The Appropriate Use of Email in Church Leadership
By William G. Davidson
In this era of electronic media, clergy are faced with particular challenges in pastoral conversations — particularly those conducted by email. This wonderfully efficient means of communication can easily become a vehicle for spontaneous and reactive expression of thoughts and feelings that would never be said in person. For example, a church member seeking pastoral assistance sent me an email pouring out innermost concerns about a misunderstanding that had led to hurt feelings. After composing a draft or two of a response, I realized that the best way for me to respond was to reply:
It is often the role of clergy to coach church members on the “etiquette” of appropriate conversation with one another, even as the “rules” of that etiquette are still developing in the culture. I have found it helpful to:
- Suggest that persons not email nor post anything that they would not ordinarily write in a personal letter or share on the telephone. A church member puts it this way: “Do not email or post anything that you are not willing to have published!”
- Advise people to avoid using uppercase words, bolded text, or the excessive use of exclamation points, question marks, and other symbols as they can easily be misinterpreted.
When instant communication de-personalizes as easily as it connects, the church can help show the way to genuine relationship and community.
William G. Davidson is senior pastor of Warwick Memorial United Methodist Church in Newport News, Virginia.