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People Seeking
People are trying to make sense of their lives; seeking answers to profound questions.
Seeking Faith
Sometimes these are questions of faith and belief.
Faith in the Information Age
Technology is changing culture often subtly. As culture changes so does the pursuit of faith.
Faith Endures
Yet faith remains, and the questions that people are seeking to answer persist.
Informing Faith
This is a blog about faithful people seeking answers, and the information they seek gather, and use to find their answers in the rapidly changing, yet unchanging information age.
"Why yes, I use my iPad for data collection." I've had a few people ask me about my use of technology for research. Frankly I have lots to learn yet, but I thought I'd share what I have discovered to date. This is part 1 of 3. Next week: Canadiana Dave, The Apps of the iPad. WARNING: This video contains excessive corny-ness, but also helpful info.
Yes, bikers and beer but first Church. When you last went to church, did you feel welcome? Did you think "hey, I think I'll come back" or were you just glad when the Minister said "Amen" and you could exit. In the course of my research I have visited many churches. None were unwelcoming, but some were extra friendly. One mails out Tim Horton's gift cards to first time visitors (Tip: always fill out the visitor's card.) Yes, that got my attention and I don't even drink coffee! Other churches had an excitement about them that attracted me.
Since I am researching how church leaders gather information in order to re-vision their churches, I've gathered many of the books/materials they have referenced. I have read most of them as I try to get a sense of how they are seeking. I am presently finishing "Growing and Engaged Church" by Albert Winseman. Winseman works with the Gallup Organization (the Polling/Survey folks), and draws on that expertise, as well as fifteen years as a Pastor. He spent some time talking about "being welcoming." Why is being welcoming important for Winseman: because people who feel welcomed will feel they are valued by the church. People who feel valued will be engaged people, more inclined to grow, serve, and give. Not just in the church but in their communities as well. If I visited your church next would I feel welcome?
I promised bikers and beer. This is a video Carlsberg made about being welcoming. It has nothing about church but I came across it on the ChurchMag's blog. Here is the scenerio: A couple enters a movie theater that has been completely pre-filled with
tough looking biker types, leaving only two seats available. Watch what happens...
Last week I had the privilege of participating in the 1st Religion & Diversity Project's Doctoral Workshop in Ottawa. Under the direction of Prof. Jim Beckford, nine doctoral students shared their research, discussed theory and plotted dissertation writing. We learned a lot and had fun.
Today's post however is about a theoretical concept we considered in our workshop: intersectionality as demonstrated by juggling to the Beatles. Hey, I'm serious so pay attention as I badly explain (no laughing or eye-rolling allowed.) The theory of Intersectionality (pdf) was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw who was exploring how socially constructed categories of race and gender interact. For instance we can explore what it means to be a women in our society or what it means to be an African-Canadian. But what happens when these two identities intersect? How is their experience of oppression different from either experience? It is an important theory in human rights and discrimination studies.
OK, not my usual research area, and I'll have to think about this more. Prof. Jim used this video to explain the concept; its about juggling but the juggling changes when the music starts. This I get. P.S. Turn up your volume and enjoy.
Boulder, Colorado...in January. No, I don't ski. I am told there is a great Sherpa restaurant in Boulder so that's on the itinerary.
So my proposal:
The Theology of Information Seeking: Understanding Church Leaders’ Source Selection
in a Digital World. I will argue that leaders cite theological orthodoxy as an important criterion for selection of information sources, but will then frequently cite materials outside of their own religious tradition. Baptist might use a Nazarene study guide online, or a Pentecostal a Mennonite video. This is certainly the case with online sources due to their convenience. Is there a contradiction here? And is there also a risk that these theologically diverse online media will undermine traditional authorities and create a hodge-podge stitched together faith? Bapta-costals and Menno-renes?
Perhaps not. When I look at the sources they cite closely, and how they use them, I am seeing a pattern. Leaders may not feel inhibited to "borrow" from those outside their faith community, as long as the borrowed bits still "fit" their church's teaching. So Pentecostals can borrow from Baptists the bits that fit Baptist doctrines, in part because they are both part of the same evangelical theological traditions. What I am not seeing is evangelicals borrowing from mainstream protestant or catholic traditions. These are outside of their theological family. Do those boundaries exist for other traditions? I am also fascinated when diverse religious groups use the same secular materials. Are these safe because they are non-theological?
So things to do: finish the paper, get my air ticket, and buy wooly socks.
Who do leaders turn to when they want to grow their leadership?
On September 29-30 I had attended the Global Leadership Summit, a webcast conference on Christian leadership, hosted by the Willowcreek Community Church, an evangelical mega-church of 24,000 attendees. The conference was attended by 165,000 leaders meeting at sites in 70 countries. I met with the several hundred leaders at a Canadian site at Stoneridge Fellowship.
The conference was about Christian leadership, though not necessarily church leadership; many of the speakers and attendees were from the business world; and not all were Christians. One central idea is that wisdom can be found in many places. Consider the panel of speakers:
From the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies to the garbage heaps of Cairo. Pastors and politicians; academics and bloggers. There was such a wealth of knowledge and experience in just two days, that I will take some time to process it all. I found some leaders impacted me emotionally like Mother Maggie, who lives and serves among the poorest peoples. Seth Godin for instance inspired my imagination.
Let's go back to that earlier premise: wisdom can be found in many places, or "all truth is God's truth." The theological foundation is natural theology: we can discern truths about God and human beings through an understanding of the natural created order. Dating back to Thomas Aquinas, this was a fundamental motivation for medieval western science. So we can enrich ministry through insights from psychology, sociology, business, marketing and the arts. But don't think for a minute that this was happening uncritically. Attenders come with theological filters that will determine what information that will take and integrate into their worldview. Bibby's observation that Canadian evangelicals should be engaging with Canadian Catholics might have had sound sociological support, but ran up against deep theological prejudices (enough so that the session chair first warned us that "we might not all agree with everything the next speaker will share.") McManus' plea for the arts and the revival of storytelling would fall flat for those whose theology rejects such things as frivolous. McManus' film group created one of the winning Doritos superbowl ads, but faced criticism for not using the opportunity for a Christian message (McManus' response: "But it was a Doritos commercial!") Some speakers made conscience attempts to correlate their teaching with the Bible like Dr. Cloud, while others like Seth Godin did not, even though the idea of faith was there.
My personal theology allows me to learn from wise leaders inside the church and outside. The Bible will remain my final authority on what I adopt and integrate into my faith. And whether I engage with my Catholic neighbours. But that's next week's post....
P.S. I bought the DVD if you want to borrow it. :-)
This week I went to see "Courageous", a new movie by Christian filmmaker Sherwood films in association with TriStar. The heroes of the story are a group of cops who are wrestling with a more challenging calling, being fathers. They are faced with both work and life challenges, and the audience gets caught up in their personal tragedies and triumphs. If you go, bring lots of tissues, especially if you are a parent. Yes, I'm serious, the message is heart-rending.
The movie is a challenge to fathers to step up, and take that role seriously. This movie comes from a un-apologetically evangelical Christian worldview, which I think surprised some local reviewers. To be honest I had mixed feelings about going to see this movie. It is not uncommon in evangelical churches to have the annual "Mothers are wonderful!" sermon in May, and the corresponding "Fathers are failing their kids" message in June. Hey pastors, constructive options motivate better than guilt. Thankfully I think this movie did offer more than guilt, and I appreciated that. Our church strongly encouraged its members to attend, and is following up with small groups for couples to talk about their parenting challenge.
Churches are often seen as opponents to popular media including movies. Many people don't realize that North American Christians saw very early the potential of cinema to transform culture and to educate. The Vatican as early as the 1920s believed that film as a means of cultural expression "enriches the church and cultures themselves." Billy Graham was an early adopter of radio, and later television and film as tools for evangelism. The Billy Graham Association's World Wide Pictures produced 38 feature films.
I admit when I go to movies, I go for the escapism: Thor, X-Men, and Despicable Me (Dave is cool.) But sometimes it is good to be challenged.
So the rumour goes that Amazon is trying to convince its publisher friends to allow it to create an e-book rental service. The story is that this service might be like Netflix and offer unlimited (?!) borrowing for a set monthly fee. Amazon has the reader client base already, software/hardware (Kindle) and the publisher relationships. They already have piloted a limited textbook rental service. Not surprisingly the model is difficult for publishers to swallow. Like the music industry pre-iTunes, it seems like publishers don't see that there is money to be made here.
