In July MySpace became the most visited website in the U.S. Earlier this month, we at OurChurch.Com began surveying our 8,000+ webmasters about MySpace. Preliminary results show almost half our webmasters don’t know what MySpace is. So, I decided it was time for me to take the plunge, create a MySpace profile, and start writing about it.
I’m going to do a series of blog articles about MySpace as it relates to Christian communication. I don’t have the whole series planned out yet, because a lot of it will depend on my experiences and interactions with other people, but some of the questions/topics I’m already tossing around in my mind include:
- Is MySpace safe?
- Is MySpace a passing trend or here to stay?
- Does MySpace enrich your life by allowing you to interact with people you otherwise never would have met?
- Is MySpace a mission field for online evangelism?
- Should your church/ministry have a MySpace profile?
- Are there any tips or warnings concerning MySpace?
But before I get to all that, here are some of the basics…
What is MySpace?
MySpace was founded just 3 years ago by current president Tom Anderson, current CEO Chris DeWolfe, and a small team of programmers. Last July it was purchased by Newscorp for $580 million, and today it boasts over 99 million members with 500,000 new members each week.
Not bad for 3 years.
Wikipedia describes MySpace as “a free service that uses the Internet for online communication through an interactive network of photos, weblogs, user profiles, e-mail, web forums, and groups, as well as other media formats. This all-inclusive service is sometimes called a social networking interface.”
In other words, it’s a place where you post information and pictures about yourself, find other people, and interact with them. As you probably know, it’s all the rage among teenagers.
Taking the Plunge
I filled out the form to create my profile and the next page asked me to upload a picture of myself. I searched around my hard drive for a picture of myself that with enough editing could make me look cool. A tough task, no doubt, but just when I was about to conclude some things are still impossible even with Photoshop, I found a shot of me fixing a hurricane shelter with a power drill (add your best Tim Allen grunt).
I took a break for lunch and when I got back I already had two “friends.” Wow, I didn’t know making friends could be so easy. One of them is Tom, who happens to have 99,747,096 other friends. Call me cynical if you like, but I have doubts about Tom’s sincerity. Anyways, I’m looking forward to seeing who I meet at MySpace and I’ll delve into more serious issues next time.
If you like you can check out my profile and even invite me to be your friend. (Can’t you just feel the love?)
What are other saying about MySpace?
I took a few moments to ask people online how they would describe MySpace and here are some of the responses I received:
“A friend of mine moved to Cali and suggested I make one as a cheap way for us to keep in touch. Next thing you know, I’m talking to folks I went to elementary/middle/high school with whom I haven’t spoken to in years, nor would I have ever come in contact with them again if not for the site.”
“It’s a place where pedofiles can find suitable victims.”
“myspace is fantastic. i can sport pictures of myself in a tasteless manner, and i do”
“MySpace, to me, is a passing fad where juveniles ‘hang out’ and spew nonsense.”
“Myspace is just like any other online application. It has good uses, it has bad uses. It have people that will use it ‘responsibly’ and people that will try and take advantage of other people.”
What does MySpace mean to you? Why do you hang out there? (or why not?)
Hello,
I found this article very interesting. I am a 26 year old Co-Pastor in a small town in Virginia and I love my myspace. I orginally got it to keep in touch with the youth of our church outside of the walls of our church. It allows me to encourage them and help them if I “see” an issue that they are dealing with in their “myspace” lives…call me a snoop if ya wanna but it has been a help several times. As time passed, it allowed me to get in touch with my old friends from school as well as some new ones, and I use the majority of the time to chat with them and encourage them in their walks with the Lord. I guess some times it can be used for negative things, but I’ve found that the devil will use whatever he can to do evil…which is why we as Christians need to learn to stand up to him and allow the Lord to use us to turn what the devil meant for bad and be used for God’s good. Great blog!
Beth
My husband and I have a myspace, and post many evangelistic things on this site. Mostly though, we use it to connect with old friends from high school and college.
there is a christian alternative to myspace called JCFaith.com
there is no tastless clothing, and everyone is really friendly. Even the VIP’s with thousand’s of friends leave messages and seem to genuinly want to know you. good luck in the myspace world…but be careful about the bulletins you open, you can’t delete those and some people send very tastless things.
