This document discusses evangelism in a digital age. It notes that God is a communicating God, and the digital environment is now part of many people's daily lives, especially young people. As such, a considered understanding of the digital environment is important for having a significant online presence. The document discusses how social media is used, both authentically as an embedded part of life, and inauthentically as a marketing tool. It emphasizes listening to young people and not patronizing them. Finally, it suggests relaxing and enjoying time with friends while freely pointing them to Jesus as a witness, not as a salesperson, when discussing matters of faith online.
The Digital Age: A Challenge for Christian Discipleship #ECSM2014Bex Lewis
In the twenty-first century churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’ for many in the UK. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. For churches, websites and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest have now effectively become the ‘front door’ to billions of digital users. As Sara Batts research has shown us, many churches are finally starting to get that the online landscape is important, but still need convincing that something more radical is needed than a new website, as opportunities have arisen to embrace a more social ministry, where to ‘love your neighbour’ may include those from anywhere in the world.
The ‘digital age’ brings the opportunity for a wider range of voices to contribute to conversations: many online will engage with ‘church’ through their friends rather than formal Christian organisations. In 2010 ‘The BIGBible Project’ emerged to encourage those at all levels of theChristian sector to engage with digital culture, and to consider what this means for Christian communication practices, in a culture in which messages are both ephemerally ‘in the now’, and perpetually available.
Technologies have changed what is possible, and for many churches over the last few hundred years a model of passive, presentation-piece services has been adopted, heightened even more by a broadcast mode of media that we all got used to with the TV and the radio. Social media, however, offers much more space for questioning, and for congregations to actively engage with sermons through tweeting along, checking something on their online Bibles or Google, sharing photos of church activities, or being encouraged to continue discussions hyper-locally throughout the week through a Facebook group.
The BIGBible Project emphasises that disciples live at all times for God, whenever and wherever, and therefore all Christians need to take seriously their presence both online and offline. This paper will draw from over 2,000 contributions made to the The BIGBible blog, where over 120 Christians from across the ecumenical spectrum have contributed thoughts as to how discipleship is affected (and can affect, particularly behaviours) in the digital age and the digital spaces.
The Relevance of the Paper: According to the 2011 census, Christianity is the major religion in the UK. As a sector it offers an interesting case study of how longstanding faith groups are dealing with the challenges presented by the digital age, institutionally and individually.
Social Media, Peer Surveillance and Spiritual FormationBex Lewis
A session prepared for AHRC workshop on Religion and Surveillance. Taken a lot of prep, and still feel it needs more. Got me thinking about a lot of things in further layers than in the past ... let's see how it goes! I typically use more slides than minutes so...
In the below slides I have summarised which are to me the main ideas (philosophies) being put forward by Luciano Floridi in his book “The 4th Revolution – How the infosphere is reshaping human reality”. A book putting the informational transition into perspective and containing a wealth of information, a must read.
The social media world is not flat. There are new lands beyond the continent of Facebook. The New world has riches, romance, opportunities, fame, and some say the secrets to eternal youth. Buy also beware! There are rumors of Medussas whose siren song will lure you in to her lair so that you will crash upon the rocks, serpents called worms that will entangle your ship and control your course, viruses that will make you and your crew sea sick, trojan ships that will approach you with free goods that hold spies that will live among you, pirate ships that will steal your goods and ask you to join in their skullduggery by trading in illegal goods, and Cyclops who will train their evil eye on you to suck out your soul and rob your privacy.
But as entrepid explorers you must put aside your fears and push out into the unknown. Forewarned is forearmed! Seek your destiny!
The Digital Age: A Challenge for Christian Discipleship #ECSM2014Bex Lewis
In the twenty-first century churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’ for many in the UK. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. For churches, websites and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest have now effectively become the ‘front door’ to billions of digital users. As Sara Batts research has shown us, many churches are finally starting to get that the online landscape is important, but still need convincing that something more radical is needed than a new website, as opportunities have arisen to embrace a more social ministry, where to ‘love your neighbour’ may include those from anywhere in the world.