What of brick and mortar libraries? A blogger for The Guardian has suggested "If I were a librarian, I confess, I'd be putting the career-change plan into action just about now." Yes, yes, I know, we have been hearing about the end of libraries for some time. I noted recently a book by the title "The End of Libraries" published in 1982. Thirty years on, still hanging in there.
But let's talk about this. As the blogger noted, "If you can "borrow" the ebook instantly from your living room, why would
you bother schlepping into town to pick it up in person?" That was my experience with movie rentals (sorry Blockbuster, but I did pick up a few good movies at the close out sale.) Many public libraries offer e-books but offerings are usually limited to popular leisure reading. Academic libraries also offer some e-books, but with a variety of vendor platforms, and tight use restrictions.
Can these e-book services withstand the competition? Or more specifically, would I pay a fee for access to an online library? Yes, I probably would, even though I could borrow the books for free at my library, and even though I enjoy holding a paper book. The deciding factor for me would be the scope of the collection. At present few of the books I would use for academic research are available in digital format. I would buy a digital copy of the Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research today! (Sad I know.) I would love to have a core research collection on my iPad in the field. Until publishers are prepared to release ALL books in digital formats, libraries as book lenders will continue.
Here is the great mystery: in a time when library budgets are under attack, Amazon believes people will pay to borrow books. If they make it convenient and simple. That begs the question, what of libraries?
The challenge of any helping role is that most of the work you do is invisible. This is the case for pastors, whose jobs involve confidential counselling, mentoring, and simply coming alongside. I remember in my early days as a student pastor having to put up with comments like "nice job, only having to work one day a week." I kept thinking that a regular 9-5 job sounded so nice! So how does one share the fullness of pastoral life without appearing to be an attention seeker?
A friend at the Archdiocese of Ottawa office recently told me about Archbishop Terrence Prendergast's blog "the Journey of a Bishop." Posting nearly everyday, he chronicles events in the life of the church, both local and international. He shares prayers, pastoral thoughts and photos of special events. I understand that even the office staff find it a great source of information about the goings on of the church and the Archbishop. It the counter is accurate, he has had nearly 300,000 visits to his blog since January 2009.
The first thing that strikes me is the man is busy! Obviously there is much more he does than is depicted here, but this is a good outline of public activities. The next thing that strikes me is that this opens a window to the life of the church. This isn't text written by a PR firm, or photos air brushed by marketing. But if I was ever curious what does an Archbishop does, here is a good place to start.
Many pastors have blogs, feeds and websites. Some are current news, some are ancient history. It takes time and effort to blog, and I know pastors who feel there time could be better spent. Pastor John Piper has made a strong argument for pastors blogging, among them interacting, and being known. Interacting is important, and perhaps a weakness of "The Journey of a Bishop" is that it remains one way communication, although I have no way of knowing how many comments and questions are sent. I am just not part of the dialogue. Recently ChurchMag had an interesting post about using Church social media. How do you use social media to create conversations? Ask questions. Scary when you are on the web.
Piper's comment about being known also caught my attention. Piper writes, "Your people hear you teach a lot; it’s probably the main way
that most of them know you. You preach on Sundays, teach on Wednesdays,
give messages at weddings, funerals, youth events, retreats, etc. This is good—it’s your job. But it’s not all you are....your people need some access to you as a person. A blog is one way to help them."
This is powerful. I find that much of the religious blogging I encounter is, well frankly, evangelistic and somewhat contrived. You rarely meet the person behind the scripture verses or sermon notes.
Lots to chew on. What is your favourite personal blog? What draws you back to it?
On December 31, 2011 the Baptist Bookroom will close after fifty years serving the needs of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. It was likely inevitable; the brick storefront model is passing away. I have ordered a few items online from them, but as it is a province away I never visited in person. I took a few minutes to write and ask the folks at the Convention office "So what's next?" Yes, this business model has failed, but the need for good Christian educational materials remain. Yes, there are good online sources like CBD or directly from trusted publishers. But do our parishioners know who are the trusted publishers? Are they current with what resources are available to meet their particular need?
