Seven Reasons Twitter Is Better than Church

The last few weeks I've been enjoying some conversations with fellow sojourners on this faith path of following Christ through everybody's favorite 140-character social platform, Twitter. I've really enjoyed these discussions because in many cases I have blatantly disagreed with someone else, or they have had opinions staunchly different from my own, but yet we continue to banter in a civil way which I think leaves both of us challenged, and stretched rather than feeling like one of us "won" an argument.

And that's the miracle of Twitter. Conversations that could and would never work in a live-person setting are very much the norm on Twitter. Unfortunately, these live-person settings are often our churches. I think our churches and the Church Universal has a lot to learn from social media. So here are some reasons why, in some aspects, I think Twitter is even better than Church.

1. Twitter users have no problem communicating with total strangers. Ever thought about talking to a total stranger or maybe felt like the Holy Spirit was "leading" you to but you chickened out? Maybe they looked funny, smelled funny, or there were just too many questions? Not on Twitter. Hardly any of my tweeps are people I have met in person, and I think that's normal for most Twitter users.

2. Twitter users, for the most part, are civil. Most Twitter discussions, while there may be disagreements, tend to keep a tone of "we are both here to learn from each other" rather than an "I am right, you are wrong" tenor. If only our churches could function this way, what would the church universal look like?

3. Twitter users are eager to share insights and knowledge. How many times have you read a tweet and thought "Man, that's good" and you click Retweet or you type RT, paste the message into your stream and add a quick comment? Why is the opposite true of some of our churches? Why do some believers feel that their way is the best way or the only way, to the point that they should isolate themselves from other "Christians" because of doctrinal or denominational differences?

4. Twitter users like to seek the "counsel of many". On the contrary, this often creates division in churches over silly things like picking the color of the new carpet. This scripture from Proverbs has gotten me out of more than one tight spot in my life. However, it seems that some churches that allow the whole congregation to make decisions (as opposed to boards or committees) tend to have more strife than others. And of course nothing is ever done by secret ballot. People see those opposed hands in the air and are automatically taking sides. But Twitter users usually have no problem "agreeing to disagree" and getting on with their lives.

5. Twitter users practice etiquette and give credit to those who create and/or pass on information. I was talking to a youth pastor friend of mine one time who was frustrated because he found another church online whose sermons were posted. His pastor had been preaching the exact same sermons word for word while his congregation assumed they were his own words and convictions. How do we build effective congregations if we are deceiftul in doing it?

6. Twitter users often like to teach as much as they like to be taught. What if our churches had this kind of balance? Have you ever met that know-it-all saint who is only interested in teaching rather than learning? Or have you met his arch nemesis who has a wealth of knowledge and has even demonstrated the gift of teaching in the church, but for one reason or another refuses to teach. While I know there are some pretty arrogant Twitter users who are more interested in establishing themselves as a brand name than learning from others, just about every Twitter account has at least a handful of people they follow. These are people who either have a personal connection to the user or is a person of perceived authority and is worthy of "following".

7. Twitter users seem to be real. While not every person on Twitter is authentic, many of them are. I know on my account I might share a thought about God or ministry, then a tweet about my favorite sports team, or a joke, then pass on an article I enjoyed that could be related to just about anything. Maybe some would say I'm not focused enough with my Tweets, but I would rather be myself than have an agenda. To me, a Twitter account is a peephole into someone's life that only shows what they want to be seen. But church is often not that way. We do things differently on Sunday than we do the rest of the week. We have a church persona and a non-church persona.

Let me wrap up by saying this. I love the church. And while the church isn't perfect, it is what God gave us to be his hands and feet in a fallen world. Do I really think Twitter is superior to church? Absolutely not. But do I think there are some great things about Twitter that could make the church a whole lot more effective in the world? Absolutely.

What would you add to this list? How do we make the church more civil, warm, and focused on unity?

Tales From A Jesus Theme Park-A Different Kind of Faith

Last month, my wife Cindy and I got a chance to go to Orlando for a ministry conference. While we were at the hotel for 3 nights with the conference, we didn't want to let a trip to Orlando go to waste, so we decided to go out a day early and take in some of the city.

What I Did See at a Pro-Life Conference

I blogged a few days ago about my experience at a ministry conference put on by Heartbeat International. Heartbeat is an international organization that provides materials, resources, and support to pregnancy help centers all over the US and elsewhere. The blog discussed things I did not find at this conference that might surprise some people who weren't there. But I didn't only want to focus on the things I didn't see, but I also wanted to share some of the great things I did see at this conference. Here they are.

1. Catholics and Evangelicals working side-by-side. While everyone there was representing their respective pregnancy centers, these were all people of faith who attend their own churches and whose centers are supported by local churches. The overwhelming majority of attendees were Roman Catholic or Southern Baptist/evangelical. I was a little suprised to see that I did not meet many people who were of mainline denominations (Episcopal, Methodist, etc.), and maybe this is for political reasons. I realize the issue of women's rights is a politically divisive issue.

2. People who had been through the heartbreak of abortion and/or unplanned pregnancy and were now serving in this wonderful ministry. I suppose I expected that a lot of people there would be people who had never been through some of the major issues presented at the conference. It was comforting to know how many people in the pro-life movement were not just "goody-two-shoes" Christians who had never been through unplanned pregnancies, but these were people who had been in the very shoes of the clients they are trying to reach. Whether it was before an abortion or after, God showed them the value of human life at all stages and gave them a passion to communicate that with others.

3. Story after story of God's amazing grace. Whether it was women who had experienced personal miracles or God's overwhelming blessing poured out on a pregnancy help center, it was clear that God has been doing a work in these people and their organizations.

