What Would Jesus Tweet?!

An interesting question was posed to me yesterday, wondering if I thought Jesus would use social media.

Hmm, good question. He certainly is all over the Internet already.

bradley howell

Though we don't have any evidence that Jesus himself wrote anything down, he consistently referred to and used the stuff of everyday life. Yes, I think its quite possible that Jesus would use social media as a way to connect with those in his relational circle.

So, what would Jesus tweet?

Who knows!

Whatever it is, it would embarrass his family. They would try to get an insanity order to take him off.

Jesus probably would not repost stories that implied if you were a real Christian who was not ashamed of your faith, you would pass this to everyone you know.

Instead he'd probably post: you have heard it said_______, but I say_________.

The religious establishment would likely try to use his own words against him.

After spending time alone in prayer, he would text Peter to send the boat over to pick him up. Then walk out to the middle of the lake just to freak him out.

The look on Peter's face would have made a perfect mobile pic status update! Judas would probably be the first to 'like' it.

He would probably turn his phone off when he was with other people, in prayer, or when it was just time to sleep.

He might enjoy videos of kids doing cute kid things.

I can imagine Jesus tweeting bits of the sermon on the mount. I don't imagine him taking a picture of 5 small loaves of bread and two fish with the post "Dinner for 5000".

Well, maybe if it had a cat in it...

What about you, do you think Jesus would use social media? What do you think Jesus would tweet?

Les Miserables...Larger Than Life

Les Miserables...larger than life - brad howell

I had the great opportunity to take in Les Miserables on Christmas Day. What an experience...at least I knew what I was in for. Others we brought with us...well, not so much.

Three minutes into the film, my sister leans over to me and asks if they will be singing the entire movie.

Yup, that's about how it works...sorry for the Wolverine bait and switch.

But as they say in the rest of the world, if not at least in France...C'est la vie!

A couple of decades ago I had seen the broadway style musical. Maybe it was my youth or maybe it was because all that I could afford was the cheap seats in the nose bleed section, but for the whole thing, I never knew what was going on. For all of these years I thought the good guys won. Didn't they in history?

The only thing I knew with any certainty was that things truly were miserable. Miserable for the hero...miserable for me...

For those of us that are theater challenged, the story line in the movie production is far easier to track. This truly is a good thing. But the movie version is far more gut wrenching. Its gritty, difficult at times to watch, and personally walks you through a truly horrible world experience. As for the singing...well its better than Momma Mia and if you can get past that every phrase is a lyric, the movie is well worth the extraordinarily long sit through.

Just remember the popcorn so you can blame tearing up on the salt...

This Year: Resolve to Text Your Teen More

As it stands, the teens in our household do not have texting on their phones. Our high schoolers get it from two angles. As a researcher of adolescent social media use, I don't necessarily want them growing up experiencing the cellphone as an extension of their friendship cluster. As an accountant, my wife sees no financial reason to do it.

brad howell

Poor kids - if they ever want to do anything, they pretty much have to pay for it themselves.

However - within boundaries - I do not believe teen texting is bad!

I actually think its a positive trend and a great way for teens to interact with each other when they are not physically present.

It certainly is less disruptive to the family than the days when teens would tie up a land line for hours on end.

Teens need the support that their friendships provide. Texting can be a healthy supplement to that. It works for parents too!

Almost every parent who texts their teens feels closer to them. The majority of teens who text with their parents in turn also feel closer to them.

Teens and parents feeling closer to each other? Sounds like a positive outcome for a counter-intuitive New Year's Resolution...