that's the exciting part about it though… the teaching element here.

That’s right. This technologically-challenged 50 year old has discovered the joys of networking via FB. I’ll be honest, I initially thought Facebook was something only the younger generation was into or could truly appreciate. And there probably are legions of college sons and daughters who loathe the day their parent or parents discovered this electronic social network. But I admit it, I’m hooked.

My wife is not a fan. She says after spending eight hours a day in front of a computer screen at work, the last thing she wants to do is spend more time there at home.

My interest in photography was one of the things I initially enjoyed about FB. You can post albums of photos and enjoy the pictures taken by friends and family.

Facebook is an interesting study in psychology and social interaction also. For those not familiar, you first set up your Facebook profile page. Things like family, career and education are outlined as you wish.

FB keeps a running inventory of your “friends”. You can visit someone else’s Facebook page, provided you are friends. To become friends, you send a “friend request” which they can either “confirm” or “ignore”. And that’s where some of the psychology/social studies comes into play.

You’re reading friends’ updates on Facebook one evening and suddenly there it is: A friend request from an old flame. Or your boss. Or your mother in law. Or that certain someone you don’t particularly care for. There they are, just a click away. “Confirm” them as friends and your FB world is then just a mouse click away for them to peruse. Click on “Ignore” and you’ve just delivered the equivalent of an on-line slap in the face.

For the competitive, Facebook also keeps a numeric total of your friends. The neurotic participants can spend time worrying that so-and-so’s friend’s list is twice as long as their own.

FB also has an interesting cross reference web that actually “suggests” friends you may be interested in requesting. It will tell you about “mutual friends” you have with other members and ask you to suggest friends for others.

The seemingly non-personal nature of the Internet is suddenly quite the social butterfly. I was surprised and pleased at the numbers of old friends I’ve been able to connect with on Facebook. Old buddies from high school, former colleagues I worked with in radio, long lost relatives I haven’t spoken with in years. That to me is among the greatest benefits of this electronic family and friends enabler.

For instance, I sent messages to my uncle, the retired history professor in Pennsylvania, asking him for his thoughts about the stimulus plan. I chatted with my aunt who’s been enjoying some vacation time in Arizona. I re-connected with an old pal who hosts a radio talk show in Dallas and writes a column for the “Dallas Morning News”.

So, what in the world does Facebook have to do with spiritual matters?

More than you might imagine.

Part of the Facebook ritual is updating your “status”. You can do this as often as you wish. Steve is… looking forward to the weekend or grilling steaks tonight or getting ready for a kayak adventure. You get the idea.

The Facebook world provides an amazing opportunity to witness about your Christian walk and to share the walks of others. You’d be amazed at the daily comments or references that speak to a person’s walk with Christ.

I have an old high school friend who was very much “the brain”. I admired his achievements in the classroom, but more than that I admired his strong faith and close walk with Jesus. I wasn’t surprised to find his FB comments talking about church services, mission trips and the like. He even wrote a personal treatise dealing with the fundamentals of Christianity. This was deep. And I found myself admiring him again, because he’d written this for the benefit of his children. But he didn’t simply want them to read it and accept a duplicate faith from their Dad. He wanted to challenge them to ask questions and dig into the scripture for further meaning. Impressive. And it was on his Facebook for countless others to read and be challenged by.

This week, I wrote that I was excited our praise band is singing the Casting Crowns song, “Voice of Truth” this Sunday. I had several comments about that. One former friend from high school said that song was the ring tone on her cell phone. She said it always seemed to ground her in the midst of a busy or troubling day. Another friend remarked that her praise band had enjoyed singing another Casting Crowns song.

God does indeed work in mysterious ways.

I’m not sure he would appreciate the OMG’s, but I trust He would approve of the vast number of spiritual connections, words of encouragement, and messages of comfort His children are nowadays sharing via Facebook.

-Steve Fandel