Influence

"the stage just blew over" ... those were the words I read on Facebook almost a week ago as the Indiana State Fair Stage collapsed just prior to a strong thunderstorm. 

While I had many friends at the concert that night, I myself was out of town ... knowing I would have been there, maybe not in the grandstand, but just outside listening just like last year had I been in town. 

As I walked the streets of Gatlinburg, Tennessee ... I quickly saw the power of social media.  Word spread quickly, I knew my friends were okay and stories of pure heroism emerged quickly through tweets, photos, and posts.

There was no waiting for the "breaking news" anymore ... my friends were reporting the event there in my newsfeed. 

As I returned home a few days after the event I began to talk to friends about the stage collapse and quickly gathered that some of them didn't have the same opinions I shared on the event.  As we talked I began to learn that their opinions were coming from their friend's posts on Facebook and Twitter.  I began to think about how we allow others to influence us ... both good and bad. 

We are no longer influenced by the crowd we run around with, but instead by the crowd that is constantly in our newsfeed each time we log on ...

so who are you allowing to influence you?  Is it a Christ-like influence?  Who are you influencing?