I Don't Understand Why She Never Replies!

And I don't understand why for some people, not getting a reply to their "text blast" is a major boo boo.

Not until I became a discipler myself.

Yes, I have joined the club. I find it important now. So important I'm writing a blog about it haha!

Isn't it just so funny sometimes, why it's sooo hard to get a reply to a text message from someone? (All of the people who agree, raise your hands!) Things like when you text people "Hi girls/guys, please confirm if you're coming or not." or "When is your free time?" or "Can you make it or not?"

But wait, before I became that person who gives importance to getting replies or sending replies, I was once first the one who never cared to reply, hehe. :) I didn't give so much importance to replying to text messages until I became that person who has to get replies from people when I weekly text blast them for small group or for Night LIFE. Being a leader, or the one in charge for that matter, have taught me and made me appreciate this simple ethics which I used to violate many times way back, acknowledge a text message.

A friend once told me that not replying to text messages is not just anymore a habit but it has already become a culture to some people now. Apparently, I'm just one of the many who experience getting no replies, even at least to the important ones. So why am I writing about this? And what is its connection to "...honoring God and making disciples as a college student count?"

Simple, and I want to say this especially to the small group leaders and to those who want to reach out their campus, you will experience this yourself. That feeling of frustration when you carefully picked the most appropriate words so that your text would look nice and then baaam! No one even cared to reply. But you never lose hope, or give up. Your labor, as simple as that text message, is not in vain even if he/she would not reply, remember that.

And you've got to also LEAD BY EXAMPLE. If you keep on wondering why your small group members never confirm if they're coming to your small group or not for all the reason that they have, sometimes it's also worthy to consider asking this question to yourself: "Do I reply to my LG leader?"

We're all guilty of this crime. We all have our own reasons and excuses why we never get to reply. So I'd like to also list down some practical tips for all of us. :)

1. Don't delete a text message immediately. Check your inbox before you sleep at night. You might have received an important text message during the busiest part of your day and you didn't get the time to read it and reply that moment. When you check your inbox before you sleep, at least you will get to trace back the text messages you received that day. And it's never a crime to reply late.

2. Don't take text blasts for granted. A message with "Hi girls/guys" doesn't mean it's less important than a message with your name in it.

3. Don't be shy or hesitate to say "No" or "I can't." A "No" or "I can't" reply is much better and appreciated than a no reply at all.

4. Don't assume that when you don't reply, it will automatically mean "No" to the one who texted you.

5. If you have no load, what does your Facebook doing? If you can't go by the day without going online, why not send your reply thru Facebook or YM.

I'm not saying you make it your top priority to reply or you have to drop everything else when someone needs a reply. No. Just at least let him/her know that you give importance or that you care (or not care hehe). Don't you just love our campus missionaries? Or our disciplers? Our leaders? Mentors and all? :) For all the patience they have, for not giving up on us. For all the hard work. For still showing up in that meeting even if they're clueless if someone's coming or not. It's not an easy task, I think we owe them that simple reply. If you think by not replying you didn't send a message, guess what, you actually just did.

You, what tips can you share and add to our list? :)



DAY 160 1.18.2011 10:58am