Dr. BJ Condrey

I have tried before and somehow failed. Anytime I seriously consider canceling a social media platform, I am immediately haunted by existentially threatening questions:

1. How will people find you?
2. How will they know what you write?
3. If not for Facebook and its marketing leverage, how will you sell a book, announce a new one, or have significant influence?

Great questions. But who cares. I wonder if we sometimes miss out on the richness, opportunities, relationships, and beauty in local life because we are so obsessed with staying connected with people at a distance, extending influence, and/or trying to make ourselves feel like we are more important than we are. Probably.

So, my Facebook account deletion (NOT mere deactivation; that is not good enough for me) is scheduled for November 30, 2023. While I could write a lot more about this, I am not going to.

I want to live simply.

I want to be present in my humble community.

I want to live for God’s approval and not man’s approval.

I want to be a person who can easily focus at a deep level (i.e., deep work: see Cal Newport), spending hours of undistracted time either in prayer, Bible study, reading good books, research, writing, or just being with those I love.

The bottom line is that Jesus wants me, but doesn’t need me. He is the savior of the world. I can give myself permission to not try so hard, be one single person in one single community, live humbly, and do the things I love with realistic expectations and hopes.