iChristian

Over the last few years we have seen the influence of the internet come into it's true global potential.  Our entire planet is now literally connected together in millions of miles of wires and wifi-airwaves... an incredible achievement we mostly take for granted as write our blogs, check our facebooks, delete our myspaces, post to our twitter accounts, and leave  comments on yelp.com reviewing "Bad-Ass Coffee of Glendale" as truly Bad-Ass... even though I heard they had to change their name.  As the internet becomes more and more a real part of our lives, rather than some odd nerd-hobby or a jungle for sexual predators, it is becoming a part of us.  Each person is now more than a soul and a body, but a digital character as well.  For better or worse, we are more than ourselves, we now take responsibility for our virtual likenesses.

The way we think about ourselves is dramatically changing without our acceptance being necessary.  Within a world of interconnection and communication at our fingertips at every moment, we are literally redefining what it means to be oneself.  Where does a person end and begin is a question previously unfathomable, but now formidable.  I can now say with some certainty that I will live forever, or at least the non-fiction character of Geoff Spencer will.  Way after my death all my comments and picture postings and "tweets" will live on forever... captured to the countless backups and archives thanks to Google and the like.

The whole concept sets us up for an interesting situation.  If you've ever had facebook suggest that you "reconnect" with a deceased friend, you already know exactly what I mean (awkward).  Our digital lives have seeped into everything we do.  If you live under a rock in rural Middle Earth, let me share with you some stories: potential employers check your facebook profile to learn about who you are before they even call you in for an interview.  A young teenage girl committed suicide because of disparaging comments made to her on myspace by a neighboring woman and her daughter posing as a boy.  A friend realized her husband had cheated on her when she saw pictures on facebook of him in Vegas... when he was on a business trip to Cincinnati.  An irritatingly adorable Brittish toddler is videotaped letting his baby brother bite his finger and instantly becomes one of the most recognizable faces on the planet  (youtube search: Charlie Bit Me).  The stories go on... the internet is now a crucial part of the human experience.

So... thesis time:  Who are you?

With your digital life comes your digital testimony.  Who you are, what you believe, and what you stand for are all easily accessible within a few seconds by anyone in the world.  With that kind of power, Christians must face a new reality: our real digital lives speak as much about our faith and our God as do our natural carbon-based lives.

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As a young man growing up in the Church, I was given all the reminders I needed that a spiritually hungry world in search of answers was watching us Christians with a more scrutinizing eye than the one for my atheist neighbor.  After all, If we claim to hold the keys to a life overflowing with love, wisdom, and joy... it is only common sense that our lives would be vivid testaments to the transforming grace of God.  Therefore every word I speak and every action I take is evidence immediately admissible in the World's Court of Christ's Legitimacy... and it is not just me that is on trial, but my Jesus as well.  This court isn't here to decide my fate, but to judge the validity of Christianity by how I represent it.

This case of the people vs. the testimony of the Church is probably a good thing, but I'd like you all to know something: there is a big heaping lot of evidence... but it is not in our favor.  In every conversation I have with "non-Christian" people about why it is so hard to imagine an all-loving God, their first answer is inevitably that God's people are not all-loving.  If there is no difference between them and anyone else, then why would they want God?  If that does not cause you to stop and think, take a moment to wrap your mind around that.

The world's disbelief in God has everything to do with many Christians not engaging the world with love.  The phrase "be in the world but not of it" has been taken too far to the extreme.  We like to pretend as if quoting that and wearing your "Not of This World" t-shirt automatically registers you on some special list.  Time to get real, people.

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You might have never traveled more than 30 miles from where you live, but your digital self has probably traveled across every corner of the globe by this point.  You might have met a million people you'll never see face to face, but they'll instantly know who you are... all it takes is a twenty second glance at your facebook profile to get an idea about who you are and what you stand for.

If twenty seconds is all you ever get with that person, what would you want them to think about you?  What would you want them to think about Jesus?

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The other day I left my facebook open on my computer at work and went about my business at the office.  An hour later I came back to my desk to find that a friend's posting of colorfully perverse words about homosexuals had been on my home screen the whole time.  Unacceptable to begin with, it probably wouldn't have been so bad if all my coworkers were not gay, and if they hadn't all walked by my computer screen.  To make matters worse, this friend is a Christian.

I work in Hollywood, where people already think Christians are crazy.  I work so hard every day to change this towns' view of us.  I work hard so people know that my God is one who is compassionate and loving... but in one moment that can all be undone by a facebook post this person never thought twice about.

This got me thinking: A lot of Christians work hard to always show love, and just as many could care less.  Unfortunately, it is the voices of those who care the least about showing God's love that gain the world's attention... making harder for the love soldiers like me and my friends who work hard to change this world.

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When I graduated and walked down the stage, I shook President Wallace's hand and he told me "Go change the world."

There's nothing more that I want than to see Christians who care about wisdom, justice, freedom, and love.  If everyone was Christ-like, the world would be a much different place.

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I met a woman at a baptist church in Georgia, and she told the congregation that she "doesn't wish hell on anybody, not even [her] worst enemy."  She's so right.  But I know that if I don't make a decision every day to show Christ's love at all times, it's not my enemies that suffer, it's my strangers.  The people who don't know me and never get a taste of God's love who I am unknowingly wishing hell upon.

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There's no shortage of cliche things to say about productive Christian ministry.  One of my favorites goes "Share the gospel at all times, and when necessary: use words."  I don't know a single person who has been converted by a hot-headed preacher with a bullhorn at the corner professing hell for sinners.  Every Christian I know has come to the faith through the virtue of love and transformation.  They came to know the Lord because they saw something different and inexplicable in someone else... a Christian.

Today, the words you write and the way you act will be the deciding influence that causes people to follow, abandon, or completely reject Christ.  I beg you, for the rest of us trying so hard to turn the world's view of us: think thrice about what you do.  In a day like ours, you will never know how far your actions go.

If you are a Christian, and you're not ready to get with the program and live like as a Christ follower... at least make our job of saving Christianity easier and change your facebook religion status to "Mother Eywa and polka-dots" or something.  We could use the break!


(This is a work in progress, and I'll surely be updating it in the future... therefore your thoughts and criticisms are appreciated.)