My Most Criminally Overlooked Tweet

I can't seem to let it go. Two weeks ago I tweeted the following:

"2006: John Piper's endorsement of rap music causes it to explode in popularity." https://t.co/1lSQc5TPlq

— David A. Zimmerman (@david_a_zimmerm) March 11, 2014

John Piper, in case you're not familiar with him, is a pastor out of Minnesota. He's highly influential among the "neo-reformed" movement in conservative evangelicalism. It was Piper who famously tweeted "Farewell, Rob Bell," upon the release of Bell's book Love Wins, which landed Bell on the cover of Time Magazine. A tweet by Piper about a 500-page book by an unknown scholar on the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) launched it into bestseller territory. Piper is kind of a big deal. I imagined my Klout score going through the roof.

Nobody retweeted my tweet. Nobody favorited it. Nobody nothinged. I tried to start a meme:

1983: John Piper urges all people of faith to watch the MASH series finale, making it the most viewed television show of all time.

— David A. Zimmerman (@david_a_zimmerm) March 12, 2014

1989: John Piper expresses his displeasure that Berlin is divided into East and West. Destruction of the Berlin Wall commences immediately.

— David A. Zimmerman (@david_a_zimmerm) March 12, 2014

2001: John Piper suggests Minnesota law enforcement is superior to that of all other states. Walker: Texas Ranger is immediately canceled.

— David A. Zimmerman (@david_a_zimmerm) March 12, 2014

2006: John Piper is overheard telling a colleague, "I don't drink beer, but if I did, I would prefer Dos Equis." #historyofjohnpiper

— David A. Zimmerman (@david_a_zimmerm) March 12, 2014

Nobody joined in. Nobody expressed outrage on Piper's behalf. Nobody hashtagged. #Frownyface.

The original tweet was inspired by an infographic posted to Tim Challies's blog in mid-March that explained the history of the movement known as the "New Calvinism," of which Piper is a revered leader.

Midway through the infographic (circa 2006) was the performance by rapper Voice at Bethlehem Baptist Church, where Piper was the pastor. The notion of John Piper causing an explosion of rap's popularity in the mid-2000s was funny to me. I can picture Eminem, receiving his Grammy, rehearsing the litany of legends who shaped rap history, dropping Piper's name like it was hot. I can picture Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake giving a shout out to the Passion Conference during one of their regular odes to rap music. I can picture John Piper with grills on his teeth and pants on the ground. I can picture all these things. But for whatever reason I couldn't get a meme going about it.

I can't seem to let it go. Pray for me, John Piper!