“In the year 3000, YouTube, Twitter & Facebook will merge into 1 super time-wasting site called YouTwitFace.” – Conan O’Brien (h/t Hayesy via tweetski). It’s easy to waste time online! True dat. There’s even been a bit of a trend in some tech-embracing churches to encourage twittering during the sermon. Last week, Josh Harris wrote a good counter piece on why he’d be discouraging his congregation from tweeting during the sermon and John Piper, likewise, had some good gear on the “difference between communion with God and commenting on communion with God.” Wise words of caution.
Here’s some more gold from Piper on why and how he will be tweeting:
I see two kinds of response to social Internet media like blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others.
One says: These media tend to shorten attention spans, weaken discursive reasoning, lure people away from Scripture and prayer, disembody relationships, feed the fires of narcissism, cater to the craving for attention, fill the world with drivel, shrink the soul’s capacity for greatness, and make us second-handers who comment on life when we ought to be living it. So boycott them and write books (not blogs) about the problem.
The other response says: Yes, there is truth in all of that, but instead of boycotting, try to fill these media with as much provocative, reasonable, Bible-saturated, prayerful, relational, Christ-exalting, truth-driven, serious, creative pointers to true greatness as you can.
His response to social media reminds me of my #2 reason for blogging.
Don’t be a twitface.
I read the Piper and Harris stuff recently and totally agreed with their arguments, I have seen people doing stuff like knitting during a sermon. But I thinking Tweeting would lead people to be distracted and get caught up trying to make their 140 characters sound awesome.
Maybe a good way to witness, but like Harris said, do it before and after. Maybe more churches can be influential like #MHC.
i don’t think knitting is a really good idea during a sermon!!
i think it’s a bit bizarre!
i totally understand the way that people learn etc… ie some people are more able to concentrate by doodling, or fidgeting with something than if they weren’t…
if you’re planning on tweeting a whole bunch of quotes, that’s harder to do afterwards… but if it’s only 1 point or an application – that’s pretty easy to do afterward.
here’s an idea:
maybe during a reflection time after a sermon, you could encourage people to do any number of things:
– read over notes
– write down things that you were encouraged by, or need to take action on
– re-read the passage
– pray
– or… maybe tweeting could be listed as a way of responding?? maybe?? dunno.
what do you think?
I’m a youtwitface, without the twitter…
if you’re wasting time – why not just add in the twitter and waste a little bit more???
ps – just in case you were about to take that literally, it was a joke. jokety joke jooooke.
Knitting was a big craze at WAC last winter. Like up to 6 people knitting.
I really like the idea of reflecting after the sermon, though would Twitter mean that instead of reflecting on what God has said, you’re concentrating on putting it into 140 characters? What happens if your reflection is longer…
that’s a bad craze!
i wouldn’t worry too much of the 140 characters thing.
if you get to 140 characters – just write another 140.
typically if i were to write a quick reflection on a piece of paper (or on a feedback card) straight after the sermon – it wouldn’t be very long
I used to cross stitch in church as a kid. Keeping my hands busy kept my mind focussed. I guess that’s the curse of the modern ages… kids growing up with zero attention span and multitasking so inbuilt that when not multitasking, people can’t (?) focus.
Personally, I think whatever helps someone learn from the sermon, whatever helps them hear what God is saying, is ok as long as it’s not sin, not distracting others and not interfering with their listening to God.
i dunno. it’s one thing for a kid to do that in church – i think it’s another thing altogether to create a culture with a bunch of people doing it!!