It seems I’m doing more and more weddings for people who met online.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? Everything else is integrating into the online world–why not relationships?

Check out this infographic after the jump. Courtesy of Mashable:

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Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” I wonder if we can tweak that a bit to say, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the status is updated.”

You can learn a lot about a person from their Facebook updates. Because of the succinct nature of the “update culture,” people get to the point much quicker. They reveal their soul without even realizing it.

If someone incessantly updates their status throughout the day, they desperately want someone to pay attention to them.

If someone constantly shares about all the cool things they’re doing and how much fun they’re having, they’re most likely miserable.

If someone repeatedly mentions a significant other (or God/Jesus) in their updates, they are insecure about that relationship.

I know because I’ve been in all of these camps at one point or another.

What do your status updates say about you?

Simone Weil describes sin:

Sin is not a distance, it is a turning of our gaze in the wrong direction.

That sums up the human condition, right there.

Sin does not create distance between God and us, it creates distraction. That’s why you can completely blow it, confess your sin, and continue to be in right relationship with God. You don’t have to “start over” and go back to the beginning, as it were. You can continue to make progress in your journey with God, right from where you were.

Sin isn’t going to nudie bars or getting drunk or swearing or having sex with your girlfriend.

Sin is choosing to fix your gaze on something far less beautiful than God.

Sin isn’t distance, it’s distraction.

Talk about brilliant. This student is, for sure.

• Fred Phelps spits hate against organizations, churches, etc.
• Student decides to hold fundraiser specifically for the organizations WBC targets.
• Donates collected money to said organizations in Westboro Baptist’s name!
• The love cycle continues.

Take a look. It’s worth your time!

Here’s a recap of the top three posts from BeDeviant.com this past week. They got the most buzz, generated the most discussion and got the most traffic. Check them out!

1. Denominations Make Me Nervous – It’s true. They do. Not because they’re denominations per se, but because “group think” is most dangerous with religious ideals. Take a look at this map and let me know what you think.
2. For God’s Sake, Disagree With Me! – Please. Stop agreeing with everything that comes out of your senior pastor’s mouth. Or boss’s mouth. Or best friend’s mouth. That makes you a ‘YES‘ person–a robot, not an individual.
3. Break the Doors Down – What if God’s call on your life requires you to break down a door instead of waiting for God to “open” it?

So there they are, your top 3 posts of the week! Recap, refresh, re-read, re-tweet!

Below is a map of how denominations in the US are distributed geographically.

As you can see, the US trends towards Baptist thought and theology based on sheer numbers alone. The next largest group is Lutheran. (Weehoo!)

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How indie is your Jesus?

HT: Ryan Wise

I aksed the question recently on my church’s Facebook page:

What’s a one-word prayer that you would offer up to God this morning?

Below are the responses. This was easily the most responded to post we’ve ever had.

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Jason Fried had a post over at SVN that resonated with me. Basically, he said that it should irritate when people agree too quickly us.

In truly ironic fashion, I agree with him.

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Overheard on a commercial:

“Want to see something amazing? Look at this mildew remover!”

Mildew remover. Amazing.

“We are half-hearted creatures … far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis.