If you think social media is too impersonal, too permeable, not trustworthy, and simply too hard to figure out, God probably doesn’t think what you think.
I’m finding it hard to learn. I’m resisting Facebook and Twitter because I don’t get it. I’m scaring myself with how old I’m sounding.
We have a big problem in this area: we think God thinks what we think. We think God agrees with us. How presumptuous! God gave us the mental capacity to formulate the computer; don’t you think He wants us to use it for the good — for bettering our fellow human beings and for spreading the news of the gospel of Jesus Christ? God is more hip than we’ll ever be.
Conservativeness is too often a factor of age. The older you get, the more conservative you become; the more you want to go back to the way we were. At least, that’s the path of least resistance. Old = conservative = set in one’s ways = resisting the new. I don’t believe that’s the path God wants us to take. If this is true, then God is only for the old. But God is the God of everybody. God is ahead of us and behind us, and on either side, too. We welcome the Millennials; they will challenge us to stay relevant. Old and irrelevant are not synonyms. Go back and listen to our interviews with 79-year-old Don Williams, or 80-year-old Tony Campolo, and you’ll find older people who think like Millennials.
So in this light, we received the following comment in response to our Open Letter to the Catch Community (a composite of which will be out to you later this week — we had an overwhelming response!):
What would really be a dream come true is to find …a Christian who is very involved in the tech world and is interested and maybe helpful in how you reach people? If there are some Catch members from Google, Face Book, Twitter, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, Yahoo, Snap chat, IBM, various phone companies, etc., who might be willing to participate in a brainstorming session on how your “innovative ministry” can reach more people, that would be great.
So let us know if you might be one of these people. This is a New Year and we aren’t looking back.
President Obama called on the leaders of social media in the Silicon Valley to cooperate with Homeland Security and the FBI in thwarting terrorist training and activity over the Internet. He gets it. We need to get it for the kingdom of God.
John Fischer The Catch 
AWESOME! John – thanks for being honest enough to be self-critical. It helps the rest of us to do the same.
Good thinking John — I am NOT your man in this area
David Gunzel
A well run Facebook community would be a good idea, but it would leave you with a problem. Many people prefer to talk about their most personal thoughts and particularly their greatest problems in a small circle that offers protection. Facebook on the other hand is wide open for the public which makes me wonder how open people would be with their innermost fears, problems and sins. It would likely pose a barrier which I caution you to consider. There is still nothing wrong with a well run Facebook community, but there should still be a possibility for people to open up without them having to fear that somebody might use their own words against them. So yes, in a way I am torn on this one. A Facebook community is a nice thing and could definitely proof to be helpful, but there are drawbacks.
Our Catch community allows for private counseling via email. No one looking or listening in. It has helped us help some people who can’t open up around friends.
John, I am 97, live alone, drive to a Community Bible Study, and to Church. Thank you God for my old computer, for my sons who keep it updated, for keeping me joyfully till You call me home
Dorothy Z.
Amen. Good for you for staying in touch.
Late on this comment, yes I agree, stay in touch with what is going on! I have a large family and keeping up from a distance is awesome with face-time! I just spend time with my 10 year old granddaughter and talked about everything, and she took me around the house to see the cat, talk to others, check out what they ate for dinner, signing off with love and reminders to pray. I get news quickly, listen to a good sermon, get questions answered and text, talk, group text and snapchat.
There are many great applications, send out the”Catch” is something we can do, post it on Facebook or Twitter or forward to friends! I still like to see everyone in person, but this helps hold us closer, provides more communication and even fun! Oops! Fun! Yes! Blessings! Cynthia
Yea, Cynthia! Encourage more people to read the Catch. Don’t keep it to yourself; give it away!