4. Bristol Palin is a working mother. The famous daughter of America's most well-known former vice presidential candidate was one of the speakers at the conference. Of course her pregnancy could not have come at a more inconvenient time for her or her family-during the presidential campaign- yet she chose to keep her son, Tripp. She shared with the group that she works 40 hours a week at a medical clinic in Anchorage while going to school part time. If you've seen the overwhelming success her mother has had as an author and speaker, you know she could have easily lived off her mother's success. I found it admirable that she (and her family) has chosen to deal with the responsibilities of raising a child.

5. Proof that Christians working together can accomplish great things. The conference was basically a huge network of Christian publishers, inspirational speakers, experts in fund-raising, technology-media experts, adoption specialists, medical professionals, and pregnancy center staff members, board members, directors and volunteers. All of these people were coming together under the banner of Christ. The theme of the conference was "Better Together." We as Christians are better together. This conference was Ephesians 4:10-12 in action.

Building Unity Between Teenaged Christians from Different Churches

Last week at youth group, we talked about the Olympics and how amazing it is that so many countries (83 in this one) come together across barriers of geography, culture, and language to join in the spirit of friendly competition. If all of the Olympic athletes were from the same country, competing in the same sport, this would be no different than any other competition. But what makes the Olympics so great is the diversity. Different flags, different languages, different stories, different experiences. Without this diversity, the beauty of the games is gone.

We talked about how we should celebrate diversity within the body of Christ. Though we may worship differently from other Christians or have different doctrines about baptism or ordination of ministers, we should still embrace this diversity. The apostle Paul discusses this in Ephesians 4:2-6 where he says that we should "make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit." But what seems to happen with teenagers often is rather than embrace their brothers and sisters of different denominations, they argue with each other about which ones are "truly saved" or which ones have the more biblical view of baptism.

I grew up in, was ordained in, and went to seminary in a denomination that is very proud of its doctrine. I learned pretty early on why we believed the way we did and why our belief was "right" or "better than" what some of the other churches taught. But now, I'm in a different denomination. And as we discussed the issue in youth group of embracing Christian brothers and sisters from other Christian denominations, some of my kids were telling me that people from my old church system were the ones at school who were very critical of them because they didn't believe the exact same things they did.

It just seems to me like there are bigger issues to tackle and bigger battles to win rather than who has the correct mode of baptism or of the Lord's Supper. What if Christians were able to truly put their differences aside and come together for a common purpose instead of arguing over which ones were going to heaven? What if we as youth workers made it our goal to teach students to love other Christians regardless of the name on the sign at their church? I think it could be as monumental and beautiful as the Olympics rather than looking like a little league game with a bunch of hot-tempered parents.

So how do we do this?

1. Focus more on the big picture of Christianity than the details of doctrine. Is doctrine important? Yes. But should it be so important that it divides rather than unites the body of Christ? Absolutely not.

2. Spend time with youth workers from other denominations. You'll soon find that while their may be differences in the details of how your churches function, you have a lot more similarities than differences. Then you can help each other become the youth workers God has called you to be. Our youth worker network meets once a month. Every other month we discuss events, joint activities, and vision for our combined ministries. Then on the months in between, we just hang out and fellowship. National Network of Youth Ministries has a website and many tools for you to find a network in your area or start one up.

3. Provide opportunities for students in your area to worship together, learn together, and fellowship together. In our town, we have a city-wide Disciple Now in the spring and in the fall we have a city-wide See You At The Pole rally. We use an interdenominational curriculum for the D-Now from Student Life.

What things do you do to build unity among students from different churches?

Where's the Love?

This weekend, I was driving to a friend's church to lead worship for a Good Friday service. On the way, I saw a motorcycle rider on a sport bike--a small, brightly-colored bike built for speed-- quickly wave at a passing biker who was riding a cruiser--a Harley-styled bike with lots of chrome and loud pipes built for enjoying the open road. Two strangers on completely different types of bikes who were bound by one common bond--the love of having two less wheels underneath them than the average highway vehicle. As I saw that, I thought back to my days a few years ago when I had a Jeep Wranger TJ. Before I bought the Jeep, I took it for a test drive and noticed that as I passed other Jeep drivers they would wave. Not just a small wave either, but a bold wave. If they were in all-out Jeep mode and the windows or top were down or they would stick their arm out the window as a way of saying, "Hey, you're cool because you drive a Jeep!" For the next year, I enjoyed those waves and feeling like I was a part of something special, until I realized that although I loved my Jeep, it just didn't have the room I needed for the things I wanted to do. So I got a pick-up.

Fast forward to last week. A friend of mine was telling me that someone had basically told him he was not a Christian. He was in a convenience store and offered to buy a stranger's drink as a gesture of Christian love. When he told the stranger that Jesus loved him, the stranger asked him if he was a Christian. As the conversation went on, this particular individual went on to say that my friend was not a Christian because he was a part of a different Christian denomination than his own and that Christ never intended for there to me so many different churches. Acknowledging that he would pray for his new acquaintence, my friend walked out of the store.

Is this what we've come to? Are we really in a world where bikers and Jeepsters share a common bond and Christians just fight over our doctrinal differences? Maybe we've gotten too complacent. In the first century, the persecuted Christians would carve part of a fish symbol in the dirt and when the drawing was completed by the other individual, they celebrated their kindred spirit. Now we have these same fish symbols on bumper stickers, chrome car emblems, t-shirts, tattoos, earrings, necklaces, name tags, business signs, door knockers, and who knows what all else, and what do we do with it? We accuse one another of not being "saved" because someone goes to a different kind of church. In John 17, Jesus is praying a final prayer for his followers (both the ones of that day and the ones that were yet to be) before he endures the pain of the cross. Here is what he says.

20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God help us to be more unified!