I’d love to see some of your articles on Myspace, to possibly publish in our Home Times Family Newspaper. Please give me a call at 888-439-3509.
Thanks & God bless,
Dennis Lombard, Editor & Publisher
Home Times Family Newspaper (TM)
and Sonlight Christian News (TM)
PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESSES
P.O. Box 22547
West Palm Beach FL 33416
(561) 439-3509; hometimes.org
FOR A FREE SAMPLE ISSUE PLEASE CALL 1-888-439-3509
I have to say I have found many uses to MySpace. I am a youth Pastor with a youth ministry in the Southern California area (Orange County). When the buzz first began at church about Myspace I didn’t understand why there would be so much talk about something I had only heard the negative about. One of my kids helped me open my profile and I was excited to see that my kids were into HTMl Coding and all other things that Myspace Allows you to do. I was also excited to see my kids sharing their faith with Christian music video and other comments on there pages. One of the main things I have used MySpace for is to incourage those which I have found are not that close to God to seek God. I have found 16 youth that drink beers and do drug which I have shifted my attention too. I encourage all to get a MySpace. It is helpful for those that have a ministry. You always have a chance to share a small word of God wheather it is thru a Blog or just a simple comment.
I think just as any communication device, some people will use it for the proper reasons and some will not. I love my space.. I keep in touch with all my friends and family and meet people i wouldnt just walk up to on the street and say hi.
But on the other hand. There are some people sadly on myspace, that are out looking for trouble. and i just stay away from them. So I think over all myspace is a Great outlet. As long as you can handle the bad with the good
I got on MySpace to see what all the fuss was about with teenagers. Even though as a parent you have to be political in how you address it, my daughter knows I don’t approve of a lot of the sexual content and portrayals on the sites. I also disagree with kids having camera phones and placing provocative pictures of themselves on there. Our society is in your face everywhere you look with sex anyway. But MySpace is constantly and flagrantly encouraging it with all of their scantily clad young girls in the pop up ads and banners. They could do themselves a service, and get more parents blessings if they would clean it up!
I wandered into the My Space relm last winter as a way to stay in touch with the teens in my youth group. They all are so busy during the school year that I don’t get to see them as often as I would. However, most of them used My Space daily so I thought, “Why not give it a try?” I was nervous if they would accept the “old dude” in their territory but have to say that I met with lots of friends request. The teens really like having an easy way to get hold of me and I try to encourage them on as much as I can. It has really helped me stay dialed in with what is happening in their lives.
My Space does have one major issue. I GREATLY dislike all of the suggestive dating service ads and yesterday they may have crossed the line to the point I may cancel my account. A popular dating service is now running ads promoting homosexual singles. As I left a message for one of my kids, I was greeted with an add showing two women embraced in a hug and a slogan promoting how you can meet your dream date.
Since Jesus sought and found people in their places of need, why shouldn’t Christians use MySpace to find and touch people with the love of Christ?
That’s why at Family Reading Ministries, Inc., http://www.readingspree.com, http://www.christian-book-fair.com, we make use of any available platform to spread the joy of book reading and the wonder of good books starting with the Bible. If you want to know how you can use avenues like MySpace to promote book reading in your Christian family or in your community, call Rev. Paschal Eze at 1-3193519695.
I have just heard so much that is bad about MySpace that it’s good to know that there is or can be something good of it. I am looking to expand exposure of our website http://www.decision1.org - we take people on short-term mission trips and help local churches with outreach ideas. These are the last days and the gospel must be getting out like never before, and in ways like never before.
Paul said ” I become all things to all men so that I can win some!” I say good hunting evangelist! “Do the work of the evangelist”
Fred Hughes ~ Decision Ministries International
I checked out Pauls profile out of curiosity on my space, if anyone decides to use my space, use it for the good to share the gospel, but don’t get lost in the shuffle, as for Pauls profile I have a question about the addition of the zodiac sign? “Gemini” was that just a test? Astrology is sorcery, Isaiah 47:13, Deuteronomy 18:9-14. I’ll be praying for the youth, my 26 year old daughter and 20 year old daugher uses my space, they know the Lord but don’t have a relationship with Him, keep them in prayer as well. To God be the Glory. We are moving towards the last days.
