Christians Foregoing Facebook for 'Digital Fasting'
Bobby Ross Jr.
Religion News Service
In the world of faith-based social networking, evangelical Christian leader Mark Oestreicher commanded a huge chunk of cyberspace.
Known as "Marko," the technological hipster amassed 4,000 Facebook friends, 1,500 Twitter followers and 2,000 daily readers of his blog.
But then he decided he'd had enough -- and unplugged from his online circle of friends.
"It's not that I don't think online connections are real. It's just that they are perpetually superficial," said Oestreicher, former longtime president of Youth Specialties, a company based in El Cajon, Calif., that specializes in youth pastor training materials and seminars.
In an age when many religious leaders embrace the latest technology and even "tweet" from the pulpit, some -- like Oestreicher -- are reassessing the potential negative impact of online overload.
"Unplugging has become essential to my spiritual journey and truly hearing God," said Anne Jackson, an author, speaker, and volunteer pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tenn. "For me, all the noise can drown that out if I'm not careful."
Jackson, author of the book "Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic," maintains a church leadership blog at Flowerdust.net that draws 150,000 page views a month, by her estimate.
She has 6,700 Twitter followers.
But earlier this year, she closed her Facebook account -- saying goodbye to 2,500 friends -- and committed to spend less time on Twitter and her blog.
She finally acknowledged what her husband had hinted for a while:
She had become a little obsessed with her online persona.
"For me, Facebook was a problem," Jackson wrote in an essay titled, "Why I Kissed Facebook Goodbye."
"I don't believe everyone should quit using Facebook, or be afraid of it if one hasn't started," she added. "We just need to be aware of the ways any form of media can interrupt our time with God or those closest to us."
Balance is the key, said Peggy Kendall, an associate professor of communication studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn., who has researched the impact of technology on society.
She bristles at the notion that online connections are "perpetually superficial."
"While there are certainly limitations to online communication, there are also significant benefits to communicating online that one can only rarely experience face to face," said Kendall, author of the forthcoming book "Reboot: Refreshing Your Faith in a High-Tech World."
In the old days of youth ministry, a pastor might endure years of junior high gym nights and overnight retreats before a student would feel comfortable enough to share deep hurts and uncertainties and ask authentic questions, she said.
But in an age of texting and instant messaging, a student might divulge "intensely personal things" within days of getting to know the youth pastor, Kendall said.
Students "have found that the hyperpersonal nature of online communication provides them a safe place to be real and communicate freely," she said.
Rather than unplug entirely, Kendall advocates that people of faith periodically "fast" from technology -- to assess what's helpful about their online activities and what's simply distracting.
This concept has become a "huge conversation" in the classes that theology professor Dillon Burroughs teaches at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"I call it `digital fasting,' although I recommend short breaks since it is like asking someone my parent's age to stop using a phone or reading a newspaper," said Burroughs, a former pastor who networks extensively with ministry leaders and has more than 38,000 Twitter followers.
During the week, the Rev. Margot Starbuck, a mother of three who works as a writer and speaker, said she writes, blogs and typically replies to e-mails within minutes of receiving them.
"If I'm not at my computer, I'm wondering what I'm missing," said Starbuck, an ordained Presbyterian pastor who lives in Durham, N.C. "I check e-mail first thing in the morning and often as the last thing I do before bedtime. I am not proud of that."
Even on Sundays, when she wasn't technically working, she found herself staying busy with e-mail and computer games.
So, she implemented what she calls "Unplugged Sabbath" -- no computer all day long.
"When I wake up in the morning, when I'd typically start mentally tuning in to work on the computer, I find I have nothing better to do than crawl in bed with my daughter," Starbuck said.
"After worship, when I don't have to be about my own business, I'm freed up to take a hike with my family and be entirely present to them,"
she added. "By the time evening rolls around, I don't even want to check the e-mail that's backed up all day."
In Oestreicher's case, he said he's not suggesting that everyone delete online profiles and stop using the Internet.
Rather, he said he made a personal decision to choose "best over good" and stop constantly checking his Blackberry for updates.
Trying to maintain hundreds -- and even thousands -- of online connections distracted from his real-life relationships with his family and colleagues, he said.
Months after unplugging, he voiced surprise at how little withdrawal pains he experienced.
