Do you have a facebook account?
I was reading a post a few weeks ago on Mashable about facebook possibly suing employers who ask for your passwords. You can see that article here. Facebook isn’t going to go ahead and sue anyone just yet. The whole topic of facebook and privacy is something we are going to hear more of in the coming years, especially, as facebook as a social network grows and continues to dominate a lot of our social networking time.
This got me thinking about Churches and how they are going to monitor employees online activity. I do think that there needs to be accountability, but as young leaders move towards facebook as a way of communicating, accountability is going to become increasingly difficult.
Here is what to do if your Lead Pastor asks for your facebook account password:
Ask him to friend you. Parts of your account are personal. You control the privacy settings. The best way for your pastor to see what is going on is for him to friend you and then he can see what you are posting. If your Lead Pastor isn’t very technological, friend him first.
Look at your staff policy. I hope you have a staff policy. If you don’t, then this is a great time to make one. I doubt that your staff policy gives anyone power to access your facebook account.
Say NO! Those are the words sometimes you need to say. This would be one of those moments. I don’t think your Lead Pastor has the right to access your information online. This doesn’t have to be a confrontation. You can tell him the reasons why your account is your account.
Live with integrity online. Think about what you are posting! Don’t just post anything that comes into your mind. Think about it, and then post it. Don’t be someone else online, be you! Show the students you work with how to be a Christian on facebook.
What would you do if your Lead Pastor asked for your facebook password?

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