That I think is the greatest loss when the local bookstores close; we lose the local expertise. I think most churches hope their clergy can provide those insights but the reality is that these aren't skills they teach you in seminary. Reader's advisory services are also offered in libraries, and if your religious group has a local seminary/college you might be able to get some assistance there. Most parishioners are on their own; my own research suggests that if they have been given enough rooting in their own groups beliefs they will muddle through. Regrettably many have only a passing acquaintance with the beliefs of their religious group.
Though not surprising, another bookstore closing is sad. But what is sadder still is that there seems to be no plan for what's next. The information age is upon; time to have a strategy.
I've argued that technology is subtly changing how people practice their faith. Even familiar rituals get transformed. Sometime ago I shared an example of a wedding procession that became a viral video hit. OK, that was good but this is better: the Huffington Post posted a story about Renee the bridesmaid who couldn't travel to the wedding so...she joined by ipad via Apple's video app facetime.
Webcams are ok to watch, laptops are bulky, but the ipad was just right. I recently attended a work meeting by ipad. I sat at one side of the table and could see and hear and participate. But is it ok to be part of a wedding virtually? What is it like to be groomsman? Can you actually sign the register as an official witness if you weren't really there? If it is ok for the bridal party, what about the bride and groom? What happens if your battery dies?
Oh well, congratulations Jamie and Jonathon! May you have many happy years together!
Sometimes research can get personal. It happens when you find yourself joining your subjects under the microscope. At the recent CAIS conference I presented a paper entitled "Beyond Belief: Prayer as Communication in Information Seeking." I'll write about that later this week. It was a positive experience and I received lots of excellent feedback.
When you study peoples' lives, it is difficult to remain detached. The researcher balances the objective ("etic") viewpoint, and the "insider's" ("emic") perspective. When I study another culture, it is easier to keep my distance; when I study my own, I bring deeper insight but also my personal beliefs. In this paper I examined prayer as an information scientist. But I am a scientist who prays, and believes in prayer. I am prepared to accept critique of my research; my methods and my conclusions. But when someone questions my research subjects' belief in the reality of prayer it unsettles me. I share many of their beliefs. My faith is part of my identity.
I thought more about the challenges that some researchers face; those who regularly engage topics related to identity such as ethnicity, gender and belief. Engaging with your research; engaging with yourself. In public, and under the microscope. CAIS is a safe venue; I've been to conferences that weren't as civil. Yet some researchers regularly place themselves out there.
There is a balance to find here. I cannot become self-indulgent, lest my research really become only about me. I know researchers who have fallen into that trap. But we cannot be afraid to be personally engaged in our research either. There are of course safer topics to study.
In honour of the end of the Harry Potter franchise, here is a good professor scrap.
Outcasts is a new miniseries on the Space Channel, a post-apocalyptic storyline developed by the BBC. The premise is that we have devastated the planet earth and in 2040 we must leave to start over on another planet. Our new home is called Carpathia, named after the ship that rescued survivors of the Titanic disaster. Most evacuees don't survive the trip but a colony is established, and the story begins ten years after the initial landing. Can we really start over?
We discover quickly that the colonists have personal baggage, some from earth, but also guilty decisions made since planetfall. The spacecast blog notes: "The characters are presented with the failings of the human race - will knowing what went wrong on Earth really force us to change our ways, or will "human nature" turn out to be the deciding factor?" At one point in the pilot episode the leader of the expeditionary teams concludes, "You start all over again, you mess things up again. That's just how it has to be."
Religion and media researchers have argued that channels "narrowcasting" to specific audiences have the opportunity to explore issues that the major broadcasters wouldn't consider. As yet, religious themes in Outcasts have not been raised, but the question of human nature looms large. From a religious perspective, I understand this as a fundamental question. Any social movement, secular philosophy or religious dogma that doesn't seriously address human nature misses the rescue boat.
The Judeo-Christian tradition does, though with varying interpretations. In the archtypical start-over story from the Bible, Noah and the flood, we read:
" 5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled."
Ouch. One significant counter theme in this tradition is there remains hope that God provides start-overs, heaven sent Carpathias.
I'm intrigued to see where this series is heading, and to answer the question: "who are the outcasts?"
