the digital age: a challenge for christian discipleship #ecsm2014
DESCRIPTION
In the twenty-first century churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’ for many in the UK. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. For churches, websites and social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest have now effectively become the ‘front door’ to billions of digital users. As Sara Batts research has shown us, many churches are finally starting to get that the online landscape is important, but still need convincing that something more radical is needed than a new website, as opportunities have arisen to embrace a more social ministry, where to ‘love your neighbour’ may include those from anywhere in the world. The ‘digital age’ brings the opportunity for a wider range of voices to contribute to conversations: many online will engage with ‘church’ through their friends rather than formal Christian organisations. In 2010 ‘The BIGBible Project’ emerged to encourage those at all levels of theChristian sector to engage with digital culture, and to consider what this means for Christian communication practices, in a culture in which messages are both ephemerally ‘in the now’, and perpetually available. Technologies have changed what is possible, and for many churches over the last few hundred years a model of passive, presentation-piece services has been adopted, heightened even more by a broadcast mode of media that we all got used to with the TV and the radio. Social media, however, offers much more space for questioning, and for congregations to actively engage with sermons through tweeting along, checking something on their online Bibles or Google, sharing photos of church activities, or being encouraged to continue discussions hyper-locally throughout the week through a Facebook group. The BIGBible Project emphasises that disciples live at all times for God, whenever and wherever, and therefore all Christians need to take seriously their presence both online and offline. This paper will draw from over 2,000 contributions made to the The BIGBible blog, where over 120 Christians from across the ecumenical spectrum have contributed thoughts as to how discipleship is affected (and can affect, particularly behaviours) in the digital age and the digital spaces. The Relevance of the Paper: According to the 2011 census, Christianity is the major religion in the UK. As a sector it offers an interesting case study of how longstanding faith groups are dealing with the challenges presented by the digital age, institutionally and individually.TRANSCRIPT
The Digital Age: A Challenge for Christian
Discipleship?
Dr Bex Lewis, Research Fellow in Social Media and Online Learning, CODEC, St John’s, Durham UniversityThe European Conference on Social Media, Brighton,
July 2014
@drbexl #ECSM2014
“There is a revolution sweeping across the globe, driven by the massive growth of the internet and internet related technologies. Known as the Digital Revolution it is on par with other great global shifts such as the Agrarian Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. And it is completely changing the landscape of how we communicate, how we influence, how we relate. This isn’t simply about coming to grips with a new technology to assist us in our work, but requires of us a fundamental shift in our processes, our structures and approaches. If we don’t respond then as Eric Hoffer states, we will find ourselves, ‘beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.’”
Event Publicity, 2010
The Digital Revolution?
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15th C: The Printing Press
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1964: Marshall McLuhan
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“Technology should not dictate our values or our methods.
Rather, we must use technology out of our
convictions and values.”Dyer (2011: 5)
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Christians and Churchgoing
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_290510.pdf
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Churchgoing in Decline?
http://www.whychurch.org.uk/tearfund_church.pdf
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The Church Front Door?For many churchgoing is no longer the ‘cultural norm’. People don’t actively ignore the church: they don’t even think about it. … With literally billions in the digital spaces, the online social spaces presented by churches need to be appealing, welcoming, and not look like they are just an afterthought: they are now effectively the ‘front door’ to your church for digital users, and you ignore those spaces at your peril.
http://www.churchgrowthrd.org.uk/blog/churchgrowth/growing_churches_in_the_digital_age Image Credit: freeimages.com@drbexl
Mission opportunities are very different… when to step over the church threshold is an unknown
experience compared with attitudes when there is a known church to which they can return.
Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics for the Church of England
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The Growth of the Internet
http://oxis.oii.ox.ac.uk/sites/oxis.oii.ox.ac.uk/files/content/files/publications/OxIS_2013.pdf
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Understanding Digital Culture
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The digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual world, but is part of the daily experience of many people, especially the
young. Social networks are the result of human interaction, but for their part they also
reshape the dynamics of communication, which builds relationships: a considered understanding of this environment is
therefore a prerequisite for a significant presence there.
Pope Benedict XVI (2013)
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We are not selling something to the world that will make more people like us, believe in our story, join our churches. We are trying to be
something in the world that invites connection and compassion, encourages comfort and healing for those in need, and challenges those in power to use that power in the
service of justice and love.Elizabeth Drescher, Tweet if You Heart Jesus (2011,
127)
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[If we are…] means by which God communicates and reveals himself through his
Spirit, then our blog posts, status updates, tweets, artistic images, and online comments should be products of a life transformed by
Christ and indwelled by his Spirit. As restored image bearers, our online presence and
activity should image the Triune God.
Byers, A. Theomedia (2013, 196)
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It’s something about the informality and distance; the ability to pause and
think, which can be difficult in a conversation; and the way discussions can pick up where they left off several
hours, days or weeks later.Emma Major, BIGBible Post, 2012
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#DIGIDisciplethose who seek to live out their Biblically-informed Christian faith in the digital space, exploring both what it means to be a disciple in the digital age, and also how the digital age affects or alters discipleship.
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A moral panic may be defined as an episode, often triggered by alarming media stories and reinforced by reactive laws and public policy, of exaggerated or misdirected public concern, anxiety, fear, or anger over a perceived threat to social order. http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Ashgate-Research-Companion-to-Moral-Panics-Intro.pdf
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Christian Bloggers
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Photoshopped Selves?
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On the Emmaus Road, Jesus was recognized in the breaking of bread
rather than in the exegesis of Scripture. That’s an intriguing lesson to learn
when so much of the web and so much of digital communication is about
proclamation rather than reception.Phillips et al, 2013: 10
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“We should not overlook the fact that those who for whatever reason lack
access to social media run the risk of being left behind,” with a reminder that
communication is ultimately a human rather than a technological
achievement. Pope Francis, World Communications Day, 2014
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The Digital Age?
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