GKids: Why It Matters

My girls love to watch their favorite TV shows when given the opportunity. My six year old loves Disney Channel shows such as Shake It Up, Good Luck Charlie, and Jessie. My three year old prefers Nickelodeon shows such as Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Bubble Guppies. They love the characters, the music, and how the shows engage them. Especially for my three year old. Each morning after breakfast, you can hear her answering Dora's every question; yes my child talks to the TV. (So do I occasionally when my team is not winning.) One year, we took our oldest to the Nickelodeon park at King's Island in Ohio. She absolutely loved it! There was people dressed as all of the famous characters. There were rides just for her, water parks, train rides, music, dancing, parades, and more! To see the joy it brought her was worth the trip alone. 

I say all of that to say this; what is the church doing to engage our kids and inspire them the way that Disney or Nickelodeon are doing? I have seen too many churches offer absolutely nothing for their kids and then wonder why they grow up and leave the church. Nothing to engage them, nothing to inspire them, nothing to pull out their gifts and talents. My six year old loves Shake It Up because she can stand in the center of our living room and put on her own dancing performance as if she were performing in front of thousands. She expresses herself out of inspiration and joy. The same should be for the church. 

If you're a parent, you know one thing to be true: it's really hard. But you also know another truth; it's totally worth it! You see, some people look at it like we have to "compete" with Disney and Nickelodeon. But that's not true. Because if God, the ultimate creative being, is dwelling inside of us then no one else stands a chance. It's no competition if it's God inspired! 

One of our core values is that 'We Invest in the Next Generation'. Here's what I want you to know about our kid ministry and what we strive to do:

1. The Kids Should Have the Time of Their Life

Most kids that we deal with come from very tough homes. No father, maybe no mother, broken home, abuse, neglect, substance abuse, you name it. They sit at school all week in a seat and are told to be still. Then, many of them go home to an environment that is not very encouraging or inspiring. Then, if they do get taken to church, many of them tell them to be still and be quiet.

I want our kids to come to church and think; "this is the greatest place on earth" because we are extension of what heaven will be like! I want them to express themselves, I want them to be passionate, to dance, to sing, to shout, to be too loud, to be a part of something that's inspiring and life changing! Yes, it's okay to have fun in church and don't let any pruned up, negative, ungrateful, bitter "christian" tell you otherwise! Jesus drew children to Him: 

13One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”15And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.- (Matthew 19:13-15)

Kids aren't drawn to boring people who are not fun. I believe Jesus was fun and loved kids.

2. Kids Can Learn and Serve

The 2 questions we want every kid to answer when they leave GKids is simple: Did you have fun? What did you learn?

If they can answer the 1st question with a "yes" and then tell their parents what they learned then it's a huge win for our ministry. Kids learn better in an environment of inspiration and excitement. Not only that, but kids LOVE to serve! Heck, some of our kids love to serve more than the adults. Why? They have the heart of Jesus. Don't sell kids short, they have a huge purpose for the Kingdom.

3. Be Creative and High Energy

We want Disney and Nickelodeon to pale in comparison to the church. My kids love coming to church. They love GKids. There's no place they would rather be and as a parent that makes me extremely happy. Have you ever been to an animal exhibit or a zoo show? The performers/trainers are so good at capturing kids' attention and engaging them. They speak on their level and with excitement. That's exactly what we strive for in GKids. Creativity, Passion, Love, and Preparation should drive all we do.

4. We Need As Many Team Owners As Possible

We will have hundreds, yes hundreds, of kids at Easter. One thing you see at many churches is that no one wants to work with kids. But they want you to fix their kid. I challenge every person that can to sign up to serve in GKids. I want there to be an army of people serving to make GKids THE place to be each week! Many people don't realize all of the volunteers it takes to make a ministry like this happen. We need teachers, ushers, team leaders, small group leaders, worship leaders, actors for skits, and just people who love to encourage kids. 

In less than 2 weeks we will transform the gym into a Willy Wonka style Fun Factory. Golden tickets, lollipop trees, chocolate fountains, zoo trip giveaways, King's Island giveaways, candy, and more. Not only that, but at each station a different part of the gospel story will be shared and kids will have a chance to respond to the gospel message. It will be the biggest and best service yet for our kids. This Saturday, so many of our kids will be hitting the streets of Portland to "Egg the City". Passing out plastic eggs filled with candy and Easter invites, our kids know the value of inviting others to church. Especially during the biggest celebration of the year, the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus!

