Preston Mitchell's Blog

Facebook Deletes

Several years ago, I was Student Pastor at Fellowship. During that time I became Facebook "friends" with hundreds of students.  After I left the student ministry, I moved into a ministry that works with pastors.  I started to get a lot of "friend requests" from them.  One day I looked at my friend list and I didn't have any idea who 75% of these people were.  So I decided to do a little cleaning out of "Facebook friends."   Because there were so many students on my friend list, I decided to delete those who I haven't seen or talked to in years.  Am I really their "friend?"  No.  Did I get a Christmas card from any of them?  No. 

A few days later, I received an email from a parent and good friend who wasn't happy that I deleted his daughter off my list.  He took it personally.  I've heard other people express their anger about being deleted.  I have some thoughts that may be controversial to some of you.  

First of all, I have no idea if someone has deleted me or not.  I'm sure that I've been deleted, but I never knew it.  How do you know you've been deleted?  Secondly, I think some people take Facebook friendships way to seriously.  Facebook is not about a true relationship with someone.  If our Facebook friends reflected true friendships, I would have about 10 friends, not counting family.  My Facebook friends do not represent true community in the Biblical sense.  If someone deletes me,  I don't give it a second thought (unless it's my wife).  Especially if I haven't had any contact with that "friend."

Lastly, take your real friends more seriously than you do Facebook friends.  It may change some of your relationships for the better.  Don't let Facebook determine your self esteem. Facebook is fun to play with, but don't let it dictate how you perceive people and their feelings about you.  It will drive you crazy. 

If you disagree with these statements, you may delete me.  But I will still love you (if I know who you are). 

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school for most kids in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  The coffee shop was buzzing this morning with moms who had dropped off their kids.  I don't blame them for acting a little crazy - like spring break in college. They were free for another year!

The first day of school was a huge day for me.  I loved school and when I drop that personal tidbit on students, they look at me like I am crazy.  But, I loved school from 1st grade through my Master's degree.  I have attended schools in Europe and in the States.  I enjoyed learning, studying, writing and researching.  I also loved the environment, especially in college.  There were classes I hated like math, but everything else came pretty easy to me. Math is one way God called me to be a Pastor.  I couldn't do it, so becoming a pastor looked pretty good to me.

I was in a store the other day walking past school supplies. I couldn't help but wander down the aisle and remember when my Mom (no Dad's in those days) and I shopped for supplies.  The only place to shop in Killeen was Gibson's - which was the forerunner of Wal Mart. Smelling Crayola crayons and Elmer's glue brought back memories of school.  A ruler, paper, folders, #2 pencils, glue, crayons, and a new lunch box were the core supplies for any kid in the 60's.  There was one shelf for supplies.  Today there are 12 isles of supplies.  It's crazy.  I also got a pair (1 pair) of tennis shoes, jeans (2 pair) and a couple of shirts to wear.  Wait, I am wearing the same thing today!  Closer to the fall, I got one heavy coat and gloves for cold weather.

There was nothing like the first day when I tugged on those jeans (Levis), buttoned the shirt (from Bealls department store), tied on the tennis shoes (Chuck high tops), strapped on the back back and grabbed the lunch box (Beatles).  I was ready for battle with the Peebles Elementary School.  Every teacher we had was 60 or older.  Now it seems that every teacher is just out of college. 

That excitement never changed.  No matter what grade level or school, the first day was the beginning of something new.  We all need to get back that excitement of the first day.  In our jobs, marriages, parenting and our faith.  God has always given us the chance to start fresh, to start over, no matter how bad we mess up.  I thank God He is the first day of school for humanity!