Stories are timeless. Whether passed along to the next generation by an oral tradition or the written word, stories permeate millennia. The stories we care about most are part of our story. Family background, origins of faith, cultural milestones, who was where at major moments in history.
Stories matter because people matter. We long for a sense of connectedness and community. We are social creatures. Across oceans and across time, stories tie us together.
With the advancement of technology the world has grown smaller. Mankind’s reach extends around the globe. Story keeps us connected. How we communicate that story progresses with technology.
Moses had stone tablets, the disciples had scrolls, and Luther had the printing press. We have social media.
The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication
In a candid new book, The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication, author Justin Wise tells the story of the Church and how it has always embraced technology to further the cause of Christ.
Justin is the CEO/Founder of the Wise Group and created Think Digital Academy, a social media coaching program designed to help participants build bigger online audiences and influence them to take action. Justin also speaks at national conferences on the subject of social media strategy and teaches public relations as an adjunct professor at Drake University.
Here is our interview with Justin about The Social Church.
1. What motivated you to write The Social Church? What are you hoping to accomplish?
The book is about why and how church leaders need to take social media seriously. It sets to convince social media hold outs that it’s a crucial part of churches discipleship and organizational structure moving forward. It’s really meant to give church leaders a conversation starting point around social media and bridge the gap between digital immigrants and digital natives.
2. Why narrow the focus of the book to a church audience versus other organizations who can leverage social media for their cause, be it nonprofit or capitalist in nature?
It’s the elephant in the room right now in so many churches and the sooner church leaders choose to engage in social and understand how it integrates into their context the better off they’ll be. Not to be doom and gloom, but if churches ignore social it will not end well for them. Increasingly our culture is moving more and more online in terms of how we communicate, how we make purchases, how we learn, and churches need to understand how a new media culture communicates and adapt our gospel message to the culture.
3. Name 3 common mistakes churches make online?
Ghost towns. Either the social accounts become ghost towns, where they are abandoned and no one looks at it or pushes content to it. No one is actively engaging on those channels from the church’s perspective and so it further drives them down the road of inefficacy.
Bulletin boards. The other option is that social becomes a distribution channel where content is consistent but its only purpose is to self-promote. When this occurs, what we have is a digital bulletin board.
Being absent. Never starting. That’s the death sentence.
4. How can churches reluctant or resistant to social media benefit from your book?
The idea is they will see how absolutely vital it is. They will see the benefits, but they will also see the reasons why. The hope is that they will come to understand how utilizing the latest technology, especially communications technology, is not a new thing. It is a church thing. We as a church have been on the forefront of communications and technology since the beginning.
5. What are the typical excuses you hear from church people resisting social media?
Time. Money. Time and money. Churches think that they don’t have the resources to invest in social, but the reality is, they can’t afford not to. If churches continue to resist social, they are choosing to become irrelevant to the culture they are trying to reach.
6. How is our generation uniquely positioned to help the Church bridge the gap from the past to the present and beyond?
When members of the New Media Culture are taking positions of leadership, social media is going to be 100% unavoidable. This will be true in the culture at large and in the culture of the church. The good news is that the church has always been on the forefront of communication and technology shifts. We saw this with Paul; two thirds of the New Testament was written by Paul who wrote in letter form. Those letters were written on scrolls and papyrus, and that is technology. So really, the New Testament is a snapshot into the technology of Paul’s day. Fast forward to Martin Luther. Luther was on the forefront of the printing press. Leveraging technology to build God’s Kingdom. Amy Sempel McPherson of FourSquare? She was one of the first pioneers of radio ministry. In fact, she was quoted as saying “We have a responsibility to use this technology to further God’s message.” Billy Graham was again on the forefront of television broadcasting technology, spreading God’s message. For us now in the 21st century, in America and other parts of the world, that technology is social media. We as a church have a responsibility to understand it and use it to the best of our abilities.
7. If you were to boil it down to a single person, who did you write this book for?
This book was written for someone who wants to understand how social media can positively influence the impact of his or her local church. It’s for the person who knows the value of social media, but has never had the language to express why. In short, it’s for the person who wants to be on the right side of history!
