Searching the blogosphere

Over the weekend I spent some time searching the blogosphere; dropping in on random blogs and reading.

I was touched by the personal reflections some people post. There are hurts and struggles that are hard to imagine. Amid some of these are deep discussions about religion, God and faith. People write about their personal view of God, their struggles and victories with their beliefs and ask a lot of questions and comments about the Church.

Sometimes as I read, I found myself annoyed by the writer, and other times frustrated with the church for having treated someone badly. Mostly, I sensed the longing people have for a spiritual relationship that will speak to their life reality. On one blog I left a comment pointing the writer to www.whatyoubelieve.com because I knew she could find answers to her questions on her own terms.

I've often expressed the opinion that the church needs an Internet chaplain, someone who can be available, provide loving responses and build relationships with bloggers, tweeters and anyone else online. Blogs tend to attract like-minded contributors, so someone posting faith questions is likely to have their doubts and beliefs reinforced. What if there were some loving, patient, Christ-centred responses?

Is anyone taking up the challenge?

Faith-book

A lot has been written and reported about Facebook. Some say it’s on the decline, while others lament that the old folks are taking over.

I’ve spent some time on here, as well as in discussion with others trying to figure out the role of Facebook in the life of the church as well as in outreach.

Tonight, I was talking to a pastor who was strongly encouraged to join Facebook. He really didn’t want to, but did it anyway. He didn’t write much of a profile because he honestly didn’t know why he was bothering. But the Lord knew.

Within days, a couple of old friends found him and upon discovering he was a pastor began asking him questions about God and the Christian faith. The next week, some members of his church who hadn’t been around much contacted him and struck up an ongoing conversation. He told me he doesn’t have to post anything because people are coming to him with questions.

He serves in an isolated part of Canada, from a Lutheran perspective. There are people around who want to be part of a Bible study but the travel time is impossible. The pastor’s solution? Skype Bible studies. Every week the pastor and six others use the Skype conference call feature to study God’s Word. His only complaint is that the program doesn’t allow for conference video calls. (If someone knows how to do that, please let me know!)

We can never imagine the many ways the Lord can use the digital technology. We just have to be ready to follow His lead.

What would Jesus Tweet?

One of my Facebook friends commented on the Twitter in Church story, writing on my wall: “Sometimes you have to wonder what God thinks of all this. Jesus preached in the open, no mike, no power point, just Him and the people.”

The question could easily be “Would Jesus use PowerPoint?” But more appropriate is “How does PowerPoint or any technology serve the Gospel?”

Many of us have suffered through what can only be described as ‘death by PowerPoint’ —presentations with paragraphs of tiny text or pie charts with miniature labels and presenters who proceed to read everything on the screen. Would Jesus do that? I don’t think so. Why would the Creator of the universe do something so un-creative.

However, if He used the medium, he would use it to illustrate His teaching with pictures. “Consider the lilies of the fields.” I like to think that when He spoke those words there were flowers nearby.

Or “A sower went out to sow.” Can’t you see the picture of a green tractor pulling a hopper full of seed, followed by close-ups of seed falling on rocks, fertile soil and the road?

Jesus used illustrations vivid in the minds of His listeners. The only record we have of Him writing anything is when He faced the accusers of the woman caught in adultery. What He wrote in the sand, we’ll never know. But His action likely reinforced the message.

PowerPoint, Twitter, Facebook and all the digital delights are simply tools. They help deliver the message. Look carefully at how Jesus worked and it becomes obvious that His goal was to build relationships with sinners, in other words everyone who, unlike the self-righteous Pharisees, understood their alienation from God.

There is an interesting discussion about homosexuality currently at www.geneveith.com . The gist of the discussion is that no sin is greater than another. They are all despicable to God—whether gossip, adultery, homosexual activity, lying, cheating or stealing. There is no hierarchy of sin.

Jesus used whatever tool available to Him to reach out to everyone with the message of God’s judgment and God’s mercy. Turning over the money-changer’s tables in the Temple court was a dramatic illustration. Calling a man out of a tree—and a sinner too— likely drew attention to His message. More dramatic, and eternally lasting, was His suffering, death and resurrection for the sins of the world—my sins and your sins— so that we could have a living relationship with God.

“God loves you” is a wonderful tweet. “I want to tell you about God’s love, my friend” is even better.

Lutheran publisher gets digital

Many denominational publishing companies are finding it hard to stay afloat. CPH is trying to keep up with what's happening on line. This release came today:

Digital music downloads from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) are now available for purchase at iTunes, Amazon, and other select digital music stores. The publishing company produces an extensive catalog of instrumental arrangements, choral groups, and hymns, as well as children’s music suitable for Christian ministry settings.

Find, preview, and purchase CPH-published music by searching for “Concordia Publishing House” on the iTunes Store, Amazon MP3, or preferred major digital music store. Eight titles are currently available, and the company says there are “more to come.”

Songbirds or Tweets?

Here's the latest wrinkle in the ongoing Twitter story: tweeting in church! Time Magazine thought it was worth covering at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1895463,00.html

So would this be beneficial or a distraction? I follow @imaginechurch on Twitter and read a play-by-play of what's going on every Sunday.

Knowing some tweeters, my fear would be an ongoing discussion about the choir's latest offering or the acolyte's shoes.

What do you think? To tweet or not to tweet during church?

Timely reprint

Eleven years ago, an article in The Canadian Lutheran dealt with parents and planting seeds of faith. The interdenominational website www.christianity.ca decided to republish it today! Here's the link http://www.christianity.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=6650