Welcome to Myspace! Some advice to those who are interested in creating a profile… Be EXTREMELY cautious! Or better yet, find a Christian-based alternative instead. Not only will you deal with suggestive ads [as Christians, we are supposed to be abstaining from all appearance of evil...and let's be honest, a half-naked woman at the top of your screen is hard to ignore when your trying to write a message to a friend.] You’ll also have the pleasure of being spammed by porn site promoters, and random people you dont know that simply want their “friend’s list” numbers to be higher than so-and-so’s. The list goes on, including kids as young as 13 or 14 showing off their bodies so more people will add them [the classic popularity contest]. Then you have the pedophiles with fake pictures that lie about their ages and ask “freinds” to meet them places. This DOES HAPPEN, folks! While, understandably, some people may think of this as a great opportunity to spread the Gospel [and Im not going to say you COULDN'T use it that way], to me, someone who had one a profile for 2 years and finally got sick of the constant stream of garbage, I would look at this as more of a “sitting in the bar with the drunks and telling them about Jesus” case.
Also, as a sidenote…To Minister Provi: You are absolutley right about astrology! Unfortunatley, when you enter your birthdate into the sign-up form, your “Zodiac Sign” is automatically put onto your profile. I dont believe you can get rid of this, unless of course, you want to put something called an “overlay” inot your profile. To do this you need to have a strong background in website coding [HTML].
I am a teenager and a myspace addictee. And it frustrates me that people misuse Myspace and make it seem evil. If you’re smart about it, it is an awesome place to talk with friends (especially during the summer) and to spread the word about Christ. Because as dumb as they may be, people read blogs. So if you write blogs about Christ. It’s an easy way to strike up a conversation, digital or not. My spritual mentor and youth leader has a myspace and it is the center of Christ-filled conversation. He has monthly polls, posts, and we share prayer requests, because we don’t see each other every day. But, as with anything having to do with the internet, you have to be careful. Set your profile to private, don’t tell people where you live, don’t accept anyone you aren’t comfortable or familiar with, and block users that find it fun to prove themselves worthy of acceptance in secular society. And if people know where you stand with all of this, they won’t even bother.
Sounds like i should get involved in MySpace. I am also giving it to our new Youth Pastor.
W.Court
Sounds like lots of fun and i am a Christian . It would be a great way to meet other Christians and share what the Lord is doing in your life. I would actually like to learn more about the kind of Ministry the Lord has for me and to understand through others ho to be successful in others knowing the Lord. Keep up the terrific work. Debby
I will be following your journey through the Myspace world with interest. I started a site for myself when my teenage sons and many of their youth group, as well as all my teenage clients (I am a psychotherapist) started talking about their sites on myspace, xanga and other places. I wanted to understand the attraction of these sites. My son helped me set up my site. I confess though, I don’t have the time, (or interest) to maintain it. I find it time consuming and singularly unproductive other than if you use it to keep up with your youth group as others have suggested. I am particularly disturbed by the blatant sexuality and profanity that the anonymous nature of these sites encourages. I even had to speak to my son (who is a Christian, and loudly professed his faith on his site) about some sexual comments he posted. It saddened me to realize that he did not understand that he was compromising the witness he had earlier given. After talking to him he voluntarily went and edited his site, removing the sexually charged language. I understand that he is representative of many young people who have come to the Lord. As he grows he will understand what God’s good and perfect will for his life is. My question is, how do we as Christians interact in this strange new world of MySpace. Are we just observers waiting for non-Christians to ask us about God? I am skeptical about this approach on MySpace. Are we catalysts for change by challenging the status quo? Do we browse and comment on the sites of strangers who are clearly in need of God’s word? The dilemma is the same as with face to face evangelism as far as I am concerned. We do need to go where they are. By having a site on MySpace, I believe we are on the right street, however are we brave enough to actually knock on a door.
