I shared some of my notes from Church 2.0 a while back…
But just found that Gabe Smith took some time and tracked down all the resources and blogs of folks who came to the event.
There are some great resources and people listed there. Thanks Gabe.
Tag: social networking
On the verge of something big
Boy if there’s ever a week that things really seem to be aligning this might be it. Maybe it’s just my limited perspective.
I’m not sure where this post is going so bear with me.
More and more across our country – and around the world – groups are coming together to declare their independence. There’s a restlessness afoot. People are growing weary of institutions of all shapes and sizes.
And the Internet seems to be bringing many of these forces together in ways not seen before.
Just like the invention of the printing press – when suddenly every person could own a copy of Scripture, or the latest pamphlet or newspaper – now everyone can own those things, as well as create and distribute their own versions.
You’ve likely heard much said about how Obama should credit much of his success to his campaign’s use of new media and the Internet. And putting great tools like my.barackobama.com to use gave every Joe Democrat with a computer a voice and a platform to share it on.
People had grown tired of the institution/administration that was in place and they saw Obama as their savior (we’ll leave that up for later debate).
And now, on the other side of the aisle, tea parties or tea baggers (depending on which side you’re on) mounted protests around the country to declare they’re no longer interested in paying taxes that bailout Fortune 500 Countries or social welfare programs. They organized via the Internet and social networks with no clear leadership. They even refused the “professional politicians” opportunities to speak at the protest rallies.
When Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele asked to speak at the Chicago tea party, his request was politely refused by the organizers: “With regards to stage time, we respectfully must inform Chairman Steele that RNC officials are welcome to participate in the rally itself, but we prefer to limit stage time to those who are not elected officials, both in Government as well as political parties. This is an opportunity for Americans to speak, and elected officials to listen, not the other way around.” – WSJ
Alongside the tea parties, Gov. McDreamy jumped in and told folks he supports a bill that would lead Texas to succeed from the Union. Could be an interesting idea – as long as we don’t simply replace Washington D.C. with Austin, Texas.
(And BTW – I’m with Mike Morrell, in asking “Where were these folks during the last eight years when the government continued to rack up ginormous debt for a war in Iraq and took away our personal freedoms and securities in the name of ‘National Security?'” Why aren’t they also calling foul when we’re about to send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan? But I digress…. be sure and read Mike’s great post on this topic as well.)
Today, I saw news about two new local Farmer’s Markets in the Dallas area. One is opening in Mockingbird Station, the other has already started in Oak Cliff.
And in that spirit, I also watched a trailer for Food Inc. That seems to discuss the institutionalizing of our food supply. (see also Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma)
Of course if you’ve followed this blog or my podcast for long you know I’m a fan of organic churches and the empowerment of the priesthood of believers.
I was told this week that a group of youth from our tribe discussed the future of the church during their weekly gathering and after dividing up into separate groups they each came back with very similar ideas…
- small groups meeting in homes
- no church buildings
- very relational
- reaching out to the community
- “contemporary” music without the big band or production
- elational music with one or two guitars
Sounds pretty anti-institutional to me. Love it! I hope they start seeing that as they move into “leadership positions.”
And this theme just continues to grow in more and more areas. It’s exciting and scary at the same time. I can’t wait to see where it all ends up. Something big is coming down the pipe. Are you ready?
What about you? Do you see other stories that line up with this realm of thinking? Do you think its a good course? Dangerous course? What side do you want to be standing on?
Social networking and the church
So I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not – but there’s this phenomenon going on around you – Web 2.0.
I don’t know that anyone’s really settled on a definition of this new wave of Internet sites but I think everyone can agree on what it’s not – stagnant, outdated websites that simply push information onto people, rather than allowing them the opportunity to pull the information they want/need.
Think about sites like Flickr, YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter where there’s a broad wealth of information and content that is typically user driven and user created. No more Mr. Corporate America telling people what they will and can’t read. Users are sharing content and connecting in new amazing ways.
Last week as Laurie and I were out and about I received an update via txt message from my mate Thomas over in Scotland. He was watching the final episode of 24, Season 6 with his wife.
I commented that I knew more about Thomas than most of my friends who live within a 30-45 mile radius of my home — and Thomas and I have never met in person. Thomas later commented that he knows more about Laurie and I than he does our next door neighbor – maybe a good thing and a bad thing.
As part of my job here at DCCCD we’ve been discussing our district’s and specifically our department’s Intranet presence. I was forwarded an article (must be a member to read) yesterday from Communication World that suggests most Intranet sites are built around early 1990 standards, not the new Web 2.0 ideas. I would hardily agree – at least of the few that I’ve seen.
Most companies chose to block Web 2.0 sites and applications from their users – I’m sure Laurie can give you an earful on how annoying that is for her where she works. She’s now blocked from visiting our own personal blogs and sites at work. She has to use a work around by using a VNC viewer to access the web over her computer and our DSL at home – very clever on her part.
The article in Communication World also suggests that because these Web 2.0 platforms work so well, people are finding their own work arounds for sharing information and building communities – even work related communities.
So what about our churches? Do we know folks we’ve met through Myspace or Facebook better than those around us at the ultimate community – our own church? And can churches use Web 2.0 ideas to build community – or should they?
After reading the article in Communication World it occurred to me, there may also be some Open Source Social Networking software out there. Sure enough – there is.
I found Elgg which looks like it’s super customizable (and also appears to have their entire website built around a Wiki). Could churches use software like Elgg to build their website, or at least expand on their current website? Or should churches simply build communities around social networks that are already out there?
I tend to believe we should be where the people are – not pulling them into separate realms or worlds but I don’t know. Maybe something like encounterSpace or iencounter would be beneficial. Right now our average attendance is between 180-250 each week. By far MySpace seems to be the most used social networking site used by folks at our church. We have 75 MySpace friends, we have 21 members in the encounter Facebook group and 4 or 5 people who have submitted photos to the encounter Flickr group. But would those numbers increase and communities form on a separate network “exclusive” for encounter folks? I don’t know. I participate in a semi-social networking site for geocaching but I don’t typically seek out other geocaches on places like Facebook and MySpace. Yet while my university offers an Alumni Social Networking portal, I’m more likely to connect with folks from UMHB through MySpace or Facebook. What do you think?