Archive for the 'Faith and Technology' Category
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The Lord has been teaching me lately about how He uses relationships as the primary means for transforming lives. Many of us, myself included, grew up focusing on how to intellectually understand the gospel. To mature in the faith meant understanding doctrine and reading C.S. Lewis. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this – it is an integral part of growing in your faith. But God has been showing me that true faith includes relationships. How we interact with those around us is also an important part of our Christian walk. Maybe more important.
So how does this relate to web sites? Well, it seems to me that, for the most part, the web sites I see are directed at the head (intellect) and not the heart (relationships). But yet, to have a real impact, we must be focusing on both. Our web site readers will not internalize our message if they do not feel a connection to it.
So, how can we do this? We must make our web sites personal. When someone reads a web site, they shouldn’t be seeing a “church” web site or a “Christian ministry” web site – they should be seeing people. This can be done in many ways: pictures, stories, testimonies, video, audio. Connections to more personal sites such as blogs or Facebook profiles could also do this.
How does your church or ministry web site do in this area? I will be writing and researching this further this summer, so stay tuned! And I will be presenting all my findings this fall at the Internet Ministry Conference, so if you’re thinking about going, get signed up now.
I have begun reviewing the results of my survey on Internet ministry this week – over 300 churches and ministries responded and I am finding the results quite fascinating. As part of the survey, I gave respondents the chance to make themselves available to me for further, in-depth research. Many, many respondents gave me the OK to do this and I am now reviewing the web sites of those ministries in order to select a few for follow-up.
One of the most interesting trends I have found in reviewing these sites is that many of the sites who rated their Internet implementations as very successful are NOT those who have the coolest, most modern looking sites. In fact, many of these successful sites are very “web 1.0” looking: Frontpage-style templates, simple coloring, and not a bit of flash animation! So what makes these sites so successful? I will find out the details when I contact the organization, but from the sites themselves I can see one key theme: quality content that is updated frequently. These sites had blogs, calendars, and pages that were full of recent, relevant information about the ministry.
This reinforces my ideas about what really makes Internet ministry successful: it is not the technology, it is the people and the processes. My research into these organizations is going to seek to answer questions about how this gets done: How do organizations keep their content fresh and updated? How much time does it take? Stay tuned…
Lifecasting:
Lifecasting is the practice of making your whole life available via the Internet. This used to be done by attaching a camera to your PC and then uploading everything to the Internet as it happens. A somewhat newer trend is using a cellphone video camera. By having the camera on a mobile device, people can now truly take the camera everywhere and broadcast everything that happens. But are people really doing this? Yes: check out qik.com to see what people are showing.
Just as cellphone cameras have made the availability of pictures from any event available (no matter how obscure, unplanned, or accidental), now cellphone video cameras have done the same for video. David Brin wrote of the Transparent Society and I believe that his vision is coming to be. In his book, he envisioned that all parts of public life would be recorded and used to enhance public safety (as well as to allow us to do things like check on our children, preview traffic conditions, etc.). While he didn’t necessarily include the idea of mobile phones and the Internet as part of this, what is happening today is eerily close to what he foresaw. One of the overarching ideas in his book is that we are much better off in a world where the public has control over the cameras than where the government has control.
Let’s look at this from a ministry perspective now. How can lifecasting be used to promote Jesus? How can it be used to encourage people to come to our churches or participate in our organizations? I’m not sure. If we live streamed our services and events? If we hooked up our pastors 24/7 to a camera?! I’m not sure if I want to know what anyone is doing all the time; and I sure do not want everyone to know what I am doing all the time! What do you think?
In my previous post, I summarized a discussion I had with several pastors in an all day session on Internet ministry. One of the points made by these pastors was that true ministry required physical presence: “the class agreed that effective Internet ministry should always encourage face-to-face fellowship and should never replace the physical gathering.” As a ministry develops an Internet presence, this philosophical point must be agreed upon beforehand. If you feel that your Internet ministry is a supplement to face-to-face ministry, then you will likely choose a different feature set for your web site than if you saw the Internet as the primary place for ministry.
I received this email from Brian Atkinson, Manager of Alliance Development for Gospel Communications Network, regarding his thoughts on the place of the Internet in ministry:
Hi David,
I read through your blog post, and I have some comments.
Our internet ministry is built on the notion that the internet can indeed be used for ministry. We value the face-to-face time and have an annual conference to facilitate the community better. But for us, the physical connection supplements the internet ministry and not the other-way around.
