Author: Frank

Unconditional is not Cheap

Frank

The other night I was browsing books at my local Family Christian store when I struck up a conversation with a guy in the same aisle. He was eagerly hunting for a book by a particular author. “Man, you gotta check this guy out! He’s on channel 9 at 6:30 in the morning. I was washed out on being a Christian, man. But this guy, he opened my eyes to grace!” The conversation continued about the fine line between law and grace and the failure of organized religion. I told him I was happy for him and I’d check the author out.

I meant what I said. I was genuinely happy to see his joy in Christ. His face was like many I’ve seen before rising from the waters of baptism into a new life. The Holy Spirit was definitely doing something in his life.

But there’s a risk. We desire structure and order, so we invent religious traditions. Yet we have an inner conflict to rebel, so cheap grace is an easy temptation. Not all grace is cheap of course. But there is a risk to worshiping grace rather than the giver of that grace. We easily turn blessings into idols- our families, financial prosperity. If you don’t believe me, look no further than the story of Isaac and Abraham. Isaac wasn’t just a blessing, he was an answered prayer, a miracle announced by an angel! And God needed Abraham to prove that he hadn’t become an idol.

I thought of this as Brennan Manning was describing God’s unconditional love and how we have such a hard time grasping the concept. This comes on the heels of Manning discussing “union” with God as His ultimate desire, so unconditional love is the means to that end. Yet how easily we twist it such that God’s unconditional love becomes the means to unlimited, cheap, grace. Manning writes,

“Unconditional love as a concept has transported me to intellectual nirvana, motivated the reading of at least fifty books on related themes, and deluded me into believing that I was there. Until along came a day when I was appalled to discover that nothing had changed…
Until the love of God that knows no boundary, limit, or breaking point is internalized through personal decision; until the furious longing of God seizes the imagination; until the heart is conjoined to the mind through sheer grace, nothing happens.” (pgs 74-75)

Nothing changed. Nothing happened. Why? Because we confuse God’s unconditional love as Him showering blessing upon blessing on us rather than His desiring to be with us. How hard we try to ascend to the level of Jesus, forgetting that he forsook all to come down to our level.

As I was reading this chapter, I made this note: Unconditional love is not giving your child unlimited undeserved gifts on Christmas morning- that would be spoiling. No, unconditional love is even after your child misbehaves you get down on your knees to and play with those gifts together.

It is Jesus, loving us as we are where we are, that brings about change. That is unconditional love.

This post continues discussion on Brennan Manning’s book, The Furious Longing of God. Please check out Jason Sasyzsen’s and Sarah Salter’s blogs for more discussion. The “consider this” questions come straight from the book- use them as a springboard for your own thoughts and feel free to share them here.

Seeing The Invisible Mission Field

Frank

Recently the National Museum of the American Indian held a symposium on the depiction of Native Americans in sports. Being hosted in Washington, DC, the conversation naturally steered towards their NFL team, the Washington Redskins. The mayor of Washington has gone on record to oppose a new stadium for the football team inside city limits unless they drop the name.

A few weeks ago a blog previewed the hats that Major League Baseball teams would be wearing for spring training, showing a sample image of the Atlanta Braves’ cap featuring an image of their mascot, the “screamin’ indian”, Chief Knockahoma, which hasn’t been used since 1986. After considerable backlash, the Braves are wearing their traditional script A on their hats.

And don’t get me started on the legal dispute over the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

I’m not going to weigh in on one side or the other. But I want to call it to our attention. How many of us cheer for a team, or wear a particular logo, without consideration of where that name or brand came from? The AP story on the Native American symposium highlighted a fan who wore his Redskins gear and was so moved by what he heard that he ditched them. He simply never thought of it before.

Face it, the Native American is the nameless, faceless race that used to inhabit North America and is often depicted as the bad guy in classic westerns. How many of you know a Native American? Depending on where you live, it is unlikely you’ve ever seen one. The idea of a sports mascot named the Braves, Warriors, or Chiefs doesn’t cause us to flinch. A super-fan dressed up in a war bonnet with his face painted might strike us as odd, but not necessarily racist. Familiarity may breed contempt, but unfamiliarity breeds indifference.