I’m so glad to hear at least one decenter in these responses. I agree with Hope, it’s like unto sitting in the bars telling drunks about Jesus. You see, I don’t see Jesus in the pages of the bible going into places such as these to pull evil out but those who wanted help came to Him. He had a reputation for good that people wanted to be a part of, He didn’t have to go to them. Indeed He could have chosen to heal the whole world could He have not? Yet He only healed those who asked, He never forced Himself on anyone.
Yes, in the pages of the gospel of Mark He tells us to go into all the world and preach the gospel unto everyone but I don’t think He meant to brave the devil in his den because I don’t see Him doing that–or the new testament church either. There are vehicles in this world that seem to encourage good but remember that ‘there is a way that seems right unto a man but the ends thereof are the ways of death.’
I have not personally been on myspace but have been reading and hearing a lot about it these days and now I know that I will not. My reason is that a person cannot unsee anything. You can’t unhear it either. Like a pastor once said the reason why he doesn’t believe in drinking alcohol is you may not know until you have had that first drink whether you can be an alcoholic or not, whether you can be addicted. The same is true with anything, especially sex and that most especially in men because they are visually stimulated much more so than women. It is also like going to an R rated moving saying you will ignore the languange and sex but then you leave and find yourself cussing the same words they did and/or having sexual images in your head such as you saw on the screen.
Personally, I was exposed to pornography at a very young age –3 or 4 years old–so I know the damage it can do. And it CANNOT be undone. The grace of Christ helps you live with it when you accept His blood to cover your sins but it CANNOT be unseen. Guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus and flea temptation. That is what these sights are for, to tempt and then lure you into sin. Yes it may only be revealing clothing, not complete nudity but I teach my daughters to dress like godly women who want godly husbands.
Take heed when you think you stand lest you fall. It’s easy for me to flea it, having been freed of the captivity but not for someone who thinks they are stronger than sin is. I beg you to think again. You do not have the responsibility or the need to go into such places. Be careful of using an excuse for good that allows you to sin. (There used to be a website called settingcaptivesfree.com that helps one overcome the addiction to pornography. I hope it is still there because it did help me deal with lots of issues I had just from being exposed to it before I even knew what it was. But it is a good site for all Christians to look at and realize what a sexual world we are bombarded with on a daily basis and that you do not need to intentionally expose yourself to such superfluity of naughtiness (overflow of wickedness) which James says we are to set aside or put away from ourselves. How can we concentrate on what is pure and right while being flashed images of those given over to a debased mind? Or reading words of the same? Think again, beloved, such things are not only unworthy of christian attention but also could harm a new believer who is looking for guidance to a pure life. You cannot pull people out of the mire. They must walk out alone and ask for help. THEN, you be there. Someone start a new space where such filth is not allowed and they will come.
At my place of employment I never preach. I carry my bible into the lunch room though and read it everyday because it is the quietest 30 minutes of my day. No one asks me what I am reading, they all know. EVERYone knows what a bible looks like, it just makes them feel guilty so they aren’t going to ask about it. To go along with that bible reading though, I try to be the best employee I can be even though I am not crazy about my job and wish God had chosed something else for me to do. I am rarely late, I don’t ride the clock, and I don’t sit while others are working. I try to leave things better than I found them and will stay on my own time if that’s what it takes. I don’t steal from my employers and I don’t swear. I must be a good witness because I do have people pull me aside and ask for advice, or ask for my opinion–but they never ask me about my opinions on abortion, sexual immorality, or the latest R-rated movie –because they already know my answer. They know that I know what is right and what is wrong but they don’t want to hear it. Now admit it, that is all of humanity. The creation witnesses of a creator so that they are without excuse or else God would be an unfair meany. And I hope you all KNOW, not believe He is NOT that thing. If they want it, they will come.
I love myspace. I believe it is a great way to connect with your friends and a great way to witness for Christ. I hate that so many people use it in a bad way. However, there are many people who do use it for God. For those who want to connect with other Christians without the worry of all those negative ads, there is a version of Myspace that is only for Christians, called DittyTalk.
http://www.dittytalk.com
I also set up the Techno-Learner blog at http://www.techno-learner.blogspot.com to find out the reasons behind teens flocking to MySpace. May be you can check to see the questions and the responses of some high schoolers. Thanks for the initiative! Praying that you hit on something more for the cause of the Gospel and for the good of both parents and their teens.
