November 20, 2007
Video Short at ANIMOTO
A friend introduced me to ANIMOTO.
So I took a few minutes (literally) and put together this short of Hayden and I.
Have a Great Thanksgiving!
Posted by rhett at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)
Moving Away From Top-Down Church Leadership
I've been thinking a lot about leadership in Church, especially leadership in the PCUSA. You see, I'm currently "under care" in the PCUSA, and I meet regulary with the CPM, which is the Committee on the Preparation for Ministry. I have been an "inquirer" for a very extended time (over two years) and I have no desire to move to candidacy at this time. I met with my committee this Sunday, sharing my feelings and thoughts with them regarding leadership within the PCUSA, and with Church leadership in general.
Most of us have grown up or been accustomed to hierarchical leadership and top-down models, whether it be in the Church, or in the corporate world. But I, like many others have grown uncomfortable with that model over the last few years and I wonder about its Biblical relevance. Something doesn't seem to sit well within me when our Church structures often look more corporate, than Biblical.
I have always been drawn to Henri Nouwen's book, In The Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. He talks a lot about a servant leader who leads within, from a position of vulnerability, heading in the direction of downward mobility. When I think of this leadership, I think of leaders who are amongst their peers, employees and workers, not leading from a position of hierarchy, or out front, but within. It's a leader who is in the trenches and doesn't keep arm's length distance from those they lead. I picture a web, rather than top-down flow charts....I picture Jesus walking with, in and among his disciples, not sitting on a worldly throne or with a nice engraved plate on his office door.
When we think of leadership, we often think we have to maintain a certain amount of authority and influence, and to maintain that, we have to keep our distance so that the boundaries and rules of employer-employee relationships are maintained. But in Biblical leadership, one maintains power, authority and influence by giving it away, not by trying to maintain it. Jesus continually emptied himself of his earthly power by giving it away, and that is what drew people to him. Phil. 2:5-11.
I work with college students, and they are drawn to leaders who give power away, not those who maintain it. They are drawn to leaders who aren't afraid to be in the trenches and get dirty. You won't see this style of leadershp reflected more than seeing it in online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Online social networks are a web and community of people where leaders are connected with everyone else...in their midst. There is no hierarchy, but it is flat and horizontal. But this style of leadership can not stay online, but must flow into our Churche's structures and into the life of our congregations.
Hopefully I have grown as a leader over the last 6 years in our college ministry. And one of the lessons I have learned is what I have talked about above. Leading is less about placing yourself above in places of authority and power....and rather about placing yourself in places that give away power and make you vulnerable among those you lead.
I just wrote a piece Ministry in the online world of social networking, and I like what the editor of the Outlook, Jack Haberer says in his piece, The church is flat. The below says something I think about the old style of leadership and the new style of leadership, much of which has been ushered in by the "new media." The question remains though, when is the Church going to learn.
Jack says:
The world really is flat, as Thomas Friedman proclaimed in his book by that title.
For those of us who have held the privileged role of "editor" (the person who decides what news is "fit to print"), that privilege has disappeared.
For those of us who have held the privileged role of "preacher," (the person who tells the people what God's Word says and means), that privilege has disappeared, too.
Then again, maybe we were due for a change.
Actually, the change may be just what we Presbyterians need.
You see, we've long been flat world thinkers. Ours is the movement within Protestantism that set out to reform not only the core theology of salvation ("by grace through faith") but also the core theology of the church. We said "Enough!" to clergy-dominated governance. We developed forms and structures that would hold our preachers accountable to elected and ordained -- on par with the ministers -- elders. In fact, we labeled both groups elders, with one focusing on the proclamation of God's Word (teaching elders) and the other focusing on the exercise of church discipline (ruling elders). We also revived and redefined the office of the deacons as ordained leaders in ministries of mercy.
In the process, we were promoting a flat world, one that dethrones royals and elevates commoners, five centuries before Web 2.0.
