The Church and New Media


Book Description

Engaging the digital Revolution We're experiencing the biggest communication shift since the printing press. Millions have adopted Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and Twitter. What does this mean for the Church? How can Christians harness these new tools to reach out, teach, cultivate community, and change the world? Following Pope Benedict's call to evangelize the "digital continent," The Church and New Media explores the power and risks of New Media while guiding Christians through this new environment. Foreword by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Afterword by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan Expert contributors include: Father Robert Barron Lisa Hendey Jennifer Fulwiler Father Dwight Longenecker Thomas Peters Mark Shea Matt Warner "The Church and New Media is the best kind of reading: timely, vivid, and rich in valuable information. For anyone seeking to understand and use today's new techologies in advancing the Catholic Faith, this book is an unsurpassed resource." -- Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archdiocese of Denver




Creating Church Online


Book Description

Online churches are internet-based Christian communities, pursuing worship, discussion, friendship, support, proselytization, and other key religious goals through computer-mediated communication. Hundreds of thousands of people are now involved with online congregations, generating new kinds of ritual, leadership, and community and new networks of global influence. Creating Church Online constructs a rich ethnographic account of the diverse cultures of online churches, from virtual worlds to video streams. This book also outlines the history of online churchgoing, from its origins in the 1980s to the present day, and traces the major themes of academic and Christian debate around this topic. Applying some of the leading current theories in the study of religion, media and culture to this data, Tim Hutchings proposes a new model of religious design in contexts of mediatization, and draws attention to digital networks, transformative third spaces and terrains of existential vulnerability. Creating Church Online advances our understanding of the significance and impact of digital media in the religious and social lives of its users, in search of new theoretical frameworks for digital religion.




Media in Church and Mission:


Book Description

Although written before much of the revolution in digital media, this book provides a lot of useful strategic input for those involved in media and Scripture Engagement.




The Social Church


Book Description

Did you know you can read online reviews of your church? How often have you talked about “reaching people where they are”—and realized that much of the time, they are on the Internet? We’ve been living in a digital world for quite a while now. Justin Wise speaks about social media as this generation's printing press—a revolutionary technology that can spread the gospel farther and faster than we can imagine. It’s time to take what we know (and admit what we don’t know) and learn together how to move forward as the church. Are you ready to think theologically about this digital age and reach people in a new way?




The Social Media Gospel


Book Description

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and a growing number of other social media tools can help you build church, deepen faith, and extend your reach in previously unimaginable ways. In this easy-to-understand, step-by-step guide to digital ministry, church communications professional Meredith Gould goes beyond “how to” and explains “why to” engage your parish in the world of social media. Social media tools make it possible to share conversations and content with the long-time faithful, disaffected millennials, the homebound, and spiritual seekers within and beyond church-the-building.Inspired by the Gospel and centered on Christ, The Social Media Gospel gently guides you and your church leaders and volunteers through the rapidly changing world of social media, helping you preach the Good News in new ways.




Infinite Bandwidth


Book Description

Franciscan University of Steubenville Professor Eugene Gan authors this first-of-its-kind Catholic roadmap for the digital age: Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media. He navigates you faithfully through the digital world, encouraging frustrated parents not to throw out cell phones, ban the Internet, chuck computers, or pitch portable media devices. That would be a mistake and believe it or not would be going against more than seven decades of Catholic teaching. From Church documents on social communications, Gan extracts seven principles or "media keys" of how to approach and use media. The Church and Gan say that we must enter into the modern day "Areopagus," the social and intellectual hub of ancient Athens where Paul preached to pagans, and use the media tools God has given us to make truth known and serve mankind. Cardinal John Patrick Foley says, "Frankly, I wish that such a book had existed when I was president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as a text which I could have recommended. The important thing, however, is that it exists now to provide a text, context, and challenge for those who wish to bring both Christian principles and professional excellence to their work in the media." Gan offers chapter after chapter of real-life experience of how to assess movies, games, and gadgets for you and your teens. Of how to judge the merits of a film like Saving Private Ryan, and what sets it apart from Nightmare on Elm Street. Can the one be acceptable viewing and the other not? Definitely. And Gan details why. Infinite Bandwidth: Encountering Christ in the Media is way out front of the newest gizmo and will stay there thanks to its timeless principles that can be applied in all digital terrain, now and the future. Parents, educators, and students will put this book down with an entirely different attitude about the relationship between faith and media use.




The Church


Book Description




Tweet If You Heart Jesus


Book Description

Social media has ushered in a dramatic global shift in the nature of faith, social consciousness, and relationships. How do churches navigate the Digital Reformation? Tweet If You Heart Jesus brings the wisdom of ancient and medieval Christianity into conversation with contemporary theories of cultural change and the realities of social media, all to help churches navigate a landscape where faith, leadership, and community have taken on new meanings.




The Connected Church


Book Description

We are in a new era of communication. The internet and social media have changed the way we connect and communicate with each other. As the body of Christ, it is important that we understand these changes, so that we can effectively serve others. Whether you are an established organisation or an individual starting your ministry, this book will help you understand these global, technology-enabled changes and how they impact churches, nonprofits and individuals in ministry. The four-part communication model and the six-step framework presented in this book will help you successfully implement a social media and digital ministry program, laying a strong foundation for the future of your ministry. Section I - Why the Church should use Social Media: In the first section, the book talks about the importance of using digital, online and social communication medium. The book explores the evolution of a new type of audience - the connected audience and helps the reader learn the biblical basis of social media marketing and its relevance to the Great Commission. Section II - The Communication Model: In the second section, the book introduces the four-part communication model. The author lays out a broader vision of a smooth, seamless communication within the Church, as one body using social media and technology. Section III - The Framework for Implementing the Communication Model: In the third section, the book moves from visioning mode to action mode. The author presents a six-step framework as a practical means to implement the communication model in your ministry. This is a hands-on implementation section that examines management strategies, marketing strategies and operational details. Section IV - Future Trends that will Impact the Church: In the fourth and final section, the book returns to a visioning mode as the author identifies key future trends and discusses ways in which churches, nonprofits and ministries can prepare themselves for the future. Foreword is written by Mark W. Schaefer - Social media keynote speaker, college educator, consultant, and best-selling author of six marketing books including Known, The Content Code, Social Media Explained and The Tao of Twitter. Introduction is written by Rev. Sam P. Chelladurai - Senior Pastor of AFT Church. He is one of the most prominent and respected Bible teachers in India.




Writing on the Wall


Book Description

Chronicles social media over two millennia, from papyrus letters that Cicero used to exchange news across the Empire to today, reminding us how modern behavior echoes that of prior centuries and encouraging debate and discussion about how we'll communicate in the future.