So parents, please know that GKids matters. And we have barely scratched the surface in what we want to see happen with this ministry. It's going to be huge, influential, and innovative. Because we believe that we are raising up world changers that will one day carry the legacy that is Generation Church.

Easter 2013

We have celebrated, cried, laughed, and worshipped this week. Now, it's time to move forward because we don't have long until our next HUGE weekend! As you all may know, Easter is approaching quickly. Easter is a little early this year on Sunday, March 31st. To the Christ follower, Easter is THE Super Bowl event of the year. More people are likely to attend church on Easter than on any other Sunday of the year. So we always want to prepare for those CEO's (Christmas and Easter Only) and for those who are maybe seeking God during that time. We go all out on Easter. I always tell our leaders that every Sunday is like the resurrection, but Easter and Christmas should be like the 2nd coming! Here is what we're doing this year:

5 Services

Last year, just 6 weeks after launch day, we saw nearly 800 people attend our 2 services. So we are expecting at least double that this year! The only way to handle that many people is have more service opportunities. Here is our Easter service times: 4:00 and 6:00pm on SATURDAY, March 30th, and then our normal service times on Sunday; 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30am. We are kicking off a brand new series that weekend entitled; "Fully Alive". If you've ever wondered about the resurrection and it's authenticity, or know people who deal with doubt then this is the service every person needs to attend. This will be the most powerful 3 weeks yet for reaching those far from God!

GKids Funtastic Factory

Have you ever wonder what it would be like to REALLY go into a world like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? Well, this Easter, your kids will!!! We are totally transforming the gym into a world of candy wonder! With trees made of lollipops, walls made of candy, chocolate rivers, and more, they will learn the resurrection story in one of the most creative ways ever! Every kid gets a golden ticket, because every kid is invited to this Kingdom! There are giveaways including but not limited to: zoo trips, King's Island them park tickets, ice cream, and tons of other giveaways for the kids. This experience will  be complete with character dress up, free candy, and TONS of fun. Kids will have the time of their life and also have a chance to hear about Jesus...it's a can't miss event!

Egg the City

The week before Easter on Saturday, March 24th, we will do an outreach called "Egg the City". Maybe you've heard of door hangers? Well, our entire Children's ministry and other volunteers will go door to door in our community dropping off bags of plastic eggs filled with candy, golden tickets, invites, and other goodies inviting people to our Easter services! There will be plastic eggs all over our city that will inform people of what's going on for Easter at Generation Church!

Sounds like an exciting Easter, doesn't it? So, what does that mean for YOU? I'm glad you asked! Here's the answer:

We Need You to Serve

With 5 services, there's plenty of flexibility and options for you to serve and also attend. You will also be giving someone else an opportunity to serve and attend. You don't have to be at all 5 services, just serve one and attend one. It's that simple. If everyone in our church did that, everyone would get to take a service or two off. Get involved! (Especially with GKids)

Help with GKids

If you can bring candy, or even just help with Egg the City outreach, then you would help make this the best experience for hundreds of kids!

INVITE SOMEONE!

This is your most important responsibility! Spread the word NOW! Many people will begin to make their Easter plans soon, and being at Generation Church is where we want them to plan on attending. This is one of our largest opportunities to reach lost people within the year. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get someone to church! Remember, 5 services! That's plenty of options to nullify someone's excuses. 

Thank you church for all that you do. Let's make this the best Easter ever! Who's ready to see entire families come "Fully Alive"?

1 Year...An Attitude of Gratitude

As you all know, we are entering our Birthday week as a church. Hard to believe it has already been a year! As we approach this historic date (we launched on March 4th, 2012) there is one word I want to stress: Gratitude. If we are to ever move forward and do greater things for the Kingdom and for our community, we must remember to keep a heart of gratitude. After one year, here are some key things that we should be grateful for:

1. We Still Have Our Doors Open

Most studies show that somewhere between 40%-50% of new church plants close their doors...within the first year! And while there are many factors as to why church plants fail, I want us to be grateful that we are seeing God's blessings in our efforts to reach our community. I always tell our church that I want to be the kind of place where our city would weep if we close our doors. Be grateful for a start to another year of ministry.