Suddenly my ears perked up; I was hearing familiar themes. People are wrestling with health challenges, and are seeking information. They talk to health professionals, but also friends, neighbours, and "experts" on television and increasingly the internet. Seekers attribute authority to these non-professional sources (the "Oprah factor"), and that concerns health professionals. Tami Oliphant addressed related issues in her paper on alternative medicine at last year's conference.
More than a few pastors have expressed their views on Oprah's "theology", and their concerns about where their parishioners are looking for spiritual information. Whether health professionals or pastoral professionals, they are concerned for the well-being of those in their care. They want them to get "good" information. People are more open to considering different kinds of expertise. Whether doctor or minister, you are no longer the only source in town. Time to get past that and focus on the next task, equipping discerning information users. The information world is a big place.
I guess I need to talk to more health information researchers; I have much to learn from them! And now for something completely different: Trust me, I'm the Doctor.
So says the Harold Camping of Family Radio ministries, a Conservative Christian evangelistic ministry. Important to Christian theology is the idea of the end things ("eschatology"), whether it be "what happens when I die?", "what happens to the world?", "is there a heaven?", or "is there a hell?" The Bible says alot about end things. These are important faith questions. The danger arises when answering those questions becomes the consuming passion, and not living out our faith. Perhaps Harold Camping is sincere and convinced. Tomorrow he will be a very disappointed man.
Judgment Day prophets have been around for a very long time. In fact, the Gospel of John records that end time speculation started even before Jesus' death! There have been lots of end time predictions through history, and many times people have climbed mountains to wait...and wait...and wait. I'm amazed by how the media has picked this up. Why the fascination with this End Times prophet? Is it just a warmup for the Mayan/Nostradamus 2012 End-of-the-World prophecies? There is certainly a public taste for this coverage, and it is interesting to watch the twitter posts as people confidently (?) proclaim that the world isn't ending. MTV is suggesting top five movies for end of the world, the Washington Post is predicting good weather for the end of days, and CNN suggests a last meal at your favourite restaurant. A little bit of a circus, but it is a fascinating religious phenomenon (sorry, had to!)
I'm an evangelical Christian, and I believe in Judgment Day. I believe a time will come when God will say "Enough!" "Enough cruelty. Enough killing. Enough destroying this creation I once called 'very good'." I need to believe in a God who will one day bring justice to an injustice world, re-make the world as it was to be in the beginning. I think that is the point of Biblical prophecy; not to provide a road-map/checklist for the end times, but to give struggling people hope that even when if seems darkest, God is still there, and one day He will say enough.
So I will mow my lawn today, and get groceries. Maybe new sneakers. Or I guess I could wait til tomorrow. ;-)
CNN's Belief Blog recently posted an entry entitled "My Take: How technology could bring down the Church." Lisa Miller argued new technologies like Bible apps, podcasts and streaming video will undermine the need to actually attend church. She wrote "With Scripture on iPhones and iPads, believers can bypass constraining religious structures - otherwise known as “church” - in favor of a more individual connection with God." She recalled how the printing press democratized the interpretation of the Bible furthering the growth of the protestant movement.
I'll admit that I also had concerns about the negative impact of new technologies on the Church. First, lets clarify something: the European/North American church may be in decline, but not so in Asia, Africa or South America. Many Christian groups (e.g. Catholic, Lutheran, Methodists) are reporting great growth! So at present this is a western church concern.
Second, research is simply not bearing that out that new technologies are bringing down the church. There have been other prophets of doom: van der Laan has argued that the "Internet shapes and alters how pastors and parishioners practice their religion" and he concludes that the use of online sources would undermine pulpit ministry. I rejected that argument because it assumes online resources are used uncritically by preachers and accepted uncritically by parishioners. I find those assumptions unsupported.
Heidi Campbell as discovered that blogs, rather than challenging traditional religious authority, may help solidify them. “Many Christian bloggers use their blogs to affirm traditional religious authorities that are in line with the religious beliefs and identities they seek to present online authority rather than simply using it to challenge....”
Chris Helland has explored how online worship can reconnect members of diaspora groups to their religious homelands and practices. Whether ritual by webcam or in virtual spaces, people are practicing their beliefs and connecting.
