Trolling Christian Twitter for Nuggets of Gold

I am more near retirement than Scott. I have grandchildren older than his newborn. He has more hair. And, fortunately for me, he did not turn the old guy away when he reached out for a conversation on the Twitter platform.

Who In the World is Scott M. Coley

Not long after Scott and I were talking about a podcast episode and discussing his work, I received a call from my friend Ben Cole. He dispensed with the pleasantries. Ben got straight to the point. Though not unusual, what he had to say caught me off guard.

“You better leave that Scott Coley alone.”

While I was thinking of what to ask next, Ben began to laugh. Had I been playing, “Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?”, I would not have guessed that Ben was in the same room with Scott. He was. If the world is smaller due to increased population, social media shrinks the degrees of our separation.

Scott is a Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Saint Mary’s. His areas of study and lecture work include Epistemology (how we know), Ethics and Political Philosophy. His bio is not what caught my attention when I saw his comment on a Twitter thread I was following. It was Scott’s response. What to do?

Troll.

I discovered Scott’s blog, faith, philosophy & politics: social systems and Christian ethics. A broader bio is offered there,

Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses primarily on philosophy of religion and ethics. He teaches courses in moral and political philosophy, history of philosophy and logic at a liberal arts college on the East Coast. In addition to presenting at academic conferences, Scott has published his work in the peer-reviewed International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and served as a peer reviewer for the journal Faith and Philosophy.

Scott’s most recent post became a launching point for our conversation on this episode of patheological: the podcast for the pastor-theologian. We finish by talking about a book project he has in the works. Shamelessly I am hoping someone with publishing contacts with reach out to me so that I could make introductions and see if we could help get his book published.

Stay Young My Friends

My working definition for leaders has been, “Leaders are always learning.” I came to this conclusion when I was barely Scott’s age. Of the publishing of books there is no end. Quoeleth said something close in Ecclesiastes. For those of us in Christian ministry, I think particularly of pastors, of conversations with young people, young thinkers, there should be no end (for us).

Scott is now part of that orbit for me. Damien. Tripp. Jason. Emily. Natalie. Scott. Tommie. Lori. KrisAnne. Johnnie. Jeremy. Phil. (At my age I know I am leaving out many young people who inspire me.)

Twitter is a dangerous place. Maybe not quite like the Devilbook. But, it can be a treacherous place to troll. If you dare, you may also discover some nuggets of gold along the way. I did.

If you find the podcast helpful, share it with your friends. Share it with your pastor friends as well as folks you know involved in leadership that touches on the pastoral. Also, consider heading over to iTunes, login, search for patheological and give us a five-star rating and a kind review.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

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