2. Partners in Ministry

Do you realize that we would not be where we're at (or have our doors still open) if it weren't for the support of several churches? Here are the names of churches/organizations that have helped GC get to where we're at today:
National Association of General Baptist, Freedom Church (Gallatin, TN), Strong Tower Church (Westmoreland, TN), Revolution Church (White House, TN), New Walk Church (Tampa, FL), New Walk Church (Greenbriar, TN), Skyline Church (O'Fallon, IL), Relevant Church (Locust Grove, GA), Genesis Church (West Plains, MO), Real Life Church (Mountain Home, AR), Bridge Church (Ava, MO), General Baptist Investment Loan, Life Church (Ava, MO), and if I left anyone out I apologize! But I hope you see the power in working TOGETHER for the Kingdom!
Not to mention the MANY people/individuals who gave to GC to help us get started. It was also amazing to have great churches invest in myself or our leaders such as Elevation Church (Charlotte, NC), Newspring Church (Anderson, SC), and great mentors such as Pastor Nathan Oakes from Victory Hill Ministries (Scottsville, KY) and Pastor Jeff Smith from Genesis Church. My wife and I received top notch training and encouragement from New Walk Church in Tampa, FL as well. It is truly overwhelming how many people are linked to the movement you are seeing in a small rural area just north of Nashville. BE GRATEFUL CHURCH! At the end of the day, he who has friends is truly blessed indeed! Thank you supporters!

3. Families Who Believed in "Perhaps"

Several families/individuals took a HUGE leap of faith to help us start this journey. Without them, I have no idea where we would be today. These families started with us in our home and at Westmoreland's Park Street Station. These are the OG's (Original Generators):

Nick/Kandi Tuttle (solid rocks, friends, and life companions!)
Joey/Randi Phillips
Chad/Chasity Gregory
Megan Hall
Steven Newhouser
Stephanie Fisher
Danya Powell
Corey Shelton
Mike/Amy Kowicki & family
Teri Kirby

These people had no clue what they were getting into! I stand amazed at families and people who believed in a dream that didn't start as their own. But I know that after one year, it is just as much theirs as it ever was mine. The people on this list will never know how much they mean to me and my family. They listened to me babble on and on about 'what we're going to do' and 'how we were going to do it' and actually believed it! Haha, I am so grateful that God sent people willing to sell homes, move their families, put their dreams on hold, and believe in something greater than themselves. Church, what you've seen in the past year is nothing short of a miracle that was shaped by a small group of people who believed in "perhaps". We always reference the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer. His armor bearer didn't know if God was going to show up and bring them victory or not, but he believed the words of Jonathan; "perhaps the Lord will go before us and bring us a great victory". Thank you for believing when you couldn't see.

3. The Greatest Team on the Planet

WOW is all I can say about our Dream Team. In a brand new church, we are seeing right at 50% of our adults serve each week. The national average is about 15%!!! Please know we are not content with that number, but it is still something to celebrate that so many people have found their passion and place within our church. I say it every week, but I am so serious because I've seen it...life change truly happens when you serve regularly. I will defend that to it's very core. You want to see a strong marriage? Just look at the couple that serves together at church. You want to see a student who is sold out to Jesus? Look around at the students that serve every week at our church. The greatest stories of life change come from people who get involved and stay involved. Thank you team for impressing me every week with your passion, devotion, and gratitude. We truly "get to do this"!

4. Life Change

Last but not least, we MUST be grateful to see over 400 salvations, 200 baptisms in just one year's time!!! Just one year ago, in our first 2 services we saw OVER 20 salvations each week!!! So amazing! And we know that the best is yet to come!

