 51).

In order to increase effective communication, Mosley, Pietri, and Megginson (1996) explained three important techniques: (1) awareness of the need for effective communication, (2) creation of open communications environment, and (3) practice of effective listening (348-351).

The Roles of the Pastor as a Minister

Duewel (2000) summed up the roles of the pastor with the picture of a shepherd provided by the psalmist in Psalm 23 (143). In Spurgeon’s (1900) words, “Ministers are servants: they are not guests, but waiters; not landlords, but labourers” (254). Duewel further explained that the shepherd does the following: he provides abundant spiritual nourishment; he leads constantly to spiritual refreshment; he aids spiritual restoration; he gives guidance to his people; and he is with his people in their times of need (144-152). The minister is messenger in relation to God, a watchman in relation to the Word, and a steward in relation to the Church (Thomas 1974, 117).

Based on Acts 20:17-35 where Paul the Apostle gave a farewell challenge to the Ephesian church leaders, Ishola (2008) explained six areas where a pastor would be effective in his roles. These areas are: (1) living a life of integrity (verse 18); (2) being a servant leader (verse 19); (3) commitment to exposition of God’s word (verses 20, 27); (4) enduring unpleasant experiences without quitting (verses 22-23); (5) being watchful or vigilant (verses 28-31); and (6) avoiding covetousness (verse 33) (17-22). In addition to these areas, based on 1 Pet 5:2-4, Pile (2005) explained what a pastor must do: he must shepherd the flock of God (verse 2); he must exercise oversight by caring (verse 2); he must serve willingly (verse 2); he must serve eagerly (verse 2); he must serve by being an example (verse 3); and he must serve by having the right motive (1 Pet 5:4) (9-12). In contrast, based on 1 Pet 5:2-3, Pile (2005) additionally explained what a pastor must not do: he must not serve under compulsion (verse 2); he must not serve for dishonest gain (verse 2); and he must not serve as a lord over the flock (verse 3) (12-13).

Deuel (2005), having related the major role of the pastor to his title, categorized his special responsibility into five viz: leading by example, administration, nurture of the flock, cultivating maturity, and guarding from harm (177-184). Imasogie (2005) discussed the role of an effective pastor in two broad headings, viz, his role within the church as an undersheperd, a preacher and an administrator and leader; and his role outside the church as moral salt and a peacemaker (83-91).

Internet as Means of Communication: A Focus on its Features

The Internet came into existence because of the advances in information and communication technologies and the need to share information globally (Tusubira and Kyeyune 2001, 6). It has become a powerful means of communication because it is global, fast, and is growing rapidly (Wilson 2000, 77-78). It has turned the world to global village with more connection in transmitting information at almost instantaneous speed (Kerrey and Isakson 2000, i). Many authors have chronicled the history of the Internet (see Wilson 2000, 17-18; Jewell 2004, 87, 102-103; Dawson and Cowan 2004, 23-24; Olatoregun and Binuomote 2007, 57; History of the Internet, 2009).

In Nigeria, by late 1994, the effort of the Nigeria Internet Group started the Internet initiative. This group was formed as a non-profit, non-governmental organisation with the primary aim and objective of promoting and facilitating access to the Internet in Nigeria. During this period, Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL) provided the only access to the Internet. Based on the economic reliability and the people’s need to be part of the global happening, by the end of 1997 NITEL provided an Internet backbone of 2 Mbps Bandwidth immediately, strategically located within the country (Olatoregun and Binuomote 2007, 57). By the end of the 90s, several Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were in existence including amongst others Linkserve, Cyberspace, Hyperia, Infoweb, PINET, Skannet, Steineng, and lots more (History - Nigeria Internet Exchange Website, 2009).

Jewell (2004) gave this statistics about the growth of the Internet:

Between 1991 and present, the Internet has exploded. By year 2002, the number of hosts for Internet sites topped one billion. It has become almost impossible to count the number of websites that are launched in a year. Over 460 people will become new Internet users in the next ten minutes. In this same ten minutes there will be almost 11,000 new pages of information added to the Internet. In other words, the time has arrived when Internet statistics are all irrelevant. Suffice it to say that the Internet is humongous (88. See also Johnson (2002) for more elaborate statistics).

The Internet consists of hosts and interconnecting equipment such as routers and telecommunication links that interconnect routers and hosts together. A host is a computer on the Internet. Each host is capable of acting as a provider of information, such as files, documents or images. A host can also access information on another host if it has the required permission to do so. A router is a device that joins telecommunications links and groups of computers together. It provides a mechanism for determining a route (or path) between the two computers that want to exchange information (Tusubira and Kyeyune 2001, 7).

