I Thought Sandboxes were only for Kids!
Honestly, what do I do? I want to be a realist optimist instead of a fearful skeptic, maybe a cautious tester, but probably not the transparent evangelist. [1] But we are living and leading in a time when more people than ever before are willing to share openly and publicly about themselves, their work and their lives—even the very personal and intimate details of their lives. It is certainly a time of greater openness and the sharing of all facets of life, work, and faith. Because of this “greater openness is inevitable” and expected in all parts of society; this includes businesses and organizations. [2]
It is in this contest that Charlene Li assists the business and organizational leader in navigating this new era of social media, all the while affirming that social media has the power to transform business and organizations. It begins by being more open, by letting go of some control and allowing social media to be a platform where a broader base of relationships can be cultivated and maintained. [3] Because there are more people online than ever before, more businesses and organizations can speak to and build relationships with broader segments of the population than ever before. At this point, I want to get right to the question. What does this mean for world missions? It seems that in world missions, social media can be the best of friends or the worst of enemies, both for the organization and for the missionaries themselves. A sandbox may be part of the answer.
As a missions leader, on more than one occasion I have received an email from a concerned supporter stating that they saw missionary X on Facebook doing Y when they should have been doing Z. I am sometimes asked to intervene to make sure the missionary is aware of the impact of their posts. To be sure, missionary X may not have been using wisdom in their posting efforts. But in defense of the missionary, it is difficult to feel the influence of social media when one lives so far away from the impact point. Not to mention that missionaries have lives too! However, like the threat of an arctic wind, overexposure on social media can be dangerous at best and deadly at worst.
On the other side of the coin, on more than one occasion I have received a happy email from a supporter who said they saw missionary X was doing well in both ministry and family and they were happy for them. There is no point to these two examples other than to illustrate the expediency by which can people can disseminate, receive, and respond to information, and to illustrate the power of social media to inform opinion and elicit an almost immediate reaction. It can be a friend or an enemy. [4]
Historically, the missionary community has been one of the more open communities. For generations, missionaries have written volumes about their personal lives and ministry via monthly newsletters. The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center has many examples. However, today, and rightly so, people want to know the missionaries they support and have a relationship with them. Because of the distance factor, much of this relationship is based on a social media presence.
This is difficult for some missionaries because where they live and minister requires a certain amount of obscurity. For others, it is a practical safety issue. American’s living overseas have become targets. To illustrate, for reasons that are obvious, my wife and I never post on social media about ministry that takes us away from our home until after the fact—when we return home. So what do we do as leaders in missionary organizations? What do missionaries do to be open and yet safe?
According to Li, “Open leadership requires that you create structure, process, and discipline around openness when there is none so that people know what to expect and how to behave in a new open environment.”[5] This one sentence is Li’s golden kernel of truth for leaders in the new era. Open leaders build trust, build confidence, and change organizations. [6] And here all along, what some consider the enemy of organizational structure (openness) is the very thing that can help build trust, build confidence and bring about positive change.
In this case, it seems that Li speaks directly to the missionary community when she speaks of “Sandbox Covenants.” The use of the sandbox metaphor with it’s defined boundaries and rules is both encouraging and refreshing. Encouraging in that it is not necessary to give up total control or exposure to the winds of social media. Also, there is reassurance that a methodology exists that can help missionaries and missions organizations be more open in their communication. This openness can lead to greater and broader relationships for the missionaries themselves and for the missions sending organization. [7]
Li’s example of a “Social Media Guidelines Checklist” is both helpful and practical and can be used as a guide in setting those sandbox boundaries and rules. Li lists transparency, responsibility, confidentiality and common sense and judgment as basic guidelines for engagement with social media. Of the four guidelines, common sense and judgment are the most practical and sometimes the most forgotten guidelines. [8]
To conclude, transparency and openness can be a two-edged sword in the missionary community. On the one hand, it can be a tool for information and relationship building while on the other hand, it can cause issues of misunderstanding or even safety issues for the missionary family and the organization. That is why it is crucial for missionary leaders to create structures and boundaries that allow for openness and transparency in the missionary community and yet maintain safety for the community as a whole. Li’s Sandbox Covenants address this issue conceptually and practically. In this way, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead speaks directly to the missionary community, and it’s leaders. And I thought sandboxes were only for kids!