It was not written for curmudgeons. Time is too short for cranky people. The reality is naysayers aren’t going to be convinced on the value of social media until it’s too late. They will need to feel considerable pain before their eyes are opened.
In all the churches I’ve worked with, their has to be an openness, on some level, to social media. Even if it’s a senior pastor who trusts one of their team members, there has to be a glimmer of, “I don’t get this, but I know it’s important.”
8. How is The Social Church different from other books by marketing gurus like Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk?
To my knowledge, neither of these two amazing men have ever written a book exclusively focused on faith-based organizations.
The Social Church is 100% focused on the local church. I’ve taken my background in social media marketing, theological education, and pastoral ministry and blended it into a book that’s sole purpose is to increase digital fluency in the Church.
9. Would Jesus be on Twitter? Why?
Without a shadow of a doubt, yes.
Why? Because Jesus was a man of the people. He went to where the people were. Fish markets, watering holes, dinners, weddings, the Temple–Jesus went to the people. In 2014, the people are online. We’re spending more and more time interacting with each other through social. Therefore, due to his very nature, Jesus would be all over Twitter.
10. If Luther was alive today, what would his Facebook page look like?
Unkempt. Frequent rants. Pictures of his student roundtables. Few frills. Maybe the latest beer he’s enjoying. Accidental selfies.
11. In 10 words, explain the key takeaway of The Social Church?
Increasing digital fluency in the Church. (With four to spare!)
12. Pulling the book together took 15 months, what was your writing process like?
Super painful, to be honest. At times, it felt like I was giving birth or having teeth pulled or waiting for an oil change to finish up, only to be told my air filters need to be replaced.
I learned you have to want to write a book. Like, really want it. It’s one of the reasons so many of us have unfinished projects laying around. We start out with good intentions, but in the end, it’s really difficult to finish a book yourself.
As far as my process, I’d usually save most of the writing for the weekend. My wife, Kerry, is amazing and gave me the freedom to leave for a few hours on Saturday afternoons. I’d head to the local coffee shop, set up shop, and then go through the agony that is writing. Start, stop, procrastinate, write again, blank out, more coffee, twiddle my thumbs, write more, go home.
I’m honestly surprised the book got finished. There were a few moments where I didn’t think it was going to happen!
13. Any thoughts on the fad of predicting Facebook’s demise? How is/will it avoid the same fate as MySpace?
No, and anyone who tells you Facebook is going the way of MySpace is a doofus.
First, the sheer imprint of Facebook across the web is enormous. Logins, like boxes, share buttons—each one is a tiny tentacle spread throughout the Internet. The Facebook hooks are in and it will be a long, long time before they’re fully removed.
Second, if MySpace didn’t know how to make money. Facebook, I believe, has finally figured this out. Their mobile revenue just exploded and, as we know, the future is mobile.
Bottom line: Facebook isn’t going anywhere. Why? Because money. That’s why.
14. Fast forward 5 years, how does the realm of social media look different?
I talk about this a little in the book, but the gist of it is this: the future is mobile and mobile is social.
I made a point to not focus on platforms in the book, mainly because they come and go. What will not change, however, is social media as a mindset. We’ve experienced a world where we have a voice again. We can connect with people halfway around the globe with ease. We don’t have to wait for permission. The gatekeepers are gone.
While the platforms we play with on a day-to-day basis will continue to change, the essence of social media is here to stay.
15. If you were to create a new social media platform, what would you call it? How would it differ from existing platforms?
I don’t think that would be a good idea. I’m not smart enough for that. I’d probably do something inappropriate or sophomoric. I’d name it and my wife would have to come along and say, “are you crazy? Absolutely not.” Something like iToot, you know, the social network that shares how many diapers your kids fill throughout the day. You could totally gameify it, too. Badges and such. Think I could get some VC dollars for that one?
16. What’s your opinion of Christian-ized versions of Facebook and Twitter?
All I’m going to say is that Facebook makes a pretty good Facebook. Twitter makes a good Twitter. You dig?
We’re so excited about The Social Church that we’re giving away a few copies. Enter for your chance to win below.
John Dobbs says
Would love to win a copy!
Justin Wise says
Hooray!
=)