Lisa Miller is the author of Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife (2010), and formerly served as religion editor at Newsweek. She recently wrote "My Take: how technology could bring down the church," for CNN's Belief Blog. In this article Miller argues that the printing press was the key technology that enabled the success of the Protestant Reformation and the current move away from print editions of the Bible to digital ones like YouVersion may enable Read More …
Trends
Classroom Conversations Go the Way of Social Media (#0372)
Trip Gabriel's recent New York Times article, "Speaking Up in Class, Silently, Using Social Media," explores the uses of backchannels (real-time online dialogue about a speaker or topic) in the classroom. While backchannels are being utilized at all levels of education - from elementary schools to graduate degree programs - the overall adoption rates are low. Those who leverage this new interactive supplement to the learning experience employ a variety of means including Twitter, Read More …
Members as Social Media Advocates (#0367)
Matt Carlisle is a self-described "evangelist for web and social media" who previously served as the executive designer, producer and editor of UMC.org, the official website of The United Methodist Church. He founded Big Heart Design, a web and social media strategy consulting firm, and recently wrote about the importance of local congregations training members to become "your greatest social media advocates." Specifically, he suggests churches would benefit from offering Read More …
Giving Less (#0366)
The Barna Group's latest research suggests that the current economic crisis continues to impact how much Christians contribute to their local congregations. In short: In the immediate aftermath of the economic crisis in late 2008, two out of 10 Americans (20%) had reduced their giving to a church or religious center; three out of 10 (31%) had downsized their giving to other nonprofits. Then, 14 months later, in January of 2010, both measures had increased: three in 10 adults had reduced Read More …
New Ways of Being Church (#0365)
One of many signs of the increasing awareness of the importance of technology for ministry was The Clergy Journal's April/May 2011 edition's theme: Technology and Community: Building Community. Keith Howard, past executive director of the Emerging Spirit initiative of the United Church of Canada, and Aaron McCarroll Gallegos, executive producer of wondercafe.ca, contributed an article entitled "Technology and Community Building," which includes these challenging words: Social media Read More …
One Big Step for the PCUSA (#0361)
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 …
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 …