My wife’s old neighbor found a puppy injured on the side of the road. Of course, if this dog does not get claimed, I’m in big trouble. Because my wife, like many of the people in my life, cannot resist an adorable puppy.
Who am I kidding? I can’t resist an adorable puppy, either.
But it got me thinking.
If I were driving down the road and found a puppy, how would I go about finding the owner? I’d probably start with Facebook. I’d post a photo of the puppy with a little description of where I found him and the condition he was in. And, I’d wait. Wait for the post to pick up some shares and comments then see where it goes. Because Facebook specifically, but the Internet even more broadly, has become the street corner of the 21st Century – the place where people meet, where ideas are shared, and where news is spread.
In Matthew 6:5 Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer. He commands them not to be like the Pharisees who stand on the street corner to get attention. The public acclaim they received would be their reward; the Father would provide them no further answer to such prayers. Our piety is not a servant of publicity.
So I don’t want this site to be that – a place to simply be seen, a place for grandstanding, and a place for claiming way too much authority. I do, however, want this site to be a sort of street corner. A place where we think together about the things we care about. A place where we think about what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the church, in the work place, and at the ball field. A place to share some ideas and meet some new people.
I hope our paths cross on the street corner.
MB