Nevertheless, the Web 2.0 scene still feels discombobulating. In our earnest effort to be faithful stewards of our offices -- as pastors, elders, deacons, educators, music directors, and the like -- we have meticulously managed information, directed programs, and -- yes, let's admit it -- operated like royals, the ruling class.
Caught in the vortex where flat world accountabilities meet the need for assertive leadership, many of us have tilted toward the latter, placing crowns upon our heads.
So when people continually ask me "Why is the PCUSA Church dying?" I think a lot of it has to do with the models of leadership being offered up and how they have structured the Church organization. In terms of leadership they are heading in one direction, while the world, especially the youth are heading in another.
For some good blog reading on the issues of PCUSA, leadership, etc.
And read the below posts, which are part of a collaborative effort initiated by Drew Ditzel, and his post, An Emerging Profession: An Introduction
Read Adam Cleaveland's, An Emerging Profession: Trying to write a PIF
Read Jonny Baker's, an emerging profession: leadership in the new environment part 2
Read Josh Brown's, An Emerging Profession: Top Down Hierarchies & Flat Worlds
Read Anthony Smith's, An Emerging Profession: Resisting the maintenance of Spectacle (Part II)
Read Wess Daniels', An Emerging Profession: Sharing Power In A Flattened World
Read Julie Clawson's, An Emerging Profession
Read Carol Howard Merritt's, An emerging profession: the frightening thing about friendships
This is not an issue of traditional vs. emergent, or old vs. new, but what style of leadership is best suited to the Gospel and doing ministry in a flattened world.
Posted by rhett at 01:41 PM | Comments (1)
November 15, 2007
Crawling to the finish line with a broken leg
I like to run....I've run a couple of marathons. That takes some determination. But this girl, crawling across the cross country finish line with a broken leg is unbelievably courageous. Wow! I don't know if I would have ever been that determined.
Here is the ESPN Story on Claire.
Here is the video. Watch at your own risk. It's from a distance, so you don't see much, but you see enough.
Claire Markwardt, cross country
Posted by rhett at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2007
Last night with Rob Bell
Last night, my wife and 14 others went to see Rob Bell speak at the The God's Aren't Angry Tour in Los Angeles at the Wiltern. I can't think of any other events or venues that I have ever been to where the speaker (Rob Bell) has his name out on the marquee, next to bands like Paramore.
There was amazing energy on the street corner and in the venue as we awaited for Rob Bell to come out and speak. I know this would make some people uncomfortable (the waiting and anticipation as if waiting for a rock star to emerge on stage), but the reality is, Bell is an amazing communicator. And not matter what you think of his theology (agree, disagree), he knows how to reach and engage an audience.
Rob is an amazing storyteller and when you hear him weave a story, you have the feeling that he could take it in several different directions, which as a listener is quite remarkable. Especially if you are a Christian who has grown up in the church your whole life, or who has heard the Biblical story told over and over again in the same manner.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but this is the third time I have seen Rob speak, and I had a chance on the last tour (SexGod Tour) to have dinner with he and my student leaders, so I appreciate who he is, not only as an author and speaker, but as a person. I found him to be someone with a lot of integrity, and someone who is living out what he preaches (I'm thinking specifically in this case about social justice/economic issues and he and his family's decision to leave the suburbs and move into the inner city).
He is real and authentic on stage, without bleeding on the audience. That is something this generation, and I think other generations have been dying for. Who else will you go see speak for two hours? The list is short, especially in Christian circles. And I'm not thinking about a student who loves to hear a lecture, but someone who can draw from a wide range of backgrounds and people.
For two hours I was engaged and I didn't want it to end, which is the same feeling I have when I listen to his podcasts.
He is always insightful, honest, controversial....but he always makes you think, and wrestle with your faith. That is refreshing in a day and age when I think most Christians, especially Christian leaders would prefer that we "fall in line", rather than have to wade through the messiness of life.