- Charlene Li. Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead. Kindle ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010, 174-79.
- Ibid., 5.
- Ibid., 163.
- Ibid., 12.
- Ibid., 107.
- Ibid., 186.
- Ibid., 110.
- Ibid., 112.
About the Author
Jim Sabella
9 responses to “I Thought Sandboxes were only for Kids!”
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Great post-Jim. I liked how you brought this back to missions. Yes, I agree with there needing to be clear boundaries for missionaries to have open communities. I think people can get more passionate about missions if they were able to view and experience what missionaries are doing. It can be rather ambiguous to the average person to what they are accomplishing, thus making it challenging to raise support. Any ideas on how to connect missions with others and create more of an open community where they can be better supported?
Thanks Jenn. That’s a great question on how to connect missions with others. Believe it or not, even in our day of social media, it’s still a challenge. Some people do it very well others not quite as well. One of the major challenges is that a missionary can have a powerful ministry on the field, helping thousands of people but they may not be the best communicators. Sometimes their support suffers because of it. I am leading a team effort in our Europe region to better tell the story of our Europe missionaries. It will be both on the production side–telling the story, and also the training side–helping missionaries to tell their own stories. There are so many great things happening in the world…we want to make sure that everyone knows.
Jim, the book was so upbeat that I never thought of some possible negative aspects to social media. Of course, we live in such comparative safety here in the US that I didn’t think of what “too much” openness might mean.
It just points out that we need – “Of the four guidelines, common sense and judgment are the most practical and sometimes the most forgotten guidelines.”
I liked the Sandbox Covenant too. It illustrates a good balance. So, I won’t send you tweets on the field!! God bless you and family and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Mary. There really are two sides to the social media trend. I agree with Li, that’s where the leaders come in to help set boundaries and guidelines. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too!
Ah, Jim, it is so true that social media is both a blessing and bane for missionaries. I don’t know about missionaries you work with, but our folks raise support directly from churches. The challenge on social media is that if things are posted that are negative, showing signs of struggling, hard times or discouragement or frustration with the host culture, then missionaries potentially loose financial support. Like the happy face we tend to exhibit on Facebook anyway, missionaries are subtly encouraged to post success stories and good news. How (and should) can we encourage authentic, real people posts that don’t threaten to dismember the missionary and/or their work?
Jim as a missionary your task is similar to the pastor except your audience is reading your sermon versus hearing. It is a challenge to help people visualize you working in the field. Pictures are a thousand words.
A well-crafted word from the missionary is empowering. It very similar to a sermon preparation. I
Jim,
Thanks so much for this post. I really appreciate your unique insight and perspective on this (and so many) issues.
As I was reading your post – particularly the two examples about the good and the bad of social media ‘openness’ – I thought about De Vries’s discusion of the intelligence leaders need about when and what to share… Thanks again
Jim I would assert that openness and boundaries cannot exist without and understanding of how transparency would be inserted into leadership within this context. It is a challenge in the missional context unless we reveal how we as leaders will be transparent in each mission. The revelation does not answer all of the deep seeded questions but it does illuminate how we address these issues within our ministries.
Jim, this is something that I struggle with and I have not yet fully come to terms with. My issue is this… “What should I post (and allow others to post) while on mission trips?”
PROS: Posting pics and telling stories raises prayer support WHILE WE ARE ON THE TRIP. We can give specific prayer requests in real time! It also give families who are left at home a view into what their loved ones are experiencing. On top of this, it take the mystery out of mission trips for those who are contemplating future participation. Also, some coworkers WANT you to post, especially if they are relying on financial support from people in the U.S.
CONS: A lot of this has to do with the security and context of the location. For example, if you are in country where the government or elements of the population are opposed to missions, you might put coworkers (or your team) in danger. To a lesser degree, some coworkers overseas are more productive if they are “under the radar.”
While your post tells me that I need to put some guidelines in writing, my initial answer to the problem is this…. I ask the local partners and submit to their wisdom.