Blog Six-- Conclusion

After reflecting on the data gathered throughout this case study process and looking over my proposed research question: 

Are the vital ideals of Christianity being diminished (regarded as less sacred) or strengthened (becoming pervasive throughout more of society) because of the tweets from evangelical leaders alongside parody accounts of deities through the popular social media website, Twitter?  

It has become very aware to me the answer of my proposed question. After looking at the great amount of follower response seen by the three accounts (Max Lucado, Hood Jesus and Reverend Run Wisdom) one can easily conclude that the vital ideals of Christianity are not being lost over the mode in which they are being displayed (Twitter). In fact, it would seem that religion is even being enforced. Users are able to see religion lived out and are then able to apply it to their own lives more easily than one might be able to when sitting at a pew in church or reading the Bible for themselves. The information has already been interpreted and therefore presented in a clear way for others to read and find useful. 
As discussed in class, these Twitter accounts are all examples of networked religion. The best example is Max Lucado's Twitter presence. Traditionally, one would have to go and meet face to face with a pastor through a formal arrangement or call him in his church office in order to speak with him outside of church times. Pastors were held at a different level from the congregation almost making them intimidating people. Twitter works to break this barrier between the head of the church and the church's members or even anyone in society. Lucado is able to respond directly to followers on his Twitter account that many have never stepped foot into his San Antonio church. A networked religion reworks traditional boundaries and roles in religion and allows for more access by more people. This is a great aspect of using technology and new media to enhance religion. In the Christian faith it is taught that everyone is created equal in the eyes of God so having a hierarchal system in the church seems to contradict the teachings from the Bible. Twitter helps level the playing field and gives easy access to lived Christianity through accounts such as Max Lucado and even Reverend Run Wisdom. 
Christian based Twitter accounts are making religion easy and accessible to a generation of youth who are predominately non-religious. Evidence is seen in the numbers. All of the Twitter accounts being analyzed have over 100,000 Twitter followers and receive many "likes" and "retweets" and each Tweet posted by all three accounts. This shows a strong and active following from the Twitter community. 

Week Seven: Continuing to Compare; Can a Jesus Parody Advertise?

This week I will begin by looking at three more examples of how Christianity is presented in the Twitter accounts of Max Lucado, Hood Jesus as well as Reverend Run Wisdom. 

For this week's analyzation I decided to take a closer look at the number of retweets and favorites gained by each individual tweet I selected by each of the accounts to use for comparison. 

First, it's important to know how many followers each account has as of October 10th, 2013: 

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Hood Jesus: 125,644 followers

Max Lucado: 843,318

Reverend Run Wisdom: 4,429,451

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Each account has a strong following. 

Below are Hood Jesus' examples: 

908 retweets; 713 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

9 retweets; 28 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

818 retweets; 532 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

Compared to last week's post, Hood Jesus, as per usual, posting satirical tweets putting a funny spin on Christian based ideas. Unlike the tweets selected from last week, Hood Jesus used its fan base to promote a book that can be bought on Amazon.com for almost $10. The release of the book titled, Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So MUch Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough, was tweeted about a few times by the Hood Jesus Twitter account. Because of no prior known affiliation is made me wonder if perhaps the moderators of the Hood Jesus account were perhaps paid for this promotion. If that is the case, does that cross any ethical boundaries? Or are there any ethical boundaries for a Jesus parody account? This tweeting instance was very different from any other tweet the account has published, to my knowledge, and struck me off guard. Although the other two accounts being analyzed often promote different serviced or goods, but they are also being completely transparent about their identities as well. This book plug just brings up an interesting dichotomy of Hood Jesus as a spiritual influencer as well as an advertising ploy. Is advertising under the facade of "Jesus" unethical or even blasphemous? Or are ethical practices not required over Twitter? I don't really know! 

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Below are Max Lucado's examples:

352 retweets; 196 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

9 retweets; 3 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

521 retweets; 289 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

Compared to last week, Max Lucado's tweets remain about par. Two out of the three use his signature hashtag, "#YoullGetThroughThis," and then dish out an encouraging message. The one that differs from the group is his retweet from the Lucado Team promoting a book signing he will be doing on October 14th. After scouring Max Lucado's twitter page I found this is not something uncommon for the famous pastor and author. He does fairly regularly stray from strictly tweeting religious based content through his account. This differed from the two examples from last week tremendously because they were obviously both faith based. 