So there will continue to be disagreements about his views on 1st Century Judaism (his interpretation of different schools at the time), or his views on the Atonement (though he didn't address this issue explicitly in theological language, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how he feels about penal substitution...doesn't like it). And I know there are other reasons why people don't like him or his theology.
But I enjoyed him very much. I enjoy his teaching, his authenticity, and his desire to move outside of the walls of the church and engage the culture. I turned to my wife last night and said, "this would have been an event that our non-Christian friends would have found very engaging and non-judgmental." That is hard to find in this day and age, especially in a lot of our churches.
I will stop at this point, but for a good summary, check out this post at The Blind Beggar.
Rob Bell, The God's Aren't Angry Tour
Posted by rhett at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)
Real People, Not Just Facebook Friends: The Importance of Being There in the New Media Age
The title of this post, and the article below is John Mark Reynolds. It's really great, and I wanted to post the whole thing.
I agree with him. Social networking, as big as a proponent of it as I am, it does not replace being with a person in the flesh. It can help us stay connected with each other, plan events and share information, but nothing is as great as sitting down with someone in person and sharing life.
Las Vegas, Virtual Reality, and Plain Old Reality
I just returned from the Godblog Conference in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is a great place to discuss the world of virtual reality, since the Strip is a three dimensional attempt at a virtual world. Of course, what happens there does not stay there, since one brings one's soul back home from Vegas. You can still see the sky in Las Vegas, concrete is just as hard, and the eyes of the casino workers look sad behind all the face makeup. Virtual reality cannot keep out reality.
The same things is true of the Net. Adopt any "avatar" you wish, but you are still you. Hide behavior carefully, but (as I well know) what you do will still matter. It hurts when people attack in virtual reality and it feels good when they praise your work.
Virtual reality is dependent on plain old reality, so it cannot escape harming or helping the souls on line. Because it so dependent on the world of concrete, neon, electricity, and physical bodies, it will never replace them. People are not just minds, but minds in bodies. To really know me (all of me), you have to know my whole self which includes my physical self.
As I have gotten to know certain people on line through their blogs, it increased my desire to know them.
You cannot understand Hugh Hewitt until you see him laugh. He laughs hard, but never stops thinking except when he is listening. It is a rare trait in a man who talks for a living to see his focus on what someone else is saying. You cannot hear it, you have to see it.
Al Mohler is naturally noble. His kingly manner is not stuffy or affected, it proceeds with him as he moves. He is everywhere he is.
Joe Carter delivers a joke with Bob Hope's dead pan. Joe looks as if he should be the sheriff of an Old West town, he has that energetic slouch of a gun fighter. . . potential energy that does not wish to be bothered, but could actually act at a whisper of trouble.
Matt Anderson is intense at every moment as if he may have to leap up to save the West at any moment, Eric Jones has a thoughtful manner, Abraham Piper has a face that shouts his every mood, while Joshua Sowin is more guarded, but always looking about for the sub-text of the moment.
The A-Team blog members defy their virtual names by being gentle folk, both Roger and Amy remind one of more civilized days. People who have only read La Shawn Barber certainly miss the Athena flash of her eyes. The women of Intellectuelle are intensely rational, but appear to be enjoying it immensely.
I would not have missed late night, breakfast, mid-conference talks with these folk and many others. I can see them when I read them now.
All of which brings brings me to an important lesson: there are no complete conversations without being together: soul and body.
In a virtual world, we need more than Facebook friends.
Not Just Facebook Friends
It is good to socially network. The Net is a great help there.
I love having Facebook friends as it means I can keep up with what everyone is doing, but it is not as good as being there with them. I am glad to see how some alum are doing, but I miss having them around. Facebook reminds me to pray for Tim, Colin, Brian, Josh, Alisa, Jimmy, Sarah, Andrew, Katie, Meredith, Micah, Jenn, or Tom (to pick just a few from recent days), but it is not nearly as good as having class with them.
To you, if you have read this far, these names are a list. Because I spent years with them, they are real to me. I miss them when they are gone and "virtual" friendship is a poor substitute.
