I see Church publishers and organizations providing us with plenty of “religious versions” of “marketer-speak’;  phrases and lingo that does not quite ring true.  Absent,  are the “testimonies”,  the expressions;  the passion.  CHurches and their “communication” agencies have been mysteriiously absent from any discussions ,  say for instance,  in the “Social Software” arena. 

The Pope’s Astrophysicist article in WIRED back in the December issue brought home to me how the Church has missed the boat,  and continues to do so,  when it comes to seeking an understanding of the way people are communicating and expressing themselves via Social Software.  

If the Catholic Church can spend a significant amount of money for astronomy research,  in order to “address the questions of the origins of life”,  how is it that ,  by and large,  the Churches MISS the significance of studying the social worlds being constructed,  inhabited,  and hosting numerous conversations,  questions,  expressions of humanity,  and ultimately,  spiritual questions. 

While questions around the origin of the universe and the beginning of life certainly have a significance,  and are worthwhile questions,  they don’t seem quite so directly related to the ministry issues at stake in the communicaton issues: like,  how well do we communicate with a significant and growing portion of human society?  How well do we ,  as a people,  devote our resources to worthwhile ministry pursuits that directly address the problem of what people are searching for?