We must never take these things for granted...never. So as we enter this week, be grateful church! Be grateful for God's mercy, His grace, and for the very fact that He even allows us to be a part of what He's doing. Be grateful for His calling.  
Celebrate, rejoice, reminisce, and then let's prepare for our next phase. I love you all, and I can't wait to see who all goes "All In" in the next few weeks!
Happy Birthday GC!
Pastor B

The All In Offering

What a way to end the weekend, church! After a long week filled with hospital visits, surgeries, funerals, memorial services, injuries, it gets capped off by someone stealing our tech trailer with all of our sound equipment and lighting. And what would cause some people to become discouraged or even defeated, vaulted our church into greatness! Our team stepped up in an amazing way this weekend. Upon discovering our trailer being stolen on Saturday morning, they calmly came together and organized a plan to get sound equipment and enough lighting to pull of service today. All being done without me even knowing about it! I was so proud of all the people who worked so hard to make sure people had an opportunity to meet Jesus this weekend! And that's exactly what happened. A total of at least 12 people came to Christ today!!! 
I am honored to serve as the pastor of a church that has created a culture of passion that can not be snuffed out by anyone or anything. I love you church, heart and soul!

So, as you all know, we are 2 weeks away from our 1 Year Anniversary Celebration. It's hard to believe it's already been a year! Not only are we kicking off our "All In" series, but we are kicking off 3 services; 8:30, 10:00, & 11:30am. When we had our vision casting night back in December, we talked about our next steps as a church. Many people always ask the big questions such as; 'when are we getting our own building?'. We wanted people to understand that even though we have a huge vision, there are small steps we must take in order to make large strides. One of our immediate goals was to eliminate budget burdens by paying off our start up debt. Once we do that, we can focus on pouring extra resources into purchasing land or an existing building, or whatever the Lord provides. As a young church, it's tough sometimes to catch up financially to the numerical growth that we've seen. But our God has been and will continue to be faithful!
One of the things that we have been challenging the core of our church to begin praying about giving a one time special offering to help eliminate our start up debt. Right now, we owe just over $40,000 in start up costs when we launched the church nearly 1 year ago. (Probably close to $20,000 of that was stolen this weekend). I challenged our church to give a gift that is one of faith. If just 200 people gave a gift of $200, our debt would be completely knocked out. But here's the thing; I believe we can do more than that! My wife and I are already excited about our financial gift that we are praying about giving. On the 3rd and final message in the "All In" series, we will have a special offering at the end of the service. You will have a chance to bring forward your gift. I believe we can not only take up enough to clear our debt, but also cover expenses for new equipment! Our God is THAT big!!

I know that for some people, a faith gift might be $200. But for some, it could be $2,000. Maybe even $5,000. I also know that a faith gift for some might be $50. But my challenge is to not just give what's "safe", but give a faith gift. Something that you know is hard for you to do, but you are believing that God is going to not only bless it and multiply it. But also provide your every need as well. I believe we are continuing to see a culture of generosity be multiplied in our church. I can't wait to see what God does on March 24th!

So as we approach 1 year, ask yourself a few questions:

Is the vision/mission of Generation Church something I want to be a part of?

If so, am I "all in", or am I just sitting on the sidelines?

If I'm "all in", then what am I doing to contribute to the mission?

What gift can I give to help see our church go the next level when it comes to reaching people in our community?

There's nothing like being a part of the local body of Christ. Jesus instituted the church to be the difference makers of the world. I believe we are making a difference church. And I believe we will continue to make a difference as long as we follow the plans God has laid out for us.

 I look forward to seeing how God uses this trial and turns it into a great victory! I love you church...heart and soul.

All In GC, the Next Phase

As many of you know by now, we are taking our next step as a church in reaching more people. For a while now, we have been at or over 80% capacity in our seating. Especially in the 2nd service. Our kids spaces are limited, especially in our younger age groups. The only way we are going to be able to sustain and see more growth is by adding an additional service to compensate for the growth. This is a very exciting time for our church, but I want you to know what this means for YOU. Here is what you should know:

The New Times
Our new times will be 8:30am, 10:00am, & 11:30am. With the cost of using the school, we wanted to limit the extra amount of time we would need the school as much as possible. With these service times, we are really only adding an extra hour/hour and a half to our proposed time in the school. We couldn't do a Sunday evening because we want that time for our student ministry; PULSE. And with us setting up on Saturday, we would be eliminating our Dream Team's weekends almost completely if we did a Saturday night service. We intentionally changed each service time to force people to a certain service. No one gets to just sit still and not make a decision.

