In Part 1 I shared my reasons for embarking on a one month Twitter experiment, as well as the parameters I set up for myself to help my stay on my goal of “tweeting for the sake of others.” In response to my first post, as well as critique of my original piece “Why I Don’t Tweet…Not That There’s Anything Wrong With It,” I had a number of folks argue that Twitter is really no different than blogging. Therefore, why am I so critical of Twitter and not blogs.

Fair question. So let’s begin there.

In the primitive ages of social media (circa 2003), sites like Blogger were incredibly popular. But a blog is a medium that says “Listen to me!” and it…

Last November I wrote a blog post titled “Why I Don’t Tweet…Not That There’s Anything Wrong With It.” The spark for the post came from a brief interaction with Ed Stetzer about Twitter. A prolific tweeterer (is that a word?), he was shocked to learn I didn’t tweet and wanted to know why. So I put fingers to keyboard and articulated 10 reasons–some were rooted in my understanding of faith and discipleship and others were clearly tongue in cheek (like #8: “Ashton Kutcher”).

I got a lot of traffic out of that post. Some applauded my reasons for not tweeting, others pointed out holes in my logic. Some incorrectly interpreted my post as condemning those who tweet despite my title clearly stating the opposite. One response came…

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” It’s one of the most commonly quoted verses from the bible (Luke 6:37). Many of us, and not merely politicians, invoke the verse as a first defense when accused of wrong. It is also a favorite stone thrown by those outside the church to accuse Christians of hypocrisy.

In 2007 a book was published called UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity. It’s based on research done among non-Christian 20-somethings. One of their core findings was that nearly nine out of ten young people view Christians as “judgmental.” And given the prohibition against judging issued by Jesus, this would mean most people view Christians as hypocrites.

Given these findings,…

Last Sunday I spoke at Mars Hill Church in Grandville, Michigan. Listen to the full sermon “With”.

Below I’ve also included a number of quotes cited in the message:

The older brother: “All these years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends.” -Luke 15:29

The father: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” -Luke 15:31

“There truly is no division between sacred and secular except what we have created.  And that is why the division of the legitimate roles and functions of human life into the sacred and secular does incalculable damage to our individual lives and the cause of…

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season prior to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Vice President Joe Biden sparked curiosity when he appeared in public and on television with a smudge of ash on his forehead. One news anchor in the UK had no idea what it was. “What’s happened to his head?” asked Kay Burley on Sky News. “It looks like he’s walked into a door!” The co-host speculated that he had fallen on the ice while attending the Winter Olympics. (As if we needed more evidence that Britain is an utterly post-Christian secular culture.)

Biden is a practicing Catholic, and the ash was part of the Ash Wednesday mass he had attended earlier in the day. While usually associated with Roman Catholic…

Last month I sat down for breakfast with Ed Stetzer while we were both in Phoenix for a conference. Afterwards Ed “tweeted” about our meal together and commented that for some inexplicable reason “Skye isn’t on Twitter.” He gave me some playful grief about it on our drive to the conference, and others have asked why I don’t Tweet as well. So I decided it was time to finally show my cards.

First of all, I don’t believe Twitter is evil, wrong, or in any way immoral. And I’m not condemning my many friends who love to Tweet. But it’s not for me. Here are the top 10 reasons why I don’t use Twitter (not that there’s anything wrong with it).

ONE

My life really isn’t that interesting…

  This week I’ve been catching bits and pieces of Ken Burns’ new series on PBS: The National Parks-America’s Best Idea. I’ve loved everything Burns has produced, especially his documentary on World War II, but the National Parks combines his historic story-telling abilities with some of the most beautiful images of America’s most beautiful places. It’s a fantastic series, and I look forward to watching the entire thing on DVD.What I found most intriguing so far has been the story of John Muir-the man, perhaps more than any other, responsible for pushing the federal government to preserve large sections of wilderness. Muir, raised by a brutal Calvinist father and beaten in to memorizing the entire Bible, escaped the rigid confines of his Christian tradition to discover the

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Read more about ministry legitimacy and “The Daisy Cutter Doctrine” here.

 A few months ago I flew down to Dallas to interview Matt Chandler for Leadership Journal. Chandler has been getting a lot of attention in recent years–both for the rapid growth of his church as well as his outspoken adherence to Reformed theology. I must admit, I had some hesitations about interviewing another very popular, very young, very “successful” pastor. Without giving away my biases…I’ve not had a great experience with people who fit that description.

I was pleasantly surprised by Chandler. Not only did he offer thoughtful, reflective, and self-aware responses to our questions (rare qualities among large church pastors who tend to be “doers” more than “thinkers”),  he was also humble. But Chandler isn’t known as a touchy-feely. He likes speaking boldly and even abrasively about…

There’s an unemployed man in your congregation. After searching for months for a job, he’s finally gotten a position on a landscaping crew. On Sunday, before the close of the worship service, a leader calls the man up to the platform. He tells the congregation about the member’s new vocation and then invites others up to the platform to place their hands on him. Together the church prays and ordains him for his new work, asking God to make him an instrument of his beauty and care for creation, and praying that he would bring pleasure to God and goodness to others through his labor.

How would your church be different if this sort of scene was a regular occurrence? For landscapers? For business people? For students going…