I’m not sure if I have to “sell” many people the fact that social media behemoths like Facebook and her other “smaller” brothers, sisters, and cousin social networks, are truly enhancing relationships in ways that we couldn’t imagine a few years ago.
As a result, many ministries have seen Facebook as an obvious opportunity for capitalization to expand their reach into parts of the internet (and people’s lives) that they would not otherwise have been able to do. Pastors, ministry teams, and technoevangelists can reach, communicate, and impact people’s lives from all over the world.
Truly remarkable. But if that’s all it did and if we just stopped there it wouldn’t be enough.
Time Magazine had a worthwhile read titled: “Does Facebook Replace Face Time, or Enhance It?” suggesting strongly the latter.
Image by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
For many, though, this has been the definitive tension for a ministry and/or organization fully committing to web technology as a medium for ministry because of the temptation for staying in the artificial or superficial world. Incarnational ministry is still powerful and is the model by and through which God sent salvation.
I’ve come to realize that the tension is both necessary and inevitable. The article rightly states that:
Retreating behind the digital veil started long before the Internet existed, with the advent of answering machines. “People would call a phone when they knew the other person wasn’t available to pick up,” says Charles Steinfield, a professor at Michigan State University who co-authored a peer-reviewed study called “The Benefits of Facebook ‘Friends’”. “It enabled them to convey information without forcing them to interact.”
You see, it’s been like this forever. The balance (and struggle) of the tension has existed ever since “technology” started being used for any form of communication of the Gospel. It’s just that the “form” and “medium” have changed, but the old guard threat still remains. It’s inevitable.
And the correct response has always been that we do it in wisdom, that we never “forsake the meeting of believers” and “breaking of bread” and gathering locally, in person, because there’s something powerful that happens when we meet in the flesh.
It is a necessary challenge that we must undertake with courage. Technology can get us far, but not all the way.
Without the face to face (or at least some other form of contact that strengthens through a common interest), I find the facebook relationships do not have true staying power.
wow. you hit it on the money. said it straight up. thanks for sharing this perspective… i think a lot of people share it…!
I could use us as an example. We met through blogging, although we have yet to meet face to face, and are facebook friends. But it is this interaction here that I cherish, the face to face I anticipate; not having you listed in an all friends list I can use to call up your e-profile.
very true. one of my personal goals is to meet as many people that i've met through here and twitter and other places in person for 2009. thanks for that!
Its fascinating to watch the national church mobilization movements on facebook. Here is a very basic introduction. -> http://tinyurl.com/7e895t
thanks for this.
The answering machine thought got me thinking… way back. I imagine there being a huge debate when Bibles were first mass-printed on the printing press. Or, even when they first started writing the Word down on paper in OT times.
There was probably a huge debate on how "new" technology was impacting their faith and the community of believers.
i never really was in to answering machines. … i'm still not interested…
I think the post is dead-on in betraying the fact that humans have never been very comfortable with communication, physical or otherwise. We're always living in the tension of more but not too much …. that's the real issue with social networks … more control over your relationships
right on. thanks for the experience tonight… great stuff… even more excited…!