• For better or for worse •
[2 MIN READ]
“Bye, Tyler.” When Tyler dislocated his knee, GroupMe was the way we shared the developing news. When the ambulance pulled out of campus, the picture and the caption were the way Ella let club followers know his status. GroupMe is also the way Tyler shared that he had 6 days to live. (He tends toward overdramatization, frl [SMSlocal.com].)
GroupMe as a group texting app is great. Until it’s not.
One club member thought we were the ones overdramatizing, convinced that we were kidding about Tyler’s knee. Another student never saw the text report and conversation. She couldn’t understand what Ben meant when he started a tally in one message of the number of weeks since the club’s last injury (Calvin’s website). Frankly, many probably didn’t see it. When the fellowship text group is one of dozens of campus groups using it to send “urgent” notifications and cut through all the digital noise, it just becomes one more attention seeker generating it.
Share this post with someone you want to know more about ACF and its support by CCO (Calvin’s website).
This is the context for trying to administer a club and its activities. One solution is to text students individually. That’s a tough ask when the contact list is well above 100. Another is to count on word of mouth. If that seems kind of antiquated, though, it is.
Jesus’ did the latter, so that points to the degree of antiquation. But it was effective. He drew massive crowds when he taught. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 came to be that way (BibleGateway.com). His penetrating teaching and supernatural works met people’s deepest needs. He generated attention.
As student and volunteer ministerial leaders, we’ll always struggle to bring attention to ACF’s activities. As far as having penetrating teaching and doing supernatural works, there’s no need: Scripture has already done an unparalleled job of representing the most compelling. Our great confidence is that we will successfully bring attention to it in all the ways God the Triune intends. We’ll just keep experimenting and adapting. Tyler’s self-image depends upon it.
I do tend toward my own version of overdramatization, frl.
Read past posts, including one about how to know if you’re a real follower of Jesus and another challenging a cultural notion about moving into deep relationship.
FINE PRINT [ACFterword #10 for 2025’11’07’F] ¶Text: Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Photograph: Gabriella Cantello
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