Don't be a Social Media Troll.

Finally, someone has called BS on the Church using Spiritual Social Media, defaming the name of Jesus in the name of being hip, or by creating “Christian-safe alternatives”. Read it here.

Social Media is all about connecting to each other, not a pseudo-identity behind a corporate (or nonprofit) name. There is something inherently wrong about jumping on board with a concept just because it is the newest fad. When a company or nonprofit (or worse yet, church) uses their Social Media presence to simply market themselves in a new way instead of as connecting point, it’s BS. If you take the social part out of Social Media, it’s simply media.

Here’s a great example of Social Media like it should be. A couple weeks ago, I was looking for a new Excel book that would strengthen my skills in programming. After much frustration, I finally tweeted to ask if anyone had a suggestion. Que Publishing responded.

I’ve respected Que for many years; I often regard their book to be the bible for whatever product it was written for. Using Que’s Twitter account, a very helpful human, Lisa, came to my help. She began suggesting books. After telling her those books covered only what I already knew, she asked my specific goals in purchasing the book. She then suggested the perfect book for me. After learning I had a Kindle, she suggested I download the free sample chapter in case I didn’t know that I could do that. A few days later, she checked back with me to make sure I had downloaded the sample, and to see if that book fit my needs! That’s customer service if you ask me!

Did I follow Que on Twitter before Lisa contacted me? Nope.

Did Que follow me (like so many spammers do) before interacting with me? Nope.

Does Que use their Twitter feed to spew garbage about their stuff that resembles TV ads? Nope.

Did an actual human at Que interact with me, like a human? Yup.

Did Que meet my expectations? Nope, but they sure did blow them away!

Did I buy the book suggested by Lisa? No, but it is on my Christmas Wish List (hint, hint Shannon).

Are you inadvertently (or purposely) promoting Social Media BS by mindlessly spewing garbage? Are you actively engaging your customers/congregation through your chosen Social Media venues?

(Credit: Bridge Element, CreativeMYK)

Before you go any further, you need to understand something about my personal theology about the Internet. The Internet is not a “parallel universe” in which some people live a life that does not intersect with the “physical universe.” In other words, your life online is not separate from your life offline. For more on this, you should read this and this conversation from earlier.

The Niche of the Digital Church

What I see as being the killer app for the Digital Church is the fact it can be used by God in many ways that physical churches and ministries cannot. Of course, the opposite is also true, but that’s another subject entirely.

1. Some are uncomfortable stepping in a physical (NOT real, but physical) church.
   • A Digital Church provides a non-threatening environment for seekers to learn more without “endangering” themselves.
2. For some people, Digital Churches provide an opportunity to reach out in ways they are not comfortable doing in physical (NOT real, but physical) life.
   • Some people enjoying being able to share dark pasts online that minister to others because they do not fear the judgment they might receive in the physical (NOT real, but physical) world.
3. Some enjoy having the opportunity to be “fed” in the services when they pour out themselves each week in their physical (NOT real, but physical) church.
   • This was a reality for myself and my wife while in a pastorate in San Francisco; we enjoyed (and needed) the opportunity to re-charge after pouring ourselves out so much in serving others.
4. Some have the need for additional learning and growing opportunities not available to them in their physical (NOT real, but physical) church.
   • Unless you find a mega-church (2,000+ weekly attendees) that has the resources available to minister to every possible need you may have, a Digital Church may be your best opportunity to have your specific needs ministered to.

The Digital-Church Manifesto

So, here is my Digital-Church Manifesto, which inculcates these four presuppositions:

We are the digital expression of the Church founded by the disciples after the Ascension of our Savior Jesus Christ; created by God, led by Jesus, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and stewarded by the leaders the Holy Spirit anoints. We are a fully functioning body of believers who share a common bond of salvation and of locality via the Internet through telepresence. We join our brothers and sisters in the local, physical church in the Great Commission of evangelizing the lost, discipling the found, and meeting the needs of people around us, just as Jesus did when He walked the earth. We are a body of God-fearing, blood-bought, Spirit-filled, freed-from-sin believers ready to crawl over broken glass to ensure the lost hear the Gospel, and ready to charge the gates of hell with squirt guns to see evil defeated. We are a local church, part of the Kingdom of God. Amen.

(Credit: Evan Courtney, CreativeMYK)

Techno: Having to do with, or pertaining to technology. In modern colloquial vernacular, we can assume it specifically pertains to modern technological developments.

