Googling my way out of a pastoral relationship

The man shook my hand after the service, tall and friendly, but timid in a way. He’d visited the week before and was wondering: “How do I join the church?” He had been raised in another tradition, he explained, but had drifted away—its theology was no longer his. I offered to meet for coffee and hear his story. “Fill out a visitor card,” I said, handing him a small slip of paper. “I’ll give you a call this week and get something on the calendar.”

Monday morning the card sat on my desk next to my computer. I read his name and address. The road and zip code were unfamiliar, so I typed them into the search bar on my browser. Real estate records showed the price that had been paid for the property, satellite images displayed the house situated on a peri-urban lot, Google Street View displayed images of a white frame house set back from the road.

I wondered what this man did for a living, if there were any details or connections that might be helpful for our conversation. I entered his name in quotes and added our city.