What To Do When @RickWarren Stops Following You

I’d be most concerned that Christian Reggae is no longer following you.

Are you even relevant anymore if *they* don’t follow you??

Take it as a badge of honor and then see if Paula White will fill the void.

When your heart gets broken, Tony, you just move on. You. Just. Move. On. There will be others who love you and leave you. You. Just. Move. On.

i’m so disappointed that people have already made witty comments about both christianreggae AND gtwetmore–beat me to the punch.

Possible Responses:
1. Start leaving incessant, rambling vm for rwarren, “Not sure if you listened to the entire thing last time, so I just wanted to make sure you knew it was me,” “Tony here again, just letting you know what my latest tweet was.”
2. Contact Zondervan, convince them to drop all of Warren’s books to $.99 until he adds you back. I can give you 9 simple steps if you’re unsure how to go about doing so.
3. Call Bono to intervene, perhaps he can host a Guinness Summit

Ask yourself WWPD-What would Piper do? “Farewell Rick Warren”

I would not blog about it.

And in the same week that he comes out as an “Anabaptist”…..

I’m more interested in which of your posts finally pushed him over the edge. I’m betting it was the one about Chicago.

People follow you on twitter?

I can’t imagine that this would actually bother you all that much. You have a very particular vision of the church and Jesus, some will get on board, some will get off. It just so happens that the guy you have publicly criticized again and again unofficially gave you a “Farewell, Tony Jones.” And who can blame him? I’m surprised he had actually followed you this long. Maybe he’s not a bad dude after all?

Beyond that, whereas a great deal of evangelical Christians, guys and gals who at one point followed you with great vigor, are losing interest. Your posts and writings are moving closer and closer towards an unending sense of bland complaints about how evangelicals are wrong and the church is flat.
I would have purchased your last book if the title would have been anything but negative. I understand that you are provocative and push the envelope and everything. But that dissension only lasts so long. At the end of the day your inability to construct, instead of de-construct, may be the reason for your continued declining book sales, lowering of your very public (and well-deserved) platform, and loss of voice.

You are like the actor/director who did some incredible blockbusters early on in his career. But after some public criticism of high profiled actors and directors, public fits, said person will learn nobody wants to work with him anymore. This actor will do artistic films, ones that he is very proud of and may be his best work yet, but no one is buying. M. Night? Kevin Smith? Tony Jones?

In your defense, you created a movement. The emergent church was beautiful for about 5 years. Clearly the movement has fizzled. And we learned that a very specific and limited audience (Indie Film Anyone?) responds favorably to the work of the emergent church. The (emergent) church is flat indeed.

If you love what you are doing, keep doing it.
But if you seriously want to know why you got this unfollow, sit down with someone who will be honest with you and go from there. Take a year away from public ministry and just work on you. You’ve been through a lot in the last couple years and you could use a break. Get a job in the church where no one has heard of you. Learn to love people again. And hopefully you’ll learn that a lot of people love you. And hopefully you’ll learn that the church ain’t that bad.

Wow, it just got real up in here. Whoever Justin is, I kind of agree with him. I’ve always been a big fan of you Tony. Early on, it felt like you were the only one who would say what we were all thinking. Not so sure anymore, now your saying things that on most days I would have a hard time with. You have moved and changed and its left many of us behind, Rick is not alone in tuning you out. That is not necessarily a bad thing because that shift may be what you were hoping for. I still listen to what you have to say just to challenge myself. I don’t mean to be discouraging but this is the reality of all this, the Rick Warrens and people like me are checking out slowly but surely. We aren’t going down in a blaze of glory trying to make you look like us or attacking your ideas, we are just tuning into other voices.

He (obviously?) has not been following you for quite some time. If ever.

It’s like this is just him ‘coming out.’

What an opportunity for reflection this has provided for you! I mean, first of all, who cares if Rick Warren chooses not to sit with his iPad and read the latest way you have criticized him. If you were using this blog to talk to him, then pick up your cell phone and talk to him. Second, your readers above are right. We are surprised you are surprised (if, indeed, you are surprised.) Styling yourself as a prophet is to choose a tough path. Prophets were reviled, ostracized, mocked, and some martyred. You were “de-friended.” You are in our prayers.