I have three teenage kids and for them Myspace was the thing and it still is, but not in our house. I gave it a try and listened to my kids all for one week. Like I said for one week, I have found a site called YourChristianSpace.com and I and my kids enjoy it very much. The site says it all, it has all the key ingredients as myspace without the trash, filth and such. Lookin for a site to connect with other Christians without the filth then Your Christian Space is for you.
God Bless
Reverend Garry Smith
Garry Smith Ministries
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
I, too, have a MySpace account. I find that I reach more unsaved souls this way. Jesus said for us to go into the nations and preach the Gospel. This means that we have to go where the nations are. The nations (non-Christians) are on MySpace, in the nightclubs, on the streets, in the ‘hood’, in ‘crack alley’, etc. and everywhere else we, as Christians, especially ministers of the Gospel, think we are too “good” or too “saved” to frequent!
What is the purpose of us preaching to other Christians inside the walls of a church building? Are we trying to get them “more saved” than they already are? Our duty to other Christians is simply to teach them to be ministers as well! But we “religiously” require a weekly church service in order to bring more money into the church buidling to create bigger buildings. Is this what Jesus taught us to do? Try a MySpace site and see if you won’t make more “friends for Christ” instead of hording Him all to yourself. Jesus doesn’t want to be horded; He wants to be shared with everyone. Spread His love and His Word around my people!
Be blessed. I am always … LadyTruth
If the MySpace account link won’t work, use: http://www.MySpace.com/Ladytruth01 to meet me at MySpace.
Much love. I am always … LadyTruth
Just to let you know…the “Tom” with nearly 1 million friends that you refer to and are skeptical about happens to be Tom Anderson, the co-founder of MySpace that you mention earlier.
I went on my daughters myspace and found a lot about some of her “friends” I found out their sexual preferences, their favorite alcohol beverages and many more things that the non-Christian friends endevor in.
I agree we are to go into all the world to preach the Gospel, but if God did not call you to myspace you ought not be there. As for a young impressionable teenage mind the Scripture “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” comes to mind. Jesus went into the sinners realm to lead them to the Lord but did not camp out there. Lot camped out in Sodom Abraham did not.
We need to in this world but not of this world.
My daughter no longer has a myspace her school has an allternative.
People have a choice with myspace, if you have any qualms about it in terms of safety, you can opt to only be found by your email address (given only to friends) and be unviewable to anyone other than people you have accepted.
I absolutely love using it. Its very addictive as its easier to keep in touch with people, one account allows you to create your persona online an find others who share the same interests, like tastes in music. I keep in touch with all my friends and some family in this way and think it has been a triumph over previous attempts at similar things, like MSN. Its a newer fresher take on finding friends.
On September 4th, 2006 at 5:16 pm Ronald Says:
I went on my daughters myspace and found a lot about some of her “friends” I found out their sexual preferences, their favorite alcohol beverages and many more things that the non-Christian friends endevor in.
I agree we are to go into all the world to preach the Gospel, but if God did not call you to myspace you ought not be there. As for a young impressionable teenage mind the Scripture “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” comes to mind. Jesus went into the sinners realm to lead them to the Lord but did not camp out there. Lot camped out in Sodom Abraham did not.
We need to in this world but not of this world.
My daughter no longer has a myspace her school has an allternative.
—————————————————————————————————–
Good job Ronald!!! I commend you for taking charge as a parent to remove your teenage daughter from MySpace. Myspace is no place for children or even immature adults. I use my MySpace account (www.MySpace.com/LadyTruth01) for evangelism and networking with other Christians, ministries and Christian businesses.
I have reached many lost souls through this avenue. I agree that if you are not called to MySpace by the Holy Spirit, you have no business there! But if the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, and you are lead specifically to be there, you will have no problem with the devil’s temptation. It is Satan who leads us into temptation, but it the Holy Spirit who delivers us from evil! Listen to the lifeblood of Jesus Christ living on the inside of you, and you will have no problem becoming a MySpace friend. Join me in my quest to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
I am always … LadyTruth
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If as a parent you are concerned about keeping an eye on what your kids are doing on myspace, check out a piece of software called SnoopStick at SnoopStick Home
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