The ‘digital age’ brings the opportunity for a wider range of voices to contribute to conversations: many online will engage with ‘church’ through their friends rather than formal Christian organisations. In 2010 ‘The BIGBible Project’ emerged to encourage those at all levels of theChristian sector to engage with digital culture, and to consider what this means for Christian communication practices, in a culture in which messages are both ephemerally ‘in the now’, and perpetually available.
Technologies have changed what is possible, and for many churches over the last few hundred years a model of passive, presentation-piece services has been adopted, heightened even more by a broadcast mode of media that we all got used to with the TV and the radio. Social media, however, offers much more space for questioning, and for congregations to actively engage with sermons through tweeting along, checking something on their online Bibles or Google, sharing photos of church activities, or being encouraged to continue discussions hyper-locally throughout the week through a Facebook group.
The BIGBible Project emphasises that disciples live at all times for God, whenever and wherever, and therefore all Christians need to take seriously their presence both online and offline. This paper will draw from over 2,000 contributions made to the The BIGBible blog, where over 120 Christians from across the ecumenical spectrum have contributed thoughts as to how discipleship is affected (and can affect, particularly behaviours) in the digital age and the digital spaces.
The Relevance of the Paper: According to the 2011 census, Christianity is the major religion in the UK. As a sector it offers an interesting case study of how longstanding faith groups are dealing with the challenges presented by the digital age, institutionally and individually.
Social Media, Peer Surveillance and Spiritual FormationBex Lewis
A session prepared for AHRC workshop on Religion and Surveillance. Taken a lot of prep, and still feel it needs more. Got me thinking about a lot of things in further layers than in the past ... let's see how it goes! I typically use more slides than minutes so...
In the below slides I have summarised which are to me the main ideas (philosophies) being put forward by Luciano Floridi in his book “The 4th Revolution – How the infosphere is reshaping human reality”. A book putting the informational transition into perspective and containing a wealth of information, a must read.
The social media world is not flat. There are new lands beyond the continent of Facebook. The New world has riches, romance, opportunities, fame, and some say the secrets to eternal youth. Buy also beware! There are rumors of Medussas whose siren song will lure you in to her lair so that you will crash upon the rocks, serpents called worms that will entangle your ship and control your course, viruses that will make you and your crew sea sick, trojan ships that will approach you with free goods that hold spies that will live among you, pirate ships that will steal your goods and ask you to join in their skullduggery by trading in illegal goods, and Cyclops who will train their evil eye on you to suck out your soul and rob your privacy.
But as entrepid explorers you must put aside your fears and push out into the unknown. Forewarned is forearmed! Seek your destiny!
#CNMAC14 - Digital Healthcheck with @drbexlBex Lewis
Come and join a discussion around these areas, in a session for #CNMAC14, 1st November 2014. Session description:
Digital health check: The omnipresence of digital can pose challenges. Explore with Dr Bex how to keep your life in balance.
Dr Bex Lewis, CODEC
See more at: http://www.newmediacentreofexcellence.org.uk/cnmac/conference/agenda#sthash.Y6UpJkFe.dpuf
#MediaLit15 (https://www.dur.ac.uk/codec/about/events/medialit/), a session designed to give those in/about to go into ministry some thinking points and practical tips on the digital in ministry.
Networked for Life by Barry Wellman (NetLab) at mesh14mesh group
Networked for Life: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
A presentation by Barry Wellman (NetLab) as part of a session entitled Disconnecting from the Grid: Forward-thinking or Flawed Premise? at mesh14 in Toronto (May, 2014)
Notes for my closing keynote to the June 1, 2017 virtual conference on digital literacy and fake news.
http://www.library20.com/page/library-2-017-digital-literacy-fake-news
Scholars in the Open: Networked Identities vs. Institutional IdentitiesBonnie Stewart
The public presentation of self is identity work, but the networked practices by which scholars build a name and reputation for their work differ from the practices and strategies used - and recognized - within the academy. This presentation explores Bonnie Stewart's dissertation research into how networked scholars circulate identity and reputation in networked publics.
Scholarly Networks: Friend or Foe or Risky Fray? ALL OF THE ABOVEBonnie Stewart
Keynote from Digital Pedagogy Lab Cairo, exploring the benefits, challenges, and complexities of engaging in public in digital networks, especially as higher education professionals.
