The Fascination of New Toys

My two sons recently received their Little League Baseball pictures which were taken several weeks ago. Each photo package included a record and play picture frame with their photos inserted into the frames . My younger son, Jacob, who will turn 9 in July, is fascinated with his. He spent more than an hour this evening amusing himself by recording silly things and listening to them. He did this over and over, almost to the point of being obnoxious. I can still hear him, at this very moment, upstairs in his bed, recording his voice, and then listening to and giggling at what he had just recorded. Soon he will fall asleep. Tomorrow he may start in again with this same record, listen and giggle routine. But soon, like all new things, the newness of his talking picture frame will wear off. He will find some new thing that fascinates him and the talking picture frame will grace the top of his dresser, along with a few trophies and other various awards he has amassed in his young life.

His dad is no different. I'm fascinated with new things too. Who isn't. My latest fascination is,


A year ago it was facebook that grabbed my attention. I was reluctant to join but gave in when a friend invited me to join his church's facebook group. I figured it would be one more thing to keep on the internet longer than I need to be, which leads me to the new thing that has fascinated me for the past decade...the internet. First it was e-mail, then chat rooms, then Yahoo groups, creating my own website, blogging and so on.

I also broke down and bought an iPod last year, which really fascinates me. I can download thousands of songs onto this thing and never have to load another CD as long as I live. I can simply log onto iTunes and then purchase and download all the music I want, which is cheaper than buying CDs, and I don't have to store and tote all of those CDs everywhere I go. Not only that, I can program and play a whole day's worth of music...no more flipping that radio dial...no more skipping CDs...no more melted cassettes on my dashboard...Fascinating indeed!

Now "Twitter" is the newest thing that fascinates me. Twitter is not really anything new. It is simply the latest thing in internet networking; like facebook and Myspace and their predecessors. I can write and post short updates on what I am doing and follow others who are "twittering." It's a great way to keep in touch with many of my fellow church planters and others engaged in ministry. I can text out a quick update on my cell phone or laptop and post it within seconds...Fascinating indeed.

I recently bought and began reading Brian Bailey and Terry Storch's "The Blogging Church." And I have been following Chris Forbes' "Facebook For Pastors."

I am waiting to see who will write "Twittering for Blogging Churches and Facebook Pastors."

Any takers?