Risk is… risky.  How’s that for profound?  We like sure things.  When we invest out time, money, and energy into something we want to KNOW it’s going to succeed.  It’s heartbreaking to put yourself out there, pour yourself into a project, or invest your life into something just to have it fail.  I know.  I’ve been there.  In 1999 I sold most of what I owned, packed up my family, and moved to Ireland to plant a church.  You know what happened?  It was an epic failure…  More on that later, but let’s take a deeper look at this thing we call risk.

Look at the great successes in our world and in scripture.  Esther’s role in the deliverance of her people, Moses and the Israelites at the bank of the Red Sea, David standing up against Goliath.  How about William Wilberforce against the slave trade, The Pilgrims coming to America, or any of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Today, we only read their stories from this side of their struggle.  We hear about the victory.  But to them, in that moment of engaging in a mission, they had no idea how things would turn out. They were risking everything with no promise of success.  I’m so grateful they decided to risk it all!

I want to share a couple of things I’ve learned when it comes to risk:

If you want to do anything of significance, it’s going to require risk.  From planting a church, to establishing new relationships, to reaching the lost, or helping the poor.  From writing that book, to interviewing for that job, or preaching for the first time it all requires risk.  There’s a chance for failure and we have to be willing to live with that because the moment we decide to stop taking risks we lose all potential for doing anything great.

All risk in God’s economy is worth taking.  This one is tough, especially in a culture that worships security.  We want to know that, whatever risks we take, we’ll still be able to live at the “standard of living” we are currently living at.  I think, as Christians, we should be far more concerned with our standard of dying than our standard of living. We’ve been fed the gospel of success for so long that the idea of a venture not turning out as we hoped leaves us feeling disenchanted and hopeless.  The truth is this: when we take a risk for the sake of Christ, whether we fail or succeed, it was totally worth taking.

1st Corinthians 15:58 says, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

NOTHING you do for the Lord is ever useless!  What an amazingly comforting word!  That means my failure to plant a church in Ireland was not useless.  Something came out of it even if I never saw it.  And truth be told, I don’t regret doing it.  I risked, and I lost, but I also gained, and I’m sure there were people who were blessed along the way.

So go ahead and take that risk!  Focus more on obeying God’s call and less on what-ifs.  “be strong and unmovable”.  Whatever the outcome, it will have been worth it!

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I have come to really like Twitter.  So much so that I have to tell myself to take a break once in a while so that I can get something done.  Twitter levels the playing field and allows anyone to share what’s on their mind or what they’re doing.  It’s a great way to extend your ministry, bless others, and create connections.

Where Facebook is about affiliation (who you know or have known) Twitter for me has become about affinity (what do we have in common?)  I really like finding others with common interests and passions and following each other.

That said, unless you’re a major public figure, you’re probably finding followers the way most people do; by searching for like-minded individuals, following them, and see if you get a follow back.  If you do, you’ve made a connection.  Good day!

So let’s say you’re trying to expand your Twitter community and you’re having trouble getting people to follow you back.  Here are some reasons why this might be happening:

1. A user name that’s difficult to understand. Zboy1509YO might mean something to you, but it doesn’t do a thing for me.  Try keeping your user name as close to your real name or organization’s name as possible.

2. No picture. The Twitter bird is cute but I don’t want to see that graphic all up and down my time line.  Use a picture of YOU.  I’m interested in connecting with other people, not their dog, car, or favorite beverage.

3. Incomplete bio. I’m going to let you in on a secret.  I like to follow people back who share my same interests and affinities.  If I see that you’ve followed me, I’m going to check your bio to see if you’re someone I’d like to follow back.  Add a link to your blog (not your sales presentation) there.  If there’s no information there, I’m going to assume we have nothing in common and not follow you back.  The key is to make me work as little as possible to find out if you’re someone I would like to follow back.

4. A protected profile. Sometimes I like to read a few of your tweets before I decide whether or not to follow you back.  You send me a follow.  I click on your name to see your Twitter profile and I see a padlock.  “Tweets are protected.”  How do I know you have anything interesting to say?  I’m not taking any chances on a protected profile.  No follow back!

5. All of your tweets include a link. If I see links on all of your tweets, chances are I won’t even read them to see if they’re interesting.  When 100% of your tweets are links to your web site, chances are you’re only interested in driving traffic or selling something.  I’m in it for interaction and community, not to read 140 character commercials every few minutes.  With that said, I do follow those links when posted by people who have other things to share too.

6. You’re building a fan club. One of the worst Twitter travesties I’ve seen is when people thin out the number of people they’re following to cause a greater gap in their followers to following ratio.  Look, if you’re a major celebrity, it’s understandable to have 100,000 followers and only be following 25.  The sad thing is that I’ve seen people in ministry drop followers to appear more popular (or something).  It’s one thing to unfollow others who aren’t following you back but come on!  Unfollowing people who are following you because you want a Twitter ego boost?  Shame!  Twitter is about connection and community, not about building up your fan base. Ministers should be especially aware of this.  So, if you unfollow me, don’t expect me to keep following you back.

The key is to represent yourself with clarity and, as I said earlier, make it as easy as possible for people to discover if you’re the kind of person they’d like to follow back.  It’s about affinity and community, a really cool thing in this day and age.  Keep building your community (not your fan club) and we’re in for a great time together.

What are some things that cause YOU not to follow back?

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I was listening to a message recently that listed the top four reasons people give for not going to church.  They are as follows:

Services are boring
The people are unfriendly
They just care about money
The questionable safety of their children

I know I’ve felt all four of those things at one time or another, but I still love church.

Do you think those reasons are valid?  Can you think of any other reasons why people don’t like to go to church?  Feel free to list them in the comments.

But hold on!  Not so fast! It’s no good listing faults if you can’t suggest any solutions.  What are some realistic things the church can do to remove these excuses?  Let’s hear your best ideas!

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