My keynote from GOVIS 09 - http://govis.org.nz/conference2009/govis-2009-conference-handbook.htm
It looks at possibilities and the opportunities offered by a shift in practice in government engagement - Government 2.0.
Full transcript and comments at http://acidlabs.org/2009/05/21/public-engagement-public-empowerment/.
As the hype cycle around MOOCs drops, the question of what narratives will survive and thrive around MOOCs opens up. This keynote panel presentation for #MRI13 suggests there are two solitudes in the post-MOOC-hype discussion - one an empty picture of undeliverable promises for higher ed, and the other a loose affiliation of complicated and sometimes conflicting interests. The lot of us on the latter side need to learn to talk to each other, to the public, and to decision-makers.
#CNMAC14 - Digital Healthcheck with @drbexlBex Lewis
Come and join a discussion around these areas, in a session for #CNMAC14, 1st November 2014. Session description:
Digital health check: The omnipresence of digital can pose challenges. Explore with Dr Bex how to keep your life in balance.
Dr Bex Lewis, CODEC
See more at: http://www.newmediacentreofexcellence.org.uk/cnmac/conference/agenda#sthash.Y6UpJkFe.dpuf
#MediaLit15 (https://www.dur.ac.uk/codec/about/events/medialit/), a session designed to give those in/about to go into ministry some thinking points and practical tips on the digital in ministry.
Networked for Life by Barry Wellman (NetLab) at mesh14mesh group
Networked for Life: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
A presentation by Barry Wellman (NetLab) as part of a session entitled Disconnecting from the Grid: Forward-thinking or Flawed Premise? at mesh14 in Toronto (May, 2014)
Notes for my closing keynote to the June 1, 2017 virtual conference on digital literacy and fake news.
http://www.library20.com/page/library-2-017-digital-literacy-fake-news
Scholars in the Open: Networked Identities vs. Institutional IdentitiesBonnie Stewart
The public presentation of self is identity work, but the networked practices by which scholars build a name and reputation for their work differ from the practices and strategies used - and recognized - within the academy. This presentation explores Bonnie Stewart's dissertation research into how networked scholars circulate identity and reputation in networked publics.
Scholarly Networks: Friend or Foe or Risky Fray? ALL OF THE ABOVEBonnie Stewart
Keynote from Digital Pedagogy Lab Cairo, exploring the benefits, challenges, and complexities of engaging in public in digital networks, especially as higher education professionals.
My keynote from GOVIS 09 - http://govis.org.nz/conference2009/govis-2009-conference-handbook.htm
It looks at possibilities and the opportunities offered by a shift in practice in government engagement - Government 2.0.
Full transcript and comments at http://acidlabs.org/2009/05/21/public-engagement-public-empowerment/.
As the hype cycle around MOOCs drops, the question of what narratives will survive and thrive around MOOCs opens up. This keynote panel presentation for #MRI13 suggests there are two solitudes in the post-MOOC-hype discussion - one an empty picture of undeliverable promises for higher ed, and the other a loose affiliation of complicated and sometimes conflicting interests. The lot of us on the latter side need to learn to talk to each other, to the public, and to decision-makers.
Children - and a Digital Age, for Reimagine Faith FormationBex Lewis
A presentation prepared for Reimagine Faith Formation (http://reimaginefaith2016.com/), to be presented online on Friday 26th August 2016 (7am UK time!).
Social Media Masterclass for London WitnessBex Lewis
A full-day course working with London Witness ( http://www.london.anglican.org/articles/london-witness-confidently-communicating-god-in-london/) - seeking to confidently communicate God in London.
A 90 minute (interfaith) session on social media "please leave them fired up to use it" prepared for Coexist, to be held at St George's Centre, Windsor Castle.