"I think that was primarily because I so immediately saw a return of four things I was hoping for: time, presence, focus and creativity," he said. "My family could tell the difference, and my co-workers also. It was rather astounding, actually."
c. 2009 Religion News Service. Used with permission.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Malachi 2:14 the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her
Malaysian falls to her death after discovering affair
Other News & View
Compiled by MAZWIN NIK ANIS, TAN SIN CHOW and A.RAMAN
Tuesday November 3, 2009
A MALAYSIAN woman fell to her death from the 11th floor of an apartment in Singapore after discovering her husband’s extra-marital affair, reported China Press.
Xu Ya Niang, 54, was seen sitting on the edge of the kitchen’s windowsill by her daughter before she fell to her death at 5.40pm on Sunday.
It is learnt that she had earlier confronted her husband over his alleged affair with another woman but he instead threatened to divorce her.
According to her daughter, Xu was depressed over the past few weeks after seeing her husband walking with a woman.
“We stopped her from committing suicide a few times before,” said the daughter.
She said her father was aware that her mother was sitting on the windowsill as he was browsing the Internet in the living room.
Other News & View
Compiled by MAZWIN NIK ANIS, TAN SIN CHOW and A.RAMAN
Tuesday November 3, 2009
A MALAYSIAN woman fell to her death from the 11th floor of an apartment in Singapore after discovering her husband’s extra-marital affair, reported China Press.
Xu Ya Niang, 54, was seen sitting on the edge of the kitchen’s windowsill by her daughter before she fell to her death at 5.40pm on Sunday.
It is learnt that she had earlier confronted her husband over his alleged affair with another woman but he instead threatened to divorce her.
According to her daughter, Xu was depressed over the past few weeks after seeing her husband walking with a woman.
“We stopped her from committing suicide a few times before,” said the daughter.
She said her father was aware that her mother was sitting on the windowsill as he was browsing the Internet in the living room.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
God has given us a spiritual compass to guide our path
Our Spiritual Compass
Theme: The Bible is our spiritual compass.
Object: A compass
Scriptures: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
I am sure that probably all of you have seen a compass. A compass is used to find the right direction to get you to where you want to go. The compass has four main directions, they are North, South, East and West. The needle of the compass always points North. If the needle is pointing in that direction (point to the North) and I want to go South, I would go that direction (point in the opposite direction from what the needle is pointing.) With the needle pointing North, if I wanted to go East, I would go in that direction (point to the East.) If the needle sometimes pointed North and at other times it pointed to the South, East, or West, I would never be able to use the compass to find my way. I would wander around, hopelessly lost. The compass must always point in the right direction if we are going to use it to guide us.
When we are trying to find our way through the journey of life, God has given us a spiritual compass to guide our path. That guide is the Bible, God's Holy Word. The truth that we find in the Bible never changes. It will always point us in the same direction. It will always point us to Jesus.
Some people use their feelings to help them to decide what they should do. That's no good. Our feelings change from day to day and they cannot be trusted. Besides that, just because we feel good about something doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do.
Some people choose what they will do by what's popular. That is no good either. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do, does it? Tomorrow everyone might be doing something else.
There is only one thing that we can trust to always point us in the right direction, and that is the Bible. It will always point to Jesus and Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me."
Father, we thank you for giving us the Bible to be our guide through life. Help us to remember that we can always depend on the Bible to point us in the right direction. Amen.
Without a compass ~ people are lost & starve to death! Without the Word, people died spiritually!
Woman, 2 boys starve to death in speedboat drifting at sea
Published: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 7:36:00 PM
Updated: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 9:04:53 PM
Eight other passengers rescued
JAKARTA: Three out of the 11 passengers on a small speedboat died as their boated drifted in the Sulawesi Sea for eight days.
The boat had run out of fuel after the skipper failed to find the way to TawiTawi in the Philippines after the compass failed.
The eight others were rescued at about 10am Sunday by fishing vessels and taken to Tolitoli in Central Sulawesi, said Ilham, secretary of Ogotua Mukim, as quoted by Antara news agency.
All the passengers are believed to be Malaysians.
Ilham said skipper Sapil Mahmud, 40, had identified the dead as Rosida, 30s, her two-year-old son Arisman and a 16-month-old boy Jonathan, and said the boat was headed from Lahad Datu in Sabah to TawiTawi when the mishap occurred.
