iGod

Should church leaders Tweet?

There is an interesting article on the Leadership site by Jonathan Acuff who explores the pros and cons of tweeting. As someone who has entered the Twittersphere in the last few months I have found it a better experience than I expected. It has given me one more channel to keep the conversation live! with people. And it is quicker than a conventional blog, so when time is really a premium it has enabled me to keep in touch.

There are of course drawbacks to Twitter, and for those of us using it I am sure we are still finding our way through by our mistakes. I know I am.

ASD

Social networking and the Church

As ever I have far too many books on the go and often fail reading them from cover to cover, but one book that I am finding hard to put down is a book that I had recommended by Management Today: Throwing Sheep into the Boardroom by Matthew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta (Wiley).

In a nutshell, it’s about how online social network media is changing the way we live life, work and, indeed, the world.  For instance, did social network sites like Bebo and Facebook really help fuel the tragic suicides in Bridgend, as suggested by the news media?

What I find interesting from a Christian perspective is the co-authors‘ reference to Christianity.

A lot of our identity, whether Christian or not, is drawn from the dominant value systems around us like School, Community, Government and the Church. For us in new church movements we might think we are free from institutional thinking, but I am afraid we are more affected than we think.

One of the main reasons given why the early church was a frustration for the Jewish authorities and Romans was because it had little regard for hierarchy, i.e. it thought horizontally, not vertically.  It was a network of impassioned and highly motivated believers, who learnt not to be bound by culture or nationality and were often well out of their comfort zone. But nothing would stop them from spreading the word – thankfully for us.

Later on through the centuries the Catholic Church looked to get organised and borrowed the Roman law system, and name, to become the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, with the eventual demise of Roman empire the Church ironically became one itself.

Centuries later, much is made about Philippe le Bel, the King of France being upset with egocentric papal-blessed Knights Templar because they were not an accountable institution, but a network and  answerable only to the pope. (It is probably best to keep quiet that they were the forefathers of investment banking in the present climate.) Their non-hierarchical style and influence was an irritation, so he set about rubbishing their reputation and eventually outlawed them, which conveniently in the process saw their property and assets seized and the Vatican moved to France where the king could put his own man in.

There is a desire even today among institutions to control non-hierarchical networks, such as online social network sites. For a lot of people it is messy, dangerous, unaccountable. In short, it is far too democratic –  as everybody now has a louder voice and is becoming increasingly fearless to use it. 

Is this the start of the breakdown of society?  Or does it give rise to new opportunities? An an optimist, I would like to think the latter. I think of those early Christians who were horizontal thinkers and how radical they were. Rather than trying to convert the authorities with a vertical approach they talked peer to peer.

The authors of the book say that one of the fruit of the Web 2.0 culture will be not how we treat people we know, but how we treat strangers.  Interesting, don't you think?

Lastly, it is no coincidence that online organisations now have people with job titles such as Chief Evangelists. Just goes to show there really is nothing new under the sun.

ASD

DIY Church Promo films

As an adman/churchman I am always looking with interest at what other churches are doing. Particularly in the area of Web 2.0.

In case you are wondering what Web 2.0 is, it’s a term used to describe web-based services which specifically facilitate collaboration and sharing between their users – such as social network sites (e.g. MySpace and Facebook); wikis (e.g. Wikipedia); and folksonomies (e.g. Flickr and del.icio.us). You are probably already using some of these sites.

The extension ‘2.0’ originally came from Tim O’Reilly at O’Reilly Media and was intended to refer to an evolution in Web use which characterised those internet businesses which survived the bursting of the dot-com bubble in late 2001.

With all that in mind, I came across the Greater Boston Vineyard Church which is promoting its autumn launch service.  They have set a competition for its members to make a short funny film, which they are then encouraged to upload onto its Youtube site. They are even offering prize money of $500 to the best film.  Now that is bold!

Well worth a visit. I particularly love the 'Free Childcare' film below.

ASD