Friendship in a Digital Age (@drbexl for @MMUBS)Bex Lewis
A presentation put together at short notice for an ESRC funded discussion - see http://drbexl.co.uk/event/are-you-really-my-friend-exploring-digital-relationships/ for details of the event re friendship in a digital age. Drawing on my book 'Raising Children in a Digital Age'
Conference paper developed from this abstract - http://drbexl.co.uk/2015/01/conference-abstract-medialit-engaging-faith-and-media-in-a-digital-age-ecsm15/
Propaganda with a mission (for ASREC Conference)Bex Lewis
Propaganda with a Mission: Learning from the Second World War for the Christian Sector in a Digital Age
In the Second World War, British propaganda posters were circulated using the techniques of persuasion, education, information, celebration, encouragement, morale boosting, and identification of enemies to encourage civilians to understand and undertake their responsibilities in ‘The People’s War’.
In the face of oft-reported declines in church membership, there is urgency for the church to recognize the possibilities of online spaces. The author of a PhD on the above topic developed the BIGBible Project in 2010. The Project blog curates contributions from #DIGIdisciples, questioning what it means to be a Christian in a digital age and in the digital environment. What do digital technologies allow us to do differently, and what can we learn from the past?
The conference paper will draw from the rich collection of over 2,750 #digidisciple posts to demonstrate the potential that the digital has offered the Christian sector, whilst also emphasizing continuity with the past.
http://ww2poster.co.uk/phd-research/phd-the-planning-design-and-reception-of-british-home-front-propaganda-posters-of-the-second-world-war-creative-commons-drbexl/
IPM placing the christian church in a digital ageBex Lewis
See abstract for this conference paper, to be given 8th September 2017: http://drbexl.co.uk/2017/08/18/edit-conference-abstract-inclusive-placemaking-placing-christian-church-digital-age/
Christianity and the Digital Age: Sustaining the Online ChurchPremier Publishers
Reading the signs of time is crucial to a changing world. From its birth on Pentecost Sunday in the year 33 to date, the Church has had her fair share of troubles. In most cases, she has had to either be conservative or progressive – her adherents who pretend to be in the middle often suffer backlash from critics. The conservative or progressive schools of thought signal change in the Church either in ecclesiology or doctrine. Apparently, one of such changes rocking the Church’s boat is the world of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Premised on these challenges, the researcher used the qualitative method to access the matter. The study discovered that given the circumstance, the Church is left with no option than to create and sustain an Online Church for reaching out to millions of Christians who are incapacitated while uniting a fragmented humanity. It was also discovered that New Media platforms are invaluable assets in breaking new grounds for evangelization. The paper discovered that pastors of souls should take advantage of the new media of communication and engage their faithful by not just creating an Online-Church but sustaining it.
Indigitous: Every Tongue, Tribe, and TouchscreenSABDA
Dalam sesi #SABDALive kali ini, Simon Seow dari Indigitous, berbagi kepada Sahabat SABDA mengenai pentingnya awareness bahwa kita sebagai orang percaya yang hidup di zaman ini adalah seorang Digital Missionary. Sebagai seorang misionaris digital, tentu saja kita juga harus mengikuti perkembangan teknologi yang ada lalu menggunakannya untuk kemuliaan Tuhan.
Premier Digital: Online Church as Real Community Bex Lewis
Slides prepared for Premier Digital Webinar on 7th October 2020: https://drbexl.co.uk/event/webinar-digital-church-webinar-online-church-as-real-community/
Mini Pecha Kucha: Public Engagement Activity Bex Lewis
A mini-pecha kucha (10 slides that auto-move forward after 20 seconds) prepared for #ERA1819, second of three workshops, summarising what we've been up to since the last workshop.
'Left to their own devices' for #PremDac17Bex Lewis
40 minutes on "What is the impact of children having their own devices, and how do we manage this?" at #PremDac17
See more: https://www.premierdigital.info/conference
A session with the diocesan youth workers to consider the digital and the questions that that raises for them in their work - giving young people the best choices, aiding their work, and protecting themselves and their charges.
Raising Children in a Digital Age - Cavendish SchoolBex Lewis
Evening event to be held 16th May, at Cavendish School, West Didsbury. http://drbexl.co.uk/event/manchester-raising-children-digital-age-cavendish-school/
Designed to introduce a group of ordinands to the potentials and the pitfalls of social media in ministry - huge topic - 1.5 hours ... let's get that debate going!
For Manchester Diocese ordinands
Experiencing God in a Digital Age (Children/Young People)Bex Lewis
A 20 minute thought-provoking session on encouraging children/young people to experience God online, and how it might impact their wider lives so they are encouraged to be wholehearted for God.
