Have you been able to utilize social networking tools (see video below) to build relationships and connect with a variety of people this year? What do you use them for? I’ve posted here and here on why I use Twitter. Do you use social networking sites at all?
Help me out by answering the poll question:[polldaddy poll=1232795]
If you’re not sure what social networking is, check out the video below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc]
Again, I acknowledge that many of you hate Twitter. In fact, the person I love most in this world probably hates Twitter the most. However, I have found much use for this social networking tool. In addition to connecting with family and friends and having an outlet for my often random thoughts, I have been able to use Twitter to connect with other pastors throughout the country, building relationships with them that further my ministry and theirs. Twitter has also helped me find a number of great blogs, and has connected others to my blog. All-in-all, I have found Twitter quite helpful.
I knew that when I chose to pursue my Master’s degree at Southern Seminary I was making the right decision. A recent article published in their newspaper just confirms my decision. In addition to the reasons I’ve already listed, here’s an ever greater reason: Twitter is Biblical!
Living in a Twittering world
December 1, 2008
By Chuck Lawless
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Chuck Lawless, Dean, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth, Southern Seminary |
If you haven’t begun to use “Twitter,” you’re already behind in the social networking world. “Twitter” is an Internet-based program that allows you to “communicate and stay connected through the exchange of short status messages.” That is, you can tell someone where you are and what you’re doing at any moment during the day. Dial the Twitter system into your mobile phone, and you can follow — and be followed by — all kinds of people all day long.
I, too, am guilty of playing the Twitter game, but sometimes I’m surprised by what seemingly insignificant information others share. “Got up early this morning.” “On my way to the store to buy bread.” “Reading a book.” “Working out.” “Raking the leaves.” “To the office — many meetings today.” “Tired this morning.” “Can’t sleep.” On and on the text messages go. To be honest, I’m just waiting for someone to let me know when he is having a bowel movement — and that kind of sharing becomes the norm. Nothing, it seems, is private in
a twittering world.
But, maybe that’s not all bad.
Sure, some privacy is important. The physical joys of marriage are meant to be enjoyed privately. Not every confession of sin should be spoken so publicly that additional problems are created. Some prayer needs are so deeply felt that sharing them with more than a few people is emotionally draining. Ministry often requires us to hold information responsibly, being careful not to make publicly known what is shared privately.
On the other hand, too much privacy sometimes results in tragedy. You know the story — a follower of Jesus falls into sin, hides it and soon finds himself entangled in a sinful mess. This course of sin should not surprise us, as it began with Adam and Eve and has continued since then. Having wrongly chosen to eat from the forbidden fruit, the first human beings hid themselves (Gen 3:8). Indeed, they were so deceived that they thought they could hide “from the presence of the Lord God” — as if that were even possible! The enemy so ensnares us in his web of deceit that we somehow believe that God Himself does not know what we do in private.
Having studied spiritual warfare and the enemy’s strategies for many years, I have watched far too many men and women mess up in their spiritual walk. What I have never seen, though, are believers who just “wake up” on the other side of sin, as if they unexpectedly and unconsciously find themselves there. Instead, what I have seen is the believer who makes one wrong choice that leads to another wrong choice … that leads to even more wrong choices … and eventually to a fall. Almost always, secrecy marks the downward process somewhere:
• pretending that I am faithful in my practice of spiritual disciplines.
• viewing Internet pornography when nobody else is around.
• finding it easier and easier to lie to my spouse about anything.
• hiding text and email messages so that no one reads my communication with that particular person.
• meeting alone to have lunch with that person who is attractive to me.
• finding excuses to avoid planned accountability meetings.
Moral failure almost always involves our covering up secrets, even while convincing ourselves that our actions are acceptable. The result is ultimately spiritual disaster. And — lest we find ourselves arrogantly inattentive to the warning signals — only a fool thinks he is immune to the possibility of falling.
How do we remain faithful when a very real, supernatural enemy seeks to lure us into the darkness? Here is one step in the process: make sure that somebody who loves us ALWAYS knows where we are and what we’re doing. If we are never in a place, never in a situation, and never with a person that demands our hiding, the likelihood of our falling
decreases significantly.
