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Fear not! These are Jesse Rice’s words of wisdom about virtual tools and the Church as he and Spencer Burke, host of ThinkFWD, talk about Jesse’s new book, The Church of Facebook. Jesse sees Facebook (and other virtual communication) as a great way to begin a conversation with someone. Let’s face it, he says, it’s not always easy to connect with other people—to have and maintain a relationship. Online tools like Facebook are a very simple way to make a connection. At the same time, he acknowledges it can feel like a disembodied tool, and ultimately, we need our conversations to be embodied, enfleshed.
The Church needs to think harder about how to embrace virtual communication tools. We can have a genuine, loving concern for another person—even if it is through a digital connection with them. So rather than fearing digital connections, we (the Church) should be learning how to be human, and how to be the church in the virtual environment.
When asked about what he sees on the horizon as related issues, Jesse repeats the encouragement to not be afraid of or scared off by technology—instead approach it with curiosity and have fun with it. Figure out a way to reach people for Jesus through these new tools. Also, start thinking now about how to create intentional rhythms for disconnecting with technology. Again, he sees it as a balancing act. We are called to be available for people, but soon we will ALL be available to people ALL the time . . . and we will need to be purposeful with our time and with staying in the “present” rather than constantly being distracted by the incoming messages.
Personal Reflections:
- Have you experienced making a genuine connection with someone through Facebook or another virtual communication?
- What ways have you found to embody virtual communication tools?
Small Group or Staff Questions:
- What is a fear that you have heard or sensed in your community related to virtual communications, relationships, and the Church?
- What can your community do to embrace Facebook and other virtual environments?
Resources
- Church of Facebook Chapter Download - (466)
- The Official Website – www.churchoffacebook.com
- Click to add Jesse as a Friend:
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December 21st, 2009 at 9:01 am
Great interview, Jesse and Spencer. I appreciate that you see these social media as tools rather than going all out for a “new way to do church.”
A helpful place in the conversation somewhere between “social network technology is of the devil” and “forget gathering, twitter me!”
Especially appreciated the word of encouragement regarding developing a rhythm. Reminded of the early days of email when our system went down and I needed to get in touch with a guy. I suddenly remembered that I could just walk over to his office.
Only thing that would have made it better would have been if the geese had broken out their phones and started texting each other.
Blessings upon you both!
December 24th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
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February 12th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Good interview. I liked the model of 0 – 10 in how we measure degrees of connectedness and community. It has always been that way, it is just that new technologies underscore this reality in new ways. We already knew it, but now we are reminded of it. As they say, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I say, “The more options are available the more manual our experience remains” Only the tools are different, not the work. New Tech will cause distinctions in our experiences but not difference.
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very Good one here
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