I have been thinking a lot these days about how Church leaders use or do not use various forms of media. It is a point that seems to keep coming up. Should the Church use social networking sites? Should Church leaders twitter? facebook? blog?
As a person who twitters, facebooks and blogs, I guess I have an opinion on this. I am interested in new media and I do love to explore how it can be used. But that is the key - the various media I choose to engage in are all tools for a purpose.
The Church used to be on the cutting edge of the creation of new media - the movement from parchement scrolls to manuscript books were a part of the birth of the Christian faith. The movement from handwritten manuscript books to the printed type was a major factor in the Reformation of the Church. The Church ceased upon these new forms of media - even developed these new forms of media, as a way of manifesting its mission. They were tools to spread the good news.
The same is true with new media - they are tools that allow us to create community, to invite people into a interactive, open discussion of faith. They allow us to connect to believers around the world and people in need around the corner.
So should Church leaders get up to speed with new media? Well, it depends on what they want to do and why. If you enter into cyberspace without a plan - you will be surfing to nowhere. First, know what you want to accomplish and then seek out the latest web 2.0 tool that will allow you to fulfill your mission.
It takes a bit of work and a lot of patience - just like any other pastoral task before us.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Family values
I have just returned from a week of holidays. It was a week full of family celebrations.
There was a celebration for Mother's Day, for a Wedding and one just because.
I am so busy running around in my life that I sometimes forget to give thanks for the gift of my family. I am a truly blessed woman who has an amazing collection of relatives. They have formed me and shaped me. They are brutally honest and endlessly generous. They exhaust me and they give me the strength to go on. They remind of what is most important in life: to love and be loved.
My mother doesn't remember much these days, but when I visit her I believe she knows that she is loved and that she loves me. She may not know who I am, but she knows we are connected. That is good enough for me and I am very, very thankful.
There was a celebration for Mother's Day, for a Wedding and one just because.
I am so busy running around in my life that I sometimes forget to give thanks for the gift of my family. I am a truly blessed woman who has an amazing collection of relatives. They have formed me and shaped me. They are brutally honest and endlessly generous. They exhaust me and they give me the strength to go on. They remind of what is most important in life: to love and be loved.
My mother doesn't remember much these days, but when I visit her I believe she knows that she is loved and that she loves me. She may not know who I am, but she knows we are connected. That is good enough for me and I am very, very thankful.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Fear not - be courageous
This morning as I was driving into work I started to think about the connection between the words courage and discourage. I looked them both up on http://www.askoxford.com/?view=uk and here are the definitions given:
discourage
• verb 1 cause a loss of confidence or enthusiasm in. 2 prevent or try to prevent by showing disapproval or creating difficulties. 3 (discourage from) persuade (someone) against (an action).
courage
• noun 1 the ability to do something that frightens one. 2 strength in the face of pain or grief.
So many of the people I come across on a daily basis identify themselves as being discouraged. They are discouraged by the economic times, by overwhelming bad news, by everyday difficulties in their lives, even (and maybe more especially) by the happenings within the Church. Sometimes it is difficult to see any hope in a world full of discouragement.
This is where courage comes into play. Courage is that ability to continue on, even when one is overwhelmed by circumstances. Courage is that deep abiding strength and calm that bubbles up in the midst of distress and anguish. Fear is a powerful master and is not easily overcome. Fear breeds those twins anger and discouragement. People don't often see the connection, but anger can sometimes be the means of masking our deep fear. And the only way to overcome this anger, is to be courageous in the face of fear.
I am strengthened the numerous "fear nots" of the gospels, from the cry of the angels in the birth narratives in beginning of Luke to the comforting words of the angels in the post resurrection passages of Matthew. Courage in the face of fear is not only possible, it is witness of the good news.
It is that kind of courage that will help us to reimag(in)e this world. It is that courage that will help us see the lies that are often implicit in fear. Because we can overcome. We can make a difference. We can create a more just world. We can make our dreams come true. It doesn't have to be this way. It will not always be this way. Fear not - be courageous.
discourage
• verb 1 cause a loss of confidence or enthusiasm in. 2 prevent or try to prevent by showing disapproval or creating difficulties. 3 (discourage from) persuade (someone) against (an action).
courage
• noun 1 the ability to do something that frightens one. 2 strength in the face of pain or grief.
So many of the people I come across on a daily basis identify themselves as being discouraged. They are discouraged by the economic times, by overwhelming bad news, by everyday difficulties in their lives, even (and maybe more especially) by the happenings within the Church. Sometimes it is difficult to see any hope in a world full of discouragement.
This is where courage comes into play. Courage is that ability to continue on, even when one is overwhelmed by circumstances. Courage is that deep abiding strength and calm that bubbles up in the midst of distress and anguish. Fear is a powerful master and is not easily overcome. Fear breeds those twins anger and discouragement. People don't often see the connection, but anger can sometimes be the means of masking our deep fear. And the only way to overcome this anger, is to be courageous in the face of fear.
I am strengthened the numerous "fear nots" of the gospels, from the cry of the angels in the birth narratives in beginning of Luke to the comforting words of the angels in the post resurrection passages of Matthew. Courage in the face of fear is not only possible, it is witness of the good news.
It is that kind of courage that will help us to reimag(in)e this world. It is that courage that will help us see the lies that are often implicit in fear. Because we can overcome. We can make a difference. We can create a more just world. We can make our dreams come true. It doesn't have to be this way. It will not always be this way. Fear not - be courageous.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Theological Education & Community
As our school prepares for its annual Convocation I am thinking about the role of community in theological education. When I look back over the formation of those graduating, I realize that many of their greatest revelations, greatest moments of growth, came in community experiences and not necessarily in the classroom.
Theological education is about the formation of the whole person. Students learn in the classroom, for sure, but that should not be our only focus. Students also learn from one another. They learn how to argue, how to compromise, how to reach out to someone in pain, and more importantly, how to reach out to someone who has caused them pain.
They learn by what they see and hear all around them, in the classroom, the student room, in community placements and in church placements. Every encounter becomes an integrated part of a whole.
Thank God for the community that forms and transforms us.
Theological education is about the formation of the whole person. Students learn in the classroom, for sure, but that should not be our only focus. Students also learn from one another. They learn how to argue, how to compromise, how to reach out to someone in pain, and more importantly, how to reach out to someone who has caused them pain.
They learn by what they see and hear all around them, in the classroom, the student room, in community placements and in church placements. Every encounter becomes an integrated part of a whole.
Thank God for the community that forms and transforms us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