We may not know them, we may not see them, but they’re still there. They are still a strong and proud people. And they, just like the “foreign savage” we send missionaries to overseas, need Jesus.

I’m sensitive to this myself. I grew up just outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation. I grew up with classmates who were Arapaho or Shoshone. Every year my hometown would celebrate the “Gift of the Waters” pageant, an artistic reenactment of a treaty signed between the Shoshone tribe and the US Government handing over some of their land that included a natural spring the tribe considered sacred. Before I went away to college I knew the family of the Shoshone chief, Joseph.

Many missionary organizations emphasize raising up indigenous people to lead in local ministry. Yet we’ve forgotten about the indigenous in our own country.

So I was sad to hear of the sudden passing of “Uncle” Richard Twiss, a Native American missionary and founder of Wiconi International. If you’ve never heard of him, don’t feel bad because neither had I. But I was ashamed because as much as I try to be “plugged in” to American Christian Culture I was ignorant to the man and this much-needed ministry.

Not knowing him, I can’t speak much about him. But I encourage you to check out what others have said honoring his memory. (Lots of links: Christianity Today, InterVarsity, Out of Ur, Urban Faith, Sojourners, Patheos, and Red Letter Christians)

Also please pray for the indigenous of this country. Twiss’ work is far from finished. May we be as moved to be missionaries to the natives of our own soil as we are to send missionaries to foreign lands.

Flashback Friday: Give God a Valentine

Frank

***Originally posted in 2009 as notes from a contribution talk I gave the Sunday after Valentine’s Day. The dollar figures may have changed, but God does not change.***

I saw on the news that last year [2008] the average person spent $123 on Valentines Day and this year given the economy it was expected to drop to $102. That sounds like a lot, but if consider dinner on top of the flowers, candies, and cards you can see how that would add up quick. I bring this up because it points out how we spend a lot of money on silly things while we struggle to pay the bills and make ends meet. (not that Valentines Day is silly, but the efforts we go though to impress our loved ones with things is)

Brothers, how much did you spend yesterday? We justify it because it’s only once a year, but I hope we show that love our spouses more than just once a year, Amen? Just like I hope we demonstrate our love for God more than just on Sundays. How do we show our love to God? Well, just like our wives, he likes to be given things. No, not stuffed animals that sing Elvis songs when you press its paw. But he wants us to sacrifice to him. Things of value, things that demonstrate that he is more important than what we give him. Just like Valentine’s Day, our spouses are worth much more than that box of candies, but what message would it have sent if we didn’t get anything at all and just sat with our arms crossed, huffing at the suggestion of spending money on Valentines Day? Are you sitting now with your arms crossed huffing at the suggestion of giving part of your hard earned income to God?

In Matthew 19, beginning in verse 16, we read of a rich man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to get to heaven. The answer shocked him, verse 21, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” And the man walked away sad. Jesus isn’t telling us to sell everything we have and give it away to the poor, but don’t let that stop you. What he is telling us is to love him more than our possessions or our wealth. Give him a valentine today.

Sick, Leave!

Frank

Being out sick for a week gave me a lot of time to think. But since I was sleeping most of the time, I don’t remember much of it, lol, so instead you get my thoughts looking back.

(photo credit: Jason Porter)


Rest is the best medicine

I once heard someone say, “be sure to take the Sabbath or the Sabbath will take you.” He then went on to describe how we burn ourselves out by filling our weekends, our times off, with being busy. We call sports tournaments and kids’ activities as “recreation”, but neither allow us much rest. We fill our Sundays with church meetings, classes, and even more busyness and then wonder why we’re so tired Monday morning when we return to the grind.

