Why I Believe In Social

This post originally appeared on The Bluevine Collective on September 21, 2010.

Whenever someone asks me why I love Twitter, I’m initially at a loss of words (because I don’t know where to start!). But then I quickly recover, and my face lights up.

I love Twitter - among other social networks - because of what it represents. A friend described me, saying, “You like to network, but you go beyond that. You take joy in bringing people together.”

I see social media as one way to do that.

So many recent tech and business articles start out along the same lines: “Social media has drastically changed our culture...blah blah blah.” And that’s true. But I believe the social networks are uniquely placed to develop our spiritual growth. Because I believe - as Marshall McLuhan did - that the medium is the message. What if church was the blog - was the conversation - was the photo gallery - was the podcast?

Pastor Bruce Reyes-Chow is a great example. He’s a technophile, a prolific blogger. In fact, he believes in blogging as a spiritual practice. How ‘bout that? There are so many hands and feet of the church who are using the networks as additional limbs to reach others.

It breaks all boundaries. Social is open. A tweet has the power to spread like fire. A Facebook petition can mobilize and influence key legislation. Just like Gutenberg’s Bible made the Gospel available to peasants - just like the move away from all-Latin Catholic masses - just like Jesus made us a shortcut to get to God - social media gets to the heart of accessibility.

It builds relationships. I’ve formed new (in-person) relationships with folks I wouldn’t have otherwise known. God wants us to be in relationship with one another. Social media serves as an extension of - but certainly not replacement for - those relationships. A recent article from Inside Facebook describes how several different religious communities have developed an online presence that seeks to engage its members where there are most -- online.

It moves us towards authenticity. In the “old days” the Internet used to be a great place to hide out; anonymous identities could reign supreme. Defamation and libel tore across the Interwebs. And while some of that may still occur, online presence is becoming increasingly normalized. There is an expectation towards openness, honesty. If you make an error, you can quickly retract it (most of the time...). Privacy settings are great, but creating many accounts across the web, means authenticity is expected. Disqus is a fantastic example of this. It’s a commenting system that tracks your comments across the web. Friends and family often ask me how to “control” Facebook and limit what certain groups of friends can see. But doesn’t that sort of lose the whole point of social media? Doesn’t Jesus call us to live an authentic life? It’s hard to do that when you’re packing up certain parts of life for only certain people to see. We all need accountability and social media moves us, symbolically, towards that.

It is encouraging. My church’s current series is called “From Garden To City” which is a year-long bible reading plan. and it comes complete with a website that posts the daily reading, and often a blog post from a church leader reflecting on the passage. It’s amazing to wake up in the morning, do my reading, then hop and Twitter and see Pastor Joel tweeting his favorite passage, or my friend JT explaining what he learned from a verse in a Facebook note. Suddenly, the act of reading a bible has become 3-D and interactive. The daily discipline of cracking open the Word is no longer a solitary, linear activity.

All this said, I don’t want to claim that social media should in any way replace traditional forms of worship, or that social media doesn’t have its pitfalls -- it does. Social media can make us proud. It’s turned some everyday folks into Internet celebrities. Some people focus on how many “followers” or “fans” they can achieve. The constant stream of knowledge can be over-stimulating, when what we really need is some peace and quiet.

So balance is key. Like the famous Spiderman quote: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Some may think it a stretch, but I believe social media can bring me closer to others and even closer to God.

Baptism By The Bay

I didn’t fully understand the term “cloud of witnesses” until three weeks ago. I found myself wading in the Chesapeake Bay in front of a crowd of a few hundred explaining myself. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to -- and that is what made all the difference.

I truly believe this was a divine moment. I believe God had brought together a series of events, all colliding and crashing to intersect at that one moment when I could rejoice with my church family: I love Jesus. Could God’s orchestrations be any more beautiful? I’m sure I have only the faintest idea.

If you’ve known me for most of my life, you know that I grew up Catholic. So to respond to your first statement (“But you’ve already been baptized!”), I will say this: I have been baptized, First-Communion-ed and Confirmed. But what is most important is the journey, not the checklist. Getting re-baptized was a re-affirmation of my devotion – of my recognition of how broken I am. That is all.

But what is a spiritual journey? I think it means wading through the questions, and realizing there are still more questions – more than can possibly be answered. For me, choosing to (re)baptized meant talking the talking – since I was already walking the walk! That said, being baptized does not make me any holier than the next person.

My decision to be baptized was a long-awaited decision. God had been nudging me to make this public declaration ever since I came to Christ in 2006. But my college years made me a church vagabond – splitting time between campus ministries or bible studies, hopping in and among the Greek life community and life as a Resident Assistant.

But after getting plugged into National Community Church last fall, I couldn’t have been more blessed to know that I would soon return to the capital (no, not the Capitol) just 4 months later.

So Baptism By the Bay was my opportunity to profess to my friends, to myself and to God … the cloud of witnesses – my friends, mentors and church family - looked on as I waded through the water. The water had reached past my waist when Pastor Mark held my shoulder (and I plugged my nose) and dunked me. The awesome media team captured every moment (thanks, guys!).

How great is love the father has lavished upon us that we should be called the sons and the daughters of God?

I mean, really?

By the way, Stephen Elliot is an excellent photographer and deserves oodles of credit for documenting more than 25 baptisms that day!

Disciple Spotlight: Michelle

Here's another great disciple in my life; she even formally discipled me!

Michelle will join the Campus Crusade staff at the University of Missouri (Columbia, MO) this fall. Michelle was an integral part of my faith at Butler. 

As my discipler (mentor) and bible study leader, she has a gift for leadership and being a patient teacher. That's not surprising, though; she majored in education at Butler University, and has a ballet background (that's where all her patience comes from!).

She'll be leading the freshmen and sophomore women's bible studies on campus and developing a branch of CCC geared specifically towards Greek students. She joins Elizabeth McKinney, a former CCC staff person at Butler.

In her prayer letter to me, she explained the challenges students face at college:

"In the midst of academic achievement there is a competition for students' hearts - a battle of the flesh against the will of God...there is a great need for light to be shed in the middle of this darkness."

Michelle has been an awesome impact in my life. She is direct and honest, and keeps me accountable in my actions. I know she will do the same with students at University of Missouri.

You can contact Michelle at michelle.zatulovsky@uscm.org and also give online.

Disciple Spotlight: Helena

This week features a series of disciplers in my life - those who are actively pursuing the Great Commission. They are dear friends, mentors and sisters in Christ.

Helena is a pharmacy student at Butler. It's one of the most renowned programs in the nation, and requires six years of hard work and dedication. But luckily, Helena incorporates a healthy dose of comedy into her daily life. I rarely see her without a smile :)

While our college peers interned, worked and enjoyed vacations, Helena took part in 3 different mission trips. One involved working with Christian medical professionals. 

The program is called Whole Person Care Preceptorship, and includes 4 weeks of training medical students on the spiritual care of patients. It is joint program through Campus Crusade for Christ and the Medical Strategic Network. 

Helena said: "It was really cool to see how our career is our ministry and that patients not only need spiritual care, but many of them want it and were more than happy to talk to us."  

She learned to take the 'spiritual history' of a patient and to "identify the laments of the soul." The students learned how to pray with patients by shadowing Christian doctors. 

"Talking to patients was scary and cool all at the same time, but it was great to practice what we were learning."

Sure hope I can have a pharmacist or doctor in the future who cares about me that much!

Helena writes her own blog, The Adventures of Torpe. She loves Jesus, Diet Dr. Pepper, and kittens.