Encouraging Words from Cary Schmidt » blog

Do Social Networks Change Behavior?

Cary Schmidt — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:33:26 +0000

USAToday published an interesting article today about the impact of the internet and social networking. Here are a few of the statistics they shared:

How social-networking services affect the everyday behavior of millions of Americans:

An Ohio State University study links Facebook to lower grades. According to a survey of 219 students, published in April, those who said they use Facebook had grade-point averages of 3.0 to 3.5, and studied one to five hours a week.
Non-Facebook users had GPAs of 3.5 to 4.0 and studied 11 hours or more a week.
Nearly 80% of Facebook users said they believe it had no impact on their grades.
Corporate employees may fritter away nearly 1.5% of office productivity by using Facebook at work, according to a Nucleus Research study announced in July.
The University of Melbourne, however, says people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are 9% more productive than those who don’t.
Fourteen states have passed measures to ban texting while driving.

Read the full article here: Real-time Web keeps social networkers connected – USATODAY.com.

Encouraging Words Goes Mobile

Cary Schmidt — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:22:13 +0000

More and more people prefer to read blogs “on the go” through their mobile device. I am happy to announce that you can now view this blog in a mobile version through your mobile phone browser (designed for iPhone, Adroid, or iPod touch.) Simply type in the URL and the site should automatically detect your mobile device and adjust the site. If you prefer to view the site in it’s original form, scroll to the bottom and turn the mobile view off.

I pray the things you find here will be helpful and encouraging to your walk with the Lord.

You can also now view The Pastor’s Perspective from Pastor Chappell in this same format. Enjoy!

What Spurgeon Says About Internet Gossip

caryschmidt — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:34:48 +0000

The following is an excerpt from C.H. Spurgeon that speaks powerfully to how we as Christians should invest our time, our efforts, and our words. May we live our lives and invest our time into things that glorify Christ and edify people. This quote has a powerful significance in this day of internet gossip and slander through social networking, blogging, twitter, etc. A friend shared it with me and I thought it might be useful to you.

“But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.”

“Our days are few, and are far better spent in doing good, than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance. The old schoolmen did a world of mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance; and our churches suffer much from petty wars over abstruse points and unimportant questions. After everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser, and therefore the discussion no more promotes knowledge than love, and it is foolish to sow in so barren a field.

“Questions upon points wherein Scripture is silent; upon mysteries which belong to God alone; upon prophecies of doubtful interpretation; and upon mere modes of observing human ceremonials, are all foolish, and wise men avoid them. Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether; and if we observe the apostle’s precept (Titus 3:8) to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings.

“There are, however, some questions which are the reverse of foolish, which we must not avoid, but fairly and honestly meet, such as these: Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation adorn the doctrine of God my Savior? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord, and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus?

“Such enquiries as these urgently demand our attention; and if we have been at all given to caviling, let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peace-makers, and endeavor to lead others both by our precept and example, to “avoid foolish questions.” —C.H. Spurgeon

Twitter—90 Days Later

caryschmidt — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:12:25 +0000

The Blessings and Benefits of Learning the Art of Microblogging!

A little over 90 days ago, I began using Twitter. Eight months ago I was sure it was the dumbest thing I had ever seen. But after a little examination and consideration, I decided to give it a try with my family and friends. It’s been a very interesting experience so I thought I would share a few thoughts.

At the beginning I posted a blog article about why I was going to give it a try. You can read that here. Below are some reasons that I will continue, at least for now.

Things That Have Made Twitter a Positive Experience

1. Staying Connected to Family and Friends—it’s been great to stay a little more connected with every one I’m related to—even my own kids. I really love reading what they post throughout their day. It’s a great glimpse into their hearts and it usually puts a smile on my face just when I needed one! In addition to this, I’ve enjoyed staying more in touch with young people in our student ministry.

2. Connecting with Like-Minded Men in Ministry—this was the greatest unexpected blessing. I’ve met some new friends in ministry from various places in the country. I’ve prayed for them, shared requests with them, and benefited from their spiritual insights and encouragement. Without twitter we probably would have never met, or at best, our fellowship would have been extremely limited.

3. Sharing Helpful News and Posts—I’ve come across some very helpful resources and articles because of what godly people have shared in their posts.

4. Sharing Christ—I have had one opportunity to share Christ and to encourage and pray with a very nice gentleman that contacted me through twitter. What a delight.

