Can You Duet?

As I surfed the Channels I stumbled on to a very unusual TV program. It was called “Can You Duet?” Yes – for sure – all about singing Duets…and it was on a ‘Country and Western’ TV channel… “CMT”.

Some of my friends will already be snickering at that statement. They know me and I don’t do “Country Music” unless it is real late at night and I am driving a very long, long ways – then the story line of the Country stuff will keep me a wake in the car… “Your cheating heart…will tell on youuuu…”

Your cheatin' heart will make you weep
You'll cry and cry and try to sleep
But sleep won't come the whole night through
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you
When tears come down like fallin' rain
(words to a Country and Western Song see reference below)

Back to the Duet…
The CMT program featured amateur, country singers coming on to the program as a Duet. They sang wonderfully or painfully to a panel of three judges – who then said the words and they were either voted out of in – not necessarily together. Once or twice the judges select one of the two to allow that person to go on…knocking the other partner out.

WOW – a country western talent show that is like “Survivor” mixed with “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” – but with a ‘twang or two’.

There were the two ladies that had worked as janitors in a church, made a decision to enter “Can You Duet?” and were then fired from their jobs because they had done so. “Dumb church officials/minister…” was the feeling that you got from that little story.

There were two cousins – one young one old… the old guy was voted off/out and the young cousin was allowed to go on.

Then there were the brother and sister act…he played a base fiddle and she a guitar…and they sang about their ‘daddy being in prison’…but explained first to the three judges that he hadn’t really been in prison and didn’t have 18 kids like the song said…

Now DU you get the idea about DUET… “Do it…”? I know I have just caused my China Friends to nearly burn up their dictionaries and spell check translators with this… shish!
But hey…it is Country Music… and when you listen to Country Music…well it is a different world!

But the best was to come…
In the ‘commercial break’ there was an invitation to come to the CMT.com web site…click on to the site…and get this part… “Don’t just listen to Country Music…LIVE IT!”

“Holy Cow!”
Here was the newest example for me of “Social Networking”. Can you imagine “Social Networking” in country music? You have to believe it. Here is a group of people that are connecting with each other.. “living country music” not just listening to it…connecting over country music. WOW!

This posting is not about my preferences to Country Music of not. It is about our connections in our everyday life 2008. It is about the rapid change that is taking place right under my nose without me ever knowing about it. Social Networking is happening at a speed that none of us has ever experienced before. It was always there and had always been a part of everyone’s life – but MUCH, MUCH, MUCH slower.

This Blog is an example of a “Social Network”. People join me to read what I write. Sometimes the Blog will stir a comment. The comments are possible connectors with others and are made only under great strain by ‘my kind of readers’ up to last month. Suddenly things have started to change. Comments are coming by ‘new members’ from far away…with closer members watching and reading…new people joined the group and we are not sure what to do.

In fact we didn’t even know NEW PEOPLE were in a group.

SOCIAL MARKETING…
Social marketing is a new buzz phrase for sure. Googling it just now I received 42,800,000 results – so it may be new to us but a whole lot of people have been looking into it. Check out the Wikipedia link below re-Social Marketing.

The newest and fastest form of Social Marketing include all the computer related groups that we are joining and taking part in…FaceBook, YouTube, Blogging, Email, and many, many more.

Most people I know now belong to about three – maybe four groups. Others are into more than 12 groups – or even higher…ALL FROM THEIR COMPUTER KEYBOARDS!!!!

They belong to meaningful, virtual worlds that require connecting to on a regular basis…sometimes many times during to the day just to keep up with the flow.

Personally I connect with a group of pastors on a daily basis. Sometimes it is often during the day. I am amazed that some are on as much as they are…posting many times on topics of concern. It is a “virtual world of pastors”. Two weeks from now we are all attending a National Conference in Toronto. It was suggested that we all wear badges that state “PPC” – that is “Pentecostal Pastors of Canada” so we will know who each other is.

Imagine belonging to a group that you know everyone well…but have never met them. 10 years ago that would have never happened!

Too Much Change?
Social Networking and Social Groups have existed for a long time…just not over a computer.

The Children of Israel – the people that followed Moses out of Egypt in the Exodus were the first and greatest Social Network that I can find in the Bible. Then all the stories about their problems and interaction in their Social Network makes up the account of their lives.

Next when you go to the New Testament of the Bible you read of their amazing Social Network.

Through both Social Network stories we see God interacting with them according to accounts given.

Then we form a church – which is another Social Network. But the church only meets once a week. Naturally it has become almost isolated from the fast growing Social Network that most of us have outside of it.

So that opens a whole new topic for me this week. Expect more.

Question today… how many people are in your Social Networks in an average day – including real life connections and computer connections? Can you number them? For me it is about 12 in one group – live… 3 in another group live… 6 in another group live…3 in another group live…185 in another live…

In FaceBook I have 308 and growing each week. YouTube there are many, many, and many…in the PPC there are about 100 guys and gals…and growing.

My eWorld is bigger than my Real World. So is everyone else’s.

Something to think about for sure.

This is NUTS you say! Not so. My spiritual world is virtual world as well – I cannot see God and don’t know what he looks like… yet I talk to him. I have never seen Jesus – yet I talk to him each day and he speaks back to me at times.

Something more to think about…. Hmmmm?

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

Ray Charles lyrics – Your cheatin’ heart http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/ray_charles/your_cheating_heart.html

http://www.cmt.com/
http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/224592/can-you-duet-ep-2-extras-choose-your-partner-wisely.jhtml
Social Marketing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_marketing