Would Jesus Tweet

12Feb

On Thursday, I had the privilege to speak at the Xplode real estate/technology conference in Austin. My friend Matt Fagioli asked me to come and answer that question. So, in between all the wonderful presentations on twitter and facebook and the future of real estate, was this presentation about Jesus and story.

I realized afterward that I’m not sure how well I answered the question beyond a simple “yes”. Maybe I’ll pursue that here.

Thank you , Matt, for inviting me and letting me meet a great group of people.

8 thoughts on “Would Jesus Tweet”

David Seibold
February 12, 2011 at 7:06 pm

I’ve been reading your blog for almost a year now and have really enjoyed the experiences. Love how you take a story and bring out a new way of looking at it. I don’t think the story of the one lost sheep will ever be the same with me.

LikeLike
1. Jon Swanson
  February 14, 2011 at 9:33 am
  
  Thanks David. It changed for me as I was working on this.
  
  LikeLike
Matt Fagioli
February 13, 2011 at 8:52 am

Thanks for being with us Jon. I love the powerful ‘yes’ you delivered for Jesus. He would certainly tweet. He would tweet story fragments, directions to gatherings of thousands, party invites, etc. I think He also ‘liked’ the music at Xplode 🙂

LikeLike
1. Jon Swanson
  February 14, 2011 at 12:19 am
  
  thank you sir.
  
  LikeLike
Rich Dixon
February 14, 2011 at 9:03 am

Great point–makes me wonder if I’m connecting via these tools or hiding behind them.

LikeLike
Rich Dixon
February 14, 2011 at 10:28 am

Hey Jon–just watched this again. At one point in describing the impact of the story you said something like: Jesus was showing that He cared MORE about this group (sinners) than that group (religious leaders).

I’m pondering–was the word “more” intentional? See what I’m asking? Did the shepherd care more about the one lost sheep, or did that individual just need him more at that moment? Or am I picking nits?

LikeLike
1. Jon Swanson
  February 14, 2011 at 11:25 am
  
  this is a very good question, rich. It is safe to say that Jesus never cares less or more. Couldn’t love us less, couldn’t love us more.
  
  However, when I read the story, there is part I didn’t get to. Jesus goes on to say that there is more rejoicing in heaven about the lost one that repents than over the 99 righteous ones who do not need to repent.
  
  There is in that last phrase a sense of self-righteousness. The fact that this is one in a series of four stories that ends with the elder brother refusing to come to the celebration suggests that though the 99 still need help, they don’t think they do and are holding themselves away.
  
  Does that make sense?
  
  More was intentional in that context.
  
  LikeLike
Rich Dixon
February 14, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Thanks for taking time to offer a gentle reminder to READ THE ENTIRE STORY. This process is really revealing my tendency to jump to conclusions based on my narrow pre-conceived bias.

I was absolutely certain that “more” was an inadvertant choice–sadly, I sorta secretly congratulated myself for noticing–speaking of self-righteous. Thanks for reminding me to look deeper and get myself out of the way.

LikeLike