They have changed, I am sure, over the years, but my image of them has not. That makes me sad. I wish I could see them again and refresh my mental picture. Part of who they are now is what they have become in soul and body. I can guess much from their on-line information, but it is not as rich as being there.
This is obvious, but easy to forget. It is now simpler to multi-task with a virtual friend, rather than go to the bother of going to see a real friend . . . who will demand that I pay attention and not do five other things while talking to him.
Hope, the fairest flower in all of Christendom, wishes my whole attention, but then kissing her is better than looking at her picture on Facebook.
I can talk to my Dad on the phone, read his email (which he sends me six times due to his mailing program), but it is not as good as hearing him "live." He booms and chuckles in a way that nobody else does.
Virtual contact (phones and Facebook) can sustain me only so long. God made us to want to be with each other. He takes this so seriously that though God sent a perfect Story, He loved us enough to come and live that Story out in front of us.
Incarnation, Not Just A Message from God
For God so loved the world, that He came Himself and did not just send us an invitation to chat on line.
Often when I talk to skeptics, this is a point they miss. God did not just hear about our pain, or sympathize with it, God experienced our pain. He took on Himself all the doubts and confusions that have ever been. He heard people, experienced rejection, and did not use His divine power to avoid our infernal rage. He took it face to face . . .and His Spirit is still with us abiding in our midst.
Christianity is not our journey to God, but God's coming to us. His Kingdom is here now not just abstractly, but because His Spirit is here. He does not just watch from the sky, but experiences the pain of His beloved children. God shows up. He talks and He listens. He acts and He waits for us to respond.
Nor was this "being there" confined to the spirit. In the Incarnation, God put skin on to be with us in every way. Someday Jesus Christ will return, fully God and fully man, to be our King. He will not be here in Spirit only, but in physical fact.
We will be able to see Him with our physical eyes!
If God shows up, shouldn't I?
Showing Up in Every Area of Life
I must be with my kids to parent them.
I must be with my friends to be friends.
I must be with my students to teach them.
I must be with my wife to love her.
God help me, but often I am too distracted to be with immortal souls. It is as if I am getting ready to be with people, by talking about them or writing about them, but run out of time to be with them. I am like the stupid business man who earns money for his family, but is never with his family while they spend it.
This week I will work hard to be there. I am incarnate and I will not try to hide from it!
Godblogcon, John Mark Reynolds
Posted by rhett at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2007
Were you born between 1980 and 1995? The Millennials Are Coming
Last night my wife and I watched the 60 Minutes episode The Millennials Are Coming.
Here is the link to the video on CBS:
The Millennials Are Coming
Below is an excerpt of the 60 Minute interview about Zappos
Hey, I know that every generation has been criticized for something. And the "millennials" are definitely bearing the brunt of that right now.
I don't want to go into detail right now. But I definitely think there are some things that are just not right with the "millennials", or at least how they are defined. But I also think there are some things right with them. How's that for diplomacy? Unlike previous generations, I do think that they don't let their job and career define them like previous generations. They are creative and work at many different jobs, many of which they are really passionate about. But I do think there is something to be said about being a responsible and respectable worker in your work and with your boss. A lot to be said in fact.
I'll talk more about this later. But like everything, there are some good things to be said, as well as some bad things.
And I don't think everything should always be reduced to an issue of economics.
Posted by rhett at 11:38 PM | Comments (3)
The Christian Post reflects on the conference
Here's a good write up from the GodblogCon conference this last week in The Christian Post.
Here is an excerpt about my session:
Thus, the demographic that would benefit most from a strong Christian presence in the new media is America's youth, according to a college group leader.
While pastors only get a few hours a week with youth in ministry, this generation is spending upwards 20 hours a week on the Internet, particularly social networks.
"When they spend that much time online, there's this idea that it's not just us in the church [who are] shaping their identity; their identity is being shaped by this online culture and it's hard to compete with," said Rhett Smith, college director at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.
