Dear Facebook Friends – An Open Message from a Student

The following is a fictional message. It’s written from the view of a teenager to a Facebook friend. Imagine for a moment receiving this letter in your Facebook Inbox either from a friend or student in your ministry.

Dear Facebook friend,

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and I don’t get it. One day you’ll post a bible verse as your status or quote something from a Christian book. You’ll wish me a happy birthday by sending me a virtual stuffed animal or “mystery” egg. Whatever that is.

You’ll invite me to join your “Hug a Friend Day”, “International Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day”, or my personal favorite, “I’ve Lost My Cell Phone #’s So Text Me Ur’s Day”. Seriously?

You’ll send me invites for your “Can We Find 1 Million Christian’s on Facebook” group, “Being Conservative” group, “Sarah Palin for President” group and “One Million Strong for Obama” group. You want me to join your Farmville, Yoville, Fishville, or your Mafia. And you expect me to get to know you by filling out some social interview survey.

But the one invite I get from you often is the one that baffles me the most. You keep sending me an invite to join your youth group fan page. How can I be fan if I’ve never been there? Did you ever think about inviting me to come to your ACTUAL youth group?

You keep telling me it’s not about religion and that’s it about a relationship. But…if it’s about a relationship why haven’t you invited me to your youth group or church? Why haven’t you told me about this Jesus you SAY you have a relationship with? And if connecting with what you call “non-believers” is SO important, than why am I just one of your 500+ Facebook friends that you never actually speak to or see in person? Doesn’t your Jesus tell you to love others? So how is sending me invites to something in the virtual realm showing me love and pointing me to the eternal realm you say you’re living for?

Your confused Facebook friend,

Megan