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)

I approached being sick the same way. I could tell I was coming down with something when I started feeling lethargic. Once it got to the point it was affecting my work, I decided to take a day off. I slept in, and then made myself busy the rest of the day catching up on errands around town and chores around the house. I shouldn’t have been surprised when less than a week later, I was laid up in bed, only getting up to help my kids get ready for school. I was restless and felt like I needed to do something, but staying in bed all day is what I needed most.

Treat the disease, not the symptom

I finally went in to the doctor when I started struggling to breathe. I don’t like going to the doctor because treating whatever ails is a crapshoot. Last week about half of my vanpool missed work. We all showed the same symptoms yet we each received different diagnoses and different prescriptions. Mine was for high-powered cough syrup (aka Codeine) and after taking it the first day my cough went away but my stuffy head and sore throat got worse.

The same is true in life and spirituality. We try and fight off a particular sin but neglect the root cause behind it. We confess being irritable with our spouse but deny just how stressed out we are at work (to take my most common example). We read self-help books, watch Oprah, and fill our heads with means of treating symptoms but we can only find healing when we hand over our disease to the Great Physician, Jesus.

“[T]he power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick… When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven… Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.‘” (Luke 5:17b,20,23-24)

Feed a cold, but don’t starve spiritually

While I was sick I didn’t go online, I didn’t read, I seldom prayed (beyond the regular “please, God, make this go away!”). I was starving myself spiritually. But I did get out to church and my church’s Super Bowl party. Just that brief fellowship renewed my [spiritual] strength enough to bring me back to my relationship with God. I didn’t read entire books; and I regretted that the whole time, “I have all this time, I should knock out a couple books!” But I fed just on just enough of the Word to sustain me.

Once I was feeling well enough to be up and about I was starving! I dug into my Bible, I caught up on blogs, I caught up on several books. I almost had to be pried away from my study- it felt so good and it had been so long! And that hunger extended to my prayers, I have prayed like I haven’t in a long time ever since I got better.

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

Follow the Doctor’s orders

Although medicine may not be an exact science, the general advice of a doctor is still worth following. When he or she says to rest, I need to listen and rest. But this advice extends beyond this particular episode of being sick. Do we heed doctor’s warnings about our diet and encouragement to exercise? Are we willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary to stay healthy?

Again, this applies spiritually as well. We have our doctor’s orders summed up in a single big book. Do we read it? Do we do what it says? Self-diagnose yourself about your sin. How do you treat it? Do you run from it? Do you confess it? Do you cut off what leads you to it? Are you following the doctor’s orders?

“So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’ But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:9-12)

Get well so you can take care of others

Illness is often contagious so naturally, as soon as I started to feel better my son started to come down with the same thing. It is hitting him harder however, requiring both my wife and I to remain as healthy as we can be so that we can take care of him. In fact last night I was up with him four different times. If I was too sick to get up, what then?

Spiritually-speaking, how can we expect to serve others when we are either so sick with sin ourselves or if we are starving from spiritual malnourishment?

“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1)

_____

Our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit. So it follows that lessons from physical ailments can be applied to our spiritual condition as well. We need to seek out the Great Physician and listen to his advice. We need regular checkups. And we need to know when we are so sick we need a stronger dose of medicine. I’m not perfectly healthy- I won’t be, I can’t be, until I receive a new body. So I need to take care of it the best I can.

Intimate Union

Frank

Brennan Manning makes the point in the fourth chapter of The Furious Longing of God, ‘Union’ that unity is part of God’s design for his creation. Jesus prayed for it and the perfect image of this union is God walking alongside Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jesus’ mission was to restore this unity. Manning writes:

“the outstretched arms of Jesus exclude no one, neither the drunk in the doorway, the panhandler on the street, gays and lesbians in their isolation, the most selfish and ungrateful in their cocoons, the most unjust of employers and the most overweening of snobs. The love of Christ embraces all without exception.” (pgs 59-60)

Why is that so hard to embrace? It sounds nice and looks good on paper. But living this out? Our fallen nature likes to draw lines in the sand that divide us for any number of reasons- skin color, politics, denomination. This division, this disunity is never what God planned for us. It does not reflect the love of Christ.