Hypocrisy: The act of outwardly proclaiming or speaking out against a perspective, stance or action; while inwardly or covertly holding that same perspective or action. In the words of the great theologian, Phil Collins, “do as I say, don’t do as I do.”

Let’s put it all together now, techno-hypocrisy is the act of embracing technological advances, while vocally shunning technological advances. How is that possible? How could someone embrace and shun something so tangible and uneasily hidden? Glad you asked. I know this isn’t new news, but I recently re-found this article. The bottom line is a young girl died from a very treatable illness because her parents belong to an online religious sect who shuns technology, specifically medical technology.

Did you catch the techno-hypocrisy in that? The parents embraced technology in order to use the Internet to practice their spirituality, but shunned medical technology as a religious belief.

• God is the source of Creation (Ps 90:2).
• God created said Creation (Gen 1:1).
• God is the source of wisdom (Jas 3:17f).

Using a little deductive logic (if A then B), we can form a conclusion with ease.

If God is the Creator, and source of wisdom, then God is the source of wisdom for man, regardless of man’s use of it for good or ill.

Do you see the pattern? God gave mankind the ability to develop technology, including medicine. After all, the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20) directs us to take the Gospel to everyone, using every means possible, including the Internet. How can we shun God’s gift of technology (medicine) while embracing God’s gift of technology (the Internet)?

This is the first full book I have read on my Kindle (3rd Generation).

This book genuinely surprised me. Like Furtick states in the final chapters of the book, when a move of God is audacious, you see beyond the person and see God doing the work. This book definitely fits that definition. The stories and illustrations used within the book also hold up to that definition, which makes for a remarkable read. There is a well-balanced blend of practical application with theological discussion. Whether you are a dedicated theologian, or a 9-5 businessperson looking to go deeper with God, you will find what you are seeking. I would (and have) recommended this book to others, regardless of the place they are within their walk with God.

My only complain about this book is minor, and that is the pace. The book starts slowly, which is to be expected from a new author, since he needs to establish credibility and a history. After this, the story picks up and moves along at a great pace. Around the halfway mark, the story lulls, and feels as if some filler was added. This ends quickly, and the story picks up again, remaining strong through the end. The final two chapters of the book keep up a great momentum while not dropping the reader off a cliff at the end.

Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

If you are interested on seeing the review at Amazon, look here. Have you read it yet? What did you think? If you haven’t read it yet, you should. Now.

(Credit: Jacob Abshire, CreativeMYK)

Christine said, [her] “husband attended a men’s small group and in order to participate he needed to leave our home at 5:30am to get there by 6:00. The time was inconvenient for him so he stopped going.”^[2] I’m not an early riser, and a 6 AM group will convince me to show up…well…never.

Also mentioned, was the fact that most boys are “raised to be so independent that they find interdependence unacceptable?”^[3] Independence is a huge stumbling block for most men to achieve transparency with other men. It’s seen as a weakness to be dependent on anyone or anything (unless it is a “manly” dependence like alcohol or porn, but that’s another subject entirely).

Mike pointed out the pink elephant in the room as well, “If I can be candid, one of my frustrations with the church in general is it’s geared towards women.”^[4] I personally have the utmost of respect for Beth Moore, and she has made a Kingdom impact the size of Texas on the church, but her stuff isn’t very dudely. Where is her male counterpart? Why can’t men have a “Bruce Moore” or “Philip Shirer?” The closest thing I have found to a genuine men’s program for group study is “Raising Modern Day Knights” by Steve Farrar. Good stuff, but what do you do after that study is done?

I’ve also noticed that most groups are patterned after women’s groups even if they are intended for men. It sounds like a good idea, “If this method worked group for group A, let’s just give it a new coat of paint and let group B use it to!” Um, sure. If men are from Mars, and women are from Venus; or men are like waffles and women are like spaghetti; or whatever you want to call it, why do you think a women’s study would be a rampant success with men? Whether you like Mark Discoll or not, he hit the nail on the head when he called out the fact that the church has largely ignored men for the better part of the last century.^[5]

A lot of people seem to think that men’s groups patterned after something secular will be a success too. I’m not sure how this came around, but it needs to go away! If deer camp is about shootin’, boozin’, and fartin’, why do you think replacing the booze with a Bible and the shooting with singing worship songs (which can be uncomfortable for men to begin with!) would make it a Christian success story? I’ll be the first to admit the secular world has come up with some great ideas (face it, they outnumber us, so the law of probability is on their side), but it doesn’t mean the Church should adopt every one of them. And don’t forget this simple fact: any person can recognize a cheap knockoff when they see it. Do we really want the Church and men’s groups in general viewed as cheap knockoffs?

