Tri-Synodical Theological Conference Wrap-Up

January 25, 2012 By 1 Comment
Tri-Synodical Tweetup

  I have enjoyed my time in Waco. I always enjoy catching up with colleagues and and learning about their ministries. The conference also severed as an important networking event for the ministry of Faith Growth. It was a time to inform everyone of the great websites and social media consulting that I offer. Monday night's tweet-up was a blast and I am thankful to everyone who attended. Below is a picture from the tweetup and pictures of the drawing winners.   David Hansen, St. John Prairie Hill, won a copy of The Word Made Fresh: Communicating Church and Faith Today by Meredith Gould. Heather Hansen, SWT Synod/TLU, won Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred by Meredith Gould. Jerry Wirtly, First English, Victoria, wins a gift certificate to Kirik's Custom Coffee! Clayton Faulkner, Faith Bellaire, won Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication. Not pictured is Tim Lenz, Christ the King Houston. He won Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business by Eric Qualmann. Headed back to Dallas in a few hours.  See everyone next year! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Faith Growth, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Tri-Synodical Tweetup – #3synod12

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Tri-Synodical-Tweetup

  UPDATE: I now know my room number. The tweetup is in Marriott Courtyard Suite 226. Next week I will travel to Waco, TX to attend the Tri-Synodical Theological Leadership Conference of the ELCA churches in Texas and Louisiana. I am looking forward to catching up with my Lutheran colleagues from around the state. One of the speakers, Roger Paynter, is my former Spiritual Director. So I am particularly excited to see him and hear him speak. I was able to secure a sweet suite for the conference, and I would like to host a tweetup during the conference. (Bad pun intended ;-)). So come one, come all.. Monday, January 23, 2012 7:30pm - 10:30pm (Come and Go) My suite at the Marriott Courtyard (across the street from the Waco Convention Center) Refreshments Provided At this time I do not know my room number, but I'll get that info out as soon as I know. Be sure to follow me on twitter. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Faith Growth Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Communication in the Church of the Future

September 7, 2011 By 6 Comments
social_media

  Social Media is all the buzz these days. For those in the church this new technology leaves us wondering how to use this tool as a means to support our ministries. There are questions of mastering the technology, engaging the conversation, social evangelism, social media polices, Facebook group vs. a Facebook Page, and the like. The cultural shift occurring in society is greater than social media alone.  Social Media is just one of the first manifestations of this shift. A Shift in Communication We are in the beginnings of a communication transition. Only the second such transition in the history of humanity. The first was post Gutenberg when society transitioned from the Oral tradition to that of print. This communication transition precipitated a cultural revolution and ushered in Modernity.  All of modernity was built on the written word. Information was controlled by the select few with the funds to produce and publish content. It was a communications model of one to many - pulpits, stadiums, books, TV, and Movies all existed within this model. Many to Many The popularity of Social Media is in part because it shifts the one to many model on its head. Social Media allows for communication of Many to Many.  This communication occurs with out the gatekeepers of publishing houses, TV networks or big Movie studios. Anyone can sign-up for a social networking site and instantaneously have a platform in which to communicate with Many.  Geography is no longer a barrier to communication These social networks bring individuals together without regard to national boarders, and with programs such as Google Translate language in no longer barrier to communication! Many to Many communication allows everyone to be creators and publishers of content. What Does All This Mean for the Church? I don't know exactly. We are just at the very early stages of this transition and technology continues to evolve at ever increasing pace. I do … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Beyond the Building, Community, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Facebook – Yes!!

January 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This response was written to a blog post on the ELCA women site. Original post Don't Find Me Facebook by Emily Hansen on Jan 7th 2010: I must respectfully disagree – what you describe is not the experience that I have had since I joined fb on my b-day this past year. I try to challenge myself every year to try something new, and this past year it was fb. I am so glad I did! I am single, live in a big city and travel for work. I have found fb to be a great way for me to keep up with friends during the work week. (BTW – I don’t do fb at work. Work is for work.) I am friends mostly with my family, folks from my church, and other friends local and remote. I don’t ‘friend’ people I don’t know and my friends are the same way – so what we post is only being seen by those we select to see it. In addition, you can send a private message directly to a specific person or group of people. Below are some positive benefits (partial list!): 1) I am once again connected with some friends who moved and am able to interact with them more easily using this medium. I find that when we get together, I feel closer to them b/c while I may not have seen them for a while, we have been keeping up with each other in the interim. 2) I am friends w/my sister-in-law & nieces on fb. I like keeping up with them on more of the small stuff of life. We only see each other 2 times a year, and I had always regretted that I wasn’t more in tune with their daily lives. When my niece graduated this past May, they put a few pics up w/in a couple of hours! It meant so much to me to feel more connected to the celebration in real time. 3) My son is on staff at a church and has informed the church office of 2 deaths in church members families b/c he is connected to the families via fb. 4) I lead a small group and have set up a group w/in fb so that I can send messages that go only amongst the group. We can continue our discussion with each other throughout the week by posting … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community

Social Media Pastor

December 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I have been amazed at the way Christian community expands and develops through the use of social media, i.e. facebook, tweeter, ... Here is an interesting article on the subject: Does your Church have a Social Media Pastor? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community