Time and time again, we’ve seen people touched – virtually – but nonetheless spiritually by internet ministry. We have a nearly 13 year track record of ministries with no physical component to their ministry make an enormous impact for Christ online; bringing people into relationship with Jesus and helping to develop that relationship. I’ve personally been involved in ministry over the internet for nearly 10 years. I’ve never met anyone I’ve counseled face-to-face and I don’t intend to. I believe that ministry can happen anywhere – even in cyberspace.
I hope that helps,
-brian
Where do you stand on this issue? Did your organization develop a philosophy on this before (or during) the development of your web presence?
I had the privilege of spending all day with about twenty-five pastors last week to discuss the topic of Internet ministry. These men were all students in the Doctor of Ministry program at Talbot Theological Seminary, attending a two-week intensive course on site at Biola. Dr. Kent Edwards, the professor, offered me a day with them to discuss Internet ministry. It was a blessing for me to be able to share my insights on the Internet with them and also for them to discuss their insights on the Internet and ministry with me. After opening up with some background on the Internet and the evolution of the web (all the way up to that buzzword “web 2.0”), we switched gears and spent some time discussing two questions: “What is ministry?” and “How can the Internet be used for ministry?”.
What is ministry?
When I asked “What is ministry?”, the class immediately began tossing out responses. Most could be summarized by simply stating “love your neighbor as yourself”: serving others, meeting the needs of others, caring, helping others grow in grace, glorifying God. What became clear was that there was no single definition of ministry; one must look around them and see what is needed and then minister to the needs that arise. We also agreed that ministry is inherently physical: most of these things require, at some point, face to face contact.
How can the Internet be used for ministry?
The discussion then turned to the Internet. To do ministry on the Internet is straightfoward: take the answers to “what is ministry?” and do it on the Internet. We discussed several ways that this could be done, but we kept coming back to the idea of a physical presence being required at some point. We then agreed that some of the elements of ministry could be done online, but not all of them.
Three categories of Internet ministry
During our discussion, Dr. Edwards worked to help organize our thinking. He suggested that the use of the Internet for ministry could be divided into three categories:
- missions/outreach: using the Internet to reach the unreached, to spread the news about the gospel. For example: putting up a web page that shared the gospel to a targeted group and encourages them to attend your church or find a church body for themselves.
- augmenting existing ministry: leveraging the Internet to enhance current ministry tasks and to make them more efficient. For example: starting a prayer blog to better communicate both prayer requests and answers to prayer.
- replacing existing ministry: to completely move a ministry task to the Internet and not do it physically. For example: doing small groups online via Skype or IM.
The class agreed that the first two categories were definitely useful, but that the third category was problematic. In fact, as the discussion turned from “what is Internet ministry?” to “what is effective Internet ministry?”, the class agreed that effective Internet ministry should always encourage face-to-face fellowship and should never replace the physical gathering.
I responded to the class that not everyone would agree with them. I know several churches who are willing to do some of the third category of ministry, with the idea that it is the only way to reach some people.
What do you think? Is it a good use of the Internet to completely replace some aspects of physical ministry with online ministry? Are we being presumptuous in assuming that one can fully fellowship with other believers online? Or should there always be the intention to bring them to a physical church body? In future blog posts, I will explore this further and look at a couple of examples of how some churches are handling Internet ministry in that third category.
Technology use by the Amish
I just came across this very interesting article on how the Amish use technology, written for Wired by Howard Rheingold. Howard is hard to describe: academic, visionary, artisan, eccentric. He loves technology and and examines it from unorthodox angles. This particular article falls into the topic I have been thinking about lately: the effects of technology on our faith and relationships. In it, he explores exactly how the Amish determine which technology they will allow into their communities and which they will not. While we all think that the Amish never use any technology, in fact they do. But they do not want to be controlled by it or allow it to change who they are – a quite healthy point of view that maybe we could use as well. As the article explains:
While the say of the bishops is binding, the Amish come to their decisions quite consensually. New things are not outright forbidden, nor is there a rush to judgment. Rather, technologies filter in when one of the more daring members of the community starts to use, or even purchases, something new. Then others try it. Then reports circulate about the results. What happens with daily use? Does it bring people together? Or have the opposite effect?
Read the article and let me know your thoughts. What criteria should we use when adopting a technology for our personal use? Do you know anyone who has refused to own a cellphone or own a television for this reason?
Recently, I questioned whether technology was really morally neutral. For much of my life I have seen technology as a tool for progress, for improvement. In fact, I am focusing much of my time right now into research on how technology can be used to improve the ministries of churches and missions organizations. I am generally an optimist when it comes to technology and think that it generally has a positive influence on society, so it was somewhat of a revelation for me to consider that technology is not morally neutral, but may in fact be morally negative.