He said the skipper had tried in vain for four hours to establish the direction to TawiTawi after the compass failed and the boat ran out of fuel.
Ilham said the woman and the boys succumbed to starvation and the heat. The boat had run out of food and water.
The bodies have been brought to the Ogotua community health centre in Tolitoli Utara and might be buried late Sunday, he said, adding that the other passengers had also been brought there for treatment.
Ilham said the survivors were Abd Siman Abbani, 34, Hiya Jaini, 40, Naslin, six, Rosima, three, Ronal Karsa, 39, Jonathan's father (unidentified), Ema Karsa (Jonathan's mother) and Jonathan's sister, Jasmin Roy, five.
"They are under treatment and the important thing is to make sure their condition is stable," he said.
Meanwhile, three fishermen from Lingayan, an island off Tolitoli, who had stumbled upon the drifting boat gave their statements to the Tolitoli Utara police station.
Charge d'affaires at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta, Amran Mohamed Zain, when contacted, said the mission was getting more information and would send assistance if they were confirmed to be Malaysians. - Bernama
Published: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 7:36:00 PM
Updated: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 9:04:53 PM
Eight other passengers rescued
JAKARTA: Three out of the 11 passengers on a small speedboat died as their boated drifted in the Sulawesi Sea for eight days.
The boat had run out of fuel after the skipper failed to find the way to TawiTawi in the Philippines after the compass failed.
The eight others were rescued at about 10am Sunday by fishing vessels and taken to Tolitoli in Central Sulawesi, said Ilham, secretary of Ogotua Mukim, as quoted by Antara news agency.
All the passengers are believed to be Malaysians.
Ilham said skipper Sapil Mahmud, 40, had identified the dead as Rosida, 30s, her two-year-old son Arisman and a 16-month-old boy Jonathan, and said the boat was headed from Lahad Datu in Sabah to TawiTawi when the mishap occurred.
He said the skipper had tried in vain for four hours to establish the direction to TawiTawi after the compass failed and the boat ran out of fuel.
Ilham said the woman and the boys succumbed to starvation and the heat. The boat had run out of food and water.
The bodies have been brought to the Ogotua community health centre in Tolitoli Utara and might be buried late Sunday, he said, adding that the other passengers had also been brought there for treatment.
Ilham said the survivors were Abd Siman Abbani, 34, Hiya Jaini, 40, Naslin, six, Rosima, three, Ronal Karsa, 39, Jonathan's father (unidentified), Ema Karsa (Jonathan's mother) and Jonathan's sister, Jasmin Roy, five.
"They are under treatment and the important thing is to make sure their condition is stable," he said.
Meanwhile, three fishermen from Lingayan, an island off Tolitoli, who had stumbled upon the drifting boat gave their statements to the Tolitoli Utara police station.
Charge d'affaires at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta, Amran Mohamed Zain, when contacted, said the mission was getting more information and would send assistance if they were confirmed to be Malaysians. - Bernama
Bimbos in prisons?
Malaysian girls easily duped
By YENG AI CHUN
Sunday November 1, 2009
The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian lasses are an easy lot to charm. They are easily smitten by sweet words and gifts, making them an easy target for drug-trafficking syndicates looking for mules.
This is the view of Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay, who said young Malaysian girls, some fresh graduates, were easily conned by men from the syndicates to travel abroad with a package.
“Some of the girls meet the men abroad and some meet them in Malaysia.
“There have been cases where girls just knew the men for a day and were willing to travel around with a bag, not knowing the contents,” he said at the launch of the Wanita MCA women and children’s aid and public complaints bureau in Kepong yesterday.
Also present at the event was Wanita MCA chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.
He said there were currently 1,565 Malaysians jailed abroad and 60% of the cases were drug mules.
“Thailand has the highest number of jailed Malaysians at 52. In Peru, 12 out of the 15 Malaysians jailed are girls,” he said, quoting 2007 statistics.
He added that 25 Malaysians were jailed in Taiwan, 11 in China, 12 in Spain and one in Chile.
“Six in China have been sentenced to death. Since 2007, about 30 Malaysians are in death row,” he said.
Kohilan added that the syndicates, mostly comprising African men, would give the young girls free flight tickets and cash for shopping as part of the trip abroad.
“There is no such thing as a free trip.
“Parents should be mindful of such trips and keep a close watch on their children,” Kohilan said.
