You, Me and Technology
Posted by Martha & Greg Singleton , Friday, September 12, 2008 11:02 AM
Let’s hear it for the oldest guy on Facebook. I believe this is worth a rousing round of applause, if not a standing ovation.
For those of you of my generation who may be living in a cave, Facebook is an “online social network” that boasts over 100,000,000 active members worldwide. My initial reaction to the whole concept was founded from my normal overblown conspiratorial point of view. I was certain that this would bring about the eventual ruination of life as we know it. More and more, as I heard people talk about it, my attitude shifted to smugness. Facebook was too silly for me. I would never lower myself to that level.
The very coolest of the marketing folks began telling me that this was an excellent way of networking. With a book coming out, our presence on Facebook would give us access to an abundance of potential readers. I reasoned that we just didn’t need any of this new fly-by-night technology. We’ll do just fine with the traditional methods of reaching people, thank you very much.
Those Facebook people are pretty smart. After all, it does have its roots at Harvard. You can’t access anyone’s Facebook page unless you’re a member. So, when someone referred me to some information that could be found on their Facebook profile, I was left completely out of the loop. Denied the free flow of information, about six months ago, I was forced to initiate a covert entry into the world of Facebook. I joined, but I reasoned that if I left my profile absolutely blank, nobody would notice I was there.
Somehow, my friend Joe in Tennessee, found me under some online rock. I received an e-mail from Facebook that said Joe had “added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know Joe in order for you to be friends on Facebook.”
So what do you do with that? Joe is my friend, and I’ve really missed seeing him since he and his family left San Antonio. To ignore him online before 100,000,000 people would be absolutely rude. But I wasn’t ready to come out of hiding yet, so I tucked the e-mail back into my mailbox until I decided what my participation in this online phenomenon was going to look like.
I cringed when a few days later I found another “friendship request” in my mailbox. This was from Sarah. I’ve known her since she was a little girl, and I officiated at her wedding a couple of years ago. That absolutely obligates somebody to publicly declare friendship, I do believe. So I confirmed the fact that Sarah was, indeed, my friend. And while I was at it, I thought it was only proper that I acknowledge Joe, too.
Within a couple of hours I checked my e-mail, only to find out that Sarah had left me a message on my otherwise blank Facebook page. She was just letting me know how happy she was that she was my very first Facebook friend. Sentiments like that just make you feel good.
And, that opened up the floodgates. Within the next couple of days, about 50 other folks just wanted to be my friend. Some of them I hadn’t heard from in a long time, and it was great to find out what they were up to. Others invited me to join special interest Facebook groups they were involved in, and some shared pictures of their families. I was introduced to “friends-of-friend”, and further expanded that phenomenon known as “six degrees of Singleton.” Despite my early rants, chides and misgivings, I was now beginning to feel just fine in this place.
Community is a great thing. It’s what Jesus had in mind when He laid out the groundwork for the first church. Being with people you know and love, depending on each other, and declaring your commitment to each other is a comfortable thing. But it’s also challenging, in a very good way. That commitment is sometimes tested and you’re called on to be accountable or to hold others accountable. But even that is worth it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who was martyred because he resisted Adolph Hitler wrote: “Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients. We thank God for what He has done for us. We thank God for giving us brethren who live by His call, by His forgiveness, and His promise.”
I’m thankful for others that God has brought into my life, in fellowship with Him and each other. Because of these people, because of you, my life is rich and I am blessed!