Paul Teusner has done interesting work on the Emerging Church movement in the blogosphere, a group that challenges traditional religious authorities and structures, yet then appears to create its own doctrinal authorities.
I could go on but you get the point. Is it Religion 2.0 or simply faith in a new wired context? Something new is happening, but to paraphrase Mark Twain the reports of the church's death are greatly exaggerated. Just sayin'.
ChurchCrunch blog posted a cool Easter website (remember to scroll down.) The splash page is interactive and offers a linear narration. It is an invitation to a Easter Celebration. Obviously they put a lot of resources into this web ad. After a viewed their presentation I began to wonder who these folks were. Hmm. Not much on the website. Oh, a facebook page...ok, not much here but there is a link to another facebook page, Rock Harbour Church...and a link to the church website. I had to wander about the social media a bit but I did find out what they believe.
They have carefully considered and well articulated teachings. So why hide them? Are they trying to focus on the central message? Avoid distracting debates? Last August I posted about a conference paper the focused on the United Church of Canada's WonderCafe web campaign. Despite the size and expense of the campaign, the researchers questioned its impact. People came, looked around and wandered off. Visitors liked the openness and willingness to dialogue but in the end couldn't figure out what the church actually believed. Dudes, they want to get to know you; don't be so cagey! Tell the people what you believe!
I've re-posted the paper abstract below from the conference website (pdf) for your interest.
7th International Conference on Media Religion and Culture, Aug. 9-13, 2010, Ryerson University, Toronto.
David Haskell (Wilfrid Laurier University) Kevin Flatt (Redeemer University College) and Robin Lathangue (Trent University) Measuring the Effectiveness of a Church’s Off-line and On-line Marketing Campaign: The Case of the United Church of Canada’s “WonderCafe”
In November 2006, in the context of declining membership, the United Church of Canada (UCC) launched an advertising campaign. At a cost of approximately 10.5 million dollars it was hailed as the most expensive marketing strategy ever employed by a Canadian church.
The campaign featured a set of provocative ads that ran nationally in popular, high-profile print publications; it also featured an interactive web site called The WonderCafe. Each of the ads posed a challenging spiritual or moral question then asked readers to go online and discuss the issue at the web site. The leaders within the UCC said the goal of the nationally-publicized WonderCafe print ads and the associated WonderCafe web site was two-fold. They were created to project a positive, public image of the United Church (as the “home of open-minded conversation”) and to ultimately convince members of the Canadian population to attend/join local congregations of the denomination.
The purpose of this study was to qualitatively gauge the effectiveness of the WonderCafe ads and web site as a means of promoting the UCC by probing the cognitive processing of viewers of those media artefacts. Through a series of focus groups, a total of 62 religious seekers were asked to view the ads and then the web site. After viewing the ads the participants were asked a series of open-ended questions to determine 1) how the respective artefacts affected their perceptions of the United Church and 2) whether the respective artefacts inspired them to possible action (e.g., attend a United Church service). Similar questions were asked after perusing the web site. Forty percent of participants described themselves as “no religion”; 40% described their faith as Catholic and 20% described themselves as Protestant (two attending the UCC). Almost three-quarters stated they knew nothing about, and had no opinion on, the UCC.
Qualitative analysis of participant responses determined the following: Over 40% of participants, suggested that the ads got them thinking about the UCC; however, for more than half of those, their perceptions were slightly negative. Further, no ad viewer mentioned a desire to learn more about the United Church and only 8% voiced an interest in perusing the WonderCafe web site now or at some point in the future.
Post web site viewing, almost 80% of participants had positive perceptions of the UCC as an open and accepting denomination in terms of social and religious issues. However, in half of responses and often alongside positive comments about the church’s openness were remarks expressing confusion or frustration over the web site’s lack of doctrinal information on the UCC. Discounting two participants who regularly attended the UCC, about 15% of participants acknowledged some interest in attending a UCC church service. However, their attendance was always expressed in highly tentative terms (e.g., “If I ever go to a church…”) and was never shown to be a pressing desire.
With reference to the results of the analysis, the efficacy and limitations of religious marketing, especially religious marketing that employs the internet, are discussed.
I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. H. W. Longfellow
As many of you know I run the video camera during our church's services. The services are streamed live using a service called LiveStream and archived for later viewing. Usually we have only a few viewers for the live stream, and a number more who watch later in the week.