Sound complicated? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Call your spouse or email her when you get to work. Get in touch with her when you go to lunch and when you return to work. Let her know when you head home. If you are running an errand and get detoured, let her know. Frankly, you might even find that talking more with your spouse is good for your marriage.
Or, if you are not married, find someone of the same gender to carry out this accountability role for you. The cost of falling is simply too heavy for any of us to give ourselves per-mission to live secret lives.
In fact, I probably need to rethink my opinion about Twitter. If using Twitter makes it more difficult to hide, it’s likely a smart move to start sending text messages about everything we do. (http://www.towersonline.net/printer.php?grp=issues&id=239)
As a way of honoring the volunteers in our community groups ministry, my wife hosted a Christmas party for the wives of group leaders. I thought that this would be one of those parties that I could just slip out of, and go hang out with the guys. Suffice it to say that that didn’t happen. I was stuck in the house with a bunch of ladies who would be eating and exchanging gifts.
My job for the evening was to make lattes and hot chocolate for everybody. I am often delegated this responsibility because I worked at a coffee shop as a barista for over 3 years, and really enjoy coffee. I made a variety of different drinks that night.
What stood out to me was their response to the drinks, and what that did for me. Some ladies were very appreciative, saying, “Thanks!” or “We appreciate you doing this for us!” It was nice that they appreciated my drinks, but the greatest responses were, “That’s good,” and “I really like that,” and “I didn’t even know if this would be good, but I love it!” Now, I don’t say this to toot my own horn at all. I say this to point you to what worship is, at its core.
Worship is enjoying God. Sure, there are other aspects of worship. Take, for example, giving. Giving is an act of worship, right? But giving to others, merely because God says to give, isn’t enough (though it is a step of obedience). “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) There is a component to giving that requires an emotional commitment. A cheerful giver does not give merely because he or she has to give. They take delight in giving. But can an emotion really be commanded? Aren’t emotions just a reaction, not something that we can control or help?
“Delight yourself in the Lord.” (Psalm 37:4) There it is. Delighting involves an emotion. Delighting means that you have a positive affection towards something or someone. To delight in something means that you enjoy it. To delight in God means that we enjoy Him. David, the psalmist, delights in and longs for the sweet commandments and precepts of God. (Psalm 119:16, 24, 29-30, 36, 40, 47-48, 58, 70, 72, 77, 92, 103, 111, 131, 143, 162, 164, 174) How do you go about the business of delighting in God? I think it starts with two things: trusting in the Lord and committing your way to Him. (Psalm 37:3, 5) Delight can be both the catalyst and the result of trusting and committing, and is an essential aspect of worship.
The ladies showed the most value to my drinks when they enjoyed them. The empty cup and a smile went much further in my mind than words alone. What about with God? Do you think He just wants your words? Or does He want your heart, too?
How do you train up the next generation? Is that something that you even think about in life and ministry? As I’m thinking about the work that I’ve done throughout graduate school, now heading into my second year at Grace Community Church, and now entering fatherhood, I really want to make sure that what I’m learning and have learned does not die with me. I’m challenged by Judges 2:6-10. At this time in Israel’s history, they had seen the “great work that the Lord had done for Israel” (2:7) and had entered the Promised Land (Canaan). “The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua.” (2:7)
But Joshua died. And the people buried him.
“And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” (2:10)
An entire generation forgot the work of the Lord. If we neglect our duty of telling the great story of God’s redemption to our children and to those we are working to raise up as leaders and followers of Christ, we will repeat the story of the Israelites. That bothers me! So here’s a few principles that will guide me as I work to raise up apprentices in 2009.
1. I will be intentional. If I never tell someone that I think they’d be a great leader, and intentionally work to develop them as a leader, it won’t happen. Apprenticeship does not happen naturally. You have to work at it. I will have to intentionally invest in others for the express purpose of building them up as a leader.
2. I will take risks. I will not just look for the most ‘mature’ people to step into leadership. If that’s the model that Jesus used, he probably would not have chosen any of the disciples. Rather, Jesus chose people who had a lot of growing to do. I will take risks on those who are not finished growing yet, but who are pursuing Jesus with all they’ve got.
