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Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

Social Networking: It’s not a right, it’s a privilege

// September 28th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // social networking

I know I’m probably in the minority here, but to me social networking is not a right, it’s a privilege. What I mean by that is just because someone puts themselves out on the internet via social media tools like twitter or facebook, it does not mean that they are obligated to connect with you. I know some people that follow everyone on twitter that follows them and others that accept every friend request they receive on facebook. Some actually do both. I choose not to. I know I lose several followers on twitter as a result, but I actually believe that it’s up to me to choose how I use social networking sites–there is no golden rule I am to follow.

I don’t follow people on twitter just because they follow me. I have tried doing that and have lost a lot of great conversation and nuggets of wisdom through being bombarded with a bunch of tweets I really wasn’t interested in seeing. No offense to my fellow twitterers, but I really only follow people that are relevant to my present calling in ministry, those that challenge and stretch my thinking and way of doing things, and those that I have conversed with previously. Twitter is a two-way connection. I don’t want it to be solely about me and my life or you and your life. I want to use twitter to bridge the gap between my life and your life. I’m getting to the same point with my facebook friends. I’m pairing down my facebook friend’s list to include only those people I am really connected with, or those that will engage in dialog and respond to comments. I can’t tell you how frustrating I find it when someone posts something on twitter or facebook, yet never responds to any of the replies. At that point it’s not about networking and building relationships, it becomes about you and how great you are.

I had a chance to meet a truly great person today named Rob Dale (@robdale). Back when I started using twitter about a year ago I searched for fellow church planters. Rob was one of the hits I got back in that search and is someone I consider privileged to know. He is the pastor of Capital City Biker’s Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Our backgrounds and ministries are very different. If I passed Rob on the street, I probably wouldn’t think to myself, “That’s a guy I need to know.” However, after all of the encouragement he has shared with me over the past year and having had a chance to meet him in person this morning, he absolutely is someone I am so glad I got to know. He stretches my thinking and causes me to look at ministry and people a different way. Just because Pastor Dale was using twitter and categorized himself as a church planter didn’t give me the right to enter into a relationship with him. Knowing the fact that after riding somewhere around 4,000 on a Harley from Ottawa to California he was gracious enough to sit with me for two hours and chat, I know it is a special privilege to be able to meet with him during his busy schedule. It reminded me of how much value the people I connect with on twitter and facebook add to my life and how humbling it is to know that they have taken time out of their day to stay updated on my thoughts and experiences.

So, if I don’t immediately follow you back on twitter, or if I’m not your friend on facebook I hope you’ll understand why. It’s nothing personal. It’s just that I value my relationships (twitter/facebook/real space) and I use social networking tools to stay connected with people–not as a tool to get others to know me. It’s not about my arrogance or your status. It’s about the privilege of getting to know certain people that eventually become part of my journey rather than a bunch of anonymous people I know by @blahblah or facebook.com/whatsmynameagain.

As I know a lot of you use social networking in different ways, please post your contrasting perspectives as a comment. I’d appreciate knowing how you utilize social media for networking and if you see it more about networking with everyone or building meaningful relationships with select people.

5 people I follow on twitter and why: 5) Rick Warren

// September 11th, 2009 // Comments Off // twitter

Rick Warren (@rickwarren) is new to twitter, but man did he hit the ground running! I remember when I first came to know the Lord, The Purpose Driven Life was *the* first book I read after the Bible. Pastor Rick has been an influence in my Christian life from the beginning.

I have since felt like I needed to follow a different, somewhat unconventional path in my journey as a church planter, but Rick has been a welcome addition to my twitter stream and I get wisdom and encouragement from his tweets. In fact, I often find myself re-tweeting him for those that don’t follow him on twitter yet.

Being that Pastor Warren is so prominent in the media and travels the world in his ministry *and* pastors one of the largest churches in America, it is humbling to know that he still takes time to share wisdom and encourage us church planters through his daily tweets. If you haven’t followed @rickwarren yet, do so now! Here is a bit of what you have missed so far:

If u follow the crowd you’ll be lost in it. Your choice:Cool or Christlike?”They loved praise of men more than God”Jn12:43
In the presence of a psychiatrist, I can only be a sick man; In the presence of a Christian brother, I can dare to be a sinner.” -Bonhoeffer
Warren’s Law: A celebrity’s insecurity is measured by the length of their limo. Service,not status,creates self-worth.
What u LOVE MOST is seen in your schedule& bank statement. How u use your time & money shows what matters most to u.Mt.6:24
Never let ego slights,petty jealousy,or prideful bickering,keep u from the great work God gives u.Its not about u.Ph3:13-15
Marriage doesn’t create problems;it reveals them Nothing exposes our inate self-centeredness faster. Pr.18:10, James4:1
God loves ALL styles as long as worship is “in spirit & truth”(Jn 4:24) It must be Authentic&Accurate.Devotional&Doctrinal.
Humility isnt thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.If you focus on others, you forget you.1Cor10:24
I know God allows vicious attacks in my ministry so I can encourage the rest of u when u face it. 2 Cor1:4 It’s a honor.
The reason I tweet often about criticism is our 2yr survey of pastors showed it’s ur #1 frustration.#2conflict #3loneliness
To insist on being “original or nothing” insures youll be both.Refusing to learn from models is pure & simple ego.Pr.14:6
When I hear”I didnt get anything out of worship today” I say”Sorry but our worship wasnt done 4 u.It was 4 God.”1Chr.16:29
Doubts r meant to be doubted &beliefs meant to be believed.Dont get it backwards.Doubt ur doubts! Believe ur beliefs!Mk9:24

Pastor Rick, thank you for sharing your insight & wisdom for me as a new Christian in The Purpose Driven Life, and know that I appreciate your encouraging words and Scripture reminders via your ministry on twitter. Your heart and service for church planters is unprecedented on twitter and you have–and will continue to–bless us through your tweets. Thank you for paving the way!

5 people I follow on twitter and why: 4) Jason Mitchener

// September 10th, 2009 // Comments Off // twitter

jason-mitchener1 @jasonmitchener is someone that doesn’t fit neatly into my list of twitterers that I follow. He’s not a lead pastor or church planter, but he is one of the most encouraging people I have met on twitter. I don’t exactly remember how I came across Jason Mitchener’s tweets, but so thankful that I did. You see, Jason is someone living the life many of us wish we could, only he’s confined to a wheelchair and breathes through the aid of a ventilator. While I find it very, very difficult to keep up with a little over 340 twitterers, Jason follows over 23,000 tweeple with about 24,000+ following his tweets. The crazy thing in all of this is that whenever I @reply Jason, he responds almost immediately…he’s never missed a beat!

Jason is a wonderful human being with a heart for all people. He is a living testimony to ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, coming to know Christ in his freshman year of college. If Jesus were walking the earth today gathering together disciples, Jason would probably be the first person he called to drop his net and become a fisher of men.

To me, twitter is about relationships and connectedness. Jason is the epitome of a great twitterer–he knows me and has a positive word for me even though he has over 24,000 other people following him daily. It just amazes me and leaves me in awe of his memory and awesome personality.

Rather than list some of the thousands of tweets he has posted as encouragement to others, just know that he is one of the few people on twitter where when you go to his profile page, 99% of his tweets are @replies of encouragement or communication with other tweeple. He doesn’t boast of his own work, nor does he have an agenda. Mr. Mitchener is definitely someone you should be following! He’s just a great guy sharing the love of Christ with others in a loving and non-threatening way. God is using what some may see his disability as a magnificent ability to testify to the love, grace, and wonder of God. As Jason quotes on his profile page, “I can’t walk, but I can soar.” Yes my friend, you can definitely soar! Thanks for making twitter (and the world) a better place :)

PS. Not only is Jason sharing light on twitter, but he is a gifted artist, musician, author and inspiration speaker. You can learn about Jason’s work and his testimony at his website: www.jasonmitchener.com.

5 people I follow on twitter and why: 3) Dave Anderson

// September 10th, 2009 // Comments Off // twitter

Dave Anderson is the lead pastor of Crosspoint Community Church in Decatur, Alabama. He is better-known on twitter as @moviepastor. I first found Dave through a search on twitter of church planters almost a year ago. I knew of him through his blog beforehand. The thing that I appreciated immediately about his tweets was that he was sharp with his humor and approached ministry and being a pastor in a very different way. Also, until recently, Dave Anderson was a bi-vocational pastor which is another thing that we had in common.