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Below are Reverend Run Wisdom's examples: 

2,838 retweets; 1,128 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

2,186 retweets; 855 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

1,041 retweets; 459 favorites as of 5:30 Oct 10th

Rev Run's tweets were extremely similar to his from the week before. I also noticed when inspecting his account that he doesn't follow anyone back on Twitter which made me realize unlike the other accounts you can never expect any interaction from the former rap star. That makes it interesting because in his case Twitter is less like a forum than it is for everyone else who might take the time to follow a different person or see if someone has tweeted at them or not. It is a curious point to notice when questioning how lived religion is conducted over the internet because his relationship with his followers and the expression of faith he is presenting is one-sided. 

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The primary message about religion these three account seem to all communicate is similar from week to week. They are all in agreement with the basic principles of Christianity-- Christ is in control. That is the defining message of all of the faith-based tweets. They reiterate it over and over again how Christ is pretty much the answer to any trial or tribulation you might be facing. 

A pattern I have noticed from analyzing the Max Lucado account is his use of the hashtag You'll Get Through This (#YoullGetThroughThis) to group together his encouraging tweets that specifically are geared towards those hurting. This is a great exposure technique used by Max Lucado. He knows that a person who reads that particular tweet that helped them overcome something they are struggling with then they might like to see similar tweets with the same type of message. The hashtag allows the reader to easily access all of these types of tweets with a single click of the mouse. 

These observations of tweets are similar to last week's in the respect that they deal with the same subject matter. Max Lucado is, once again, inspiring. Rev Run Wisdom subtly evokes Christianity through secular-seeming inspirational quotes. Hood Jesus plays on college life and popular culture references to promote Christianity. 

They are also slightly different from last week's because this week Max Lucado and Hood Jesus both posted promotional tweets. Max Lucado, as stated previously, retweeted about his book signing. Hood Jesus posted about the sale of a new book. These two posts seemed to be out of the ordinary to my at first glance. After investigating further I saw that Hood Jesus had posted about the arrival of the new book a few days before and also that Max Lucado has had similar tweets in the past.

Formulating My Research Question

This week for my analysis I decided to look at six more tweets from this past week from my three selected Christian Twitter accounts. First I am going to compare and contrast the messages represented in the three different accounts from these six examples. 

 The content of the three account's tweets have remained pretty consistent throughout my study thus far. Reverend Run continues to have uplifting tweets that are not always directly linked to Christianity or the Bible. Max Lucado remains inspirational through placing value the belief of Christ's ability for ultimately overcome your current struggle to meet your needs. Lastly, Hood Jesus continued to play on popular culture and current event references to tie in Christianity in their tweets. 

Common themes found throughout all three of the account's tweets is the idea of overall hope through Christ. All three accounts seem to portray Christ as all-knowing and the answer to any heartache one might be feeling. They all seem to be on the same page regarding Christianity and do not have any competing ideas. 

Religion through these three Twitter accounts is framed as a means to remain happy and in good spirits despite troubles in one's life. Faith in the general belief that Christ will prevail regardless of the struggles on the Earth is the theme of hope each of these Twitter users seem to be inspiring. 

After considering the data I have gathered thus far in my research I have been able to form (what I think will) be my research question for my case study.

Are the vital ideals of Christianity being diminished (regarded as less sacred) or strengthened (becoming pervasive throughout more of society) because of the tweets from evangelical leaders alongside parody accounts of deities through the popular social media website, Twitter?  

The key traits of lived religion lived out on Twitter through these few users is that all of their tweets are consistent thus far and have yet to promote contradictory messages. This will help me with my research in the future because it will help me predict future tweet trends. 

Christianity via Twitter

For this week's post I will look at three more examples of how religion is lived out online through the Twitter accounts of Max Lucado, Hood Jesus and Revered Run Wisdom. I gathered two tweets from each account that was posted on September 25th and then one tweet from each account from today, September 26th. 

The following are screenshots of the collected tweets: 

September 25th Tweets: 

September 26th Tweets: 

This week I really wanted to look at how each account personalizes their tweets to their target audience as well as how their tweets are a complete representation of themselves and their own beliefs. 


When analyzing my data for the week I wanted to think particularly about the following: 

1. How do the three accounts use Twitter and their tweets to portray their personal religious beliefs? Are they unique with their tweets? How do their tweets compare to each other as well as other Twitter users? 

