FOR PASTORS ONLY: CAN WE TALK?

    Luke and 1 are friends with a couple from church named Clay and
Tammy, who have become very dear to us. We sometimes eat Sunday
lunch together at a local buffet. 卫1Îs restaurant has a carved-meat
counter where the same man has worked as long as we can remember.
He greets every single woman with, "Hello there, pretty thang!
How are you doing today, foxy mama?" and if he weren't so portly
and innocent (and if he didn't cook such a great steak), 1 might be
offended. As it is, we laugh it off and go our way.
    Our children and husbands didn't know this man always made
such comments, and one particular Sunday, Clay and Tammy's
daughter ran back to tell her dad that the man at the meat counter
had been flirting with her mother. Tammy wasn't back to the table
yet, and Clay just laughed like it didn't affect him in the least.
    there have been many women who have approached me
privately by email for wise counsel in the midst of trying times both
personally and within the church. Because 1 don't know them or the
church situation, they feel free to divulge the details they've been
forced to hold back. It's a release for them and a ministry opportunity
for me. On the ßip side, I've also dumped on a long-distance
friend who just happens to work in the pastoral care office of a large
church. It's such a relief to be able to teIl it all to someone without
repercusslons.
    1 do feel the need to caution you against overdivulging sensitive
details on your public postings. 1 have cringed while reading the blogs
of some ministry wives, knowing there would likely be repercussions
within the church body when the content was shared on Sister Susie's
Hotline. If you think your church members don't know you have a
Web site, think again! Be wise when writing and always consider
whether your take on a situation could be hurtful, misconstrued, or
just ßat-out inappropriate to share in the blog format. Bottom line,
if you wouldn't want your husband reading it from the pulpit, then
don't publish!
    The danger in blogging is the temptation to withdraw from faceto-
face relationships and immerse oneself in a virtual reality with no
real personal obligation. In a busy world that is already disconnected,
the convenience-store mentality of friendship only serves to heighten
isolation. Blogging should never be used as a replacement for ßeshand-
blood relationships but rather as a wonderful addition to them.
If you are as blessed as I've been, it can also be a tool for meeting new
friends whose paths may never have crossed your own otherwise.