75 Billion Text Messages

A new article reveals that 75 billion text messages are sent in the United States every month. I contributed about 350 to that in January myself. I aspire to do better this month because there is a sense of pride in being a heavy texter. Our three pastors use iphones provided by the church (nice to have a church that loves their Elders :-). When I checked out our combined bill I discovered the two of us married guys have texted a few hundred time while our unmarried, artsy, Spirit-led, emotional, seeker-sensitive, relationship-craving, commuting, and all-around talented worship pastor (left unnamed to protect the innocent family members) had texted over 2,000 times during the same period. He’s not THAT much younger than me, but goes to show that texting is definitely a medium for a new generation.

If you parent a teenager with a cell phone, it’s likely that you’ve had a text messaging talk with your child. Maybe you’re willing to share a cell phone bill horror story with me by way of commenting on this blog post. Maybe not. To save you the embarrassment, I’ve already have a collection of similar stories from parents at LBC. But I could always use another good sermon illustration (anonymously of course). The Washington Post published an insightful article on the affects of text messaging on teen culture – the good and bad. You can read the article via msnbc.com HERE.

Whether you’re a thumb-texting machine or a technological hermit, ministry-minded leadership can’t ignore this powerful medium of communication. I have teens at LBC who will text me past 10:00 pm, but will not speak to me in the church hallway. And I am still in my 20’s. This article provokes great thought and discussion. For those of us who desire to communicate the Gospel of Jesus clearly and defend the inerrancy of Scripture passionately, can texting be useful without being destructive?