Max Lucado, Hood Jesus and Reverend Run Wisdom all use their tweets in very similar fashions. Particularly, they tweet inspirational messages to promote a positive message. After reading through the three account's tweets I have come to realize that all of the tweets by Hood Jesus are Christian faith based and inspirational while sometimes tweets by Rev Run or Max Lucado are personal to their own lives and do not necessarily have anything to do with their faith. (Although the majority of their tweets are inspirational based). 

Hood Jesus is extremely unique with their tweets. The account has been notorious for taking references to popular culture and adding a Christian spin to their meaning. For example, the tweet from Hood Jesus which reads "Da only bandz dat should make her dance are dem weddin bandz!!" This is in direct reference to a popular rap song by Juicy J called "bandz." The song is referring to rubber bands around the rapper's stacks of money that he is using at a strip club. Hood Jesus is obviously referring to wedding rings in the tweet. Max Lucado and Rev Run often tweet Biblical verses- so they are less unique in comparison to Hood Jesus. 

Compared to each other Max Lucado and Rev Wisdom tweet in similar ways as I wrote before. They both tweet inspirational messages alongside personal thoughts. Hood Jesus, on the other hand, is an anonymous account dedicated completely to sharing Christian themed tweets to a predominately college based audience. 

2. How do the accounts use pictures, links, etc to effect the message of their Tweets? 

All three accounts tweet pictures and links. Often times the links that are posted connect readers to a website mentioned in the tweet, to a blog post or an area where longer than 140 characters are allowed to be typed. Pictures enhance the tweets of all three tweeters by just adding a visual to the message.

3. What is the main goal of each tweet being posted? What religious ideas are they promoting? 
Hood Jesus: "The only bandz that should make her dance are dem weddin bandz!!"

Refers to popular rap song-- promotes the Christian idea of the sanctity of marriage. 

Hood Jesus: "Love thy neighbor as u love dem Starbucks seasonal drinks"

Refers to one of the ten commandments "Love thy neighbor as thy self" and promotes the Christian idea of not idolizing the things of the world. 

Hood Jesus: "Christian dude needa be like 'Girl is dat a mirror in your Bible? Cuz you is reflectin the mirror of Christ!

Refers to a common value held by Christians of the importance to find a Godly spouse. 

Rev Run: "Daily Prayer: Lord please guide my feet into happiness, health, success &blessings Psalms 37:23 Lord order my steps pls" 

Refers directly to scripture. 

Rev Run: "Your faith is your fortune" 

Refers to the idea that salvation through Christ is the ultimate prize.

Rev Run: "Assume it's going to be GOOD and doubt the BAD"

Portrays a positive outlook on life and hard times which are parallel with Christian teachings. 

Max Lucado: "Going through hard times? Lean on God's people and share your prayer request on the #Youllgetthroughthis prayer wall. (link)" 

References the idea of power through prayer

Max Lucado: "God promises to render beauty out of "all things," not "each thing." The ultimate culmination is good. #youllgetthroughthis" 

Inspires readers to remain hopeful through hard times promoting the Christian idea that Christ ultimately offers all hope. 

Max Lucado: "Is God good when the outcome is not? #Youllgetthroughthis" 

Promotes the idea that God Is Good and ultimately so--- refers to God's omniscience


Overall, I have found that each account is really good about tailoring each of their tweets to their desired target audience. Hood Jesus attracts the college aged by referring to popular culture. Max Lucado offers helpful encouragement to those who are suffering (a slightly older crowd than that of Hood Jesus). Rev Run's audience falls in the middle of Hood Jesus and Max Lucado age wise. 

Comparing Tweets over a Week

After discussing my original case proposal I thought it would be better to add another twitter account to be analyzed in order to broaden the scope of the research. I am still analyzing twitter accounts. One account, Max Lucado's, is the example of the official religion twitter account because he is the one of the three that is an actual practicing preacher. The Hood Jesus account and Revered Run Wisdom's account would be the examples of a lived religion. 

