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introduction: what's sticky got to do with it?

@stickyJesus My message clings to people's hearts—forever.

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Hey! Just wanted to share a quick note with you...since we've become Facebook friends I really look to you for inspiration. I have been through a lot in the last three years. Some days are better than others. When I read your posts I realize that life is a journey and God has a plan. Some days I actually feel like He is working through you to talk to me. Anyway, I did something crazy tonight...I found a church with a ladies' Bible study near my house and actually went! I feel really, really good. Actually, I can't wait to go back. I can't explain it. I wantedyou to be the first to know.

This post, sent to us from our Facebook friend Melissa Paolo-Corcoran, is just one of the thirty billion pieces of content exchanged on Facebook each month by the seven hundred fifty million people (to date) now connecting daily on the largest social networking site on the planet.

The sheer volume of human connection and conversation taking place on social networking sites daily is mind-blowing. But what's more awesome is that at the heart of the digital note you just read is the sticky love of Jesus Christ.

Sticky. It means different things to different people. To marketers, sticky is the Holy Grail, what it's all about. It's the secret sauce in an advertising message that helps it hit the mark, get attention, and move people to act. A "sticky message" stays around longer than most.

But we define sticky in a whole new way—a way that relates to Jesus and His message. Sticky holds fast, adheres, and clings to the heart of every generation. Sticky is an eternal message independent of time, change, and cyberspace. It's the supernatural movement of God unaffected by Wi-Fi, bandwidth, or gigabytes. A sticky message is unyielding to cultural fodder or trends. It's a holy whisper in a noisy land.

Of all the messages the world has ever heard, the gospel is still the stickiest. The good news is that God's message is your message, which makes your presence and voice online wholly (and holy) indispensable!

This book is for every Christ follower residing on this side of heaven. It's for those who realize—and those who have yet to understand—the awesome moment into which we've been born. It's for technology novices, casual surfers, and those already folded comfortably into the online world.

Wherever you are in your skill level, it's time to direct your heart toward the sticky things of God.

We challenge you as a Christ follower to change your mind-set of the way you spend your time online. We challenge believers around the world to forgo denomination, sit in the same pew, and write this ongoing story together and share new ways to reach a fragmented world for Christ.

Together, we can light up the online space. We can "go" and we can "tell" as Jesus asked each of us to do. And we can change absolutely everything.

Changing the world doesn't begin with knowing technology; it begins with knowing Christ. In Sticky Jesus we will equip you for the online world by looking to the Equipper, Jesus. We will show you how He connected, created community, and ignited a buzz the world has yet to replicate. We will look at His character, His process, and His priorities and how you can echo His heart online.

In these pages we will do the following:

 Explore how Christ honored and built relationships and how you can do the same online.

  Give you a practical understanding of the marketing-driven culture online.

 Point to the Holy Spirit as your Power Source.

  Provide personal stories that show God moving and transforming lives through social networking channels.

 Summarize each file with a download and a prayer that are 100 percent retweetable.

 Alert you to the danger zones.

 Demystify the world of social networking with easy instruction on getting started on Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and content gathering (RSS).

 Provide ongoing resources to help you grow beyond this book at http://www.stickyjesus.com/.

 Include a glossary in the back of the book to help you aong the way.

So who are we to author this book? We are professional communicators by trade and passionate practitioners of all things social media. More importantly, we are Christ followers who understand the power of the gospel and how it can radically change the game online if— and only if—we get in the game. And by the way, God connected our two hearts through the power of a single tweet.

We've seen the amazing, eternal fruit that honestly sharing our lives with others—and listening—online produces. So, we've stepped off-line to share that knowledge with you.

Pssst! We'd also like to let you in on a little secret: if we can do this, so can you!

Yes, the online culture is full of strange language (Plaxo, Google+, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube, and the like). But don't let that scare you. This is easy stuff. Really easy. And we'll prove it.

Take up your charge, believer. This is your time. You are the light of the world. God has entrusted you with circles of influence online filled with people—all kinds of people—whom He loves deeply. We pray that you grow in your desire to know Christ and explore the special way He's calling you to shine in this new digital land. So, let's get started—together.