But in order to be united with one another, we must first enjoy union with God.

Ultimately, it is God’s furious desire for us to be one with him, and all the rest of our relationships hinge on that. The father in the parable of the Prodigal Son saw his son returning “while he was still a long way off” implying that he was keeping watch for him. Paul taught in Athens that God places us exactly where we need to be so that we can “seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27)  James, the brother of Jesus promised that if you “come near to God… he will come near to you.” (James 4:8) In fact, the Bible is often described as ‘God’s love story’ where the repeated cycle of rebellion, repentance, and restoration shows God’s love never giving up on his creation, always longing to be reunited with his people.

God is pursuing union with you. Let that sink in for a moment. The creator of the universe wants a intimate relationship with you.

Even more dramatic, every one of your relationships relies on this. Marriage, friendships, family, even strangers- how we approach each of these depends first on our relationship with God. Selfishness, pride, mistrust, hurt- all of these are symptoms of missing out on God’s perfect union and the consequences can be seen in our broken relationships, hurt feelings, and bad memories.

It is no coincidence (there are no coincidences in the Kingdom of God, one of my friends is fond of saying) that this chapter falls right before Valentine’s Day. The best Valentine you can give the one you love is to love Him first. Manning writes, “love by its nature seeks union.” (pg 68) So he offers this sage advice, again perfect timing for Valentine’s Day, “if I had to do it all over again?.. I would simply do the next thing in love.” (pg 66)

God seeks intimate union with you. Welcome Him.

Consider this:

How often do you monitor your spiritual growth-Several times a day? Once a month? Every thirty days? Twice a year?

Would you, could you, devote not one more minute to monitoring your spiritual growth? If so, it’s possible you just might find you like green eggs and ham.

This post continues discussion on Brennan Manning’s book, The Furious Longing of God. Please check out Jason Sasyzsen’s and Sarah Salter’s blogs for more discussion. The “consider this” questions come straight from the book- use them as a springboard for your own thoughts and feel free to share them here.

I’m Worn

Frank

After having been knocked out sick for the past week or so, this is a good song to describe how I feel. Plus, it’s a pretty good song for a Monday.

One (of many) thing I love about Tenth Avenue North is that they don’t just post their videos, but they also post a “behind the music” video for many of their songs. A bonus-feature commentary if you will:

Does God Care____?

Frank

The cover story (subscription required) for this week’s Sports Illustrated asks “Does God Care Who Wins the Super Bowl?” I don’t expect SI to answer a question with such theological nuance. But many people will be watching this game today wondering whose faith God accepts, Ray Lewis or Colin Kaepernick?

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that millions of dollars are being spent on advertising to be watched by thousands of parties of people eating enough food to feed a billion starving people.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that many churches are using Jesus’ name to lure people into an event, pot-luck, party to watch the ‘Big Game’.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares about our taste for violence and the drive by players to make the big hit so they can be seen in highlight reels. God cares that these hits cause irreversible damage leading some to suicide. More recently our thirst for the extreme cost a snowmobiler, Caleb Moore, his life.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares about sincere expressions of faith, no matter how annoying we may find them.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares about the sincere repentance of the game’s biggest star, Ray Lewis, despite our feelings towards him.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that more people have faith in pro athletes than faith leaders.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that sports, especially football, has become an idol.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that so many people care if he cares.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares when rivalries turn to violence.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares that our worship of sports leads to a win-at-all-costs attitude.

Does God care about the Super Bowl?
God cares about every hair on our head.

So yes, I’d say God cares very much about the Super Bowl.

Why Space

Frank

It’s funny how you remember exactly where you were when certain events happen. Most people a generation before remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when President Kennedy was shot or when Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon. I remember sitting in my grandma’s kitchen watching the Berlin Wall fall. I remember my mom calling me to wake me up to watch the events of September 11 unfold on cable news. And as a space nerd, other events are vivid in my memory.

