My Top 5 Books on Sex - Christianity Today

Twitter is reaching out to religious leaders, encouraging them to use the social media platform, 140 characters at a time.
Religion has not received the same kind of attention in the company as other categories, says Claire Diaz Ortiz, leader for social innovation at Twitter, Inc. But its growing popularity is changing that.
“The kind of content that religious users and influencers are creating is really incredible,” Diaz Ortiz told Christianity Today. “They have really high engagement rates.”
She hopes to help the company connect to Christian leaders to ensure that popular accounts are not being run by imposters. Twitter uses a verified symbol to suggest the authenticity of celebrities, authors, and other influencers, but many pastors have not been verified. For example, Mark Driscoll (who has about 172,000 users following his posts) and Rob Bell (who has about 80,000) are not verified.
Twitter’s attempts to connect to religious leaders come after ministries have faced struggles with some other technology companies. Earlier this year, Google cut churches out of its nonprofit program, and Apple has pulled applications from Exodus International and the Manhattan Declaration amid protests on the groups’ views of homosexuality.
Part of Twitter’s effort included networking—the physical, handshaking, business card exchanging kind—at Catalyst, a conference of about 13,000 pastors and other attendees that ends today in Atlanta. Diaz Ortiz is meeting with speakers and attendees, planning to follow up on the company’s site.
The theme of this year’s Catalyst was “Be Present,” with many speakers noting the struggles they face with the idea as they interact with Twitter, Facebook, text messages, e-mails, and other communication tools.
At the same time, the conference promoted the #cat11 hashtag for people to tweet. The speakers also delivered a number of short, tweetable quotes to satisfy a crowd of iPad and iPhone owners.
Words like attention, focus, silence, clutter, and noise filled the stadium screens just before each session. During the breaks, the giant screens encouraged attendees to “be present” throughout the year by connecting through social media platforms.
Christians offer a high level of engagement on social media, and Diaz Ortiz notices the amount of religious content that is retweeted.
“We’re trying to work out the specifics, but we want to give religious influencers and religious organizations attention that they deserve because they’re creating valuable content that people really like,” Diaz Ortiz said. She believes that the reason religious influencers are so good at harnessing Twitter stems from the same reason they are good at marketing.
“It’s about relationships and social media is about relationships. A lot of companies don’t understand that. They think it’s a new way to market themselves,” she said. “In contrast, religious organizations have been relying on word-of-mouth marketing and relational marketing for forever, so they take to social media well.”
Twitter said last month that it has over 100 million active users worldwide, half of whom log in daily. “More than 40 percent of the top global religious leaders are on Twitter, including @DalaiLama and the Pope, who sent his first Tweet from @news_va_en in June,” Twitter said in a release.
Diaz Ortiz, who recently released
Twitter for Good

, has navigated the nonprofit world a little bit differently.
“When you’re talking about religious organizations, you’re talking about a belief and you’re sending a message, which is different from sending information, which is what nonprofit organizations are sending,” she said. “I often tell nonprofits, ‘Would you go up to someone in the street and ask for money?’ When I’m approached, I feel guilted into it. The same things I think are awkward in real life are awkward in social media.”
Religious leaders engage with Twitter in different ways, especially those who are leading megachurches, organizations, seminaries, and other kinds of ministries.
Perhaps one of the more noted tweets this year was when Minnesota pastor John Piper
tweeted “Farewell, Rob Bell” after Bell released his promotional video for Love Wins. Last month, Piper tweeted, “Seriously, as before, may you fare well, Rob Bell” to his 211,000 followers after Bell announced his plans to leave his church.
“If a religious influencer made a bold statement about faith in general, I think you’ll have more people being responsive,” Diaz Ortiz said.
California pastor Rick Warren, who regularly tweets a variety of inspirational, motivational, or informational messages to about 432,000 followers, was named in 2010 as one of Forbes magazine’s top 20 most influential Twitter celebrities. Author and speaker Joyce Meyer is even more popular, with 435,000 followers.
Texas pastor Joel Osteen usually tweets inspirational messages to his roughly 365,000 followers, but like many religious leaders, he called for Christians to stand for the release of Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran.
Generally, accounts that only offer inspiration risk sounding impersonal, Diaz Ortiz said.
“Who doesn’t want a quote a day type of thing that’s really inspirational? I do think you have to make sure you’re mixing in personal stuff,” she said. “Those accounts risk sounding automated.”
For instance, she noticed the difference between Dave Ramsey on Twitter compared to The Dave Ramsey Show on Twitter. “A strong message doesn’t come through when people are doing third-party takes,” she said.
Similarly, churches need to figure out the kinds of messages they want to send, such as supplementary material, summarizing material, or announcements, Diaz Ortiz said. One of the major national hotels, she says, has a fake person who runs their social media account. If the leader of the hotel moves on, the personality remains with the hotel.
Other pastors occasionally touch on national or international events. For instance, Andy Stanley tweeted to his 113,000-some followers, “Proud of our President for bringing The Word at Ground Zero gathering yesterday. Psalm 46: The Lord Almighty is with us . . .” after President Obama’s September 11 speech.
Other pastors with influential networks don’t engage on Twitter as regularly as others, such as Illinois pastor Bill Hybels. And many well-known pastors, such as Ed Young Sr., do not use Twitter at all.
Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Christianity Today has repeatedly
covered the increasing role Twitter and other
social
networks are playing in Christian life. So has our sister publication,
Leadership

