Comments on: A Great Example Job Description for a (Rockstar) Internet Campus Pastor

By: @DMosley

@DMosley — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:25:52 +0000

As a guy who just took on the role of Internet Campus Pastor… thanks for posting this AFTER my transition. I never would have made the cut

By: Jake Johnson

Jake Johnson — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:09:47 +0000

I don't see much here that actually talks about the requirements to be a pastor (i.e. – 1 Timothy 3). I'd agree that it's a little tech heavy.

By: joel

joel — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:43:26 +0000

What is more important to the church: the pastor bit or the tech bit? If its the pastor bit then maybe they should offer time and training for a pastor to become proficient in these skills. If it is the tech bit, then why does the tech guy/gal need to be a pastor?

On the other hand, I'm one of those strange few that studied computer science in college and then went on to seminary…so they do exist out there.

By: human3rror

human3rror — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:32:30 +0000

problem is that i'm not really "pastoral". i'm a mean person.

By: human3rror

human3rror — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:32:17 +0000

haha.

By: Alex Tran

Alex Tran — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:37:43 +0000

I would have to agree with Scott here. IMHO, this job description is overwhelming for any single person to handle. I've drank the "specialization of labor" Kool-Aid and believe it is more important to get skilled people in their strengths rather than look for a jack-of-all-trades type person.

This job description is definitely looking for the latter.

While ensuring a high level design, managing web content and uptime are all critical to church function, those are extremely peripheral to the what I believe the primary responsibilities of an Internet Campus Pastor should be: mobilizing people/resources to advancing the Gospel online.

I've never seen a web designers job description include making pastoral care phone calls. Why would you ask your Internet Campus Pastor to be knowledgeable with design, information architecture, SEO best practices, etc.?

Internet Campus Pastoring and Web Managing are two _extremely_ divergent worlds to me.

By: RickwSmith

RickwSmith — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:39:24 +0000

Hmmm. I wonder if the term "pastor" as defined in BDAG would really apply to this job description…..

By: Brian Vasil

Brian Vasil — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:42:09 +0000

Great post John…
My only concern is that it might be a little technology-heavy. I advise churches that are looking to start an Internet Campus to find a Pastor first…if they have tech knowledge great…but having a Pastor's heart is a must! I spend a lot of my time following up with prayer requests, tokbox/Skype Pastoral counseling, and the like… Due to the large amount of life development I get to be a part of, I have a separate Technology Pastor for the Internet Campus as well as Directors of Online Life Development and a Director of Online Communities. Only two of us are paid…the others are volunteers from around the world. As much as I think web development and technology are critical to the online experience, it is the way people around the world are getting connected that is (at least for us), an indicator of growth. I'm not saying it's an either/or… more like 70% Pastoral and 30% Technologist.

Just my .02

Brian Vasil
Pastor – Flamingo Road Church Internet Campus

By: newlutheran

newlutheran — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:00:40 +0000

I know the feeling.

By: churchpunk

churchpunk — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:47:15 +0000

I think this is pretty close to my dream job.