Continuing in my research on how Christianity is lived out
through the tweeting of Christian authors, I have now chosen to look at three
more authors—Jerry Jenkins, Dennis Rainey and Francis Chan.
What I find interesting about Jerry Jenkins (author of
Left Behind series) is that his tweets are aligned with the current book he is
writing or has currently released. For instance, since late July, his tweets
have been in relation to a new book he has published entitled “I, Saul” which
is based on the character of Saul in the Bible and how he transformed his life
from being “one day a murderer” and the next, “a follower of Christ” (https://twitter.com/JerryBJenkins).
Jenkins’ tweets adhere to everyday people—sinners—who are thus able to identify
closely with Saul and have joy that, they too, can turn their lives around from
sin to redemption. A couple of his tweets are as follows:
“The transformation
of Saul reminds us that God can turn anyone’s life around”
“Paul’s story
reminds us that God can take our weaknesses, infuse us with His power, and
prove Himself Lord of all.”
Next, looking at Dennis Rainey, the author constructs his
tweets similar to Keller and Thomas in that he provides a tweet of personal
thought and reflection and substantiates it with a Bible verse. For instance,
he tweets:
"The fear of
God, not man, leads to life. Who do you fear more? Proverbs 19:23"
"Ask God to
help you be obedient to his calling, especially when it goes against your plan.
Prov. 19:21"
"The Bible was
written so that we may believe, and by believing we have life in His name. John
20:30-31"
Rainey spreads the Word of God through inspirational words
of wisdom that find their basis in the Bible; he chooses a roundabout way of
spreading the Gospel (as opposed to stating Bible verses verbatim).
https://twitter.com/DennisRainey
Lastly, I have chosen to look at author and pastor Francis
Chan. What I find interesting about Chan’s twitter is that it is not him who
posts, but someone who posts for him (with quotes from his books). Therefore,
his words are still being tweeted; however they are coming straight from his
books. Here are a few of his tweets:
"I wouldn’t
want to forgive someone who walked into my daughter’s school and shot her, but
that is exactly what Christ asks us to do." – Francis Chan
"If everyone
was like you, what would the church be like?" - Francis Chan
"You have to
stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin." - Francis Chan
https://twitter.com/DailyFrancis
All in all, what I have noticed about these three authors
is that they pose thoughts and questions on the reader that force the reader to
think about his/her own life in relation to a Christ follower’s life.
Their tweets bring conviction to the reader that, therefore, illicit desired
change in the reader’s life. The tweets selected this week pose very similarly
to the tweets studied previously in that all nine authors' tweets are
supported by Scripture with a tag of the author’s personal thought. An overall
message the studied tweets proclaim is that everyone is a sinner, however there
is redemption through Christ. Whether the authors are using other people’s
stories to deliver this message (character of Saul) or Bible verses themselves,
they are trying to reach out to their Twitter followers with the message of
“there is grace in Christ." The authors then provide supplemental tweets
on what one's life looks like to follow Christ--a life of humility and
selflessness.