By YENG AI CHUN
Sunday November 1, 2009
The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian lasses are an easy lot to charm. They are easily smitten by sweet words and gifts, making them an easy target for drug-trafficking syndicates looking for mules.
This is the view of Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay, who said young Malaysian girls, some fresh graduates, were easily conned by men from the syndicates to travel abroad with a package.
“Some of the girls meet the men abroad and some meet them in Malaysia.
“There have been cases where girls just knew the men for a day and were willing to travel around with a bag, not knowing the contents,” he said at the launch of the Wanita MCA women and children’s aid and public complaints bureau in Kepong yesterday.
Also present at the event was Wanita MCA chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.
He said there were currently 1,565 Malaysians jailed abroad and 60% of the cases were drug mules.
“Thailand has the highest number of jailed Malaysians at 52. In Peru, 12 out of the 15 Malaysians jailed are girls,” he said, quoting 2007 statistics.
He added that 25 Malaysians were jailed in Taiwan, 11 in China, 12 in Spain and one in Chile.
“Six in China have been sentenced to death. Since 2007, about 30 Malaysians are in death row,” he said.
Kohilan added that the syndicates, mostly comprising African men, would give the young girls free flight tickets and cash for shopping as part of the trip abroad.
“There is no such thing as a free trip.
“Parents should be mindful of such trips and keep a close watch on their children,” Kohilan said.
Who's beating the crap out of the Indian man?!
Now, the Indian man cries domestic violence
Published: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 5:08:00 PM
The Star
Domestic violence is the number one cause of suicide among married men, according to India's National Crime Record Bureau
NEW DELHI: If 'Men are from Mars, and Women from Venus', then, who's beating the crap out of the Indian man in the sanctity of his marital home?
It appears that the standard roles appear to have been reversed, at least in India, if the cries of battered husbands are anything to go by.
Now, helpless and harassed men are demanding protection from their abusive wives and in-laws.
While stringent Indian laws have protected the fairer sex from domestic violence, now it is the Indian man who laments he is out in the cold.
An increasing number of men fall victim to domestic violence, either in cities or rural areas, according to social activists, though hard data is not readily available.
"Domestic violence against men has been prevalent but not reported because men are too shy to report that they are abused by their wives.
“Many men suffer in silence," Neeraj Aggarwal, coordinator of the Save the Family Foundation, told Bernama in a recent interview.
The foundation, a social organisation set up in 2005 to hear domestic grouses from married men, has set up over 100 helplines across Indian cities and towns.
It receives about 400 calls every week from harassed husbands.
Last Sunday, the group even staged a silent protest in the Indian capital to highlight the plight of men who suffer ill-treatment from their female partners and the lack of proper pro-male equality laws.
"Indian laws are so biased towards women that Indian men dare not lodge reports. The judiciary is under pressure from radical feminists and the courts will only listen to the woman's side of the story," said Aggarwal.
Cases of women ill-treating their husbands and the latter's parents, verbal and emotional abuses and even husbands threatened by their in-laws are common grouses faced by the men, but they hardly receive any attention, complain activists.
According to India's National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), 57,593 married men committed suicide for various reasons in 2007, as compared to 30,064 married women.
"Domestic violence is the number one cause of suicide among married men.
“According to an NCRB survey from 1996 to 2007, 156,000 married men committed suicide but the government had turned a blind eye.
"The data clearly shows men are also abused but their sufferings are suppressed. They don't have any communication channel and the attitude of society makes them suffer emotionally," said Virag Dhulia, public relations officer of the Bangalore chapter of the Save the Family Foundation. - Bernama
Published: Sunday November 1, 2009 MYT 5:08:00 PM
The Star
Domestic violence is the number one cause of suicide among married men, according to India's National Crime Record Bureau
NEW DELHI: If 'Men are from Mars, and Women from Venus', then, who's beating the crap out of the Indian man in the sanctity of his marital home?
It appears that the standard roles appear to have been reversed, at least in India, if the cries of battered husbands are anything to go by.
Now, helpless and harassed men are demanding protection from their abusive wives and in-laws.
While stringent Indian laws have protected the fairer sex from domestic violence, now it is the Indian man who laments he is out in the cold.
An increasing number of men fall victim to domestic violence, either in cities or rural areas, according to social activists, though hard data is not readily available.
