Paul Boultin on how getting laid off can be a way to get moving to where you want to be.  As I reflect on  this,  in my situation,  it can be a not so subtle hint that continued talking the talk without walking the walk is not a good place to be.  If what I feel is needed for becoming conversant with online communities ;  even to become one,  is continually shunned and de-prioritized,  then it’s best not only for me but for the church as well to get moving to the  places where I am heard. 

Boultin also emphasizes the idea of cross pollination;  getting the right ingredients to the places where nature is passing them around;  a kind of evolution of having a variety of techniques and survival mechanisms get tweaked and fine–tuned until the right balance is struck.

If an organization,   and related organizations become tunnel-visioned,  and resort to “business as usual”,  they become a point of inertia.   (Inertia: the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest). The “mechanisms” to which organizations have become accustomed shield them from the recognizing of required change necessary to effectively embrace new media.  One can see  it in the deluge of “Social Media Experts”;  the activity here and the opportunities perceived are indicative of how organizations are seeking how to embrace Social  Media.  But “church” Social Media efforts seem to draw on the same “expertise” being fashioned for secular organizations.  The language is dominated by marketing-speak,  and the idea of what it means to “be the church” in Social Media is bereft  of theological reflection,  other than the very surface idea that “all media is neutral”,  and we can use this to “proclaim the gospel”.  But we must know by now that WHAT we proclaim is not entirely untouched by HOW we proclaim it.

It seems to me,  and I’ve said this many times,  in many different ways,  but there seems to be a damaging departmentalization of theology, technology, and communication.   Very little, if any,  conversation and reflection on what “social” markers are appropriate for a “church presence”, and what the “media” is “mediating”.  Marshall McLuhan didn’t say “the medium is the message” because he thought the medium has nothing to do with the message,  or that the medium is “message neutral”.  The manner and purpose of our appropriating media must be no less tested by our theology of church than our reflection on what mission means.  This IS an area of mission.  It is an attempt to make visible the church.  What kind of people are we?  Most church organizations seem to be struggling with the idea of WHETHER to engage.  The recent story about the Washington Post’s memos concerned that reporters don’t “engage” the public on Social Media has me thinking “sounds familiar”. 

I love the church.  When I went to seminary,  I had already decided that I was in for life as a minister in some capacity.  It was Youth Ministry then,  and my techo-“gifts” then seemed most welcome and useful in Youth Ministry;  and to the generation with which I could best relate.  As technology expanded in church communications,  I went back to seminary 10 years later to get a MA in Religious Communications,  which just happened to be happening while the PC market began to explode (early 90’s).  Almost immediately,  I saw the online community elements,  and soon was working  with a D.Min group at United Theological Seminary,  exploring the idea of using the Internet to extend the reach of church. 

So I’ve been at this for nearly 20 years.  And I don’t plan on “letting up”.  There is an ongoing role for me that has to be utilized by the church.  The lack of attention and resources applied to matters of online community, applications for that focus and effort, and continued reflection and strategy-seeking conversations is a point of great concern for me.  This must be remedied.  I will be devoting my days to producing and covering stories that invite conversation about the church in Social Media.  Events that raise important questions,  conversations with people who can help us think about the way the church ought to be diving into the fray. 

Laid Off? It’s Good for You and Good for the Tech Industry