{"id":1977,"date":"2011-03-17T07:52:28","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T07:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richardlittledale.wordpress.com\/?p=1977"},"modified":"2011-03-17T07:52:28","modified_gmt":"2011-03-17T07:52:28","slug":"theres-a-bird-in-my-bible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/2011\/03\/17\/theres-a-bird-in-my-bible\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s a bird in my Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Lent unlike any other<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see below, the Twitter bird has taken up residence in my Bible. It is looking up at me with a quizzical expression as if to invite comment. It’s not the only one!<\/p>\n

When I first became a Christian, we used to talk about the\u00a0importance\u00a0of having a ‘quiet time’ – just me, my Bible, my God and a quiet place. This Lent you could almost be forgiven for thinking that has gone out of fashion. Now there is chatbible<\/a>, #lentread<\/a>, BigBible<\/a>, EasterLIVE<\/a>, Big Read <\/a>to name but a few of the Bible-based initiatives on offer.In addition to all that there are various gifted writers blogging their way through Lent. My quiet time just got noisy! Or did it?<\/p>\n

The wealth of opportunities for biblical engagement this Lent is unlike any I have ever known. However, if it is to be of benefit, we need to observe some simple rules, I believe.<\/p>\n

Select on the basis of temperament<\/span> – if you are a chatty person, select a Biblical engagement which allows you to chat, to exchange part-formed views without feeling obliged to go into enormous depth. If, on the other hand, you are the kind of person who likes to form a well-rounded\u00a0and well-crafted argument, then perhaps the Lenten blogs are the place for you.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Select on the basis of time<\/span> – God has lives for us to live, engaging with the word and serving in the world. Find a means of engagement with all these online initiatives that can be\u00a0accommodated\u00a0with your primary calling, rather than interrupting it. If you can only access them over a hurried sandwich at lunchtime, then\u00a0perhaps\u00a0the Twitter-based initiatives are best. If you log on to engage with the world in the evenings, then perhaps you need to choose something where you can linger for a longer period.<\/li>\n

  2. \n<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Select on the basis of skills<\/span>. How can you best bless the online community? If you have a gift for pithy humour or\u00a0skilful\u00a0scriptwriting, EasterLIVE would love to hear from you. If you have a knack for making people think with just a few words – try #lentread on @chatbible. If you have the insight or connections to link the great stories of Matthew’s Gospel with the needs of the world, then the Big Read could do with your help.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Social media serves you<\/span>, not the other way round. As someone who loves all these forms of online exchange, I nonetheless have to remember social media’s best kept secret<\/a>. \u00a0No matter how un-traditional your Lent may be, and no matter how much the online community is blessed by your presence, there may still be a place in it for quietness and contemplation<\/p>\n

    \"\"When talking about temptation, Martin Luther said, with characteristic bluntness, that you ‘couldn’t stop birds flying around your head, but you needn’t let them build nests in your hair<\/em>‘. My little blue companion is welcome in my Bible, but I shan’t be letting him take up residence there.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Lent unlike any other As you can see below, the Twitter bird has taken up residence in my Bible. It is looking up at me with a quizzical expression as if to invite comment. It’s not the only one! … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[92],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1977\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/176.32.230.12\/richardlittledale.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}