"Domestic violence against men has been prevalent but not reported because men are too shy to report that they are abused by their wives.
“Many men suffer in silence," Neeraj Aggarwal, coordinator of the Save the Family Foundation, told Bernama in a recent interview.
The foundation, a social organisation set up in 2005 to hear domestic grouses from married men, has set up over 100 helplines across Indian cities and towns.
It receives about 400 calls every week from harassed husbands.
Last Sunday, the group even staged a silent protest in the Indian capital to highlight the plight of men who suffer ill-treatment from their female partners and the lack of proper pro-male equality laws.
"Indian laws are so biased towards women that Indian men dare not lodge reports. The judiciary is under pressure from radical feminists and the courts will only listen to the woman's side of the story," said Aggarwal.
Cases of women ill-treating their husbands and the latter's parents, verbal and emotional abuses and even husbands threatened by their in-laws are common grouses faced by the men, but they hardly receive any attention, complain activists.
According to India's National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), 57,593 married men committed suicide for various reasons in 2007, as compared to 30,064 married women.
"Domestic violence is the number one cause of suicide among married men.
“According to an NCRB survey from 1996 to 2007, 156,000 married men committed suicide but the government had turned a blind eye.
"The data clearly shows men are also abused but their sufferings are suppressed. They don't have any communication channel and the attitude of society makes them suffer emotionally," said Virag Dhulia, public relations officer of the Bangalore chapter of the Save the Family Foundation. - Bernama
Mixed up? Messed up?
Students denied varsity places because of mixed parentage
Sunday November 1, 2009
The Star
KUCHING: Three bright students were denied places in university matriculation programmes because they are of mixed parentage.
Awang Adrian Awang Kasumar scored 10As in last year’s SPM and was active in school activities.
Although his father is a Malay, Awang Adrian does not enjoy bumiputra status because his mother is a Chinese convert.
Another SPM top scorer, Marina Undau (9As), also had her matriculation programme application rejected by the Education Ministry because she is a product of mixed parentage.
Marina, from Sri Aman, has an Iban father and Chinese mother.
Awang Salleh said his son’s application for the matriculation programme was rejected four months ago, and that the Public Complaints Bureau of the Prime Minister’s Department had given the reason that Awang Adrian did not have a bumiputra status.
The contractor said he was shocked to learn that as a bumiputra himself, his son was not.
“This is not right as the biological ethnicity of the father must be a dominant factor in determining the status of the child,” he told The Star yesterday.
He wanted to highlight the case of his son after reading about Marina’s plight in local paper Borneo Post.
He urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to look into the issue in line with the 1Malaysia concept.
Meanwhile, Malaysianmirror on-line portal highlighted the case of Daniel Ibau, who failed to get into the Labuan Matriculation College although he was one of the top students in SMK Wira Penrissen in Kota Samarahan.
Daniel, of Kayan-Chinese descent, is a Science student who scored 10As and 1B in last year’s SPM.
Sunday November 1, 2009
The Star
KUCHING: Three bright students were denied places in university matriculation programmes because they are of mixed parentage.
Awang Adrian Awang Kasumar scored 10As in last year’s SPM and was active in school activities.
Although his father is a Malay, Awang Adrian does not enjoy bumiputra status because his mother is a Chinese convert.
Another SPM top scorer, Marina Undau (9As), also had her matriculation programme application rejected by the Education Ministry because she is a product of mixed parentage.
Marina, from Sri Aman, has an Iban father and Chinese mother.
Awang Salleh said his son’s application for the matriculation programme was rejected four months ago, and that the Public Complaints Bureau of the Prime Minister’s Department had given the reason that Awang Adrian did not have a bumiputra status.
The contractor said he was shocked to learn that as a bumiputra himself, his son was not.
“This is not right as the biological ethnicity of the father must be a dominant factor in determining the status of the child,” he told The Star yesterday.
He wanted to highlight the case of his son after reading about Marina’s plight in local paper Borneo Post.
He urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to look into the issue in line with the 1Malaysia concept.
Meanwhile, Malaysianmirror on-line portal highlighted the case of Daniel Ibau, who failed to get into the Labuan Matriculation College although he was one of the top students in SMK Wira Penrissen in Kota Samarahan.
Daniel, of Kayan-Chinese descent, is a Science student who scored 10As and 1B in last year’s SPM.
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