Does Social Media Affect Your Walk With Christ?

I am a self-professed geek! 

I love the internet, gadgets, and social media. 

If you have somehow come across this blog and do not understand social media then let me explain. Social Media is made up of communities like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Pintrest, MySpace, and many other sites. 

Your use of these sites is self-determined and voluntary. Like anything, it can be over-used. Each community has it’s own purpose, and there are benefits to each site. I do not use all, though I have tried every one at some time or another. 

With the world becoming more and more digital, soon there will not be any generation that is not tech savvy, though usage declines with age. 

So in a world were digital media is on the rise, and we continue to use things like smart phones, tablets, and laptops do we have an obligation to impact this digital age for Christ? 

For me the answer is YES! 

Facebook is littered with “Like if you Love Jesus” messages, and there are Twitter accounts dedicated publishing a scripture an hour, but are these things effective? 

Recently, I ran across a blog post that said the author was “criticized by a pastor for promoting my blog on Twitter and Facebook. He said these sorts of actions made me guilty of self-promotion”. 

Then I read in Michael Hyatt’s new book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, (more on that later) that Twitter actually made him more aware of his online reputation and impact. 

So I want to ask you this, how does social media impact your Christian walk?

Meet Michael Hyatt

I have not shared with you any new Ministry Highlights because in all honesty, I have not come across any recently that just gave me a “wow” experience. 

This is not a ministry per se, but God has used Michael Hyatt to minister to me, and I have definitely been wowed! As a Christian and former CEO of the oldest publisher in the US and the leading Christian publisher (Thomas Nelson) Michael knows his way around writing. 

He has a blog, tweets with regularity and to great advantage, and has a speaking career that has grown so much in recent years that he now speaks and writes full time (exactly what I want to do!). 

Michael lives out his purpose in Christ and the fruit of his life has been like a feast for me. He speaks and writes about leadership, productivity and social media. Michael's latest foray in these areas is the book Platform. 

I am part of a small group of about 100 reviewers (out of the 400,000 readers of his blog and the nearly 800 that applied) that have been given an early copy of Platform. 

I am learning so much about strengthening this site and my voice so that I can deliver my message to you with clarity, with focus, and with power. 

In the upcoming week I will finish reading this book and will review it here on A Year in the Spiritual Life. My hope, as is Michael’s, is that you would buy the book (which will be priced perfectly for launch week between May 21 through May 25) so that it can climb to the top of the New York Best Seller’s list. 

I am adding a link to Michael’s blog on the “Worth a Look” section to the right. I hope you check it out, and become a fan as I am. 

Are you a fan of an author or speaker? Share with us who you like so we can check them out too!