After many years of debate and movement toward change, this denomination has now reached the point at which it is certain that effective July 10, 2011, "a person in a same gender relationship can be considered for ordination as deacon, elder, or Minister of the Word and Sacrament." This news comes after many years of discussion and attempted change. So What? I grew up in a Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation. It was at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, TX Read More …
Trends
Viral Misattribution (#0352)
On Sunday night, an unusual name appeared on my Twitter stream: Osama bin Laden. Through a number of tweets I learned that the United States military had killed this terrorist and of President Obama's televised address. On Monday morning I found myself paying less attention to social media than I normally do after experiencing several friends who were using uncharacteristically strong language of patriotism and of faith. Later that day, I noticed that a number of friends had posted the Read More …
Review of Church Diversity (#0349)
Meet the Author Scott Williams is a pastor, ministry consultant, social media guru, and champion of diversity. Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week is his first book. Recently, Williams served as Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which grew to an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500 during his tenure. Prior to entering pastoral ministry, he gained professional experience in his work as a prison Read More …
Most Americans Are Now on Facebook (#0348)
Arbitron and Edison Research have conducted an annual survey focusing on trends in digital platforms since 1988. The 2011 report shows that the majority of Americans aged 12 and older now use Facebook. In three years the percentage of people using Facebook has risen from 8% to 51%. So What? Churches are also getting more involved on Facebook. According to LifeWay Research roughly half (47%) of all congregations now have a presence on Facebook. Creating a Read More …
Where Have All the Catholics Gone? (#0346)
Established in 1964, the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) is the largest independent print and web Catholic news source in the United States. Recently, the NCR published an article by Fr. Thomas Reese, former editor in chief of America, exploring the massive numbers of people who have left the Catholic church in recent years. He frames the issue thusly: The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has put hard numbers on the Read More …
The End of Mary (#0343)
Philip N. Cohen, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, recently wrote two posts (A and B) on his blog about the declining popularity of the name Mary. To put the trend in perspective he offers these remarks: For the first time in the history of the United States of America, the name Mary is not in the top 100 given to newborn girls. Mary was the #1 name every year in the Social Security name database from 1880 — it’s first year — to 1961 (except Read More …
Thursday + Friday = Maximum Facebook Engagement (#0340)
Buddy Media released "Strategies For Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review" earlier this month, which amounts to a comprehensive analysis of more than 200 of their clients' Facebook pages over a two week period. The full report (available as a free download after registering) features fifteen pages of information including a detailed breakdown by industry of the best days to post. Overall, for all industries considered, the best days for engagement are Thursday and Read More …
American Sex Ed is Atypical and Ineffective (#0335)
The documentary Let's Talk About Sex is generating considerable discussion. It aired on TLC last weekend and the DVD was released a few days later. Directed by James Houston, an Australian fashion photographer currently based in New York, the 62 minute offering shows how very different sexuality is when comparing American teens to teens from other nations. While American teens and European teens become sexually active at about the same age the results are very Read More …
The Nature of the Church in the 21st Century (#0334)
Cynthia Holder Rich is currently the Interim Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Muskegon, MI and serves on the Special Committee on the Nature of the Church in the 21st Century of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In the latter role she posted five questions, which were developed by the committee: What is your vision for the church in the 21st century? What characteristics will draw the great diversity (racial ethnic, age, gender, etc.) of our country into our community of Read More …
No Generation Left Behind: Social Media in Ministry (#0331)
Earlier this year I wrote about generational differences in online activity based on data from a Pew Research Center study that showed how many people in each generation participate in various online activities. The percentage of people who participate in a given category tends to decline from generation to generation, but even the oldest generations still engage in a significant amount of online activity. Increasingly the digital divide or gap between those who Read More …