The Social Networking Phenomena

Social networking in cyberspace was almost unheard of just a decade ago. Now it consumes the life of many. The following incident that occurred in Australia illustrates just how much social networking has become part of our lives ... especially for the younger generations:

"When two Australian girls, ages 10 and 12, got stuck in a storm drain, they were lucky to have a cell phone and reception. And they quickly put that technology to work. No, they didn't call 911- they updated their Facebook statuses to "Lost under the streets." The girls were eventually rescued, but only after friends called for help." (Readers Digest, September 2010 issue)

This obsession? dependence? involving social networking causes me to ask some rather important questions. Have we gone too far with such social networking venues as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.? Does involvement in these hurt or help our relationships with others? What appropriate roles should these play in our lives - if any?

This coming Wednesday (October 6 at 6:45) we are launching our Wednesday Night Live ministries at Grace. In addition to ministries for children (Awana - this will be our first year for this exciting children's ministry - and Boys Brigade), we are be conducting a brand new ministry that we are calling Pieces. This ministry, involving teens and adults, will look at a variety of cultural and societal issues through the lens of Scripture. The first issue to be addressed? Social networking. So if you have questions like I have about social networking - I encourage you to join us. For more information on this (and other ministries of Grace Church at Willow Valley), please check out our web site at gracewv.org.

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj