Self Projection

Carrying on from the thoughts about Self Promotion - I have been thing a lot about Self Projection - particularly through the ADHD-satisfying social phenomena of Twitter & Facebook.

What do we say about ourselves on Twitter & Facebook? What are we trying to tell the world about ourselves? What image of ourselves are we trying to project?

First of all there is the Profile Pic/Avatar. If you are a worship leader or rock star in waiting (they are not always the same thing - really!) you will probably have a profile pic something a bit like this:

Earnest worship face? - CHECK

Big Stage visible? - CHECK

Taylor/Gibson/Avalon? - CHECK

Converse Trainers? - CHECK

"Hey world - I LEAD WORSHIP. (sometimes on a big stage where people take photos of me)"

The visual nature of digital communication allows us to present ourselves in whatever way we choose. And many worship leaders want to project an image of themselves on a stage behind a microphone. I find that interesting.

Then there is the nature of updates, these come in 3 basic categories:

1. Blatant Self Promotion - (my new album/conference/blog post/book/video)

2. Mentioning the day to day of successful worship ministry (band practices/choosing songs/song writing/conference anecdotes/stories from the studio) - complete with pics from the iPhone!

3. The Good Father/Husband routine - ("I am a successful worship leader but I also devote satisfactory time to my wife & kids") - HOLD the PRESS! 'Father loves kids' SHOCKER.

There is also a sickeningly strange new trend on Twitter for ReTweeting your compliments; basically every time someone compliments you on your song or album or whatever then republishing that compliment so everyone else can see it. Tempting though it might be - we should remember - "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."

So, what am I trying to tell people/friends/followers about myself in the images I present and the things of my life that I choose to highlight?

Is it my identity as a musician or a worship leader or even as a good father/husband?

Is it my intelligence, artistic taste or cultural significance?

Is it my importance to the wider Church?

I am just asking questions here, not throwing stones. Telling the world via the internet what your life is like (including the exciting cool bits) is part of our 21st century culture. And it isn't a sin. But if all we portray of our identity is simply a 'stage persona' then we are in danger. In danger of creating an image of ourselves we can't sustain. An image of success and importance. An image of identity based on our roles and giftings.

And the great danger is that we would believe our own bullshit and let what we project of ourselves become what we think of ourselves. And the problem with that is it isn't even half as good as the truth:

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;"

dg