One of my favorite things to do is to check out Google Trends. It’s not only interesting to see what other people are searching, but sometimes this stuff actually gives me ideas on things to write!

The amazing thing about tools like Google Trends (and Twitter’s trending topics) is that there are few ways to get a better understanding about what people want to know.

The reason I think this is important for the church is that we must be skilled in how to talk about these topics from a Biblical Christian worldview.

So here’s the top five searches from Google Trends from earlier today, and some Christian discussion on each of these topics.

1. ovine

O-what? Yeah, me too. There apparently were lots of searches by people just trying to understand what that word means. Well, it means ‘sheep-like’. It’s a word used to describe Dolly, the first cloned mammal. It turns out that the six year-old cloned sheep died of a disease normally only common in sheep twice her age.

It seems like it would be a blow for advocates of cloning. But does that give the church a reason to celebrate? Be careful how you answer this one. While the event may help support the Christian position, we still need to be careful to focus on doing the right thing rather than trying to ‘be right’.

2. trap or die 2 mixtape download

This one makes me feel old. This is a new release by Young Jeezy. It seems that the first one was a bit controversial, making this release pretty highly anticipated. Young Jeezy seems to be very loyal to the streets and the way of life that he’s come from.

While the loyalty is admirable, it saddens me that people feel stuck in that place. I don’t know that I’m saying that the church should try to provide a ‘way out’, but it’s probably more important to think about how to bring life to places where there is the lack of hope.

3. phillies fan tasered video

Okay, the video of this one was actually pretty funny to me… for about a minute. Then I think about what this says about our culture. I guess that the dude even called his dad about this stunt before he did it, and his dad told him that it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Not only did this guy not heed his father’s advice, but he exhibited a ‘me first’ mentality that too many people seem to take these days. His attitude showed complete disregard for anyone other than himself. Sure, there’s the question of excessive force, but does anyone else see the problem with this guys lack of respect for anyone or anything other than his own selfish desires?

4. stephanie miller

I don’t follow her at all, but Stephanie has a liberal news/comedy radio show. I think that she started trending in searches because of a guest appearance by MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer. Brewer expressed frustration over the fact that the person arrested for the Times Square bombing (attempt) is of Pakistani descent.

Interesting… rather than be frustrated by people attempting to blow up heavily populated areas, she’s concerned about the nationality of the criminal that tried to do it. She’s upset because of how people might react towards Pakistanis. Sounds like a little misdirected anger if you ask me.

5. bret michaels press conference

So I’m a child of the 80’s and loved the rock music from that era. And if you’re anything like me, then you surely know all about Bret Michaels from the band Poison. More recently you may have seen him on The Celebrity Apprentice raising money to help find a cure for diabetes (a disease that both he and my son have).

Bret is one crazy (and successful) dude, but he’s been in the hospital recently with a brain hemorrhage or something. I find it hard not to pray for someone with the influence that he has. I pray that God would draw him close, shake him up, and use this experience to draw other people closer to Himself.

final thoughts/questions

What do you think about these trending search topics? How would you address these things in conversation with someone who doesn’t hold the same worldview that you have? What do you think about this exercise of occasionally reviewing search engine trends?