Advent vs Christmas – Twitterview with Rev. Geoffrey Lentz

The following is a twitterview between Energion owner Henry Neufeld and Rev. Geoffrey Lentz. We planned this as a Tweeterview, but we had some technical difficulties.
Geoffrey Lentz is the author of The Gospel According to Saint Luke: A Participatory Study Guide and co-author of Learning and Living Scripture. He is the associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, FL.

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  energion: @PreacherG You have been invited to a Tweeterview by @energion. View here to accept (expand)
  6 minutes later via Tweeterview · Reply · View Tweet
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  PreacherG: @energion, it is a great experiance to be interviewed this way.
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  PreacherG: @energion It is true. Advent is a season of longing for God, in Christmas music God is here. Most of us live in the experience of Advent.
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  PreacherG: @energion It makes the church feel out of sync with the world. I think that is a good thing. As the word celebrates we are waiting.
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  energion: @PreacherG (repeating-I sent again from personal account) How does your congregation react to that out of sync approach?
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  PreacherG: @energion I think that it makes some of them uncomfortable, but in time they learn that Advent helps us get ready for Christmas.
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  energion: @PreacherG There are quite a number of advent hymns, some of which we haven’t sung in a while!
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  energion: @PreacherG Other than the music, how do you emphasize the expectation of advent?
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  PreacherG: @energion The theme for each Sunday. Is that we need God to save us. The sermons, scriptures, and acts of praise revolve around it.
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  energion: @PreacherG, diff topic, I read this post ( (expand)) on use of technology in the worship service. How does tech change worship?
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  PreacherG: @energion my favorite advent Hymn is Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending by Charles Wesley.It is hard to sing!
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  energion: @PreacherG Will you follow up with similar services through the church’s Christmas season (Dec 25 and 12 days after)?
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  PreacherG: @energion I don;t think we know all the ways that technology is changing worship. It connects us to more people in different ways.
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  energion: @PreacherG Yes, Lo, He Comes is a bit intense!
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  PreacherG: @energion Christmas will be a time where we celebrate the nearness of God, i think that theme is carried into the season after Epiphany.
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  energion: @PreacherG Technology can get in the way, I’m sure, but so can many other things. What do u think about people tweeting from a church svc?
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  PreacherG: @energion I like people tweeting in church. I have done it some myself. It is a new way to witness to God’s grace and create dialogue.
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  energion: @PreacherG Which in turn leads us to lent, is that not so? An interesting sequence. Expect – Presence – Easter – Absence (diff presence)
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  energion: @PreacherG I’ve never really tweeted in church, but the concept is interesting!
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  PreacherG: @energion Right! The calendar is not linear but circular. Advent is a winter lent,tradtionally a time of repentance and denial of self.
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  energion: @PreacherG Well, we are running short of time. This is harder without tweeterview.com. Any final thoughts?
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  PreacherG: @energion I encourage more churches and people to not skip straight to Christmas after Thanksgiving, but to go through Advent first.
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  PreacherG: @energion I hope you will interview me agian when we can get twitterview to work.
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  energion: @PreacherG Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. I look forward to the service tomorrow!
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