For https://theconversationuk.org/ 24/02/17
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptx
Evangelism in a Digital Age for Christian Enquiry Agency
1.
Evangelism in a Digital Age
Dr Bex Lewis, Research Fellow in Social Media and Online Learning, CODEC, Durham University;
Director, Digital Fingerprint
Assigned Creative Commons Licence 4.0 non-commercial
http://j.mp/evang-cea
For: Christian Enquiry Agency
http://www.christianity.org.uk/
@drbexl
3. Rev Prof DavidWilkinson
God is a communicating God:
“In the beginning was the
word, and the word was
God…”.
God is extravagant in
communication – he is not a
silent God who has to be
tempted into communicating
with people.
Image Credit: Durham University
5.
The digital environment is not a parallel or
purely virtual world, but is part of the daily
experience of many people, especially the
young. Social networks are the result of human
interaction, but for their part they also reshape
the dynamics of communication, which builds
relationships: a considered understanding of
this environment is therefore a prerequisite for
a significant presence there.
Pope Benedict XVI (2013)
7. Embedded Practice?
As indicated in my book, Raising Children in a Digital Age, although
children aren’t ‘digital natives’ who are ‘fundamentally different
from us’, they have grown up in a time when the digital is an
embedded part of their everyday life.
Most politicians are clearly not using social media in an embedded
way, but as a digital marketing tool, and this is seen as inauthentic.
We need to look at the underlying culture and assess whether
traits such as collaboration, innovation, transparency, and
openness belong solely to the younger generation. Reports such as
the Ipsos MORI Who is Generation Next? have indicated what the
concerns of the younger generation are, and what they might
expect from their politicians.
Young people want to know that they are being listened to, that
their voices count, and that they are not being patronised.
https://www.dur.ac.uk/generalelection.2015/news/?itemno=24588
10. Darren Hill,TheWorship Cloud
All these great Bible verses
arrive on my feed without any
context, background or
explanation. As believers we
are fine with this, we of
course know the context to
any text that appears online…
don’t we? But what about
everyone else?
http://bigbible.org.uk/2012/11/posts-
promises-and-perennial-issues-darrenrhill-
digidisciple/
Image Credit: Darren Hill
11. Brennan Manning
The greatest single cause of
atheism in the world today is
Christians who acknowledge Jesus
with their lips and walk out the
door and deny him by their life
style. That is what an unbelieving
world simply finds unbelievable.
13. 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as
Lord. Always be prepared to give an
answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you
have. But do this with gentleness and
respect
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?se
arch=1+Peter+3%3A15&version=NIV
15. Carl Medearis
Relax, enjoy your friends. Enjoy their
company along with the company of
Jesus. Point him out, freely, without
fear or intimidation. You’re not
responsible to sell him to them.
You’re simply saying what you’ve seen.
You're not the judge. You’re the
witness.
The ‘digital age’ is wider than social media, e.g. thinking about how Bibles can be got into countries where they are banned on SD cards, etc, but within this short session we are going to look at evangelism as it relates to SOCIAL media.
Often when am working with groups who are fearful of getting involved, focus is upon words such as “digital”, “technology”, “toolkit”, “media” etc. but if we change the focus to “social” then we are back in more familiar territory.. Into the notion of being ‘in relationship’, using ‘communication’….
And as Prof David Wilkinson would say - we are created by a God who rejoices in our 2-way communication with him… so note that we are called also to be extravagant communicators… - for much of what I do, it’s about commonality, finding a starting point and then getting to know each other. These have always been the essential building blocks of any relationship (and for want of a better term, relationship evangelism), in which there is a strong focus on LISTENING and ENGAGING, rather than “pushing stuff out”…
In a world where it’s OK to be a Mac evangelist, but not a Christian evangelist… seen militant supporters for/against Apple, and also for evangelism, and this is not a new thing!