Finally, let’s be honest with each other here, do we seriously expect anything from men’s groups? I’m guilty of this as much as the next guy. We roll up to the men’s group event already damning it to being a cheap knockoff, out of touch with reality, or a women’s group re-trimmed with baby blue instead of pink. I’ll even be honest and admit that i have gone to some men’s groups just to show support for the sucker leader of it.

So what do you think? Is my Friday rant somewhere in the farthest reaches of outer space, or did some of the commentary give you a punch in the gut? I know some of my comments give me a punch in the gut! Push back! Give your side of the story! What do you want and need in men’s groups? If you’re a woman, please give your feedback too! What have you heard men you know say the need and want in men’s group? Do you think a men’s group could succeed online? Would you be interested if an online men’s group was offered? Come on! Let’s get fisticuffs and start a conversation.

1. A very special shout out to my friend Richard, the McProdigal! His original post put a lot of things I have been brooding and praying about for months into words, and was the basis for this post. Thanks McP!
2. Christine Smith, comment on “What I Hate About Men’s Groups,” the Prodigal Returns! Blog, comment posted September 15, 2010, http://mcprodigal.prodigalreturns.com/what-i-hate-about-mens-group/ (accessed September 17, 2010).
3. Diane Viere, comment on “What I Hate About Men’s Groups,” the Prodigal Returns! Blog, comment posted September 15, 2010, http://mcprodigal.prodigalreturns.com/what-i-hate-about-mens-group/ (accessed September 17, 2010).
4. Mike C. [pseud.], comment on “What I Hate About Men’s Groups,” the Prodigal Returns! Blog, comment posted September 15, 2010, http://mcprodigal.prodigalreturns.com/what-i-hate-about-mens-group/ (accessed September 17, 2010).
5. I cannot honestly provide a citation for this remark, this sentiment has become so ubiquitous with Dirscoll, that it’s part of his idiom anymore.

(Credit: National Geographic)

So let’s assume you have a wonderful library chock full of theological texts, doctrinal dissertations written by the patriarchs of Christianity like Spurgeon, Calvin, Luther and others. Let’s also assume you have several expanded concordances, Bible dictionaries, multi-volume commentary sets, Bible maps and various other study tools. Oh yes, don’t forget your Greek and Hebrew interlinear Bibles too! You definitely have a posh library and study going for yourself.

And then you wake up.

Now you realized that you are, in fact, just like the rest of us in that you do not have a library like the one listed above. The fact is, my grandfather was a well-read minister for over sixty years, and his library never amassed to anything like that! (I do have his copy of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs from the 1920s although!)

Enter Logos Bible Software.

Logos is simply the most fantastic Bible study software I’ve ever seen. It literally is a seminary library on your computer. Even a basic package, such as the Bible Study Library, includes 200 titles valued at roughly $4,500 in print equivalents! Upgrade to a Scholar’s Library: Silver Edition (like what I use), and you have access to 750 texts worth over $11,000 in print! Each book is fully indexed so you can search it just like you would a Google Docs document. Speaking of Google Docs, you can highlight and annotate your references. Logos will keep track of those too, and they will show up in relevant searches too.

Finally, we come to the best part of all: iPhone and iPad support. By downloading the FREE app, you have access to many of your references on the go. You also have access to your news feeds, reading plans and much more. The folks at Logos are even willing to give you a free spin. By downloading the app, you get free access to 30 titles. If you register for a free account (notice the word “free” popping up a lot?), you will gain access to another 30+ titles! This is the ultimate try-it-before-you-buy-it gig.

Once you decide to make the jump and buy Logos, they will even arrange a payment plan for you. If you decide to upgrade to a larger package later, you only pay the upgrade fee! They genuinely are a Christian company with Christian values trying to put the finest Bible study tools into the hands of everyone!

Here’s the best part. To celebrate the upcoming release of Logos 4 for Mac, they are giving away a TON of prizes! I’m hoping to win the MacBook Pro or iPad . There is also a limited-time sale on all base packages (like Scholar’s Library: Silver like I use), and upgrades. If Mac isn’t your flavor, the sale extends to PC packages too!

(Credit: summerpierre.com)

Does this mean that, at any moment, Chicken Little will come screaming, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” causing a great alarm? Of course not! (But, if the news media finds itself with a slow news day, don’t be surprised if they start yelling it!) What this really means is something we’ve known for a long, long time (like 10 years now): some people are online a bunch, some are not.

