Confession: I have become a Twitter-holic.
I think I like it more than I ever liked Facebook. Maybe it appeals to my short attention span (give it to me in 140 characters or don't give it to me). Maybe it is because it is faster and easier to post. Who knows. But I absolutely love it.
I know that there are those who think that Twitter is responsible for the sad, slow decline in our society, but didn't those same people say the same thing about Facebook? About texting? About the Internet? About singing choruses in worship? About personal computers? About the microwave? About television? About cars? About (fill in the blank)? I am a "glass-half-full" kind of guy, and I will always do my best to see the best that something (someone?) can bring to the table instead of the worst. Hence, my love for Twitter. Short, pithy, sometimes funny, oftentimes informative statements.
AND, I love it for what happened to me last week.
I am a huge fan of twins, comedians and sportscasters Jason and Randy Sklar. I was first introduced to them as they filled in for Jim Rome (@jimrome) on his sports talk radio show. I was transfixed by the way they played off of each other and their endless 80s references. (They are only 3 years younger than me, so we grew up in the same era.) Then I found them on ESPN Classic and watched every episode of their show, "Cheap Seats." It has a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" feel to it, except the Sklars brought their unique brand of humor to old, off-beat sports clips. Thus, I was elated to find out that the History Channel (@HistoryChannel) was premiering a new show starring the Sklar Brothers called, "The United Stats of America" (#unitedstats). In case you are interested, it is on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. (Central). Lots of numbers and stats (which I love) and lots of Sklar humor (which I also love).
Last week, the "United Stats" episode was about why Americans are the average height and weight that we are. One of the reasons they discussed was our national shift from working on the farm to working in an office. They analyzed the number of calories burned by someone working for a day on a dairy farm (Jason got to do that) and someone working in an office all day (Randy). At the end of the day, Jason said, "Hey, I've been working for the weekend. I've been taking what their giving 'cause I'm working for a living." Randy made sure that Jason knew that he was blending two different 1980s songs. Randy clarified, "'Working for the Weekend' was sung by Loverboy and 'Workin' for a Livin'' was sung by Huey Lewis and the News." Fantastic.
Those who knew me in the 80s know how much I love Huey Lewis and the News. To date, I have seen them perform live 6 times. I have met Huey Lewis and got his autograph twice. I won a contest that was sponsored by a radio station in Dallas and got to go into the studio with the band and seen them perform live. I know every word to every song and cannot wait until I get to see them again (they'll be in Houston again on July 21!). So as you might have guessed, I follow them on Twitter (@Huey_Lewis_News).
After hearing the Sklars' reference to them and their song, I thought, "What the heck. I'll send them a 'tweet'." This is what I tweeted to the Huey Lewis and the News Twitter account: "Nice 'Workin' for a Livin'' reference & shout out on History Channel's 'United Stats of America' tonight." Tweeted that, went to bed, and forgot about it.
When I got up the next morning and checked my Twitter feed (as I do every morning these days), I almost had a litter of kittens. Not only had Huey Lewis re-tweeted my tweet to him, he wrote me back and said, "Cool. Thanks for letting us know." Huey Lewis, my favorite recording artist of all time. The artist that I would go see no matter how much the tickets cost. And he tweeted me back personally. Tweeted. Me. Back. Personally.
I have had my share of "brushes with greatness" as David Letterman calls them. Bill Cosby in 1985. Troy Aikman in 1994. Tony Dorsett in 2003. But there was something different about this one. I felt like I had actually added something to Huey Lewis' life instead of taking something from him. I walked away from the experience thinking, "This is why I love Twitter." (By the way, let's follow each other! Hit me up @drbwd)
But I have had a couple of other thoughts since then...
I was so excited by my Huey Lewis re-tweet that I have told everyone that I know about it (and now you know, too). How cool is it that modern technology has given all of us the ability to connect with people that we love and admire? And it is so easy!
Yet as a believer in Christ, I have access to the greatest Personality of all time (no, not Muhammad Ali). When Christ died on the cross, "the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Mark 15:38). Now, along with every other believer in Jesus Christ, I can "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace" and receive something much greater than a re-tweet: "mercy...and grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). And I don't even need WI-Fi or 3G to connect to Him.
I will continue to retell my story of being personally tweeted by the great Huey Lewis, but allow me to tell you another great story. Just a few minutes ago, I spoke with the Creator of the Universe. I personally know the Savior of all humanity. I have access to His divine guidance every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every month, of every year. AND when this life is over, I will be with Him for eternity. This fills me with much more joy than getting a shout back from Huey Lewis.
As we continue to break new ground in the areas of communication and connection, may we never forget that because of Jesus Christ, we have an open feed to the great I AM.
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