What is possibly different is that we need to understand “the culture” that we are engaging with… and when I say “the culture” – we have to remember that “digital culture” is comprised of a range of systems, including email, websites, different social media platforms – each with different etiquette (like Australasia has several v different cultures within it)…
As the church has previously sought to understand overseas cultures, for the purposes of both discipleship and mission, so now it seeks to engage with digital culture – a space where many spend a considerable amount of time daily. (previous) Pope Benedict XVI put it this way (2013): [quote]
The Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) was mission-centric, respecting and adapting to the culture in which he found himself, rather than imposing himself upon it.
We might want to challenge the research methodology, but still significant proportions – and remember also, that one person reading, may then share (offline) with other friends so… worth noting that people are not 100% digital so need to think how to make the ONLINE/OFFLINE work together…
Meantime: Ofsted - Over eight in ten (83%) of adults now go online using any type of device in any location. Nearly all 16-24s and 25-34s are now online (98%), and there has been a nine percentage point increase in those aged 65+ ever going online (42% vs. 33% in 2012).
http://socialmedialondon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Top-active-social-platforms.png
I wrote this piece for Durham university the week before the election on how political parties are not really getting the hang of social media, because they are NOT EMBEDDED USERS– they are still using it as a broadcast tool, top-down, and for the purposes of propaganda, rather than to truly engage with the electorate.
This was partly drawn from my experience of discussing how churches can reach out – and many are using digital technology/social media in similar ways – and that churches are organisations would probably do better to concentrate their efforts on ensuring that the content that their congregations want to share is easy to find/accessible, so that the congregation members (of whatever age), who are the ‘NETWORKS OF NETWORKS’ can share that content…
Sites that do this kind of thing include Jesus Daily, with over 26m likes on Facebook, with this kind of image that they hope people will share (and over 250 had in less than 45 mins), but also ones that I find more problematic, e.g. “If you love Jesus like/share/type Amen”, which I find rather “chain-letter-ish”, but if that part of a general discomfort with overt evangelism in general?
Does numbers involved equate with effective evangelism? Or is it just reaching the already converted?
https://www.facebook.com/JesusDaily/photos/a.70986532354.76361.70630972354/10155982522327355/?type=1&theater
Another site that seeks to provide content for people to use is YesHeIs.com (and yes, there are other sites), which seeks to provide videos, etc. that users can share with their friends. We see here the most popular draws upon the ‘celebrity’ factor – despite the oft shared idea that social media has flattened “voices” and that all can have a voice – old power structures continue to exist, and those that have power offline, typically have power online (possible online, but not the utopia we were first presented with) ….
BUT these only really have power when used with a personal story. People are interested in their friends, and want to know why x is being shared – e.g. I typically tweet or Facebook through or after sermons, but usually just things that really stand out – and therefore are connected to something that is meaningful to me, which makes sense to friends…
It’s possible at a simple level to e.g. share Bible verses in our FB/Twitter feed, but without personalised context as to why something is meaningful to me, does it make any sense as communication (of course we could do it for ourselves, but there’s a limit to how many times we might do that!)…
Student who just had Bible verses in their feed – lacked personality, but also complete lack of faith-based content, what does that say about who we are?
Lifestyle = includes online!
Important in our thinking on this is the notion that we are talking about ‘online/offline’, not ‘virtual’real’ … relationships online have a different nature, but they are as valid and real as offline relationships, and for many the edges are entirely blurred as conversations online in between face-to-face meets change the nature of offline conversations (sometimes allowing for deeper conversations in either space)…
Disinhibition – seen as problematic (bullying), but also leaves space open for conversation, including ‘seekers’ who know that particular users are Christians – may ask questions …
An old verse still stands true here … be prepared to give an answer, when ASKED (rather than throwing out), with GENTLENESS and RESPECT … we can’t DICTATE what other’s say online, but we can think about our own interactions…
Of course, sites such as this (by CEA) can help people answer the questions that can seem difficult (don’t need to rely on supernatural intervention for the answers, we have been given the skills/technology to share)… important of KEYWORDS, and back to the idea of LISTENING – do we know the terms that they are SEARCHING for so that we can adapt the wording (naturally!) so that can be found…
Note: where is the place of proclamation – social media is more about sharing our own stories with friends and being ready to respond – there is still a place, but it’s in the wider digital platforms…
So – what do you think? What does it make you think about engaging online, how we share our faith, how we make Jesus real to people?