When Smith first launched a website for his ministry, traffic was already dying after five to six months. The community he wanted to create for his group of young believers online through a website that included forums and pictures got zero traffic, he said during GodBlogCon. An attractive and interactive website wasn't enough.
He decided to get on board with the popular MySpace social network and created a page for his college ministry. While experiencing some success, he found he couldn't control the content and the appearance of racy ads. Before Smith did anything in response, his college students already launched a Facebook page for the ministry.
There's a flattening of hierarchy on MySpace or Facebook, Smith noted. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Smith typically has to run ideas by higher authority such as elders. But on the Internet, there's no red tape.
"Our leadership style has to change," Smith stressed. "We can no longer be these people that lead on top ... I had to learn how to shift my leadership style where I'm a pastor who leads in the community."
"I can either stay on the sidelines while all my kids are on Facebook and MySpace; or I can enter in their midst and ... hopefully lead as a pastor within," he added.
Today, Smith says he hasn't found a tool more effective and easier to use than Facebook.
Godblogcon, The Christian Post
Posted by rhett at 09:22 PM | Comments (0)
Some quick thoughts about my time at GodblogCon
As you probably already know (since I posted a lot about it on Thursday) I attended and spoke at GodblogCon. I had a great time: First, I learned a lot about some new technology and the new media; Second, there was great conversation, especially at round table discussions about the new media and its impact on different spheres of life; Third, I believe, as do many others, that the new media is going to impact (and it has in many ways already) how we do church; Fourth, meeting people in person that you only know by a blog or website, has a great humanizing effect.
First, in regards to new technology. Nothing new to the world, but new to me in how I want to use it. Mars Hill Church in Seattle did a workshop on podcasting and video casting that I thought was informative and I've been thinking more and more about doing some podcasts with some other people, as well as making and posting some more videos. I really enjoyed getting to know Wade Tonkin and he interviewed me with the Flip and I so liked it I purchased one myself. You'll be seeing the results of this on my blog very soon.
Second, discussion around the new media is nothing new, but this was the first time I had been involved in a discussion with so many people that get it. The new media (however you want to define it) has already had, and will continue to have great impact on our life and the different areas that we inhabit. It was nice to be involved in a discussion with people in groups of 3-5, to sometimes 30, to sometimes 50, about the new media. Everyone had their own thoughts and opinions about it and it was great to put all of our heads together. Usually a conference like this is geared specifically towards tech issues and how to use and apply the tools. Our section of the conference was more about the theology, philosophy and reasons and application behind it. Which was very refreshing. Just because you have the means to purchase the tools, doesn't mean you should use them. So it was good to think through these tough issues.
Third, I'm not going to say much in this post, because I will say more later. But my whole talk, which you can listen to here, will just give you a very, very small glimpse of how the new media, specifically social networking, has influenced and is changing our ministry. I think one of the take aways for me from the conference that I continually heard over and over again was how the new media tends to level hierarchy in various spheres of life, and there is no longer a "gatekeeper" (a word which Al Mohler used in his talk), or the one person, or group in authority that can demand allegiance to thoughts, flow of information, etc. As I sat in small group discussions it was evident how these technologies are changing the way that many people do ministry. I think this is a great and exciting time, but not without some caution, or thought as we move forward.
Fourth, it's one thing to know someone only by their blog or website. And when that is the only way we know someone, it's much easier to make harsh judgments, be critical, and sling arrows via the web. But when you actually meet people, you realize just how human we all are. You realize that we have much more in common, especially Christ. And you realize that we are all trying to generally accomplish the same thing (share Jesus Christ with others) even though our theologies and techniques may differ. Some of these people I have met before and some were new friends. I had a great time hanging out at dinner with Joe Carter of Evangelical Outpost, Matt Anderson of Mere Orthodoxy, Andy Jackson of Smart Christian, Eric Jones of Transformed Daily and Abraham Piper and Josh Sowin of GodblogCon conference. It brings us out from behind our computers where it's easy to disagree and usually doesn't take any courage to write posts or make comments, to up close and personal interaction with one another, where it gets us away from our computers, and where it takes courage and authenticity to discuss our agreements, as well as our disagreements with each other...in person.