Which Service Should YOU Attend?
Obviously, we want you to attend whichever one is best for you and your family. But here's something to consider. Most people who are looking for a new church or even those who are far from God, will probably attend the middle service. It's not too early for them to get up, and it's not too late for them to get out and do whatever activities they may have planned. 
If you are a Dream Team Owner, we are asking that you attend either the 8:30 or 11:30 service to allow room for growth in that 10:00 service. You can serve one of the other services. Remember, most of you get there around 7:00-7:30am anyways, so the early service shouldn't be that big of a deal. And as for the late service, we are only going 30 minutes longer than usual. Most of us don't leave the school until 1:00pm anyways, so it shouldn't be a huge issue. We try to keep our services right at an hour to an hour and 10 minutes. 

Won't It Look Empty at First?
Possibly, but remember, we are preparing for the people that aren't there yet. It's YOUR job to get those seats filled. What's one of our core values? 

WE SEEK THOSE FAR FROM GOD: We believe found people find people. We relentlessly seek to invite and welcome in people from all lifestyles to hear the gospel and experience the love of Christ. And we are intentional and creative in how we reach them. 

If you are "All In", you should have a relentless passion to invite people who don't attend church to one of our worship experiences. If God has changed your life, don't you want others to experience that, too?

Remember, It's About Big House, Not Big Service

Our goal is to build a body of believers and help them reach spiritual maturity by helping them discover their God given purpose, not just have big services. (Loving Jesus, Loving People, Empowering Lives) Let's not focus on an individual attendance each week, but on the fact that as a church we are seeing a gradual increase in all of our areas of health: attendance average, giving, and serving. We believe adding this service will help us reach more people and give more diversity in serving.

We Need YOU (yes you) To Get Involved

Another one of our core values is this:

WE SERVE: We believe saved people serve people. God has called leaders to “equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.” 

If you are not currently serving, what are you waiting for? An invitation? Here it is, Please, Please, sign up to serve somewhere. We have immediate teams you can serve on. Here are a few: Set up/Tear Down, VIP (Greeters), Hospitality, Usher, Production, GKids, and more! It takes a lot of people to serve a BIG dream. Are serving this dream, or are you weighing it down with your contentment? If you believe in the mission/vision of this church, then put that into action. 

Remember, March 10th is when this kicks off. Tell anyone and everyone. That is also our 1 Year Anniversary Service. Our sermon series will be called "All In". You do NOT want to miss this! It's an exciting time and another season of growth and change for our church. As we approach one year, let's serve with an attitude of gratitude. Let's serve together to reach our city with a relentless passion. 

So...who's All In?

The Blessed Life...It Works

As many of you know, we kicked off 2013 with a series entitled "The Blessed Life". We talked about tithing, generosity, and faithfulness. Going into the new year, I knew many people had struggles with finances, debt, and had probably never been taught such values in church. For the life of me I will not be able to understand why more churches do not teach on these principals. Maybe many of us have been caught up in the "American" way. You know, go into debt, live off of borrowed money, spend more than you make to get all you can get. Only to see people lose homes, jobs, live week to week, and our government encourages us to keep spending more money than we make. A trend they know all about.

But as a church, we have seen God do amazing things in people's lives in a very short time. We taught people through this series that we didn't want generosity FROM them, but FOR them. We wanted to educate and help people in this area. We offered a budget class and also extended a challenge to the church. For those who have never tried tithing (giving 10% of their income back to God as the Bible instructs), we issued a 90 Tithe Challenge. For 90 Days, give faithfully ( and leave within your means) and see if God blesses you. If at the end of the 90 Days, you don't believe the Bible and what it says about tithing, giving, and blessing then we'll give you your money back. But if the Word is true...look out! So many people signed up for both the budget class and for the challenge. I wanted to share this email from a family in our church who took the challenge. I left out names as to not embarrass them. Their story is like many more, but I wanted to share to celebrate:

Our 90 days are not up but I just wanted to take a second to share what this challenge is already doing for us.

