Hi friend, I’ll be in Cottonwood, Arizona tomorrow. I have the whole morning free if you would like to meet for coffee. If you leave a comment about that, I won’t see it. You’ll have to visit me at my twitter site or Facebook site to leave a message that you are interested in meeting.
I would love to share with you what God is doing through Social Media and Technology to reach the unreached, the unloved, and the unchurched.
You don’t understand how serious and how hard of a job being a Social Media Mentor is until you survive the week of the 2016 Presidential Elections (#ElectionNight). Every other status and tweet is about the election, blaming Trump, blaming Hillary, blaming you and me for being white, blaming the neighbor’s dog, and the name-calling is horrendous. Even “the church” gets the blame for the roguish behavior of people leadership or a congregation can’t control. So it’s been a tough week for me for very different reasons.
I’m on Social Media about 6ish days a week from sun up to sun down, looking for people who need a friend, a mentor, or someone to listen on top of a full time job, helping churches connect with people online, and keeping up with writing obligations. So this election week brings me into a near state of depression (or as I jokingly say, PTSD).
Today, in fact, I had to firmly shut my laptop and just quit.
I had to go for a run and appreciate once again where God has me serving. I look at the churches in my community and I am proud of them for how hard they work to love others even when that love or their help might be rejected. I understand grief. I have been grieving since 2008 and I am still grieving, but not for what you think.
I am grieving mainly for how we are putting politics (left and right) above our faith in God, and how we associate being a Republican with being a Christian when the two have nothing to do with Salvation according to the Bible. Christians who put down the church because of a few people put down the very people you and I have come to love who serve so selflessly in their communities.
The divide is very deep in our country. Part of me is pleased to see more and more statuses reflecting a plea for unity. The other part, like today, is grieved to see Christians tearing down the body of Christ without a thought to unbelievers and how their words may be perceived by them and the world, or how it defames the workers in the field who are doing the jobs of twenty because of a lack of volunteers out of love for their communities; love for even the people who are rioting and causing damage.
My question to everyone: What if we flood the internet with stories of what God is doing through you or others to reach our communities? What if more good stories outran the bad ones?
I’m taking a Social Media Fast week after next for a couple of days. I’m going to be focusing on this year’s verse from Matthew 4:19 (CEB) to ask God to show me HOW to reach the unreached, the unloved, and the unchurched. Human nature is complex.
So, don’t mind me; I’m just suffering from a little #ElectionNight PTSD.
A new book arrived in the mail from a publicist company. I had been looking forward to it. Listen Love Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a Self-Centered World by Karen Ehman. Part way through chapter one I am both ecstatic and defensive. How do we really listen online and serve in this other world?
Listen Love Repeat talks about heart drops:
“A heart drop is a concept my husband and I learned from our small group leader, Michael. It’s when a person, either directly or indirectly or in a cryptic way, gives you a peek into his or her heart.” (page 15)
This is what I’ve been trying to practice way before this book was published. Heart drops happen online, too. If you want to know what to get someone for Christmas, a birthday, or even a wedding, friend them or follow them on social media. You can discover a whole world about your new friend by closely following their likes, dislikes, photos, and statuses. The book made me defensive, too. Shortly into it, I am already slapping my forehead in exasperation. On page 17, the book says:
“Our culture is obsessed with self,” it says, and this is true. All one has to do is see the countless amounts of bathroom photos of ourselves. It continues, “We post pictures of ourselves online. What we’re eating. What we’re doing. We’re focused on our schedules, our relationships. At every turn we seem to care about only one thing: ‘What’s in it for me?'”
Sure, I’m only a bit into this book. The book may point out what I am going to point out now: Those pictures of ourselves, what we eat, what we’re doing, our schedule, and our relationships are bridges to conversation, especially with others who don’t believe in Isa. In our face-to-face world, we are constantly talking about this: our books, our life, what we’re eating, what we’re quilting, etc. Online community is the same way. However, we can get self-absorbed just as we can offline. Technology is just the mirror reflecting how we are in private. So how do we do other-centered living in our new culture since the online world is here to stay and constantly evolving?
There are three ways you can listen to those “heart drops” online:
My final review will be posted on another website.
I am at 12%. Please pray for me to get to 15% by the end of November.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
We met at Cuppers. After the presentation over lattes, we talked about family. That’s when I brought up memoirs and how a well-thought out memoir or journal could be a legacy of faith she could leave behind for her family. Unlike those Hallmark memory books with its dry and easy questions, a journal or memoir requires the writer to share emotions, details, and thoughts. An example of a shared faith legacy can be found in history.
The Real George Washington by National Center for Constitutional Studies (Reprint edition December 1, 1991) explored George Washington’s life through his journals, others’ diaries, and what his soldiers wrote about him in their letters home. It gave a testimony of George Washington’s prayer life without sketching a perfect picture of him. When I closed the last page of this 928-page book, my thought was, “What a gift to future generations!” However, people who write personal journal and memoirs should be urged to read writing books to harness the power of story (recommended even for non-fiction: Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction).