There were a lot of other interesting things that happened, and I met a lot of great people. Of course Mark Roberts is as great in person as he is on his blog, but I'll stop for now, and say thank you to Dustin Steeve a Biola Torrey Honors Student. Thanks to Dustin and his team.
Last, I really had a great time getting to meet and know Dr. John Mark Reyonlds who is a professor at Biola and who is the Director of the Torrey program. He did an amazing job facilitating discussion, and for making the conference not just about tech tools, but about the reasons behind us using them, and why we as Christians have a higher cause in mind when we employ the new media.
Posted by rhett at 07:03 AM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2007
Podcast of my talk and some other thoughts..
You can hear the podcast of my talk here at Scriptorium Daily.
Painful to listen to one's self....ugh. Do I sound like that? I wish I could practice this talk a few times over and over before I give it again.
And if you are wondering about some of my random ramblings (i.e. my daughter and wife), it's because they are looking at my Facebook page while I'm talking and they are trying to connect my computer to the screen as well. You'll know when that happens when I sort of fade out.
Good experience though.
Wade also posts some thoughts on my talk. Thanks Wade.
As does C.L. Wilson of B Relevant here
Posted by rhett at 04:41 PM | Comments (1)
Done with my talk....
I finished my talk at about 2:05pm. I thought it went well, but is one of those things where when you are done you wish you had said this or that. Or had a chance to do it a couple of times. But there was good discussion and questions during the talk and I've had some great conversation following.
Here is a copy of the handout (yeah, I know...very old school and old media) that I passed out and had them interact with.
New Media Ministry to the Myspace-Facebook Generation:
Employing New Media Technologies Effectively In Youth Ministries
by Rhett Smith
5 Movements Towards Online Social Networking
1. Online Journey
What is your online journey? How has it shaped your views of online social networks?
2. Identity Forming
When a student is in these communities for hours a day, how do we help shape and transform their identity, whether it is online, or in the personal time we get with them?
3. Leading Within
How does you or your church's leadership style contradict/correlate with youth in a MySpace-Facebook world?
4. Intermingling Lives
Does the exposure of student's lives intimidate, discourage or inspire you to want to engage with them online? Why or why not?
5. Transforming Communication
What can you do in your student's social network to help transform their environment and communication? How can you communicate Christ to your students online?
Resources (Books & Websites)
Disconnected: Parenting Teens in a MySpace World by Chap Clark & Dee Clark
Everyday Theology: How To Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends by Kevin Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson & Michael J. Sleasman
The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church by Shane Hipps and Brian McClaren
Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology by Albert Borgmann
Facebook: www.facebook.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com
Alexa-The Web Information Company: www.alexa.com
Social Networking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
Posted by rhett at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)
Caution on what you write
"When I think about hiring someone and they have a blog, I'll read 6 months of their archives." Word to the wise: be careful what you put on your myspace!
Matt Mullenweg who is the Wordpress originator.
Interview is from Boundless Line
Posted by rhett at 11:14 AM | Comments (1)
Live blogging from Godblogcon
Boundless Line is live blogging from the conference.
Posted by rhett at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
New Media Ministry to the MySpace-Facebook Generation: Employing New Media Technologies Effectively in Youth Ministries
I'm sitting at the Godblogcon right now, waiting for the keynote speech to begin with Dr. Al Mohler.
It's been a great morning so far hanging out with the people from Evangelical Outpost, Smart Christian, Desiring God and Mark Roberts.
But here is the essay I wrote for the official program for the event. I was reading through it last night and realized I would probably re-edit some things, but the gist of my thoughts are there.
I will post more later. Have a good day.