I took three tweets from each account during a span of a week. I selected tweets from September 15th, 14th and 12th. The following tweets I selected are below: 

Twitter as a social media platform is unique compared to other forms because it allows the audience to directly interact with the one posting the tweets. It creates the facade of a personal relationship with the tweeter because you are able to correspond back and forth with each other. Most times celebrities and other well-known accounts will interact with their followers on a regular basis. This gives a more colloquial feel to religion as opposed to a traditional more structured view of communicating religion. Twitter opens up the dialogue for religious conversation. Those tweeting devotional tweets are exposing themselves to possible direct reticule and backlash from followers or random people who happen upon their posts. This opens vast options for both those trying to send out a positive Christian message as well as the consumer of those messages. It opens many doors to those creating the messages because it allows for the previously mentioned closer relationships with those following the messages. It also allows the message creator 24/7 access to the consumer because they can constantly update their twitter feed rather than waiting to put out a certain message on Sunday mornings during a church service. They can be in constant communication with the congregation leading to what some might see, in Max Lucado's case, as a stronger bond between the pastor and his clergy. It offers many avenues for those running the Hood Jesus account as well as Rev Run because they are given an audience of what could be millions to spread a message. The possibility of such audience gives a lot of power to the hands it is put. Twitter also offers limitations as well. Twitter is limiting in that you can only write a 140 character message. Often times that can inhibit the content of the message you are trying to present or forces you to summarize a more complex thought. Often times, if quoting Biblical scripture, the quote is much longer than the allotted character space and a paraphrase is necessary. Paraphrasing can often be tricky because depending on the paraphraser's interpretation of the scripture can completely alter another's understanding of that same scripture. Also with Twitter's space restraints no previous context is allowed which can sometimes result in mixed messages. 

After reading through the chosen Tweets by my selected accounts it is apparent all three Twitter user's goal is to promote a positive message through Christian ideals. The primary message each seem to be communicating are as follows:

• Despite hard times, do not worry because God is in control
• Salvation through Christ is the ultimate prize

Just by studying three tweets over a week span from each account I was able to get a good understanding of what kind of future tweets I can expect from each account. Max Lucado, as expected, tweets very traditional values and scripture. Rev Run tweets sometimes seem lyrical as if he were rapping them. Hood Jesus tweets using slang term and abbreviated words to express the feeling of rap-like speak. Despite all of the major differences in syntax the overwhelming theme of all three accounts is that Christianity and positivity are the answer. 

Hood Jesus vs. Max Lucado

            For my Religious Communication class we were asked to formulate a case study analyzing religion's role in new media. I wanted to do research over a medium that I use daily so of course I thought of Twitter. The following is my case study proposal: 

          Although often a taboo topic, religion has remained a consistent facet in life since the dawn of time. This is even found true in the modern technological era. Religion has transcended any previous restrictive barriers and is now predominantly displayed via the Internet through every social networking medium. Twitter is no exception. Both famous Protestant pastors as well as no-named parody accounts of Jesus Christ himself litter the web. The proposed case study will be an in-depth comparison of three Christian faith-based Twitter accounts. The first being the personal Twitter account of famous San Antonio based evangelical pastor and author Max Lucado. Max Lucado's account would be an example of official religion. The second is the anonymous Jesus Christ parody account known as “Hood Jesus” and the third is the personal twitter account of Reverend Run Wisdom. "Rev Run" is a former rapper from Run DMC turned inspirational tweeter. The case study will include a comparison of daily inspirational tweets, use the content of the two accounts to assess how religion is displayed over social media, compare follower’s responses to similar tweets via “favorite” and “retweet” tracking as well as attempt to better understand whether or not the prevalence of well-known religious heads alongside holy parody accounts and inspirational figures affects the perceived sacredness of religion.

            The comparison of the three Twitter accounts will prove interesting because they are all centered around Christian ideals, yet, they represent two polar ends of society. Max Lucado is prestigious, wealthy and educated while the anonymous Hood Jesus parody account pokes fun at society’s obsession with hip-hop music through the translation of Bible scripture into pop culture references and lyrics in each tweet. Rev Run Wisdom also represents pop culture through his previous rapping history, yet promotes a positive Christian message alongside rap culture. One account is straight laced and serious while the Hood Jesus account is a silly rendition of turning “rap life” into “real life.” Rev Run holds a middle ground; He is a prominent figure in society but still promotes the same popular culture which Hood Jesus resides. By comparing the three accounts the study will strive to answer the question of whether or not religion is losing its’ reverence by engaging in both comical, serious and popular outlooks of one’s beliefs over the same social media platform.