On Blogging and Social Media ...

I'm a shy person, an introvert. I typically prefer to listen to points of view, think about them for a looong time, hold them up to a Biblical worldview, and then respond.

Blogging helps me in that it forces me to take the time to process the flood of communication that comes at me like a freight train everyday. (Never mind that I haven't been writing very much, (ahem) I have been very busy:)

In case your curious, here are a handful of blogs that I follow with Google Reader:

Challies.com - in his words it's a "compendium of articles, information and book reviews. If the blog has a primary focus, it would likely be commentary on the contemporary church and its interaction with the culture around us." (I never would have come up with "compendium.")

Kevin DeYoung - Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, Kevin interacts with theology and culture as well. He is the coauthor of Why We're Not Emergent By Two Guys Who Should Be.

On a less serious note:

Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff - a satire blog that seeks to answer the question, "Does the stuff we like ever get in the way of the God we love?"

FlowerDust.net by author and speaker, Anne Jackson - a lot of good "food for thought."

Bryan Allain - he does alot of creative and funny stuff ... I haven't been following him long, so enter at your own risk :).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been at my job with the SIM communications team for one year as of November 5, and although I am more used to the enormous amount of content (a couple hundred missionary newsletters each month, SIM project updates, a couple hundred blogs, and emails about a myriad of other things, to name a few ...) that comes my way, it is still a struggle to #1 keep up, #2 to filter it, and then #3 prioritize it all and publish what needs to be published.

Having said that, it is an exciting place to be also. It is a constant reminder to me of how big God is, and that he is constantly at work throughout the world ... that even amidst all of the pain and suffering, there is hope!

Facebooking and tweeting ...

Compared to Facebook and Twitter, and some blogs—not mine, a website is relatively static content. Facebooking and tweeting—two new verbs created by our social media generation (tweeting not so much created, but definitely redefined)—allow people to put out a constant stream of information. Some of it is useful and some not so much, but these interfaces can connect you with people that you don't even know who have the same interests or mission as you do.

For those of you who might be confused about Twitter, it is really more of a platform to network, connect with people that you don't know, unlike Facebook, which is set up to connect more with people that you do know. Twitter is like Facebook on steroids. As long as your account is setup as "public," anyone can "follow" your "tweets," 140 character statements that you place on your profile, and you can follow theirs.

But like I said, I am shy, so there is part of me that resists "putting my life out there" for all to see. What I am realizing though is that I do have a message that's worth putting out there—it is a message of hope. It's not about me at all. It's fundamentally about telling folks that God does love them, and secondarily it's telling them how they can get involved in bringing that hope to others. In a world where much of the news is bad news, there is GOOD news to share! If you're a Christ-follower, I especially encourage you to share it!

A word of caution ... be consistent

I have seen this happen on Facebook in particular. Someone will write an encouraging Biblical post one day, you know, a praise the Lord kind of thing, and a ridiculously sexual or sarcastic post or video the next day. I don't get that.

Be consistent in your message, whatever it is. Otherwise, it's kind of like blowing by someone on the road and maybe even giving them the finger ... the last thing they see is the "I love Jesus" bumper sticker on your car as you cruise by ... I'm just sayin'.

Seriously, our words are powerful and when you use social media, you aren't just talking to a friend or two, your talking to hundreds, if not thousands of people. It is Sunday, I have the right to a one point sermon don't I?