Let me point out some things that may not sound profound, but will get you thinking. In the 90s and early 2000s, the techno-crazes were:

• Palm Pilots (even I had a Palm Vx),
• Blackberries,
• Casio and Royal PDAs,
• iPods,
• XBOX (I do miss Fable),
• PlayStation (remember the “still loading” screen?),
• home computers,
• laptop computers,
• high-speed Internet connections to use them,
• and insane amounts of caffeine drinks to keep you wired to use them 24/7.

In other words, the Clinton-Bush-Bush era was ruled by the ever more pervasive­—and influential—technology sector. People literally threw away paper, pencil and typewriter to make the move to digital.

Click to enlarge. (Credit: Der Spiegel)

Today, there has been a resurgence to become more organic (or analog), and less digital. Let’s revisit the list from before. The current techno-crazes are:

• Moleskines (yup, I have one, or two… or four),
• Board games (yup, I find myself playing board games more again),
• iPods are still around, but iPod Touches and iPhones are used primarily for social media consumption,
• fun, eclectic environments (read: Starbucks) to enjoy them in (or Café du Monde for me).

Just like double rainbow, “What does it mean?” To me, it simply means that the pendulum is swinging, and trends are changing. (Some social psychologists have postulated that the current generation looks to their grandfather’s generation for inspiration. I see truth in this, and that’s why I shave with a Merkur Safety Razor .) Sure, iPods, iPhones, Blackberries and the like are still very popular, but some are rediscovering the old ways and enjoying their own Renaissance.

Does this mean online ministry is over before it began? No. Was brick-and-mortar worship done when the Internet came? No. There still is a need for online ministry. If you read the article I cited earlier, you’ll see there are still plenty of people online, it’s just their usage habits are changing some.

Jane Jetson's all over telepresence!

All caught up now? Good. One of the terms I threw around was telepresence. While I would love to say I coined that word gilded in its shiny pants goodness, I did not. The first time I saw it was in SimChurch by Douglas Estes. In the book, he describes this theological concept of togetherness as described in Acts 4:32, but in the context of doing it online. His summary of the concept of telepresence is thus, “Telepresence is typically defined as being present at a spatial or geographical distance through the help of technology.”^[1]

Now where does this concept of telepresence come from? Estes expands on that as well.

One of the big problems with our learned Western view of presence, besides the fact it’s abiblical, is that it doesn’t take into account how modern methods of communication, especially computer-mediated communication, can create new forms of experience that are not limited to purely physical interaction.^[2]

Using any number of tools, telepresence can be realized. Some of these tools include Skype, FaceTime, Facebook chat, Tokbox, etc.

Thanks to the gift of technology God gave us; we can have a presence with people even when they aren’t there. Sound familiar? It should as this is the very same concept Old Ma Bell used to promote her nationwide telephone system. Remember the touching commercials about “reach out and touch someone” from the 80s?

So how does this work today? Simple, I’ll use myself as an example. My wife, Shannon, had surgery today at Tulane University’s Lakeside Hospital. Even though a distance of from a few hundred to a few thousand miles separated us from friends and family, I knew we had their loving support. And thanks to Facebook and Twitter, many of those friends were in the hospital supporting us via telepresence all day long.

Let’s apply that to the concept of online church now. Many church planting movements use the cry “one Church, many places” to lead the charge and telepresence is one tool we have to get there. Think about it this way, after issuing the Great Commission, Jesus establishes His telepresence in our lives in Matthew 28:20, “…behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (emphasis added).

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the surgery went fine, and she’s recovering nicely.

1. Douglas Estes, SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 63.
2. Ibid.

At lunch, we chatted about the upcoming Online Campus we’ll be launching. Since the gears are turning, I’ve been mulling over a few elements which I believe define an Online Campus. While this is not a conclusive list, it is the very bare minimum five requirements to become a functional, biblically ecclesiological expression of Jesus.

(Credit: Doug Shelton, CreativeMYK)

1. Be in sync with the church’s vision. Habakkuk 2:2f

This is the first and foremost requirement. If an Online Campus is not part of the church’s vision, it simply will not receive the attention, prayer and resources it needs.

2. Be part of the church’s mission. Acts 2:42-44

Just like the church’s vision, being part of the church’s mission is critical. If an Online Campus is not part of the church’s mission to reach the lost, then it has no place and is just eating up valuable resources and people that could be used elsewhere for a greater good.

