Yesterday, I stumbled onto ChristianChirp.com, the “Christian alternative to Twitter.” Do we really need a Christian Twitter?  I don’t think so, and here’s why:

You don’t have to worry about Twitter bringing something offensive to you. This technology is about a neutral as it gets.  It’s not good.  It’s not evil.  It’s just a series of tubes* through with information flows.  For the person who follows @RickWarren and @AndyStanley, Twitter will be a source of great Christian encouragement.  For those who follow vulgar comedians or brash shock jocks, Twitter will deliver just what they ordered as well.

Twitter will never bring you something you didn’t ask for. If you only follow your mom, your best friend and me (@billwhitt), you won’t have to worry about encountering something that might violate your Christian sensibilities.  And check this out:  Even if the heathen follow you, you don’t have to follow them back, and their pagan ways will never make it onto your screen.  (I hope you can sense the sarcasm here…)

And there is a great benefit to Christians staying on Twitter instead of running for the hills: As we tweet about life from our perspective, we’ll have the opportunity to influence a lot of people… including a lot of people who may not share our worldview or faith.  An old friend from high school may end up following you.  Someone who shares your passion for knitting may read your tweets too.  On Twitter, it is easy to influence a lot of people — Christian or not.  Not so on ChristianChirp.com.

Ultimately, ChristianChirp.com is the next evolution of monasticism, the Amish, GodTube, etc. All examples of sectarian communities that have removed their “salt and light” from the world.  I don’t want to do that.  I don’t want to be one to get in the way of Jesus’ desire for his followers, as recorded in John 17:15.  Listen to how Jesus prays to his Father:

“My prayer is not that you take [my followers] out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

Jesus promises to protect us from the evil in the world, and that’s precisely because he expects us to be in the world. Online or offline.  Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.  Office parties, sports leagues, concerts.  In the world.  That’s where God wants us, and that’s why you won’t find me on ChristianChirp.com!

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*tip o’ the hat to Ted Stevens for the “series of tubes” word picture!

Posted in: Cool Stuff, Spirituality