.

Leadership Journal’s‘s blog, Out of Ur, is blogging from Catalyst.

Sex for Christians: The Limits and Liberties of Sexual Living Lewis B. Smedes

“Published the year I was born (it’s since been reissued in a lightly revised edition), this remains my favorite of the many Christian sexual ethics texts written for a broad audience.”

* * *

Occupy Wall Street began with just a few dozen protesters. Over the past two weeks, the number of protesters has increased, with participants living day and night near Wall Street. On Sunday, 700 protesters were arrested when they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge; another two dozen were arrested Sunday for disorderly conduct. This week, Sojourners joined anti-corporation movement and is looking for God in the midst of the protest.Photo by hukdunshur via FlickrOccupy Wall Street may be a momentary political side-show, but it has the potential of becoming the Left’s answer to the tea party. Both are protest movements aimed at changing who holds power in American politics. The tea party took aim at government overreach; Occupy Wall Street points to the power of corporations. The protestors say they are allies of people “wronged by the corporate forces of the world.” They are seeking to reduce the power of corporations which, they say, “place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, [and] run our governments.”Tim King, Sojourners communications director, joined the protests. He is sleeping in the park and blogging about his experiences. He said one of his goals is to look for God’s presence amidst the event.“I believe it’s often easier to find God on the streets than in a sanctuary,” King said. “We serve a God who shows up for those in need, and for those who stand with them.”He reported that there are Christians at the event and that many of the protesters are open to religion.King said, “Many protesters here have had some bad experiences with religion, but it’s clear that they are genuinely open to seeing religion done differently.”Also, like the early tea party protests, Occupy Wall Street is heavy on pointing out the problem (i.e., corporations) rather than articulating a set of policy proposals or goals.BreakPoint’s John Stonestreet said that the message of the protests is that “things are broken—Wall Street, the environment, society, the list of complaints goes on and on. Their solution? Well, none have been offered.” He compared this to BreakPoint’s recent Do the Right Thing movement, which “identifies that the central problem is an ethical collapse.”Columbia University sociology professor Courtney Bender said that media reports have missed the religious dimension of the protests because they are looking for either cooperation from churches and organized religion or focusing on alternative religions.“This pair of reportorial strategies provides familiar but unhelpful ways to consider the religious dimensions of the occupation. In fact it makes it possible to overlook the varieties of spiritual symbols, performance, actions and discourse—not to mention religious and spiritual networks and communication webs—that energize events in Zuccotti Park and elsewhere,” Bender said.Sojourners president Jim Wallis said the purpose of Occupy Wall Street is still developing, but he is interested in what he has seen so far.“People’s frustrations, hurts, and feelings of being betrayed by our nation’s politicians and economic leaders are clear. They want to be heard,” Wallis said. “There is a lot of speculation as to who the ‘Occupiers’ are and what they might accomplish. There is much I still don’t know about the movement, but undeniably it has caught the imagination of a generation—and that matters.”Wallis encouraged people to help the protesters in New York and in other cities by ordering a pizza or bringing a meal.He is planning on visiting the New York protests today. “They are carrying on the most interesting conversation going on in that city—or any other—right now. Besides, I love a good potluck or pizza party where people imagine a better world,” Wallis said.

