Archive for May, 2009
I don’t feel
For the past few weeks, Hayley and I’ve been visiting a small church plant. It meets in an elementary school. Intentionally.
Something struck me while we were there yesterday. The church is full of broken, hurting people. And it’s obvious. The pastor talks about it. A lot. But these are people who have received the grace of Jesus and are in the process of being healed (or restored, as they like to say). Hearing the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done fills them with joy and gratitude. Any time Jesus’ work in them is mentioned, people cheer, clap. They’re excited.
And me? I stand, stoically unmoved. Perhaps a smile crosses my face, but nothing more. I am emotionally untouched by the simple, beautiful message of what Jesus has done for me. I don’t feel broken. I don’t feel hurt. I don’t feel joy. I don’t feel freedom.
I don’t feel.
I know the truths that are being shared. I’m sure I believe them. I just don’t feel anything about them.
Which leads me to today’s question: Is it possible that an insistence on reason and reverence and an abhorrence of discomfort with emotion and impropriety has hindered my ability to be moved by the truth of what God has done for me?
Hayley’s perspective
Hayley left a comment at the end of the “Twitter Fight” post that I’m afraid will be missed now that the conversation has wrapped up. Her insight, per usual, is spot-on.
I have two strikes against my credibility as I’m not on Twitter and I’m Todd’s wife, but I have one comment I’d like to make regarding this fight (or, “extended conversation wherein both participants talked past each other over an entire weekend, up to an including a full work day”). I don’t know how many followers Todd and Shea lost, but I would suggest that any lost followers may not be due to disagreements with each person’s stance but rather a disappointment with the tone of the conversation. Shea’s tweets were kind of mean-spirited and Todd’s post was a little spiteful. Maybe I don’t know since I’m not on Twitter, but Twitter is supposed to be fun, right? It doesn’t seem fun to me to watch two people trade angry and vulgar barbs over a rather insignificant issue. Maybe if the conversation had been kept lighter and hadn’t verged into the spiteful no followers would’ve been lost and all the commenters on the summary, rebuttal, and rebuttal-to-the-rebuttal blog posts could’ve been working [Monday] afternoon rather than dissecting this “fight.”
P.S. I know Todd and Shea may not have written anything with malicious intent, but all we have to go on is how they came across, and they came across as rather mean.
P.P.S. I also know Todd and Shea aren’t belly-aching over having lost any followers.
As far as I can tell, I didn’t really lose very many (if any) followers, but I did lose some respect for myself and the way I handled the situation. Once again, Hayley cuts to the quick.
What do you think? Is she right?
“Our witness is our service”" rel="bookmark">“Our witness is our service”
It’s been a while since I’ve linked to Shaun Groves’ blog, but you need to check this post out. It’s a little heavy on the sarcasm. But I don’t think that cancels out its truth.
So seriously. Go read it. Then let me know what you think.
What’s the point?
What’s the point of worship?
What I do
So, did you hear that I got into a Twitter fight yesterday?
I didn’t really know such a thing was possible until this weekend. I felt like Andy Bernard – “I’m not sure — but I’m pretty sure I’m in a Twitter fight.”
The whole situation got a little blown out of proportion. And I certainly helped fuel the fire.
At the core of the “duel,” as Paul Smith stated, was a miscommunication about who Shea wanted to ball-punch and what it is that I do. Had this been resolved within one or two tweets, the whole (admittedly enjoyable) situation could have been avoided.
Based on a number of comments I received yesterday, even after my post and ensuing responses, it’s clear there is still a lack of clarity about what it is I do exactly. So I’d like to explain real quickly.
My title at Greteman Group is “digital brand manager.” Simply, this means that I’m responsible for developing strategic ways for clients to leverage digital media and managing digital projects that come through our office. A big portion of my time is spent educating and equipping people in the realm of social media – obviously the hottest digital topic right now. That education involves presentations (not classes) to professional organizations and companies about what social media is, why it’s valuable, who’s using it and how to use it to enhance your brand, product or service.
That last part, the “how,” is where people get caught up and threaten my genitals. I want it to be clear that at no point during our presentations do we walk people through how to set up a Twitter account. How to tweet their thoughts. How to add a picture. Instead, we focus on objectives that can be accomplished with these tools. This strategic insight combined with our creative prowess is what people are paying for. (Sidenote: In no way does this make us social media experts. We eschew that title and firmly agree that no one can wear that title and maintain any credibility.)
If there’s still confusion about our presentations or if you think I’m still deserving of a loin-thrashing, let me know with a comment below.
Another sidenote: There was some talk yesterday about my delivering the presentation to a tweetup, and unfortunately I don’t think that’s possible. However, I am speaking at this month’s Broadcast Media Professionals of Wichita luncheon on Tuesday, May 26 at the Art Museum. I don’t know how much it costs or if it’s open to non-members, but you can contact Julie Eddy at Clear Channel Outdoor if you want more information.