5. Being Aware of Good Things God is Doing—I’ve read of ministry happenings among other independent Baptist Churches around the country. It’s given me a greater spirit of appreciation and a higher awareness of others who are fighting the same battles I am. That’s been an encouragement.

6. Getting a Glimpse Into the Hearts of Good People—I’ve seen a lot of posts that just made me think more deeply, laugh more frequently, and appreciate the insight and wit of those I interact with. It’s been encouraging and edifying.

7. Giving Family and Friends a Glimpse of My Heart—I’m hoping for my family and friends that my posts are as encouraging as theirs are. I’m trying.

8. Finding Encouragement From A Lot of People—It’s just been good to read the posts and thoughts of other people who have good attitudes and godly perspectives on life and ministry.

9. Uplifting a Biblical Technology Example—I’ve had several of our students and college and career friends begin using twitter with me and I believe it’s been helpful to them to see a form of social networking used in a way that honors Christ. I have seen twitter used to encourage, edify, strengthen, support, and uphold Christian friends. That’s been a blessing!

10. Enjoying dissecting my day into 140 character increments—There’s just something fun about coming up with 140 characters quickly to try to encapsulate the wonderful blessings of each and every day.

I’m sure there are a lot of people in the world who waste time and words or who do inappropriate things with Twitter just like every other form of technology. It certainly can be used too much or pointlessly. Like many, I was skeptical of its usefulness, but over all, my experience has been positive and I can see twitter and technologies like it being used very effectively for ministry and for Christ. Without a doubt, the young people we are presently training for ministry will live with these technologies as fixtures in their lives—like we do with phones and computers. We should at least do our best to prepare them.

I’m still not a big “early adopter” of many new things, but I want to do my best to not rule something out just because I don’t “get it” or because it’s new. If you haven’t tried twitter, or like me, you just don’t understand it—it’s very difficult to explain it. You probably just need to try it for a few weeks and then decide. It doesn’t take any time (you can only post 140 characters at a time! How much time could that possibly take?!) It can flow with your normal routines and schedule with minimal to no interruption (My posts usually happen in my “in between moments”—like when I’m walking somewhere, etc.) It’s completely controllable. It’s helpful once you establish some folks that you interact with regularly. It’s a blessing to share and receive biblical encouragement with others. And in many ways, it’s just fun.

If you try it, just remember, it’s public and it falls under the same biblical guidelines as every other form of communication! Moderation and discretion are both very important principles to practice in this venue. Be sure not to post anything you wouldn’t stand and announce to the whole world. It’s probably not a good idea to put a lot of personal information, personal schedule, or personal details—like when you’re getting dressed or showering—pretty much everybody gets showered and dressed some time during the day!

Blogs and Twitters—Is There a Point?

Cary Schmidt — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:11:55 +0000

Why I Decided to Start Using Twitter

Why blog? Why Twitter? Is there a good reason for these things? That is the question I’ve been asking myself for the past year or so. I’m not usually an “early adopter” of potentially harmful things. Rather, I like to study, to watch, to pray, and to consider. I like to let the dust settle and evaluate the positive side of a new form of communication or some new use of the internet.

A little over a year ago I started blogging—minimally. And six months ago I was introduced to Twitter—a form of micro-blogging if you will. I must admit, I didn’t get it and I didn’t see a point. So I waited and watched. Is it about ego? Is it about social-networking? Does it really have a point at all? I wanted to see more than just the “dark side” of all of these things. I do believe there is a bright side!

Well, after six months I decided to grab my wife by the hand and jump into Twittering. You might say it is sort of an experiment, but one with a purpose. After a week, I sat down yesterday and wrote out some thoughts about “why I twitter” and I wanted to share them. You might say these reasons apply to everything we do online—whether a blog, a website, or a twitter feed.

All of life is a stewardship—a gift from God, and God’s child should see himself and every level of his life as an offering—a living sacrifice to the Lord. Every word, every moment, every opportunity, and every deed should be lived out with a heart of surrender and submission to the God who gives us breath. With that in mind, here are the reasons I’m giving twittering a try:

Training and Example – This is perhaps one of my biggest reasons. One of my great burdens is for the next generation—especially my own kids. A long time ago I decided to live my life as positively and loudly as possible as a good example to those coming behind me. I want them to see a genuine walk with the Lord, love for family, commitment to ministry, and the deep joy that accompanies all these things.