This workshop is designed to help us explore what it's like to do youth ministry in the MySpace-Facebook Generation, and for us to think critically about how and why we should engage our students in these communities. In this workshop I want to explore five aspects of online social networking communities and doing ministry in them: 1) Discussion of Our Online Journeys; 2) Online Identity; 3) Leading Within the Non-Hierarchical Structures of MySpace-Facebook; 4) The Intermingling of Both Positives and Negatives in These Communities; 5) Transforming of Student's Lives Through Online Communication.
Online Journey: My online journey in social networking has resembled the imagery of the ostrich with his head buried in the sand. While this technology was advancing I ignored it for many reasons, believing that what our ministry had to offer on our website was better, if not at least competitive with the sites my students were spending inordinate amounts of time on. Two years ago I began to notice that the traffic on our new website was dropping significantly and the dialogue that I had hoped for on our online forums was pretty much non-existent. Where was everyone spending their time? The answer: MySpace. But for reasons I will discuss later I drew the proverbial line in the sand and refused to bring our ministry onto MySpace as I was fearful of content control. But the more I held my stance the more I realized that my students were going to continue building their online community on MySpace as I continued to watch our website traffic become almost oblivious. What is your online journey to MySpace-Facebook?
Online Identity: If you have never actively used or engaged your youth in online communities you may fail to realize how addictive the interaction can be and how much our student's identity is formed around who they are online. It's not uncommon to find our students living duplicitous lives, interacting with a student who is in our midst on a weekly basis at church, but with a click of a mouse you soon realize they are often living a completely different life that is incongruent with the person you think you know. This phenomenon often leaves us scratching our heads wondering which is the real identity. This issue of identity and incongruent living is an important factor for us too keep in mind as we minister to our youth, otherwise we fail to take into consideration just how much their identities are being transformed by their online communities that they spend hours a day in. When a student is in these communities for hours a day, how do we as youth workers help shape and transform their identity, whether it be online, or the hour a week you see them?
Leading Within: Recently I was talking with a group of high school parents at our church about these online communities, and though many grasp the attraction of them to their children, many are left wondering what the big deal is. This feeling is not exclusive to parents, but it is one that many of us in youth ministry share as well. At times we see the value of these sites, especially in terms of creating groups, advertising and exchanging information, while other times we sometimes don't understand. For those of us born before the internet revolution we must remember that our students do not know of a world without the internet. It is primary to their life and how they communicate and socialize with their friends. But most importantly, the biggest draw for our students is that by being active in online communities they are in a sense in control. Being active online is socializing in a network where there are little to no rules and especially no parents, teachers or youth workers to enforce any type of rule, discipline or guidance. In the worlds of MySpace-Facebook they are the creators of their own content and their entire world from emails, photos, videos, games and more, exist in the virtual world before them. We can and must not underestimate the power of our students feeling empowered in this virtual world, especially when they may not feel this same type of empowerment at home, work, school or church. So how do we as youth workers lead within a structure where there is no official leadership?
Intermingling: After a few minutes on MySpace or Facebook you quickly realize that these communities offer both positives and negatives. Who hasn't gone online and seen one of their student's provocative profiles? This is a devastating blow to any youth worker, and a look into a student's life that you sometimes never see. Whether we were naive before or not, social networking destroys all naivete. Though these negative issues highlight some of the reasons why we often fear these communities, there is also a plethora of opportunities to see your students engaged in all kinds of positive things, whether it's finding a connection in an online Bible study group, joining a local outreach cause, or generally displaying a spiritual wisdom and maturity that you have been fostering for several years. These two aspects, the negative and positive intermingle online, and the challenge for us as youth workers is to sift through all of it and become discerning leaders as we help our students make their way through a complex world as well, both virtual and real. How do we handle situations as youth workers when one of our best leaders in the ministry has a provocative online profile?