When I was six or seven, my family went on vacation to Disney World and we took a side-trip to Cape Canaveral, home of NASA’s new Space Shuttle program. In my young mind, the Disney ride ‘Flight to Mars’ combined with the visit to NASA to convinced me that I had actually gone to space. Already a huge fan of Star Wars and Star Trek, this trip forever hooked me.

Ten years ago I was on my way to an appointment when my phone started to ring. Over and over. My love of all things space, and especially the Space Shuttle, was no secret so just about everyone who knew me that saw the news gave me a call. I remember driving to my meeting listening for every detail on the radio. I understood what the news meant, so I kept listening for clues why.

Just seventeen years earlier I was sitting in my 4th grade classroom sharing current events. The launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger had already been delayed a couple of times due to weather. The news I heard that morning was that it was finally due to launch. The space nerd that I was (and still am) was eager to share this with the rest of the class. A debate broke out- one of my friends insisted it was delayed again. He spoke with authority- his dad was one of the finalists for the Teacher in Space program that earned Christa McCauliffe a seat on Challenger. We were in class, so there was no way to know who was right and who was wrong. Until a half-hour or so later when another teacher ran in to our room pulling in a TV on its cart. “You need to see this!” she cried.

That event is cemented in my mind. Space was no longer a fantasy of comic books and movies. It was not a novelty stop on a trip to Disney World. It was real, involved real people, and included real risks. From that point on, it has been on my heart to work to reduce the risks and increase the reliability of space travel. If I’d never go to space in my lifetime, I still held on to the youthful dream that possibly my children could. And here I am today.

I recalled that day in January as I heard about Columbia and marvelled how close their dates ocurred. Checking my history it found it odd that almost exactly 19 years before Challenger was the Apollo 1 catastrophe. I deal every day with numbers so this synchronicity seemed too improbable to be true. Trying to find meaning I pondered if God was trying to tell us something.

In the ten years since, and watching the Orbiter Endeavor fly over my work on its final voyage to the California Science Center in LA, I have often wondered “why space”? Besides providing me a paycheck, is there a point anymore? The idea of human exploration, or more so human habitation in space is as far-fetched as ever. Just Thursday an otherwise very reliable Zenit rocket failed to deliver a communication satellite when something went wrong during first-stage burn. Space is still hard. It is still dangerous.

I am reminded of the Tower of Babel. With the Internet allowing world-wide instant communication, are we really any different than the people of that age? And I think of our efforts to explore space- each new discovery introduces more questions: Water on Mars? Hundreds of planets discovered? I watched the movie ‘Contact’, based on Carl Sagan’s masterpiece, and reflected on the eternal questions “where did we come from?” and “why are we here?” and realized we are not any closer to answering those questions than we were then. Maybe even further away.

Is God continuing to confuse the wisdom of the world as he did at Babel? Is he actively preventing us from exploring too far from our home? (Meanwhile Voyager 1 is breaking into the heliopause- the boundary of the Solar System.)

I ask myself these questions and wonder about my place in this vast universe as I look up into the stars and dream.

(photo courtesy NASA via space.com)

Furry or Fury?

Frank

I’ve been a fan of the comic book character Nick Fury as long as I can remember reading comics. I have a small collection of the Silver Age title Sgt Fury and the Howling Commandos which was followed by Jim Steranko’s brilliant work on Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. So obviously I was geeked out seeing Sam Jackson’s post-credit cameo in the first ‘Iron Man’ movie.

But no matter how many times I’ve read the name in print, I struggle every time I hear his name in the movies. In my head, his name was always Nick ‘f-uh-ree’ not Nick ‘fe-yur-ee”. What a difference an extra r makes.

Just as jarring to me is describing the love of God with that word- fury. I think of the fury of a storm and picture its wake of destruction. I consider being furious in my heart and I see myself losing my temper. Yet I imagine the love of God and think of furry bunnies.