Well, the internet and the world of social networking is killing our kids! They are becoming addicted to it and using it in all the wrong ways. They are getting sucked into all sorts of wickedness and perversion through things like “myspace.” They are wasting their lives with mindless web time and pointless chatter. While I could bury my head, make rules against it all, and pretend it isn’t happening—it is. And it isn’t going anywhere. We need spiritual leaders who will learn technology and then teach future leaders how to use it and how not to use it. Our young people need to see moderation, appropriateness, and strategic caution when it comes to these things.

I pray that God will use my blog and twitter feed as an example to others—a positive, God-honoring way of promoting truth and encouraging others.

Accountability – I have found after a week, that the few seconds a day that I might write something for twitter causes me to pause and review if I’m investing my life into that which is most valuable. The simple question “do I have anything worth saying publicly about this moment?” causes me to think more deeply and live more purposefully in every moment.

Encouragement – There are two types of people in the world—those who put things into you and those who take away from you—those who energize you and those who deplete you. I have always been passionate in asking the Lord to make me an encourager—an energizer. Sadly, I fail at this more than I care to admit, but I am still passionate about it. I want to encourage others. It is wired into me and into my calling. If posting 140 characters a few times a day could encourage someone, then count me in.

Prayer Support – We are living in a strange day and more than ever, Christians and those in ministry need to support each other in prayer. One thought I have with twittering is that perhaps my family and friends would follow it if only to be able to pray for me when I post about an afternoon of counseling or teaching. We all need the prayers of others as we seek to please the Lord and I would be grateful if my twitter would remind you to pray for me and my family.

Spiritual Edification—Again, if I can edify someone today by taking a few seconds to post a quote, a life lesson, or a simple truth, then I want to take that opportunity. I want my words to build, to teach, to strengthen, and to equip others to live for the Lord and serve Him better. I want all my words to be like “apples of gold… fitly spoken.” Hopefully this little post will be a small part of that ministry.

Savoring the Simple—I have found that posting little positive things on twitter causes me to notice and savor the simple yet profound things in my day that I might otherwise have missed.

Wise Use of Time—Twittering doesn’t take more than a few seconds, so it’s easy to find a dead moment—standing in line at a restaurant, waiting at a pharmacy, sitting at a red light—to post something encouraging to others. To think that I could take a lost minute and reclaim it by posting something that could possibly instantly benefit a group of people from any where on the planet—that’s a very cool thought!

Wise Use of Influence—Everybody has influence, and your influence is a stewardship. For me, a blog or twitter is simply about using whatever influence God gives me for His glory. It’s about wise stewardship and about being a good ambassador for Christ.

Keep in Touch With Friends and Family—I haven’t found Twitter to be the best way or even a great way to keep in touch, but it is “one way.” Maybe “keep track of” would be better phrasing. I can imagine how some might find it useful that way, but for me—a phone call or a personal email is still much better.

Communication Skills—This is a far lesser reason, but I have always taught my church communications class to “say what you want in as few words as possible.” Twitter really causes you to edit your message to the most important 140 characters! I like that challenge—to say something worthwhile in 140 characters or less. It’s been fun to work at it.

Well, let me wrap this up with a few things that twittering and blogging is NOT:

It’s not about Idle Time—I don’t believe we should be sitting around with nothing to do… so, oh well, let’s just twitter! Twitter doesn’t take a lot of time, but it certainly could if you let it.

It’s not about Self-Absorption—at first twitter just seemed stupid or silly to me—but that’s because I was reading the wrong posts. Why do I care that someone is toasting a pop-tart or mixing cool-aid? Well, I don’t think that should be the point of it. For me, it won’t be.

It’s not about Mindless Posting or Rambling—For six months I read some of the dumbest things on twitter. I just didn’t get it. Why take the time to log on and post words that have no point whatsoever? We will all give account to the Lord for every word!

It’s not about Fascination with Technology—I know some people who are like Mogley from the Jungle Book. He was raised by wolves. They were raised by social networking. Their family, the world-view, their whole life and identity is “the internet.” I know many others whose fascination with technology has replaced real-world relationships. Their marriage and kids suffer while they are up late twittering, blogging, networking, and who knows what else! Let’s move past the addiction and use these things to enhance real relationships and to uplift God’s truth.

These technologies should be peripheral to our lives, not central. God still loves people and desires our lives to be invested into real, healthy, and growing relationships. May God enable us to be in balance—to use technology for His glory and the edification of people He loves.

I’m sure there are other reasons one might use twittering or blogging, but for me, this sums it up. I hope it helps you think through your use of technology as well. Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts.

Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”