Osama bin Laden’s death has been a lead news story for the last several days. Over the course of the week I have read a number of tweets, Facebook status messages, and blog posts commenting on the matter from a Christian perspective. These reflections represent a wide range of theological beliefs, including a number that place United States citizenship above one’s place in the reign of God and sound quite unChristian. In contrast, I offer the words of leaders from two of the Read More …
WWJD With Social Media in Ministry? (#0353)
G. Elijah Dann, author of God in the Public Square (2010) and an instructor of philosophy and religion for Simon Fraser University's Senior Program, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post considering what Jesus' ministry might have been like had it occurred during the age of social media. Dann's introduction to the idea begins with the birth of Jesus and his use of MapQuest, GPS, Facebook, Google and Travelocity reminded me of The Digital Story of the Nativity. Additionally, he 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 …
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 …
Who Do You Follow? (#0326)
Recently technology expert Scott McClellan, editor of Collide and director of Echo, asked people to answer a poll about how they determine who to follow on Twitter. As of 11pm EST on April 7, the responses show that almost all respondents (92%) follow "anyone who might add value." Interestingly, of the 116 votes cast only 10 were for another option (4 for "only people I actually know," 3 for "everyone who follows me" and 3 for "as few people as possible." So Read More …
Face-to-Face vs. Digital/Virtual Worship (#0306)
Chuck Fromm has spent his life in the worship music business. Currently he is the publisher and founder of Worship Leader Magazine. Previously he served for twenty-five years as president of Marantha! Music, which he bought from his uncle Chuck Smith. His doctoral dissertation is titled Textual Communities and New Song in the Multi Media Age: The Routinization of Charisma in the Jesus Movement. In the March/April 2011 edition of Worship Leader Magazine, Fromm Read More …
Theology in a Post-2004 World (#0301)
After writing about Philip Clayton's “Theology and the Church After Google: How This New Age Will Change Christianity” a few days ago, I found myself in several discussions about the topic. One of my conversation partners directed me to an article John Dyer wrote on the topic for Christianity Today's guest opinion column "Speaking Out," which was published this past weekend. Dyer is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary where he is now employed as Director of Web Development. Read More …
Reasons to Tweet (#0289)
Frank Viola is an author and popular Christian conference speaker. He has written numerous books on the deeper Christian life and radical church reform, including From Eternity to Here, Jesus Manifesto (co-authored with Leonard Sweet - read my review here), and Pagan Christianity (co-authored with George Barna) as well as Finding Organic Church, Reimagining Church, and The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. To connect with Viola, friend him on Facebook, follow Read More …
Studying the Beatitudes in Real Time (#0238)
A few days ago, I blogged about my ongoing quest to learn more about Jesus. In that post I suggested that 2011 may be a year I devote considerable time to examining Jesus' preaching via the Sermon on the Mount. Since that time, I learned of a unique opportunity to study the Beatitudes, which lead off Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12). Kimberly Knight, Circuit Rider and web admin for the Beatitudes Society, recently blogged about a new interactive live Read More …
74% Growth in Social Networking (#0235)
Yesterday, I blogged about the generational differences in online activity according to the latest research by the Pew Research Center. Today, I look more closely at the rapid growth in one specific category of online activity: social networking. In just eighteen months, the percentage of adults who use social networking sites has risen 74%. The graphic below shows the rates of increase by generation, which range from a high of 377% for older boomers to a low of 24% for Read More …