I almost choked on my cookie. During a lunch conversation, a friend told me about a recent job interview where his future employer explained that they had already researched him and his family.

How did they do this? They examined the past five years of his Facebook account … every post, every comment, every share, every photo. They knew about his kids, his love for football, and even some of his pet peeves.

My first thought: “Note to self—check your Facebook security settings ASAP.” But my second thought was that this should not be a scary scenario.

In fact, this episode is not uncommon. I’ve heard a number of stories of millennials who have been rejected by potential employers or fired by their company due to personal rants, inappropriate photos or questionable comments on their social media past and present. Full disclosure, I’ve “Facebook stalked” a few applicants myself to get a glimpse of who they are outside of their resume.

I am personally grateful that social media didn’t exist when I was a teenager or young adult. None of us would want our youthful indiscretions and naïve, know-it-all comments captured for the whole world to see for years to come.

But social media, for better or worse, captures all kinds of details about who we are … or who we want people to think we are.

On several occasions in recent years, I’ve learned my lesson about social media. I’ve had to go back and delete an embarrassing post or apologize for an immature comment. On my better days, I’ve caught myself just before posting that self-promoting tweet or sarcastic comment and slowly hit the backspace key until nothing was left but the cursor. In fact, I’ve found myself posting far less on Facebook and Twitter over the last year or so for this very reason. Like Thumper’s father told him, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

Maybe even more subtle are the motivations behind our posts. Sometimes we’re trying to prop ourselves up as something we’re not. Other times, we’re venting anger about some inconsequential topic. Or maybe we just want people to know how clever we are. Our motivations are often more transparent to others than we think.

Perhaps you’ve found yourself in a similar place, regretting that social media rant, self-indulgent photo, inconsiderate comment or conspicuous humblebrag. One way I’ve found to guard against this is to regularly take inventory of my social media posts. Every now and then, I look back over my Facebook and Twitter feeds for the previous month or two and ask myself a series of questions to evaluate what I’m broadcasting to the world.

Here are 10 of the most common questions I ask myself:

1. If someone only knew me from my social media posts, who would they think I am and would they be right?
2. What do I tweet/share about the most?
3. What do these posts say about my general personality and mood?
4. What do these posts say about what I enjoy and value?
5. What do these posts say about who/what I trust in?
6. Is there anything embarrassing or something I wish I hadn’t said?
7. Do I need to apologize to anyone for a post or comment?
8. How well did I point people to Jesus?
9. What was my motivation behind these posts? Was there anything I posted as a way to make me look better than I am or as a way to impress people?
10. What changes do I need to make in my social media habits?

These questions dive deep into our use of social media. Self-evaluation can be one of the hardest habits to form, but God can use it for our sanctification. Sometimes I come away from these reflections humbled and repentant. Other times, I’ve come away relieved that my posts have been positive, accurate, and helpful.

So take a few minutes to scroll through your feeds and ask these questions. You just might be surprised what you’ll find.

DALLAS—The congregation of First Baptist Church, Dallas, has taken in stride its debut as a featured target in the January release of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) official online terror magazine.

During the Christmas holidays and in the days immediately following, ISIS called attention to non-Muslim churches. On Dec. 21, ISIS published a list of thousands of United States churches’ names and addresses, calling for attacks on them during the holiday season. On Dec. 23, prompted by the ISIS release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released to law enforcement agencies nationwide a joint bulletin with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

The bulletin was issued, officials are reported as saying, “out of an abundance of caution.” No specific, credible, planned threats were known, but the published list called for vigilance. The bulletin said that ISIS continues, “aspirational calls for attacks on holiday gatherings, including targeting churches.” On January 6, ISIS publicly released the 5th and latest edition of its Rumiyah magazine. With that release, it continued its targeting of U.S. churches past the holiday season.

The Baptist New Mexican obtained copies of the ISIS magazine from the FBI and from the Middle East Media Research Institute. In general, its content propagates radical Muslim theology and promotes and glorifies killing and carnage of defiant non-Muslims. First Baptist, Dallas is specifically mentioned in an article titled “Just Terror Tactics.” The article is part three in a series by the same name. The first two installments of the series encouraged and described knife attacks and attacks using trucks. The third article outlines how to make Molotov cocktails, how to use them and how to select targets for fires.

According to the article picturing the church, “This information will assist in execution and increase the likelihood of killing or severely injuring those inside.” Just after the heading “Ideal Target Locations,” a large photo of First Baptist Church appears. The caption beneath the photo gives the church’s address and says, “A popular Crusader gathering place waiting to be burned down.”

In an interview with the New Mexican, First Baptist Church’s pastor, Robert Jeffress, said that he was amazed at how his church had received the news about the magazine. “It has really had no impact,” he said. He described how the church had continued peacefully with its ministries. But, the church did contact DHS, the FBI, and local law enforcement immediately after receiving the report.

Jeffress said the church has not changed any precautions or procedures because the church had already implemented security measures “to make sure our congregants are safe.” The church also encourages its members to be vigilant and encourages other churches to take precautions, as well.

