We communicate and share a message of Salvation that’s perfect and qualified to save men for eternity. Unfortunately, the medium by and through which we do this is neither perfect nor qualified, in and of itself, to save men.
That medium is us. These crippled vessels that somehow are being used, by God’s Grace, to preach and teach truth.
And as we seek to deeply engage in the online world it’s the element of trust that gives us the ability to do what we’re called to do.
This extremely valuable currency is hard to come by, especially in a pluralistic world where everything is relevant and everything “saves”.
That’s why online video is quickly becoming a valuable tool in online ministry: it helps establish trust because of the simple fact that you can see the other person, their facial expressions, and increases the level of intimacy in a world that’s static and void of humanity.
It brings “life” to a conversation, a sigh of relief when you realize that the person you’ve been talking with, communicating with, twittering with, chatting with is actually real.
So when I saw this new study done by Princeton psychologists detailing how the face engenders and communicates trust, I wasn’t all that surprised:
Princeton psychologists recently showed that certain faces, even when expressionless, strike people as trustworthy or untrustworthy. Features like the shape of the eyebrow are part of an unconscious language of trust that powerfully affects human interaction.
Of course, video is just another medium. If you use it poorly or unwisely you can and will lose the opportunity to gain that valuable currency of trust.
What do you think?