Imagine that little fuzzy bunny. It makes you go oooh and aaah. You want to squeeze it, pet it, snuggle with it. We treat God that way sometimes (and that level of intimacy is not necessarily a bad thing- I squeeze and snuggle my kids and I consider that one of the highest forms of affection). But we seldom describe God as Rich Mullins is quoted in Brennan Manning’s book, The Furious Longing of God, “the reckless raging fury.” (pg 29)

Instead of ooohs and aaahs, what reaction should we have towards a furious God? Logic would answer fear and trembling. And the Bible does talk about approaching God in such a way. But God typically defies logic. Would you approach this fury with tears of joy?

I’m not a very emotional person (except for the wrong kind of fury) yet I was moved to tears reading how Manning came to experience God’s furious love- waking up on the street, reeking of vomit, hungover and in about as far from a state of grace religion could imagine for this former priest. And God still loved him.

 
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

God never stopped loving Brennan Manning as he was enslaved in his addiction. He never stopped loving you or me when we wander far from his loving embrace.

Manning writes, “The furious love of God knows no shadow of alteration or change. It is reliable. And always tender.” (pg 34)

Always tender that furious love. God’s fury is furry.

Consider this:

There is the “you” that people see and then there is the “rest of you.” Take some time and craft a picture of the “rest of you.” This could be a drawing, in words, even a song. Just remember that the chances are good it will be full of paradox and contradictions.

[Manning] listed some fictitious gods presented to [him] in the past: the splenetic god, the prejudiced god, the irritated god. Come up with at least one more, from your history, to help round out the list.

This post continues discussion on Brennan Manning’s book, The Furious Longing of God. Please check out Jason Sasyzsen’s and Sarah Salter’s blogs for more discussion. The “consider this” questions come straight from the book- use them as a springboard for your own thoughts and feel free to share them here.

Social Media for the Socially Awkward

Frank

I’ve had a few people ask me about my social media habits- how do I follow so many blogs, what social media apps do I use, how do I find the time, and so on. I’m certainly no expert. And this isn’t a “how to” type of post- there are plenty of those out there already. This is more a “this is how I roll” post. And if I was really an expert in building community, generating traffic, and maximizing Search Engine Optimization (see what I did there?) I’d be getting more then the few dozen hits I typically get.

A disclaimer up front, one of the reasons I’m posting this is to confess that I am disconnected from the Internet most of the day (and I can’t count on the connection I do have at work because of firewalls and, well, it’s work). Because of this, I have limited windows to read, post, and follow up with my online community- a disadvantage to someone trying to build an audience. But I hope this background is helpful to the social media novice or those who just don’t have a ton of time to devote to being online.

Blogging

I use Blogger to host my blog. Yes, I know I can get better layouts and probably more traffic using WordPress, but I haven’t bothered to secure a host and put forth the effort. Consider Blogger as the host platform for dummies. (Insert shameless plug for my buddy Peter’s upcoming book, Web Hosting for Dummies.) I did update my layout a couple of years ago however, and I like what I have even though it is always in need of some tweaking. If you see a layout problem (or notice that two of my “buttons” lost their hotlinked graphics, which I’m aware of and have been meaning to fix) please let me know.

I try and post three times a week. I can mail-it in with a “Music Monday” post (a song that hits me at the time, or I find a song to match a theme I’m discussing), a book group Wednesday and a “Flashback Friday” (digging up old posts) for minimal effort but I try and have more original content than that. If that’s all you see, or if you see just one or two posts in a week that only means that life is getting the best of me and I need to focus my attention elsewhere.

I link my blog up with Network Blogs on Facebook so that posts automatically update on my Facebook page (used to be my FB timeline- more on that later). I also “connect” with other bloggers through the automatic networking blogger allows. (But I hate to admit I haven’t followed up on that  in a while.)

For posting my blog on Twitter, I generally use StumbleUpon to shorten my link and schedule posts. Plus, su.pr queues my posts in their system for stumbling. Doing so allows me to track how many views my posts get stumbling through their site, though that isn’t a very accurate measure of reads. One drawback is that su.pr has been pretty buggy lately and the scheduling feature isn’t 100% reliable.

