Meet the Author Clay Shirky teaches at New York University where he has a joint appointment as Arts Professor at the graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program in the Tisch School of the Arts, and as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute in the Faculty of Arts and Science. He is best known for his work with the "social and cultural effects of the internet and mobile phones, particularly where they allow for amateur access to Read More …
Social Media Tools for Churches 101 (#0497)
Alys Drake, communications manager for Howell Marketing Strategies, recently wrote a guest commentary in the Commercial Appeal that provides churches with a "social media primer." She includes six basics: Blogs Twitter Flickr and Tumblr Facebook Geolocation (e.g. Foursquare) Other (YouTube, Ustream, Vimeo, podcasting, QR codes, Google+) So What? In the article, Drake states, "Information is spread at lightning speed via social networks like Facebook and Twitter in a way Read More …
Can You Be a Leader? (#0496)
Terry "Starbucker" St. Marie is a seasoned executive leader with over two decades of experience in the cable television industry, who has partnered with Liz Strauss to create Inside-Out Thinking (a venture centered around the development of great leaders who can make a difference in any organization) and SOBCon (a business "think tank" with a Social Media twist). On his blog, he recently shared his experience of his first job interview with a CEO, which happened while he Read More …
Less Educated = Less Churched (#0495)
Religion News Service contributor Nicole Neroulias, recently wrote an article that begins with these words: A recent study reports that white Americans without college degrees are dropping out of church faster than their more highly educated counterparts . . . The study, by University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, found that since the 1970s, white Americans with no more than a high school diploma have been leaving the pews twice as fast as other Read More …
Should Church Be More Like an Apple Store? (#0494)
Michael Buckingham is the founder of Holy Cow Creative (a church creativity and design studio) and the creative director for the Center for Church Communication and Church Marketing Sucks. A few weeks ago he blogged about the tendency of churches to take ourselves and our rules too seriously, which is in complete contrast to typical Apple store environment. To illustrate the "all are welcomed" approach of Apple stores, he shared a YouTube video of Mark Read More …
Should Military Chaplains Share a Single Religious Insignia? (#0493)
Lauren Markoe's story, "Chaplains Push for Uniform Religious Badges, for Religion News Service considers the issue of visual identification of military chaplains. This matter is receiving considerable attention as the number of religions represented with one or more chaplains continues to expand, since each currently is represented by a unique symbol. This diversity makes it difficult for others to immediately identify chaplains. For example, when "the sole, Read More …
How Important is Religion? (#0492)
Bradley Wright is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut. His two most recent books are Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media (included in my Top 10 Books of 2010) and Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World (read my review here). Recently he blogged about an important question: "Is religion Read More …
Reasons to Keep Blogging (#0491)
Brooklyn Lindsey is a pastor who currently oversees the middle school ministry at Highland Park Church in Lakeland, Florida and has recently written two books: Opposite Day: Upside-Down Questions to Keep Students Talking and Listening (2009) and Confessions of a Not-So-Supermodel: Faith, Friends and Festival Queens (2008). In light of her own slower pace as a blogger, she reflected on reasons bloggers should continue to write and publish their thoughts: Read More …
De-bunking Fundraising Myths (#0490)
Earlier this year, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) Congregational Stewardship Services blog featured a 12-part series designed to de-bunk myths about giving. Each post explored a single myth. While the whole series is worth reading, I focus today on three: Myth #5 Myth: Because many people are suffering from information overload, they do not want to know how the congregation is using their contributions. Truth: Many Read More …
America’s Largest Churches (#0489)
Writing for USA Today, Cathy Lynn Grossman shares the largest churches in America according to Outreach Magazine's latest survey: Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, led by Joel Osteen, average weekly worship attendance: 43,500 North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, led by Andy Stanley, average weekly worship attendance: 27,429 Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL, led by Bill Hybels, average weekly worship attendance: 24,377 Read More …