In the wake of the AME massacre in Charleston, S.C., I’m beginning to wonder if sympathy is a sin. Everywhere I turn I hear sympathy: “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families” or “Lord, have mercy!”
Can we still look at one another and talk?
Most Sundays, I make my way to a local shop and pick up the Sunday edition of The New York Times. Admittedly, the Sunday Times is a paperweight in comparison to most newspapers. This past Sunday’s edition was no different,…
Analog bravery
Recently, I had my internet bona-fides as an internet Christian professional called into internet question. Meaning: folks started blowin’ up my Facebook wall with paragraph length responses heavy on Biblical citations and light on punctuation BECAUSE SOMEONE HAS TO TAKE…
Why I’m NOT quitting Facebook in 2015: A response
Gary Taylor recently posted his full-page ad Don Draper style: this is the year he’s quitting Facebook. I want to persuade him to stay. Don’t go Gary! Gary worries that social media is putting us in a virtual world that…
Survey seeks to educate parents, youth ministers on teen texting
By Jeff Brumley Trying to figure out what teens are saying to each other in acronym-heavy text messages can drive parents and youth ministers batty. The lexicon has gone far beyond LOL and ROFL to what often looks like more…
Social media, Sabbath and silence: Three ways to counter misshaping cultural currents
The community group that I co-lead in our church has recently been talking about and experimenting with how to better spend our time and money on what matters most in God’s economy.[1] At this point, we’re not very ambitious, but…
More Americans exploring, sharing faith online
By Jeff Brumley A Pew Research study released last week found that one out of every five Americans share their faith online on a weekly basis. It seems like a lot more than that to Chris Canary, a minister at…
i’m not rob bell.
I had this somewhat obvious epiphany the other day. I’m not, nor have I ever been, Rob Bell. I know, I know, groundbreaking. I’d probably give this one a “discovering you have enough change in your late model civic’s ashtray…
Social media and the communion of saints
The first weekend of November, many churches will be observing Memorial Sunday, a day to remember and celebrate those who have gone before us. This fact prompted me to reflect on the role of social media in this remembrance and…