This week for The Gospel and
Global Media Class our key question is, "How might we understand “participatory knowing” in communities of faith?" I have so much floating around in my head that I want to say about this question and the general topic of social media and ministry I don't even know where to begin. I also feel extremely vulnerable in making my opinions, thoughts and ideas known here. You see for the last three years I have been occassionaly blogging here about my seminary journey, life and general wonderings, but there is no one that has known (or at least very few) that I even have a blog. It is safe place for me to dabble in blogging. Maybe a couple of random people have stumbled on my blog, but certainly not to my knowledge. Not knowing who stops by here makes this place safe for me. Now I know that only a few people from this class of 25 or so will actually make their way here, BUT there is a potential for 25 people (that I really don't know, but am slightly connected to and more and more connected to as we pray and engage with one another each day) to stop by here. Suddenly my anxiety and awareness of my vulnerability sky rockets. I know I am not alone in this feeling.
For anyone that is stopping by and not part of the class if you are interested we watched this YouTube video my Michael Wesch this week and if you have about 55 minutes you might find this very interesting to watch: “
An anthropological introduction to YouTube”
What really grabbed my attention in the video was the lengthy quote by Gary that Michael share in the video:
"... these kids because they are replicating and spreading his happiness. They are following a ritual that's meaningful if not yet vernerable. Learning to dance, lip syncing the song, documenting their performance just so, making if available for the world to see."
This was intriguing to me because we are not talking about anything with real significance, just fun and interesting, engaging and catchy. I then wondered what it look like if we were saying these exact things about Jesus, our faith and God. That we were so excited and energized to be following such a ritual that is meaningful and venerable. That people were so engaged they were replicating and spreading the happiness. Why does this not work for us in ministry? Or does it? Is it? How do we spread this participatory engagement with in and for the Word of God?
I then found myself sort of day dreaming about what a YouTube church service might look like. Now I am not talking about video taping a typical worship service and putting it on YouTube, but actually creating a worship service for YouTube viewers. It could be quite participatory with prayer responses, hymns, scripture, etc... written on the screen. The worship could be lead by one or a few people, but there would be a lot of space for the viewers to take roles in the worship. The audience could also then be one alone in a room somewhere or a group of people. I know this sounds a bit far fetched, but it also makes me really curious on if it would work, who might watch it and what it actually might look like. What do you think?
The
Click 2 Save Book by Elizabeth Drescher and Keith Anderson promotes pastors having a presence on Facebook and other social media sites. I have heard a lot of talk about pastors having a personal Facebook page and a private one. This has never felt right for me and in the book Drescher and Anderson make a point that as ministry leaders we shouldn't have anything on our personal sites that need or should be hid from anyone. They also take a stand against the common advice - don't make friends in your parish. Year's ago this may have good advice, but today we live in a world were people are looking for, craving and in need of connections. Personal connections. As Michael Wesch put it, it is "not just about the information but about linking people."
Drescher and Anderson say, "Sharing your story and your passions, being present and active in social media, humanizes you." (39) Of course just as in our "face-to-face" life in a congregation we have boundaries, these also apply to our social media face. I really enjoyed the advice Click 2 Save has given about encouraging a presence on social media and not having to feel as though we need to hide who we are from our congregations. I think we are living in a time more than ever where people just want to feel a connection, be a part of something. "Dan Zarrella, a social media analyst, summarizes it this way: the best way to approach social media participation is to 'stop talking about yourself....But start talking as yourself and show us how the world looks through your eyes.'" (CLick 2 Save pg. 39)
Well that is it for now. Like I said at the beginning, there is so much to say about all of this. The reading and posting work is quite rigorous and time consuming. It is all good, but doesn't seem to be enough time to not only "keep up" but to process and post as well. Thanks for stopping by!