Twitter

I tweet using the handle @fathafrank (a play on an old nickname from my campus ministry days). I liberally follow-back with a few exceptions: if it looks like you’re selling something, if you’re overly political (unless you’re explicitly political in which case I’ll probably only follow back if you’re a legitimate news source), or if you’re overly Charismatic (for example, if I follow you and pray a certain prayer then somehow some additional blessing will come into my life. Sorry, I don’t come from that religious background so that’s an automatic turnoff for me). So if you follow me, chances are I’ll follow you back. If I find your blog and like it, I’ll follow you. Also I randomly follow other Christians posting on specific topics (#MultiplyMovement for example).

I do tweet some personal stuff so you’ll see that occasionally mixed in. I follow space topics (exploration and astronomy) as well as sports, so you’ll see tweets related to those periodically. (Especially on game days. It’s a challenge to keep my Christian witness when I’m online complaining about the refs!)

I categorize my follows to better keep track of tweets. If you’re a blogger and I read you regularly, I’ll elevate you to make sure I see your tweets more frequently. Otherwise, I just skim my Twitter stream and click what looks interesting. If I retweet you, that’s my way of communicating I like your post in lieu of leaving a comment. Because…

I typically only check my Twitter stream in the morning on my way to work and I’m doing so on my phone (don’t worry, I vanpool so I’m not tweeting and driving!). I try and leave comments when I can, but between thumbing a message on my phone and sporadic cell coverage, it’s easier just to RT.

I should add that I use Tweetdeck on my phone because I like how I can navigate between lists, hashtags, and searches. However, I’m not sure I’d recommend that app because it crashes a lot and the way it filters tweets isn’t very reliable. I also use Hoot Suite on my iPad at home (I don’t have a mobile data plan) because it’s just better all around, but I don’t like the phone interface.

Facebook

I used to link my Twitter account to Facebook, but all my RTs drove everyone crazy. Now I keep my personal Facebook account separate from my blogging. If you send me a friend request I’ll only accept if I know you (virtually speaking) and we have an established social media connection. But be warned, most of my posts will be complaints about the weather, pictures of cats, or silly things my kids are doing. Otherwise, I encourage you to like my Facebook page…

Which isn’t just to promote my blog. One of my friends asks me all the time how I find time to read so many blogs. With my page, I make it easy for you: I use that platform to post links to articles that catch my attention that I think you should read (consistent with the theme of the blog of course). These articles come from my daily news-reading, my Google reader, Facebook feeds, or my quick-skim of Twitter. If you don’t have time to follow a hundred blogs, but are interested in what my blog is about, then my Facebook page is perfect for you. Occasionally, I’ll throw out a discussion topic, but I don’t have enough followers (and Facebook has messed around with how updates are “promoted” anyway) to make that work too well at this point. It is also the unofficial page of my small group, so you’ll sometimes see announcements or prayer requests.

Google Reader and RSS Feeds

If I’ve read your blog more than once and I like what you write I will add you to my RSS feed on Google Reader. Also if you leave a comment on my blog or share on Twitter or Facebook, I’ll make it a point to check out your site. Again, if I like what I read I’ll add you to my feed.

I manage what I read using the Flipboard and Pulse apps. I used to use ReadItLater, but Pulse blew that app out of the water. Both store updates so I can read when I’m not connected, which works perfectly for me since that is most of the time. Pulse has the advantage of storing post histories from the sites I follow, so I can easily go back if I missed something. And I love Flipboard’s graphic interface. It actually makes managing my Google Reader fun.

With those means, I don’t really keep a blog roll. If I did, it would be huge. I do need to update my favorites (which show up in the top left corner of the page) but otherwise you won’t find a traditional blog roll on this site.

Other Sites

I don’t do Instragram or Pintrest… yet. I’m occasionally logged in at FaithVillage or Ransomed Heart. Otherwise, here and my Facebook page are the best places to find me.

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So this is how I do what I do. Is it perfect or fool-proof? Of course not. And I’m open to other suggestions, tips and advice.

What are your social media habits?