I’ve had an online presence of some kind for nearly 30 years, from coding my own course websites for my teaching in the 90s, to developing one of the original “biblioblogs” in the early 2000s, through social media in various manifestations in the 2010s and 20s. Along the way, I’ve taken breaks from this online presence, but I’ve always come back. What draws me back? Two things: positive interactions with like-minded people I wouldn’t otherwise meet, and the ability to contribute in a small way to the online world of ideas, a world which can have significant influence in the “real world.”

But there are also negative side-effects of having an online presence, especially for those who both express strong opinions and refuse to hide behind anonymity. These negative side-effects can be even greater for those who hold positions out there in that “real world” which have a significant public dimension (such as being a denominational leader). The trolling, the nasty emails, the angry personal confrontations—it all takes a toll on one’s mental and physical health. And I know that this is even worse for women, for queer people, for racialized people, and others.

How to navigate all this? Here are my personal parameters:

• I generally only post things that relate to my convictions as an Anabaptist-Mennonite Christian. The risk is that people will see me as one-dimensional, not a real human being with a full life, someone who likes classical music and sports and crime fiction, who has a family and is part of a church community and lives in a particular neighbourhood. But I have no interest in subjecting my personal relationships and interests to wider public scrutiny.
• Though my posts often relate to my current role as a leader of a specific denomination, they are not to be taken as official statements from my office, and certainly not as official statements of my denomination, Mennonite Church Manitoba/Canada. Our ecclesiology doesn’t work that way; I cannot, and I don’t want to, make official statements as if speaking for the diverse congregations and members within our denomination.
• Having said that, I do try to speak publicly (even in my personal online presence) in ways that cohere with our denomination’s confession of faith, historic positions, official resolutions, and so on. I hope I do represent well the peculiar convictions, values, and practices of our particular stream of Christianity.
• I generally don’t respond to comments on my posts. I may not even read them. This has nothing to do with the value or validity of a comment; it has everything to do with maintaining boundaries to help me maintain my mental and physical health.
• I will delete and block ruthlessly if I feel it’s necessary, whether for my own sake, for the sake of others, or simply for the sake of a healthy and helpful exchange of ideas. I’m fine with people disagreeing with me or others; I’m not fine with people being jerks about it.
• I may, at any time and at my sole discretion, delete past posts, cull my friends/followers lists, take a break from social media, or say “thanks for all the fish” and leave this online world entirely and forever.