While going through the process to become a WorldVenture missionary, I worked twice a month at a care center for Senior Adults. I taught them how to write down their memories using fictional techniques–hook, dialogue, and description. The goal was to get beyond easy, uninteresting questions to their thoughts, emotions, and actions. The stories were not always positive, but it’s those stories that can help someone down the road make better decisions and understand the unanswered whys and their family history beyond the family tree. It’s also a great way to pass on your faith. Like George Washington, the next generation in your family can read about your prayer and faith life.
This is why my coffee meet ups are always lifted up in prayer. I come with the hope of support and the eagerness to bless the person I am to meet in some way. The conversations nearly always go beyond my presentation.
I am finding that living on the generosity of people who see what God has planned and wish to be a part of it through volunteerism and/or financial giving is going to be rewarding.
Even now in transition (working a full time job, raising funds to do this full time, and working active ministry), I am seeing how God is giving us a glimpse of what might be possible. I am learning to wait on His timing even when I am unsure how I can cover expenses or make time for the possibilities He teases me with.
Somehow, He provides time, resources, and workers. It is truly risk taking, because the whisper of Satan says, “What if you fail? What if, like in times past, you get so close and fail?” I also think of Esther’s obedience…Esther 4:12-13 was always a favorite verse of mine because God gives us things to do, He invites us to participate, and that, in some situations can be dangerous and risky, even financially and emotionally. In Esther’s case, she could have lost her life standing up for her people. She first started by asking her people to fast ahead of her act of obedience which was Haman’s undoing. How can you live a risk-taking and honorable Christian life? It is such a joy, this new journey, even if it feels like I walk a tight rope between buildings.
I’ve spent all weekend keeping appointments and editing TRC Magazine. It’s 8:20 p.m. on a Sunday night and I finally logged out of TRC Magazine.
This is a ministry that I started before I become a missionary with WorldVenture. I contacted a few friends in 2012 and we met in Anthem over salsa and chips to discuss the future TRC Magazine ezine. It’s 2016, and we’ve been through a few editors and writers since its inception.
Volunteers are like that. They are not paid staff, but people who are serving online from all over the world. What I offer our volunteers is access to our social media and cross-networking in exchange for their work as a writer and ministry leader. They come from all walks of life and are amazing people.
We publish another edition tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. MST. I still feel as if I forgot something even after I log out, but that’s me. I’ve spent so long on a work that finally being done is difficult to accept. I’ve been so busy getting this done that I’ve neglected this site.
Another week playing catch up again, but that’s what it means to be a missionary appointee still in support raising mode with active ministry and a full time job. I will have weeks where I am on time and weeks where I am behind, like this week. The most important thing got done though.
Meanwhile, I’ll be back to blogging this week, but not tomorrow. Stay tuned!
In my “spare time,” I will be writing a book again. The initial idea received some good, constructive feedback from various people that will help guide me as I plan the chapters.
The book will answer the question: “Where can I get one-stop shop resources to learn how to intentionally use social media for the Gospel?” Or, at least, that’s the rough idea.
You can get resources that are technical, experiential, marketing tips, and personal opinion how to use social media as a church or business, but I find it requires me to view that information through the lens of the Gospel and rewrite it so people can see its usefulness as a missions or evangelism tool (or I have to go to different websites to get this information for translation).
The book will probably be self-published as a tent-making way to make a little extra on the side to fund expenses as I raise 100% support and yet help churches and individuals engage with the synced culture (heard a pastor use this word so I adopted it) in meaningful ways.
It’s been two years since I attempted a book. Before this project, I finished two (unpublished) fiction pieces. Those may still be sent in after substantial editing after this book is finished, especially the first novel. It received a partial manuscript request in 2012 from an agent at my first writers conference in Denver, Colorado.
Writing will remain secondary to what I do with WorldVenture. It is yet another tool in my belt to reach the UN’s. Meanwhile, pray the Holy Spirit prepares the hearts of those I meet to build up my support as a Social Media Missionary.
Your support helps me help others realize their potential in how they use their social media and technology to reach people around them in the marketplace, neighborhoods, and families.
I’m preparing a lesson plan and power point for a possible church presentation to Senior Adults. Senior Adults are concerned about security and privacy as confirmed by a recent survey I sent out via my newsletter.
Conversations with Senior Adults about social media also tell me that I need to make sure I simplify things for them. So the title to my presentation is so far, “Giving Value to the Next Generation.”
The church is great at marketing their ministries, but mobilizing the congregation can’t compare to what the Mormon church is doing. We only focus on marketing, not mobilization.
The generosity of this Christian church and their belief in this vision excite and humble me. I want to make sure that the presentation lives up to their expectations for the congregation they shepherd.
So please pray for me as I prepare this week to have something in their hands by no later than Sunday.
People say this a lot to especially caution pastors: “Don’t worry about the numbers.”
I’m reading Tim Tebow’s new book, Shaken. In it, he wrote about how one preacher did this fantastic preaching to a group of people in India. After the preaching, he was disappointed to find that only one person came forward during the alter call to accept Christ.
This person was Ravi Zacharias—One person who is now known by millions.
His impact on the world for the Gospel…unbelievable.
If I only touch one person in my life, I would hope that one person is a future Ravi Zacharias, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, etc.
That’s why I no longer worry about numbers on my online platform. Yes, I want to build my online networks, but every profile is a person that I want to pour my energy, love, and compassion on to grow disciples, not fans. We can get so caught up in marketing, we take the humanity out of it.