 

I was never taught anything about tithing growing up. I've always just given what I thought I "could give" that week.  (husband) and I have always struggled financially. Last year was the hardest on us and we are still trying to catch up from it. Right now, (husband's) job is in their slow time and we never know if he'll be working 3 days or 5 or none at all. So with all of that, I was terrified going into this challenge, but I also wanted to do it with all my heart.

 

Most weeks have been easier than I imagined. On the 3rd, however, as I wrote out my check, I knew that it was definitely going to be up to God to make it all work out. There was no way I could give 10% and have enough leftover for the bills I had to pay much less to have any left for gas and groceries! But I did it anyway even knowing I needed an extra $350 by that Friday to make it balance out. God did much better than that. By Thursday morning, our tax refund that the IRS had told me would be here Feb 28th was already in our bank account AND (husband's) job told him they needed him to work that Friday after all and to expect a 40 hour week this week :o) 40 hours at this time of year is a miracle in itself LOL

 

And can I just tell you, how great it felt to write that larger check this past Sunday for our 10% on that tax refund?!?! My problem wasn't that I doubted God could... I doubted that He would for me. I hate that I doubted Him but I am so thankful He proved me wrong. :o)

That is amazing! The Word of God is true, just test it! Not only that, as a church we saw giving nearly TRIPLE, yes triple, in one month's time!!! I even challenged non-believers. They may not believe the Bible, but try His principals when it comes to finances. No one has ever went poor being generous. NO ONE. You can NOT out give God, you just can't. My family and I live off the 10-10-80 principal. We tithe 10%, save 10%, and live off of 80%. God has been so faithful that we are now able to give above and beyond the 10%! The more generous we have been, the more God has poured out. 

Besides, if the way you're living now is leading to the stressed life: debt, week to week living, no savings, then what do you have to lose by trying God for the Blessed Life? 

Do YOU have a story? Email us at mystory@generationchurch.me. We would love to hear it and share with others!

Facebook, not "DE-FACE"book

Something God has put on my heart lately that I feel a lot of people struggle with. But I want all of us as a church to recognize this problem and distance ourselves from it as much as possible. As human beings, we all have disagreements. We all have times where we become mad, displeased, or even hurt. But a growing problem in our social media driven world is people lashing out or responding negatively or hurtfully on the internet. The Bible is very clear when it comes to correction, people who have wronged you, or even confrontation. Jesus says this in Matthew 18:15-20:

15Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

18Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

19Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall 

ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I know it's hard to see people post things about you and not want to retaliate or comment. It's tough when you see people being rude, or even posting things that you disagree with and not want to share your opinion. But take in consideration what Jesus did when people were lying AT HIS TRIAL about things He had done that weren't true in Matthew 27:12-14:

12And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?

14And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

Sometimes, the best response is none at all. People who don't know Christ respond with venom and gossip. It's expected. But if we are to be like Christ, we must respond with wisdom and love. 

Here's why people post on the internet but never confront face to face or have a real conversation:

1. They Want Everyone on Their Side

When it comes to confrontation, people who post on social media don't care about the actual person or problem. They just want to be right and want attention. So if people see "their" side, then they win. If all you care about is winning an argument, you may lose more than you gain.

2. They Are Cowards

People are real bold and powerful sitting behind a computer or a phone. But as I just stated, the goal is not to make things right, it's to make THEM right. Confrontation should always be about making a situation right and the end result being love and a peaceful relationship. Cowards care for neither. Most bullies are cowards. Bullies go away when you stop giving them power...or attention in this situation.

3. They Have Unresolved Issues

Hurt people hurt people. It's that simple. 9 times out of 10 people who spew venom, snide comments, or make jabs on the internet have deep unresolved bitterness in their hearts. Jesus tells us that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". (Matthew 12:34) Bitterness destroys people. And it destroys the people around them. 

So the next time you want to comment or tweet something about someone, or at someone because it's "easier" than doing it in person; please don't. Pause, pray, and respond as Jesus did. If it's something that is eating at you, talk to the person. And remember the end goal: Love and a peaceful relationship/resolution. Practice giving people hope, not hell. Encouraging words and a peaceful spirit will develop wisdom and compassion. Otherwise, you end up bitter and always mad. That's how the Pharisees lived. Jesus wants so much more for us.

Always speak words of life...not death.