I remember when my siblings and I were young and we were snow bound on Sunday, Dad would sit us down in front of the TV for Rex Humbard or a similar preacher in lieu of church. The streaming service is a different experience; not Rex and the folks in far off Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The stream is our folks worshiping together. I've been home myself with ailing kids or bad weather and we have joined the service online, and even said "Hi!" via chat. There is a personal connection.
A streaming service is also like Longfellow's arrow, who knows where it will land. A few Sunday's ago we had online viewers during the service from a church in Tyumen, Russia. Like ourselves they also stream their services online and popped in for a visit. Two small churches on different sides of the planet stopping by for a friendly visit. (No, I don't understand a word of Russian.) Kinda cool but makes you think.
On rare occasions I still fill the pulpit when the pastor is away. I preached two Sundays ago and the service was streamed as usual. I recalled our Siberian visitors when I was preaching and wondered who else might stop by. Where will my words end up? Preaching is always a serious matter, and the Bible has warnings for those who would be religious teachers. But now in the digital age "i shot a sermon into the air, it fell to earth, I knew not where."
So here is the test! As I discussed in my last post, I've downloaded the iPad Confession app, and I am going to give it a whirl. No, I'm not Catholic so this is new territory. I am hoping to discover how intuitive this is, so my apologies to my Catholic friends if I appear clueless...(more so than usual.)
Step 1: Add new user - Name, Sex, Birthday, Vocation, Last Confession (umm...), Password. (Apparently vocation means: single, married, priest or religious [order]. ) Here goes...am I going to get Vatican spam now?
Step 2: Select 'Act of Contrition'???? ummm, ok 'default act of contrition.' I'm not sure what I just agreed to here, but I'll go with this.
Step 3: Examination of Conscience - Here I have a list of the Ten Commandments, Responsibilities to God and Responsibilities to Other.
Oops, it logged me out, and won't let me back in... I had to recreate my profile. It seems to bump you out from time to time.
Step 3 (second try): Ok, I've selected the 10th commandment "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods." The Lotto is $50,000,000 this week; so coveting is realistic. Now there is a set of five questions, from the generic: "Am I jealous of what other people have?" to the more pointed "do I not trust God to provide for my material needs?" I like that; it is thought provoking. I also have space to add my own reflective questions. What should I ask myself? Hmmm....
Step 4: Begin confession "In the name...." There is a warning here "This app is intended to be used during the Sacrament of Penance with a Catholic priest only. This is not a substitute for a valid confession." I wonder if this notice was a later addition? Click next...
Step 5: My list of sins.... (general categories not specifics...that would be a security nightmare!)
Step 6: Act of Contrition; the prayer of confession. Next.
Step 7: A text box: "Receive absolution and respond 'Amen'. If the Priest says, 'Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.' answer 'His mercy endures forever.'"
All done. It will remember my last confession next time I log in.
Interesting experience; it is not a replacement for confession, but it does lead one to reflect and prepare. It is not entirely intuitive; it assumes you have gone through Catechism classes and been Confirmed. I can see why many would download it, but will many actually use it. I doubt it. But it is an interesting reflective tool, in an age when moral self-reflection is out of vogue.
It seemed appropriate to end on a worshipful note here with an ancient Irish hymn common to all branches of Christendom: "Be Thou My Vision."
I've been playing with a borrowed Apple ipad and exploring it how it can enhance teaching. I've enjoyed the personal applications as well (book readers, recipe files, games, and educational tools like the NASA app.) Whatever your interest, as the guys from Apple would say "there's an app for that." Yes, I know a few reps and they do say that.
Now as tech blogger EnGadget writes: "Are you a sinner? There is an app for that." You might have seen the news story about the Catholic church's Confession app? For my non-Catholic readers, Confession, or more specifically the Sacrament of Penance, is a ritual of confessing one's sins before God, and seeking forgiveness, pardon and restoration. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the priest hears confessions and grants absolution. Though most protestant Christian groups do not believe in confession to a priest, it is noteworthy that the New Testament does direct believers to "confess your sins to each other and prayer for each other." Confession and restoration are important themes in the Bible so this app might be a natural.