3. The Online Campus must have a specific vision, mission and strategy. John 15:16

I often talk as if an Online Campus is a church plant in and of itself. Well, it is! Doing ministry online is like planting a whole new church; the digital world is simply too complex with its own sociological, economical and philosophical norms. An Online Campus simply cannot get by without having a specific vision, mission and strategy that are tuned to the needs of the people it reaches.

4. An Online Campus must have safeguards to prevent online church junkies. Matthew 7:15f

I know, I know, this one is flamebait for sure. Bring it on.

Online church junkies have a like to travel from one online church to another without ever setting down roots and honestly digging into the ministry of one. If this sounds like the brick-and-mortar churches’ risk of church junkies, it should. Church junkies­­­­­­­—online or offline—are a very real, and a very real risk to ministry in that they hoard resources that could be used on those who really need them and rarely (if ever) contribute to the ministry. Jesus talks about them in John 15:6, those branches not producing fruit need to be cut off from the rest of the vine.

5. The Online Church needs a way to get offline.  1 John 1:3

While I do believe in telepresence, there are inherent limitations in it, such as physical fellowship. We were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and He is triune (existing in three persons at all times). This very nature of God imbibes us with the innate desire for fellowship, as the Father is in eternal fellowship with the Son and Holy Spirit, so are we to be in fellowship with each other (again, Acts 2:42).

How much thought has gone into your church’s website? Aside from the original though, “Hey, weneed a website!” has any thought gone into your church’s website? There is a harking reality that most church websites are a hastily-posted page (or group of pages) built by someone with just enough experience to be dangerous. Not to discredit the efforts of those who donated their hard-earned free time, but we do need to face reality here; those dated and shoddy websites “looked bad then, and they look positively prehistory by today’s standard.”^[1] If your website looks like it could be a Sega or Super Nintendo game, that’s NOT good, and you would be more effective by taking it down.

(Credit: Bridge Element, CreativeMYK)

Most websites used by churches today do little—if anything at all—to serve the community the church resides in. Think about it like this, the Bible clearly tells the church to serve where they are, ergo; all extensions of the church should as well (James 1:27, 1 Peter 4:10f, Romans 12:1f). This means the website, or online presence, of the church should serve the people just as the church should be. (Now, if your church isn’t serving the community to start with, that’s another conversation altogether.)

How does a church website serve its community? Simple! Who isthe target audience of the website? First-time guests and seekers should be your first thought! Facebook and Twitter are awesome in their own rite, but few will move to a new town and seek out a new church via those avenues. Most will Google or Bing for the name of their town with the word “churches” added to the end. If you don’t believe me, look at Google’s Trends searches for your area.

Your website must cater to the needs of first-time guests and seekers first and foremost! How do you do that though? This is not an exhaustive list of suggestions, but ten things to help get you started.

1. Where does your church gather for its corporate worship service?
2. What time(s) does your church gather for its corporate worship service?
3. How do you get there? (Bonus points if you have an interactive Google or Bing map they can use to get customized directions!) Are you in an area where public transportation is how most people get around? Provide bus/train route information and times too!
4. Do you provide refreshments before or after services? Are you veg and/or vegan friendly? (If your vegan fair is on the same table as non-vegan foods, you are NOT vegan-friendly!)
5. What is the dress code? You don’t have to specifically say this, but if you have recent pics from services, that will get the point across.
6. What is your worship style like? Do you provide ear plugs or have epilepsy warnings? (Yes, I have seen this before, and the Worship. Was. AWESOME.)
7. Do you provide children’s’ programming? How do you ensure the parent who dropped off their child will be the only one who can pick them up?
8. What is your statement of beliefs? What is your doctrine? No need for a 20-page write up, just the basics are enough to get started.
9. What is the Vision and Mission of the church? You want people to “buy-in” to the church’s Mission, right? They can’t do that if they don’t know what it is!
10. What else makes your gathering services special or unique? The most comfortable first-time guests are the ones who are not surprised by anything. Surprise is great in suspense movies, not corporate worship gatherings.
11. Bonus Tip: Is your website honest? Sounds simple, but if you makes claims on your website that are not the reality, like “Our refreshment area is complete with a Starbucks-like coffee bar!” and all you have is a Mr. Coffee drip coffee pot, you’re telling a lie. Period. (Does Proverbs 6:16-19 ring a bell?) That’s just the wrong image to transmit about your church.

Once you get these things nailed down, you can move on to grander plans, maybe even online ministry (and that’s where you get my blood pumping)! What do you think should be the basic needs for a church website?

Why not subscribe to myRSS feed? It will keep you up to date with this site! Want to get more intimate? Follow me on Twitter @slBarr.

1. Douglas Estes, SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 177.