Unofficially, one federal official said that the lack of any specific known threat makes the magazine appearance and the publication of the church list less of a concern. He encouraged general vigilance, just like First Baptist encouraged.

To help churches generally prepare for emergencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the “Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship.” The detailed guide walks through emergency response concepts, structuring a response plan and team, and implementing an emergency readiness plan.

In the guide, FEMA categorizes emergencies a church can face as caused by natural hazards, technological hazards, or adversarial and human-caused threats. Terroristic threats fall into the last category. The guide suggests preparations for other emergencies because they are more likely to occur. Key factors in assessing risks for planning purposes are the probability of a risk and the likely magnitude of the risk, should it occur, the guide says.

The ultimate goal of emergency planning, according to the guide is the successful prevention of and recovery from emergencies.

DHS has prepared an additional report on “Potential Indicators, Common Vulnerabilities and Protective Measures: Houses of Worship,” which emergency planning teams may want to review in drafting emergency operations plans. Both documents are available as online downloads via a simple Internet search for their titles.

Jeffress said he has shared with his Dallas congregation that the Bible says, “God did not give us a spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7). He said, “If we give in to fear, ISIS wins; and, worse, Satan wins.” In the meantime, no one can take a backpack inside the church. Jeffress feels that the lack of attention by mainstream media to the church’s appearance in the magazine indicates that the threat is not yet specific or credible.

Kevin Parker is the editor of the Baptist New Mexican news journal for the Baptist Convention of New Mexico. This article first appeared on the Baptist New Mexican website.

PHOENIX  As Phoenix-area Southern Baptists prepare for next summer’s SBC annual meeting, they are praying that a new addition to Crossover activities could lead to long-lasting spiritual fruit.

At the invitation of the North American Mission Board, Southern California evangelist and pastor Greg Laurie has scheduled his national Harvest America outreach at the University of Phoenix Stadium for June 11, 2017, which will coincide with Southern Baptists’ Crossover efforts.

The Crossover crusade, which will be simulcast nationally, will include a gospel message by Laurie and music from top-name Christian artists.

More than 225 local church and parachurch leaders participated in a launch meeting in October where Laurie shared his vision for the crusade.

“I firmly believe that the Lord is working in a mighty way through Greg Laurie,” said Noe Garcia, senior pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church. “Just look at how God has used him in the past. It gets me excited for how God is going to use him here in Phoenix, especially for a place that desperately needs Jesus and needs restoration. We’re excited as a church to encourage that, support that and be a part of what God is doing here in Phoenix.”

Garcia serves on the local advisory team for Harvest America Arizona.

Southern Baptists who want to participate in Crossover Phoenix will be encouraged to fill much-needed volunteer roles in the crusade, according to Joel Southerland, NAMB’s executive director of evangelism.

“Greg Laurie and his team have proven that crusade events can still work and are a great way to introduce people to Jesus,” NAMB President Kevin Ezell said. “Hundreds of Southern Baptist churches have partnered with the Harvest Crusade over the years, and we are excited about partnering with them for this event.”

Since 1990, Laurie’s Harvest events have drawn more than 5.7 million people. Another 1.9 million have attended the events “virtually” through the internet. Harvest America calls the crusades the longest-running annual evangelistic outreach in American history.

“If we fail to meet the challenges of our time, I fear the consequences may be devastating for generations to come,” Laurie said. “It is for this reason that we are partnering with the North American Mission Board and Southern Baptist churches all across our nation in an attempt to elevate the gospel.”

Local Southern Baptists already have been organizing and praying that God will use the crusade in big ways.

“We believe this event could result in the largest evangelistic impact we have ever seen in Arizona,” said David Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention. “We are encouraging all of our churches in Arizona to participate and get involved either through challenging their people to pray, invite, attend and bring others with them or serving as volunteers or being a follow up church—or all of the above!”

The crusade will overlap with the first evening of the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference, with conference organizers urging local SBC churches to participate in the outreach.

“We hope local pastors will rally their churches, invite lost people and get as many people out to the crusade as possible,” said Dave Miller, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa, and president of the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference. “We would like nothing better than to see thousands of Arizona residents be introduced to Jesus through this event.”

Ezell believes the two gatherings can work in harmony with one another.

“Dave Miller has been a blessing to work with on this, and I believe these events can coincide well,” Ezell said. “The crusade is focused on reaching the Phoenix community.”

Phoenix represents a critical mission field for Southern Baptists. It is one of 32 cities where NAMB is focusing resources through its Send North America church planting effort. According to NAMB’s Center for Missional Research, there is only one Southern Baptist church for every 19,338 people in metro Phoenix.

“This is an incredible opportunity for church members to invite unchurched co-workers, family members and friends to an event where they will hear the gospel,” Ezell said.

For more information about participating in the crusade, either in Phoenix or via simulcast, visit HarvestAmerica.com.