The iTunes blurb: "Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is the perfect aid for every penitent. With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance." Whoa there confessors! It is not a short cut out of the confessional. The Vatican stresses it is an aid to confession, and not a substitute for confession. The creators got a little ahead of themselves here, but it has become immensely popular since its debut over a month ago. It is the only religion app in the Top 10 of iTunes. And like all things religious, it has also caused controversy.
What do I think about this? Is this just another depersonalizing of faith? The creators argue that it is helping people reconnect with the church. Is it making practicing your faith easy? Should it be easy? Is it another manifestation of worship online.
Well, one way to find out: tomorrow I taking this app for a test run, and you can join me in the cyber confessional....
It wasn't so long ago I using telnet on dialup to access the library catalogue. Can you remember back pre-internet? We phoned people, even wrote letters...on paper...with stamps! No email. No Youtube. Not even google. This week Egypt went back to the pre-Internet days when the government pulled the plug of internet and cell networks to quell protests. In Canada we have the CRTC decision which might mean the end of unlimited internet downloads. Just when iTunes and Netflix started having more to watch than cable. Coincidence?
Life is become entangled with the internet these days. I've been thinking of the churches that have enthusiastically adopted technology. New forms of church have been created that exist because of the internet. What would happen if the internet went away?
It would hard to go back, but as the people of Egypt quickly discovered there are other ways to spread the message. And churches have been very adept at using media to communicate long before the internet. Back in the 1940s Billy Graham's radio program "Hour of Decision", in the 1950s he moved to television and film. Film has long been important to communicate faith. In Mediating Religion there is an interesting essay that described the Roman Catholic church's congress on film in 1928, and notes the first papal encyclical Vigilanti Cura on cinema and social communication was issued in 1936! Though email is supplanting it, many churches still have the phone prayer chain to spread announcements to their members faster than any shampoo commercial! It never ceased to amaze me how fast news spread in my country pastorates; we'd have a church meeting in one village, and before I arrived in the next village everyone seemed to know what happened at the meeting. Beat that twitter!
I wouldn't want to give up the internet; but the world wouldn't end either.
Let's face it, we all have to pay the bills (bobs, visas and BMOs). But what would I do if I was free of that obligation. What would a theologian / librarian / sociologist of religion do if he could do anything? I think I would build a Christian Resource Centre. Say what?! What the heck is that?
Well let's build one together.
I envision it has part of a local church, but open to the wider community: individuals, churches and organizations.
It will have a reference desk where visitors can get knowledgeable assistance to find resources to meet their spiritual information needs.
It will have meeting space where workshops and seminars are held. Places for learning and teaching, directed by qualified instructors.
The resource centre will use current technologies to reach out to its clients. People can browse the collection online, access full text christian literature and resources, and engage in online courses.
The resource centre staff will guide you in finding the book, video, website that meets your need. We can even help you order than book online, if you'd like.
Sometimes churches need to do original research. They need to do locate community demographics, design and assess programs, or create and analyze surveys or focus groups. I see a resource centre offering those kinds of information skills.
Also a comfy chair to curl up in, and a rocker for someone else...that sounds familiar! So there is one of my dreams. Until then, time to get back to work.
I am fascinated by the people side of information. I am the Public Services Librarian at the Sir James Dunn Law Library, Schulich School of Law. I hold an Interdisciplinary PhD from Dalhousie in Human Information Behaviour, and Sociology of Religion and New Media.
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12/03/2011 01:36:00 PM
David Michels
On December 31, 2011 the Baptist Bookroom will close after fifty years serving the needs of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. It was likely inevitable; the brick storefront model is passing away. I have ordered a few items online from them, but as it is a province away I never visited in person. I took a few minutes to write and ask the folks at the Convention office "So what's next?" Yes, this business model has failed, but the need for good Christian educational materials remain. Yes, there are good online sources like CBD or directly from trusted publishers. But do our parishioners know who are the trusted publishers? Are they current with what resources are available to meet their particular need?
Sometimes research can get personal. It happens when you find yourself joining your subjects under the microscope. At the recent CAIS conference I presented a paper entitled "Beyond Belief: Prayer as Communication in Information Seeking." I'll write about that later this week. It was a positive experience and I received lots of excellent feedback.