Velma Still Cooks in Leeway: A Novel Vinita Hampton Wright

“This novel deals with, among other themes, rape. In addition to being an absorbing read, it is a terrific resource for beginning conversations in church communities about sexual violence.”

Our coverage includes:

The Wright Stuff | With Velma Still Cooks in Leeway, Vinita Hampton Wright leads a quiet transformation of Christian fiction. (April 23, 2001)

* * *

The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity Peter Robert Lamont Brown

“A profound exploration of the meaning of sexual renunciation in early Christianity.”

* * *

The Court of Common Pleas: A Novel Alexandra Marshall

“This novel is an account of a marriage in crisis, and it offers one of the best portraits I’ve encountered of ordinary, blessed marital sexuality.”

* * *

A few years ago, the film 21, based on a true story, featured a small group of M.I.T. students who learned the art of “card counting” and took Vegas casinos for millions of dollars while playing the blackjack tables. It wasn’t a great movie, but it was fascinating for its topic and pacing.Fast forward a few years, and now another group of young people is doing the same thing. But they’re not from M.I.T. They’re Christians, and they call themselves “The Church Team,” and they’re also taking Vegas casinos – and others – for gobs of money, all because they’ve learned the science of counting cards. Their story is told in the awesomely titled Holy Rollers, which claims to feature “the most well-funded blackjack team in America – made up entirely of churchgoing Christians.”Sound shady? Perhaps unethical? You be the judge. They would argue that casinos are robbing people blind, especially folks who are addicted to gambling and/or can’t afford it in the first place. They’d say that they’re taking from the rich to put the money to better use – feeding their families, tithing, and keeping the moolah out of the wrong hands. “It doesn’t seem like one of the most noble things a person can do in the world,” one member of the team says in the film. “But at least we can liberate the money from the clutches of those who would use it for ill purposes, you know?”The team includes not just laypeople, but pastors and worship leaders. The filmmakers were subtle and secretive, managing to get unprecedented footage inside casinos, showing the team at work – and the casino operators who were always on the lookout for card counters, and then “inviting” them (sometimes politely, sometimes not) to leave.One of the Church Team members, David Drury, was asked in an interview if he saw their work as a form of “social justice.” Here’s how he replied:“The social justice side of things is hard to quantify. The first difficulty in this line of work is simply justifying to yourself how you are serving society by playing a game in a way that is largely frowned upon. We are raised in a society that values easily drawn pictures of ‘service’ that are easy to nail down but often don’t make no sense once you start asking hard questions. If you are a teacher, you bust your ass doing important work for no money. If you are good at dunking a basketball, you get paid millions to provide “entertainment” through the vehicle of a soul-sucking corporate structure. But at least you can draw those lines.“For me, I decided I was able to provide for myself and my family, which was of first-level importance. I was in a work structure (players and managers) where I was valued, where my goals were honored and were mine to set (as opposed to goals in a corporate environment), and where I was excited to work towards the success of the whole team. I felt supported like I never had before in a career endeavor. [And] yes, liberation, justice, and a good old fashioned sticking-it-to-the-man. He is big and I often felt infinitesimally small. When you have a big losing night AND get kicked out, what have you achieved? I choose to believe that the road is long, and while I am on it I mostly limp along with dark glasses, banging my cane against the curb.”Holy Rollers is a compelling film that explores a world where the answers don’t come easy, where there’s lots of gray and little black-and-white. It’s won awards at several film festivals, and it a provocative discussion starter. “People can’t stop asking questions,” Drury told CT. “The central paradox – Christians taking money from casinos – starts all sorts of conversations.”DVD pre-orders are being taken at the official site. Watch the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZsKRlBm7nI?version=3

For Fidelity: How Intimacy and Commitment Enrich Our Lives Catherine M. Wallace