I have had a lot of discussion recently about social media and it’s impact and use in the church. For those of you that don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, I’ve basically spent a lot of time thinking about how technology and media can assist in connecting people. Specifically, how can the church grab hold and use these technologies to reach and disciple others.
So with that in mind… here’s 5 quick nuggets about social media and how I am considering using it (or already using it) in the church.
1) Facebook- Honestly, this is our primary method of communicating with youth in the church. I feel that social networking sites like Facebook have to be used by our churches to connect with others. Heck…I have connected with friends online that I would have never connected with any other way, so it’s not just the teens.
2) Text Messaging- We have been doing text messaging during our youth service for about a year now, with a lot of success. We have also started doing text alerts and using Jott to send them out.
3) Internet Campuses- I’m so intrigued by internet campuses. With the shift in our culture to a media culture, I think that churches should strongly consider using internet campuses. The biggest complaint I hear is typically, “but how do you connect people with others if you do an internet campus?” I heard someone else say, and I can’t agree more…. how is it any different from broadcasting services on television? Hmmm…. more to come on this concept.
4) Mobile Media- I already mentioned text messaging, but the way we use cell phones is about to explode. I’m sure churches need to think about things like “can our website be accessed from a cell phone?” Also, how can churches make media and such so that people can receive it on their cell phone?
5)Roov- I’m interested in seeing how Roov pans out. I love the idea of an online community that connects people to others in their community. Would this be an option for creating new small groups? Serving groups? Simply connecting with and making new friends?
It was hard to narrow it down to five, but the others may be too geeky for most.
I’d love to hear people’s thoughts. Where do you see social media going in the church? Comment below.
I gotta admit…my family loves to go down to downtown Greenville. Sometimes it’s just to go on a stroll in the park with Isaiah. Other times it’s just to get out and find something to eat. Heck…yesterday we went not once, but twice.
Anyways, last night we simply decided we wanted to get out of the house so we went downtown just to walk around. Apparently a church, who I will keep anonymous, was having an event downtown. I guess that as a part of their event, they decided to hand out bottles of water to people on the street. We saw a couple of teens that had some water to hand out, and being that we were sweating and thirsty, we decided to stay close to them so that they would give us one. Long story short…these two girls walked right with us for the longest time, passing at least 40 people that could have used a drink (especially the poor family with the baby next to them). They finally saw some guys that apparently must need water (and Jesus) more than everyone else. They gave the guys some water, walked away saying “Jesus loves you,” and I heard them whisper “walk fast…keep going.”
Here’s the deal. These girls were as full of Christ’s love as Mandy Moore in the movie Saved. They were really more full of crap than anything. But it got me thinking. How many people are right around me that need to be shown God’s love and I’m so full of myself that I don’t even notice that they are right there? People who are not only longing for it, they’re practically begging for it and we don’t even give them the time of day. We simply walk fast and keep going away from them.
I thought about this passage. Truth hurts doesn’t it.
On a side note… it wasn’t the church that was downtown that met our need for nourishment. It was this place.
I heard a quote today that really got me thinking. It was something like this:
If you’re goal is to reach people that no one else is reaching, you have to do things that no one else is doing.
Wow…if that doesn’t make you want to brainstorm and get creative in ministry, nothing will. Let’s face it…most churches are simply offering another option to the things that are already offered at other churches. What’s the result? Church hoppers and churches not reaching out to those who aren’t being ministered to. I think it’s time for churches to think way outside the box to reach people.
And what about those ministries that are just another option? Maybe we should seriously consider whether they are working. Some should get the axe. Others need to be tweeked.
I pray that churches will do whatever it takes, just short of sin, to reach those who aren’t being reached.
Here’s some snapshots of what I’ve been up to in the last week or so.
Are you one of those people that keep everything? You know what I’m talking about. You have souvenirs and junk from different times of your life everywhere. As in…a garage, closet, or yard barn full of stuff. It’s funny because you say you’re might use it one day. I mean…heck…you never know when you’re going to need extra pieces of scrap metal or electric candles.
I am definitely NOT one of those people. As a matter of fact, I usually make fun of people that do things like that because it’s amazing the amount of junk that you accumulate.
That being said, I had a revelation yesterday. I have become a pack rat. Not the kind that keeps things laying around the house that I might use one day. I’m part of a new breed of pack rats. I am a digital pack rat.
I realized yesterday that I have three hard drives full of stuff. Examples of some things on there…word documents from five years ago, over 1000 podcasts, and even logos that I designed when I lived in Kentucky. It is an amazing collection of videos, pictures, music, and documents.
So what am I going to do now that I’ve discovered it? It’s time to go through it all and delete! I very well may delete 500 GB of stuff. It should be fun.
So what kinds of things do you keep laying around that you are probably never gonna use? (like the massaging yoga ball in my closet). What do you have around your house that you haven’t used in over five years? What’s in your junk drawer? (For those of you new to responding to blogs, click “comments” below and you can respond. It will only take a minute.).
This could be interesting.
So all day yesterday i was really sick. Must be a virus or something, but it was pretty brutal. Let’s just say, when that much stuff is coming out so many places, I’m fairly confident that i got a complete colon cleanse. But…on the bright side…
1) My temperature finally went down.
2) I got on a scale this morning and I was 10 pounds lighter than I was Saturday. I’m sure it’s probably mainly water weight, but hey…it was good to see a lower number on the scale.
Now it’s time to see if I can work through the day after feeling like I got hit by a truck.
On a side note…I don’t know how my wife made it through all the nausea for 5-6 months when she was pregnant with Isaiah. How did she do it? What a woman!
Dear Email Forwarders,
As much as it pains me to say this, I would appreciate it if you would take me off your email forwarding list. I know that your intentions might be good, but frankly…I don’t have time to sift through the crap that you send me. I know that you are just trying to keep me “informed,” offer me a chance to get something “free,” or demonstrate your patriotism, but the minute it hits my inbox, you really lose your credibility. So…as we end this email relationship, here are some things that I thought maybe you should know:
1) While I am thankful for America, do you really think that the best way to display patriotism is to send me an email with a flashing flag or a letter from Jay Leno? (Which…by the way…was not written by him.)
2) Even though Mike Huckabee is a pastor, why would you consider me a bad Christian if I didn’t want to vote for him. Don’t get me wrong…having Chuck Norris as a spokesperson was brilliant (as was Mike’s appearance on Saturday Night Live). But…from reading the Bible, I made an amazing discovery: there actually are more than two Christian values. And like I heard another pastor say once, I’m sure if God could use people in the Bible like Nebuchadnezzar (and many others) to accomplish His will, I’m sure he can do it with our next President.
3) Thanks for warning me about the car jackers and the killer in my backseat. Fortunately, the killer must like it back there and he never bothers me.
4) Let’s all say this together….Barack Obama is not a Muslim.
5) Bill Gates is rich, but I guarantee he doesn’t give a rip what your forward says and he sure isn’t tracking it so he can pay you for it.
Thank you for your time in reading this. It may pale in comparison to the amount of time I’ve wasted reading your emails, but it is much appreciated. You are now blocked.
Sincerely,
Josh
P.S. I give some of you a free pass since your forwards are rare. This is for the repeat offenders.