Transforming Communication: MySpace-Facebook and other online communities are primarily centered around the issue of communication. Whether it's through messaging or the groups we belong to, we are primarily using these tools as a means to communicate. Herein lies a huge opportunity for youth workers to communicate with their students. For two years I was opposed to MySpace because of all the negatives, refusing to engage my students on their territory, and yet forfeiting a huge opportunity to communicate with them. Whenever an invention related to communication in the past was available, there have been those who have used it to their advantages. Today I believe that means is social networking. We as youth leaders not only have the opportunity to communicate words to our students through messages, announcements and advertising, but we also have the means to engage them and communicate the Word to them. Along with the positives and negatives, our words ultimately convey our beliefs, views and thoughts about the Word that transforms lives. What can we do as youth workers to not simply use these communities to communicate things about our ministry, but how can we communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to them?
These are just some of the issues related to social networking and youth ministry, so I hope that you will join me for a discussion on this topic. Whether you are working in youth ministry or are interested in the topic, I hope that we can engage one another and learn how to be more effective with our youth as we reach out to them in their online communities.
Posted by rhett at 09:06 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2007
the gods aren't angry tour....
the gods aren't angry tour
Part anthropology, part history, part deconstruction - this is new material that Rob hasn't taught before, exploring how humans invented religion to make themselves feel better.
I'm heading to this next week at The Wiltern with my wife, and 10 other staff members, student leaders and volunteers.
Don't know what to expect. But we hosted the Sex God Tour at UCLA back in March, and I have seen him speak on another occasion as well.
So I do know what to expect: But it will be good; it will be controversial; it will be thought provoking; and I will be wrestling with some things as we talk about them on the car ride home from the event and for days to come.
Rob Bell, the gods aren't angry tour
Posted by rhett at 08:04 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2007
The Messiness of Leadership In-Between the Facebook/MySpace Generation and Traditional Church Structures
I know a couple of weeks ago I told you about my purchasing of Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student, and what a great book it is....and how I would be blogging about it. But of course, I've gotten a little sidetracked. So I will come back to that soon....not that any of you are waiting on baited breath for those posts.
But instead, I've been thinking a lot about Facebook and social networking in general. I've been having a lot of conversations with others on this topic and it's something I have put a lot of thought into as I will be addressing this issue next week at GodBlogCon.
I can go down many roads with this topic but the one that keeps ruminating in my mind is the divide between the Facebook/MySpace generation and some of the older generations in the church. Why? Because with online social networking it has brought with it a new type of leadership and involvement in church community that didn't exist before, or that poses a challenge to traditional structures. Which I think is a good thing.
With Facebook and other social networking sites there is a leveling of hierarchy (picture more of a web) as everyone within the community has a voice and can give input and feedback. There is no longer the need to go through traditional methods. So for example, in the church, students don't need to have me place a bulletin, plan a social, comment on a topic...rather they can do it instantaneously online and dissminate the information to thousands in a few seconds. It is a bottoms up style of leadership.
I think that's why I was attracted to these two books as I was browsing through the Fuller Seminary Bookstore.
Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor and Chaos by Tim Keel
It was the words in the titles that grabbed me. Words such as intiutive, narrative, chaos, organic, networked, decentralized, bottom-up, communal, flexible, evolving.......
These words remind me of many of the words used in conversations in regards to social-networking.
So bottom line: Why is this issue important to me? Because I am in ministry with students and people who are all online, in social-networking sites, addicted to Facebook. I'm one of those. That has impacted how we do ministry in some ways. The online aspect has carried over into real life as we try to promote a more bottom-up, decentralized style of leadership and participation. Rather than them viewing me on an organizational chart as the top piece, we tend to view leadership in a web, all of us interconnected. And yeah...that gets messy...or chaotic. But that's where this generation is at. It's where I'm at. It's where much of the ministry to the younger generation is at. So how does that work when you are in a church system that is a centralized, top-down model of leadership such as the PCUSA?
I don't know. It gets messy. To tell a student that we sometimes have to wait and get something approved through Session first doesn't calculate. They can just go online and create an event and get the word within the hour. Minus all the red tape!
I'm finding that these two varying communities provide a certain amount of checks and balances, but it's not going to be smooth sailing. But is fostering church community ever smooth going?
Posted by rhett at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)