So lately I have been thinking about the technology I use day to day in my life and wondering what sorts of effects it is having on me. More specifically, how is it affecting the things that I value most highly: my faith and my family. Is it improving or detracting from my day to day relationships with my God and those I most love?
In this post, I want to focus on a positive impact that a specific technology is having on my relationships. Specifically, I want to focus on my High Definition Dual Digital Video Recorder Satellite Dish Box. So, what is the positive impact that this is having on my relationships? Besides allowing me to watch my beloved Lakers and Angels in glorious high definition in surround sound (not to mention “24”, if it ever returns to the small screen this year!), it also allows me to decide when I want to watch.
You see, it is not the high definition or the Dolby 5.1 surround that improves my relationships. It is the DVR. I can now be intentional about what television I watch. There are two specific uses for this that have greatly improved my relationships, specifically with my family. First, I can time shift. This time of year, I love to keep up with the Lakers, college bowl games, and the NFL playoffs. But the rest of my family does not. So I can now record the games during the evening and watch them after everyone has gone to bed. The dual receiver function of our box also comes into play here: I can record the game on one receiver while we watch something else on the other.
The second way the DVR improves my relationships is that we, as a family, can select the shows we want to watch ahead of time and then sit down when we have time and watch them (and skip the commercials as well). It allows us to be highly selective of our time in front of the television and it gives us the chance to decide based upon what we are interested in, not based upon what’s on right now.
So, here’s a thumbs up to technology, at least this time. As I come up with other uses where technology has an impact on my family or my faith, I will post them here. What about you? Have you noticed technology’s impact on your family or your faith? Let me know in the comments.
Interesting article in the OC Register today. The article discusses how a researcher at UCI is using Second Life as a virtual “testing ground” for software that controls a rapid transit system. She is able to use Second Life to simulate something that will eventually be used in real life. I previously mentioned in this blog that Christians should be in Second Life as both a way to reach others who are there as well as for the experience of using virtual worlds for spreading the gospel. This story made wonder if it would also work the other way: can we use Second Life as a way to “test out” different methods of our work (marketing projects, youth activities, acts of charity, etc.) that can then translate back into the real world? I’m not sure, but there may be certain circumstances where this may be profitable.
Woot! for Christ
In my previous post, I related my recent purchase of a Roomba robot vaccuum cleaner. I purchased the Roomba on woot.com, an amazing e-commerce web site that has a simple strategy: sell one compelling product a day. Each day, the Woot home page is completely devoted to one particular product. Generally, the products fall into a hi-tech category, but they have sold just about everything there. My purchases include the aforementioned Roomba, an HD-TV USB stick for my Mac, headphones, and a bluetooth music transmitter. The site is worth going to every day just to read the write-ups about the products. Each day, the products are presented in a tongue-in-cheek manner that makes it a must read. And of course, the prices are usually the best you’ll find anywhere, suggesting that Woot works with manufacturers to move products that aren’t selling well on the open market and/or are refurbished. They also solve one of the biggest problems that many e-business sites have: shipping costs. No matter what they sell, shipping is only $5.00.
Then there’s the “Bag O’ Crap”. Every few weeks, woot sells this as a way to move product that has not sold yet. Each bag can hold up to three items for $1 each, so for $3 plus $5 shipping, you can get three unknown products sent to your door. There are many who wait and wait for the bag o’ crap just so they can order them and see what they get. And sell on eBay the things they don’t like.
Finally, Woot! is effective because they’ve built a loyal community. For each product sold, they open a discussion board for users to write comments. This allows those considering a purchase to see what others think of that days “woot”. I always review the messages to get an understanding of 1) is the Woot price good? and 2) is this a quality product? And maybe 3) to wonder at the amount of time some people have to post messages on a relatively obscure e-business site.
Woot is successful because every day you know exactly what you’ll get and because they always present their products in a unique and interesting way. I make it a habit to check woot.com just about every day to be sure I don’t miss out on “something good”. If the site offered 500 products, I wouldn’t bother. By offering one, I can easily check it out and make a decision.
Sometimes I wonder if we as Christians cannot learn something from Woot. As I research “effective Internet ministry”, I wonder if creating an Internet presence with complex menus, podcasts, and blogs actually makes the message harder to find. What if we could offer a site that gave users a simple message every day? Something that addressed the issues of the day in a manner that conveyed Christ’s love simply? Users would be compelled to come to the site daily to be inspired.
Are there any sites out there like that right now? Let me know…
And look: w00t has been made “word of the year” by Merriam-Webster. Of course, the Woot web site is not the first use of the term. You can look up the full history of the term here.
Lessons From Babel 