I can't imagine life without Twitter. I've been microblogging since 2009, and it is an almost hourly connection to the wider world. A case can be made that if not for Twitter, the social fabric of daily life for millions would suffer a mortal blow. Twitter is not just a handy way to tell the world you're headed to Kroger to pick up bread and milk. It is a catalyst for popular uprisings, political movements, the unseating of tyrants, mass demonstrations calling for civil liberties and democracy.

One study found that of all the social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, GooglePlus, and so forth), tweeters are the most religious. For me, social media stretches far beyond a cultural icon of religiosity. The vehicle for Twitter is, in many ways, the ultimate medium for discipleship. Let me explain the four leading ways that Twitter has changed my life and made me a better follower of Jesus.

1. The art of following

Twitter only knows two categories: whom you follow, and who is following ...