Salt Life: Is it okay to twitter in church???

Friday, May 29, 2009

Is it okay to twitter in church???

I recently came across a blog post by respected Pastor & author, Josh Harris regarding the topic of Twitter in church and thought I share a quote from it that might compel you to read a little further on the subject. Here's a little of what he has to say...

I think we all need to ask what our example says to other people we're worshiping alongside. Can a person look at me during the worship and see from the way I sit, listen and engage that the Bible is worthy of honor, that preaching is valuable? Of course this applies to a lot more than the issue of Twitter. If I'm nodding off to sleep, reading the bulletin, staring off into space or filing my finger nails it can send the wrong message, too. So what does someone think if they see me playing with my cell-phone during the sermon? "Oh, he must be so enamored with the truth of God's word that he's using Twitter to share the truth he's just heard with the world! God, your word is glorious!" Uh, I really don't think so. They'll probably think, "I should pull out my phone...wonder if I've gotten any email.

Just because something is incredibly popular in culture doesn't mean we have to accommodate it in our worship. Who cares if the whole world is talking about Twitter? When the church gathers and the Word of God is opened, God himself is speaking again. Everybody else can shut up. Lost people in this world don't need to see that we're current with the latest trend, they need to hear God's unchanging truth. They need to understand that God's word makes a demand on their life. And they should see from us a reverence and holy awe in the presence of God and his word that points them to the fact that what happens in a Christian church is completely different than anything happening in the world.

...He goes on to say that is a fan of Twitter himself. That the technology is great and can be useful in promoting the gospel message, just do it AFTER church is over.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Labels: church, ponderings