As things have been blowing up (in a good way!) at Crosspoint lately, his tweets have taken on more of a leadership perspective, which has been great. I’ve also been blessed to have the chance to speak to him a couple of times by phone when we were doing preview services for Revolution Church Sacramento back in June. Through all he was doing he still took time to pick up the phone and call me and pray for our new work here in Sacramento. It was very humbling that he would share time with me knowing that people are now standing in line to pay him for his church plant coaching services.

Dave is an amazing guy, has a great perspective on life and ministry, sees the church as something of beauty and compassion, and injects some witty humor into many things. I learn a lot from Dave and enjoy many laughs from his tweets. He is a proponent of people not sucking when they twitter and a great example of how to get people to follow because of their interest in what one says through twitter. Be warned in advance though: he’s passionate about his college football!

Here’s a few of the things @moviepastor has tweeted recently:

Gods workin. Devils kickin. We win. nuff said!
no, really Thursday! I love you because of your personality. not because you have a nice college football game!
dang @pwilson = #bromance #thenines – and no I dont envy his hair at all
why am I not excited about the beatles rock band or possible iTunes debut? oh. b/c I don’t like their music at all!
once again my genius and my inability to follow thru on it amazes me! maybe I will learn something at #thenines that will help
14 year old kid shot dead breaking and entering in decatur today. people r dying and need Jesus! we have to go full throttle to tell em!
surely my blog was just overlooked – or maybe I was the 101st top church blogs- http://bit.ly/QeQJU
my wife said making her wear a team jersey and goin to chik-fil-a for free sandwiches does not count as date night.
the world needs Jesus. what are we doing about that people?
@joshtalks awesome!! more ppl to party with in heaven!!!
Its about to be on like Donkey Kong @moviechurch! Cant wait! We are wrapping up FAQ today and this is the hardest one yet!
A fat lady may be warming up in Oklahoma
yes I am listening to China Grove at Full Volume – and so should you!
at the risk of splitting my church in half I just need to get this out – ROLL TIDE ROLL!
God just turned the firehose on for my sermon sunday. uh…..mazing. Love it when he shows me stuff like this! Hope I dont screw this up!
I didnt tweet or facebook for 2 days – making up lost time. The internet may lag a bit.
watching Pale Rider. only Clint Eastwood can wear a scarf and maintain his manliness! I want a hat like that though.
having this thought – what do i need to do to have a profound impact on this world? am I willing to do it?

Pastor Dave, thanks for your awesome support and encouragement during preview services for our church plant. It’s an honor to know you and take a peek into your life and experiences through twitter. May we have the chance to meet one day over some BBQ and a swim in your pool in Decatur. Thanks for not sucking on twitter!

5 people I follow on twitter and why: 1) Kem Meyer

// September 3rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // twitter

kem-meyer Kem Meyer and I go way, way back. However, she doesn’t realize it. The very first person I followed on twitter was a seminary friend @yorichie. Who was the second person you ask? Why, it was @kemmeyer! I have never met Kem and I think we exchanged a couple of tweets in the past year, but something about her oozes personality, style and spunk on twitter. I like that! I doubt I could work alongside her at her job as communications director at Granger Community Church because she would just say something and I’d probably just start cracking up. Even the most mundane things she tweets cause me to laugh. She brightens my day!

Here are some examples of some recent tweets that represent what I am describing:

Me & @DanKimball are PC users (the new punk rock rebels). Represent.
Black circles under my eyes & skin breaking out for today’s video shoot. #itsallgood
Mellow mushroom. You have elluded me until now. Finally, we meet. :)
Out of respect for the south, I wore a skirt to church today. @jamiruth wore jeans. Just sayin.
@robinstorch you need an intervention. Way too early for chex mix.
I slept great until the Chinese gymnsts & their pet elephant woke up & started moving around in the room above me. Geez Louise.
What’s a girl like me gonna get herself on her birthday? IN FLIGHT INTERNET! Holla from 35,000 feet! Yee haw!
While listening to a podcast about lobotomies my therapist calls. Coincidence? I think not.
This dinner is so Twitpic worthy I can’t stand it. But there is no way I would do something as controversial as take a picture of food.
Just drove thru speed trap on Fir Rd & didn’t get pulled over. Take THAT!
Making jalapeño popper dip & buffalo chicken dip 4 team party 2night. I know you want some.
When I successfully troubleshoot my own IT issues at home, I feel like King of the World. Printer glitches SPANKED!!
Sometimes when I fly the skys…I feel like flight attendants R prison guards & passengers R inmates. This is 1 of those times.