Tag: communication

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Social Media and the Church

Social Media Stats – crazy.

If this is true and the way we communicate has fundamentally changed, then what does this mean to the church? The church has been notorious for being behind the curve when it comes to innovations – many are still doing the songs of the 50s and lamenting over the “good ‘ol days.”

Some church people are fearful of new technologies. (The news stories of those who abuse the technology doesn’t help.) Some even have “spiritual” reasons for not using it. (They’d rather spend their time “with Jesus.”) I may be wrong, but it seems to me that if these technologies have “fundamentally changed” the way we communicate, then the church needs to break in and use it to communicate the gospel – give Jesus a voice in these new social media communities by being an active incarnated presence.

I’d love to hear from you guys. What are the best (and worst) ways you guys see the church using technology and social media in particular?

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Talking

100_0885Kasen is not learning to talk, but he’s figured out that he’s supposed to make sounds with his mouth. He is pretty good at opening and closing his mouth and making a sort of “dada” sound. That’s so much better than the dreaded “mama” sounds coming first. Anyway, I really wish that I knew what he was trying to say. What does he really mean? Sometimes it’s easy to tell – like when he’s tired or hungry, but other times I just don’t have a clue. His non-verbal communication is the key. When he rubs his eyes, he’s tired. When he holds his hand out and clenches his fist over and over again, he wants to be held. It’s really no different with adults. They say that the largest percent of our communication is non-verbal. (55% body language, 38% tone, and only 7% verbal) My friend Laurie used to make fun of me ’cause she knew that when I started pacing around and offering to help with dinner, it was because I was hungry.

All of this got me to thinking about how well we communicate with each other. Since I love Kasen so much, I pay lots of attention and try to pick up on those more subtle clues. Do I care about others enough to pay that much attention? Do I notice any “non-verbal” clues from others? Are there “dada”-type sounds that I make when I really mean something else? How often do I say something and mean something else? What would it take for me to truly listen to everyone as God does? How can I hear like God? How can I see people like He does and not judge them before I hear anything at all?

Going another direction – what about the Bible? Do I listen enough to find the subtle nuances? Do I seek to know what the author intended or only how I interpret it?  What are the unspoken things in the Scriptures that God would want me to pick up on?

Prayer:
Help me to listen. AMEN.