Babin and Zukowski (2002) cited an “informal research project conducted by the Institute for Pastoral Initiatives over three years [that] indicates an interesting profile of people’s attitude toward…the Internet” (5). According to the project, people of ages 3 to 27 are “Members of Generation.com” that are totally at home in the new communication era; people of ages 28 to 40 are warm toward the value of the computer and Internet in their lives; people of ages 41 to 60 tend to be cool to the new media because it has “not been part of their fabric of life”; while people above 60 are the most interesting because “they are not only getting warm but also growing hot, especially in regard their Internet ability” in order to stay in touch with their family and the world (5-6).

Elements and Uses of Internet

The Internet is an international network used for research, commerce, education, entertainment, and so on (Tonta 1995, 3). According to Johnson (2002), the Internet is indeed a “place” where people come together to buy and sell; exchange ideas and philosophies; discuss political and social issues; and, access a wide range of information (Johnson, 2002). While identifying the Internet as one of the greatest modern information technologies, Akande (2006) admitted that, “the use of information technologies in Christendom have become so popular that many Christian bodies are using these modern inventions to communicate the Christian message to million of people in the world” (135).

The Internet is a platform for a wide range of services. Tusubira and Kyeyune (2001) identified these services: (a) E-mail (electronic mail) that permits the sending and receiving of messages to other users connected to the Internet; (b) FTP (File Transfer Protocol) which is a means of sending and receiving files from one computer to another; (c) electronic commerce, that is, commercial and financial transactions initiated and closed via one's communication terminal (computer, phone, etc); (d) Usenet News which is a number of discussion groups that allow users to post questions and replies, sorted by topic; and (e) WWW (World Wide Web)—a means of locating and displaying information located on the Internet using a web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer (7). Apart from electronic mail, Philips (2000) added “discussion lists” and “live chat rooms” to the list (64). In his footnote to this, Philips gave this explanation:

Electronic mail and discussion lists are asynchronous forms of communication: a person sends a message, the other person receives the message and then replies, similar to the postal service. Because the programs list messages and replies by their subject lines (rather than date or sender), they are also called “threaded discussions.” Internet relay chats (IRC), or chat rooms, are synchronous forms of communication: both persons use the system simultaneously, similar to a telephone conversation. Those persons in the chat room can dialogue with one another on topics of mutual interests (Philips 2000, 64).

Jewell (2004) explained tools that one can develop in making use of the Internet. These tools are web logs, message boards, chat rooms, and evangelism (92-96). Careaga (1999) and Ogunbowale-Johnson (2008) wrote complete books to explain about Internet evangelism. Larom (2001) asserted, “Internet e-mail is equally or more important as a tool for information sharing and dialogue than other major Internet services such as the web. It is a strategic tool in its own right and in fact, more people use the Internet e-mail than use the web” (Larom, 2001). Jagboro (2003) also attested to this:

First, and perhaps of greatest importance for many subscribers to online services, is e-mail…. E-mail has conferred some wonderful advantages. It is now possible to communicate easily and rapidly with people thousands of miles away. E-mail has become a seemingly indispensable part of people's lives, and correspondence by post seems tedious and slow by comparison. Yet, perhaps because e-mail, in removing previous barriers of geography and distance, reduces some of the perceived burdens of the old paper and post systems, it is used almost incessantly! (Jagboro, 2003).

Because of its flexibility, the remarkable growth of the Internet since its inception has created great opportunities for governments, businesses, educational institutions, as well as individuals to make use of the Internet. Comer (2007) explained, Governments use the Internet for internal communication, distribution of information, and automated tax processing. In addition to offering goods and services online to customers, businesses use the Internet to interact with other businesses. Many individuals use the Internet for communicating through electronic mail (e-mail), retrieving news, researching information, shopping, paying bills, banking, listening to music, watching movies, playing games, and even making telephone calls. Educational institutions use the Internet for research and to deliver online courses and course material to students (“Internet.” In Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2008. Microsoft Corporation, 2007).

According to Olatoregun and Binuomote (2007), “the use of Internet as a communication channel in Nigeria has led to increased productivity in sectors such as the educational, banking, communication and security” (58). Wright (in an online source) opined that the use of the Internet is simple and pervasive because one can use it in ways one has never imagined. He explained further:

I could sit with my laptop in my office, on an airplane, or in a hotel room and compose an article that would tactfully nudge people toward Christ or biblical principles. Then, by pushing a button, I could send it to Internet publishers who would make it available to people around the globe. This seemed almost too good to be true. What a potential for spreading Good News! (Wright, 2008).

[...]

• Note: 4.5
• Autor: Adebayo Afolaranmi (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2009
• Seiten: 117
• Katalognummer: V1154300
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346554925
• ISBN (Buch): 9783346554932
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: training