3. I will give leadership opportunities. Some people need to be pushed out of the boat. They need to be given the opportunity to lead, with the real possibility of failure, but in the context of being shepherded. In other words, I will present leadership opportunities to those who I am shepherding, and actually follow up with them to see how it went. What went well? What tanked? How did you prepare for the opportunity? What will you do differently next time? If they’re never given the opportunity to lead, they won’t develop into a leader.
4. I will encourage apprentices where I see them leading well. Encouraging someone presupposes that I listen to them, ask hard questions, and look for the ways that the Lord is working in their life and ministry. “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13) Encouragement works to fight against sin and burnout in leadership.
5. I will speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). I already know that this will be tough. Have you ever tried telling someone that what they did or said was wrong? How about doing that not out of a sense of entitlement, or from a stance of pride, but from a heart of love? That’s radical. And the crazy thing is that, when it’s truth in love, God uses it to work for their good.
That’s my plan for pouring into the next generation. What’s yours?
Should we plan for the future? It seems that the Israelites did:
Deuteronomy 6:20-21, “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.’”
There was the assumption that children would ask their parents in the future, thus the need for planning. That verse strikes me especially sharply now that I’m a father. I want to be prepared to answer the questions of life that my son will ask. I want to be able to point him to the Scriptures as the source for life. I want my answers to always paint a picture of the big God that we serve. I don’t want to answer the question, “Why are you disciplining me?” with “Because I said so.” Rather, I want to point my son back to the biblical responsibility I have as a parent to honor God and love him (my son). See Hebrews 12:7-11. I have a mere 18 years with my son at home to influence him and point him to the gospel. I want to take full advantage of every opportunity to weave in the grand news of God’s offer of salvation.
How might I do that? Here’s where my plan starts (I’ll be using the RSS feed). What’s your plan for answering the spiritual questions your children will (or are) going to ask in 2009?
Follow me on Twitter
I am often asked by my friends, “What is twitter?” After I tell them, they ask, “Who cares?” If you find yourself asking the same questions, or if you’re one who has no clue what twitter is, check out this video below:
Original and Traditional Christmas Songs from Sojourn Artists, including Jamie Barnes, Dirt Poor Robins, Brooks Ritter, and more. Available now for free or pay-what-you-want.
The emphasis here is on the already/ not-yet tension of Advent, the season of waiting and anticipation before Christmas. Advent comes to us in the darkest season of the year — a season when the nights are long, the days are cold, and we look with anticipation for the return of the warmth in the spring. The songs have both a dark sense of anticipation and glimpses of light dawning in the face of the Christ child.
As we celebrate this season, we celebrate that our Messiah has come, and we look with longing to the day when he comes again. As St. John says, “Amen! Come Lord Jesus.”
To download the cd for free, click here.
I was reminded over Thanksgiving of the fact that I was created for community. We all have heard that “it’s not Thanksgiving without the _______,” right? Fill that blank in with Turkey, dressing, cranberries, or punkin’ pie, and you have the typical answer given in response to the essential component of Thanksgiving. But I was reminded of the more cohesive component, that of family (which takes on a whole new meaning for me now that I’m a dad).
No longer did I wait in eager anticipation for the pineapple and cheese concoction that my mom makes (which, by the way, is awesome!). I eagerly awaited the arrival of my brother and his wife, my parents, and all of my in-laws. Everybody came to our house this year, and it was beautiful. The food was great, but sharing it with those I love was even greater. There’s something inside of me that longs to live life in community with others. Food may enhance that, but it can’t replace it.
I was talking with a guy in the hallway at church yesterday, and he told me that his plan was to eat Thanksgiving dinner alone, but at the last minute, a friend invited him to share dinner with their family. His eyes lit up when he told me about being invited to their home and not having to do Thanksgiving alone.
I believe that our dissatisfaction in living life alone was woven into our souls by God. Look at God’s words to Adam in Genesis 2:18: “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” Adam wasn’t created to be his own friend! There was something out of whack when it was just Adam and the animals. He, just like us, was created to live life in relationships with other people. There’s something wrong when we find ourselves isolated and self-sufficient, and something about the holiday season brings this God-given need to the surface. We were created to depend on others.
I keep coming back to this in my thoughts and in my blogs, but I really want my son to catch the value of traditions. I hope and pray that our Thanksgiving traditions ring the bell of truth that God created us to be dependent on Him and dependent on others.