But my suspicion is that you are not surprised. In fact, I think you’re bragging.
And that brings me to the point of my posting here.

You have really meant a lot to me during important phases of my life. You have provoked me to think and act in ways that have grown my faith. You and Tony Campolo and Brian McClaren have made important formulative contributions to my spiritual life. But (you just knew that word was coming) somewhere along the way for all three of you, and a couple of others (Doug Frank, etc.), the important poking of the prophet has become the sour grapes of a candidate for therapy who needs to work out your issues with your parents (the evangelical church, which brought you to the faith and is still the home for many of us by choice, in spite of its many faults) and just give it a freaking rest. I always read you (and I still do, always looking for that fresh insight you used to have) and then sit back and sigh at the deconstruction that just never ends, swearing I won’t read you again.

Does the evangelical church need correction and prophets? Of course. But correcting my child has never been effective when my methodology involved throwing her under a bus.

Moments of reflection are often compelled at surprising turns. During the Grammy awards, while the incomparable Adele sang, the camera panned the audience and we saw Lady Gaga watching her. And there was just something about her face that told me she had just become aware of something I (and others), listening to Adele, was thinking: your shtick is getting tiresome, Lady G.

Tony, you have opened this door, and I thank you. You have meant the world to me for years, but I am tired and weary of what you are becoming. The gracious Christianity heralded by the new emergent church has long ago gone past, and now is reduced to bragging that you have pissed off Rick Warren.

Gotta say Tony….Justin above pretty much nailed it. You wanted to be on the evangelical portal here, and you were so happy about that, I assume because you wanted to actually have some readership. But for the most part, your drumbeat of negativity and criticism and complaint and whining and fault finding of everything evangelical only turns off and turns away a great many people on this portal. I wish you had a positive message, I wish you had some love and mercy and compassion and encouragement for evangelical church members, and pastors and leaders.

I wish you had something inspiring to say. But it seems you don’t. I am a believer that one accomplishes much more by lighting a candle in the dark, than by jusr cursing the darkness. Yeah, its a clique, but one you should really think about.

Fact is, Mr. Purpose Driven Life has done far far more…. helping far far more people…with far far more needs all around the world than you have ever even thought or dreamed of doing.

A new focus that extends love, hope, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, grace, to the least of these, which for you would be fundys and evangelicals, whom you seem to so much despise…..but who are still bros and sisses in the Lord that is your growing edge. I hope you find it.

Sorry….I did not mean to offend, and I absolutely hate to miss a good joke. Apparently, in my post, I failed in both. The single post was not the issue, but rather a catalyst for the cumulative impact. Some of us are really trying…and weary at the same time.

I apologize for any offense.

Maybe the better question is: “Why was he following you in the first place?” =)
I mean that as a compliment.

Wow. Judging from the comments feedback, I’d say Tony Jones finally jumped the shark.

I thought it was funny, but slightly creepy that you stalk your unfollowers.

Well, I guess be careful what you post and for what you ask for…..you may get what you don’t expect, and clearly you did not expect the response you did get. God Bless.

Important thing I learned about non-Emergent Christians today by reading this thread: most are humorless, self-righteous, vindictive douche bags who’ll take any opportunity to kick at someone they disagree with.

Important things I learned about Emergent Christians today by reading this thread: Most are smart, have a sense of humor, understand irony, and basically would be a lot better to hang around. Their one significant flaw seems to be an unwillingness to hit the ban hammer on people who basically just come here to throw stones.

Once again, the clear reality that nothing makes Jesus look so bad as the people who claim to follow him most perfectly.

he stopped following me long before I got kicked out of the Assemblies of God last year. Apparently I may have been a bit viceral in some reactions via social media. Oh, growing. Hey Tony, I am going to see if Benny Hinn might follow you. At least you will hear great hymns of key.
Love you,
Your once pink haired post-pentecostal

Just remember… IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU