“I hope that you read the entire article, and did not just single out this one paragraph. This is the third piece of a section why I have people add me to Facebook, the first being to keep them informed, and the second to be able to speak into their lives. Each of those comes before watching what people post.

“Also, I don’t just sit on my computer all day and watch Facebook. In fact, as I told someone else who asked me about this … I am not really on Facebook much at all. If I hear from someone else, though, that something has been posted, that is when I will check on someone’s page.

“Why do I do this? As I say in the article: ‘What you say about God, church, your pastor, and live in general, all influence how people who do and don’t know Jesus see you and the God that you serve.’ Each member [of our church] commits to the following lines in the Membership Covenant: ‘I will protect the unity of my church’ and ‘I will support the testimony of my church.’ In the digital age, there is really no better way to monitor this than to be part of people’s online community.

“Is it an invasion of privacy? Nope. Each person on Facebook has settings they can take advantage of to control their privacy. But if someone is claiming to follow Christ and live for Him and His glory, what do they have to hide?

“The article also says that ‘I require’ not ‘our church requires.’ It is a personal choice I have made, which I explain in the membership class. If someone has an issue with it, we can talk about it. It is not a true requirement of membership according to the church’s constitution and bylaws.”