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Would Jesus Have A Facebook?

by Cameron Rebarchek

July 30, 2012

Leonard Sweet has a way with words; he seems to have the appropriate quote and the perfect illustration for a point. His imagery causes you to read and reread the sentence again until it sticks with you. In his book “Viral,” Sweet analyzes two different cultures–Gutenbergers and Googlers–and how react and work with words and technology. His main address, actually, is to shift the Church into the Googler culture, to embrace technology and social media rather than shun it and run away. Through five parts (14 chapters), Sweet will take you through a synopsis of what he calls the TGIF culture (it doesn’t mean what you think it means).

Do you think Jesus would have a Facebook? It’s a valid question that we might think we already know the answer to. But, even in the New Testament, we say Jesus in places we wouldn’t expect to see Him. Sweet presents an argument that the Church will hurt itself by opposing the Googler culture and Facebook/Twitter–that we can indeed learn something from this technologies. While do not believe that Facebook friends and Twitter followers can ever replace the meaning and importance of face-to-face relationships, they can certainly help as an extension of our ministry and relationships.

Overall, I think Sweet had a very fair assessment. Any time an individual deals with cultures, he/she may make some broad sweeping statements. However, the root of his statements remain true. It is time to stop resisting change and use the tools at our hands to further the Kingdom of God. I would recommend this book to any tech nerd or book junkie alike as it will challenge you to look at the situation from another perspective.

Please note that Waterbrook Multnomah gave me a free copy of this book for my honest opinion. I was in no way pressured to give a positive review of the above material.