Channel Hospitality

Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-social-media-is-important/285809/

Social media is, well, social. It is by its very design relational and crafted for connection. With each new social media site, we add another communications channel to the stable of connection options. 

In response to the proliferation of channels, I've noticed a dramatic response by many people I come across, and even in myself. People gravitate to certain channels that fit their communication style, political views, social circles and favorite tech features. And when they pick their channels, we all tend to lock out the others. So if I reject facebook but love twitter, I don't simply stop using one and pick up the other; instead I actively push away the connections in one in favor of the connections in the other. 

Beyond social media, this applies to other communications channels as well. Some only use FaceTime, Zoom or Skype for video calls, others send text messages but won't pick up the phone. Some will only respond when it comes through WhatsApp. The preferences and concoctions of channels is almost limitless. But we are surprisingly proud of our channel choices. If we are not on Instagram, we tend to feel morally superior to those who have fallen prey to its pull. Don't get people started talking about TikTok!

Channel preferences combined with channel pride lead to a new kind of disconnection. We self select out of certain relationships if they don't overlap with our channel choices. So, for instance, if a grandparent only uses email and a child or grandchild only text, they stop regular communication. Or if your friend is only on TikTok and you are only on Instagram, you loose all visibility into their lives (unless you see them in person). 

So in light of channel segmentation, pride and siloing, what should a Generous Mind do? There are two big ideas that we need to wrestle with here:

1. "All things to all people": In 1 Corinthians 9:22 Paul says these famous words. Got Questions does a great job breaking down this famous verse. Essentially, this doesn't mean we have to submit to the world in order to love it, but it does mean that we have to sacrifice our own preferences in favor of the things that will put us in a position to be used by God. In relationship to our communications channel discussion, it means we should set aside our preferences for facebook, Twitter, texting, email, Zoom or LinkedIn. Instead we should look at the person God is calling us to connect with, see them for who they are and meet them in the space that speaks to them. 
2. Digital boundaries: At the same time, we have to put in boundaries. You can't possibly be on every platform, using every tool, checking every form of communication. That isn't any way to live. You would spend every moment of every day toggling between channels and end up connecting with no-one. We need to be thoughtful about what channels we invest in. 

Both of these considerations are real and true. So what do you do? Here is my formula for living into channel hospitality: Submit, seek, serve: 

First, practice channel humility by submitting your own preferences and comfort levels to God. Ask Him to help you feel at home in the places where He wants you to be as you serve Him and love others. 

Second, seek out the people who God has put on your heart. Listen to them. See them for who they are. That will require you to enter into the channels that they use to communicate. As you do, affirm and encourage them. 

Third, serve others through your channels. That means responding to their efforts to communicate. Give them your platform when appropriate. Amplify their voice so that others can see them. And, above all, connect with them in ways that make them more human as they are seen and loved. 

Submission, seeking and service will result in a deep form of hospitality. Being hospitable in your presence on communications channels will lead to knowing people deeply and investing in them authentically. 

What channels is God asking you to be present on and show hospitality through today?