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A spiritual renewal advocate urges Evangelical Christians to take a 10-day “social media fast” to reconnect with God and share the gospel with others.
James Spencer, president of the DL Moody Center in Massachusetts, said the “Go Dark, Shine Bright” campaign aims to help believers take a “conscious approach” to social media. Instead of tweeting, he wants Christians to spend time in prayer and commit to sharing their faith with five others during this time.
“When we make room for God’s light to shine, we are amazed at what He illuminates in our lives,” said Mr Spencer. “But the more distracted we are, the harder it is to look with seeing eyes and listen with hearing ears.”
“We are not anti-social media. I think it’s often good for us to take a step back from what seems so appropriate and present in our lives, just to remind ourselves that we don’t live alone on social media. Christians should study God’s word, prayer, and trust Him for all that we need.”
The call to temporarily stay off social media comes amid growing concerns about its use. A 2019 Australian study led by researcher Simon M. Wiksch found a “clear pattern of associations” between social media use and eating disorders in adolescents, with Instagram being a leading trigger.
Earlier, Baylor University sociologist Paul K. McClure found that young adults who use social networking sites “are more likely to pick and choose their religious beliefs and think that more than one religious practice is acceptable regardless of what their religious traditions teach.”
Mr Spencer said, “I am not interested in demonizing social media. I am interested in people coming back to God’s word and trusting and following it more than anything else.”
He acknowledged that some people may need to use social media for business or community purposes, such as posting public service announcements or marketing messages, and he cannot avoid it entirely.
He said “it’s about intent” rather than stern sarcasm, which is why Mr Spencer urges people to follow Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for what he calls “discretionary”.
The goal is “not to disrupt people’s work lives or anything like that. However, to help them intend to truly dig into God’s word to be deliberate in prayer. And putting aside that kind of arbitrary use and scrolling social media that can really just be a distraction. ”
His 2021 book “Benevolent to God” details lessons from the life of the famous 19th-century evangelist DL Moody, Mr. Spencer said, noting that Mr. Moody didn’t have to deal with TikTok, that Christians were distracted from political and other issues and sharing the gospel.
Mr Moody “saw this distraction happening in his local community and [tried] to get people to refocus on the gospel,” he said. “And to remind them that this is what Christians are here for – that’s all we can say and do – to proclaim the gospel that no other group of people can do.”
He said more information about the campaign is online at: www.moodycenter.org.
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