Below are some recently published articles (and a PhD thesis) on a variety of topic related to religion and new media from interevangelists to cyberpilgrimage. Included is one by me on religious negotiations of Israeli rabbis and orthodox communities regarding the internet. Happy reading!
Denis Bekkering, From ‘Televangelist’ to ‘Intervangelist’: The Emergence of the Streaming Video Preacher, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture.
The present study begins by recovering the origins of the terms “televangelism” and “televangelist.” “Televangelism” first appeared in 1958 as the title of a proselytization project of the Southern Baptist Convention that combined dramatic television programs with efforts to engage viewers in person. “Televangelist” was introduced in 1975 to describe an emerging type of American television preacher, the most successful of whom built powerful parachurch organizations. The neologism “intervangelist” is then presented to label contemporary video preachers broadcasting online. A content analysis of video platforms on the site.
Heidi Campbell, Religion and the Internet in the Israeli Orthodox context, Israel Affairs.
This article provides an overview of research on religion and the Internet within the Israeli context, highlighting how Orthodox Jewish groups have appropriated and responded to the Internet. By surveying Orthodox use of the Internet, and giving special attention to the ultra Orthodox negotiations, a number of key challenges that the Internet poses to the Israeli religious sector are highlighted. Exploring these debates and negotiations demonstrates that while the Internet is readily utilized by many Orthodox groups, it is still viewed by some with suspicion. Fears expressed, primarily by ultra Orthodox groups, shows religious leaders often attempt to constrain Internet use to minimize its potential threat to religious social norms and the structure of authority. This article also highlights the need for research that addresses the concerns and strategies of different Orthodox groups in order to offer a broader understanding of Orthodox engagement with the Internet in Israel.
Connie Hill-Smith, Teaching & Learning Guide for: Cyberpilgrimage: The (Virtual) Reality of Online Pilgrimage Experience, Religion Compass.
Despite the profound and growing impact of the internet on contemporary ‘Western’ thought, rationalistic, physically orientated understandings of reality and experience continue to undermine notions that the internet might mediate religious experiences that are as ‘genuine’, meaningful, and transformative as offline ‘equivalents’. The absence of the physical body from cyberspace may be relatively unproblematic for some online religious practices; but ‘cyberpilgrimage’, the practice of undertaking pilgrimage online, is another matter. Interestingly, however, cyberpilgrimage can be viewed as continuing older traditions of semi-ratified virtual pilgrimage stretching back to medieval Europe, and perhaps beyond. The primacy in (terrestrial) pilgrimage experiences of imagination and mind is well-attested and recent years have, moreover, seen huge on-going leaps in technologies ‘linking’ mind and body to computerised systems. The challenge which cyberpilgrimage represents to theory and wider thought is not only great but increasing. This guide suggests an approach to teaching about cyberpilgrimage and the place of ‘the physical’ in cyberspace, especially within religious contexts, with the aim of fostering debate into this vital, compelling, and fast-evolving new field in Religious Studies.
Kevin Healey,The Spirit of Networks: New Media and the Changing Role of Religion in American Public Life [PhD Thesis-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]
The Spirit of Networks examines the implications of new media for the future of American religious politics. I argue that we are at a critical juncture in both media and religion, similar to the early days of radio broadcasting. The outcome of that earlier juncture involved an increase in media commercialization and the proliferation of conservative evangelical broadcasters—developments which paved the way for the emergence of the Religious Right. Today, technological and generational shifts have the potential to alter the course of American religious politics. Younger people are more wary of political partisanship and religious hypocrisy, and are more likely to use new technologies as tools of political engagement. These shifts have led some journalists and researchers to pronounce the death of the Religious Right and the emergence of a new Religious Left. The research presented here assesses the potential outcome of this critical juncture by examining the impact of new media technologies on public discourse at the intersection of religion and politics. Through qualitative analysis of newspaper articles, cable news transcripts, and blog commentaries, I demonstrate how new media tend to generate debates about the authenticity and sincerity of public figures. Pundits and bloggers frequently claim to glimpse public figures’ “backstage” identity through video clips, instant messages, and e-mails. In this way, the new media environment generates competing “discourses of authenticity.” Occasionally this dynamic favors independent media sources and grassroots activists. For example the Republican sex scandals, which drove some evangelicals away from the GOP, erupted when liberal bloggers exposed the private messages of conservative congressmen. More often, though, established media industries and political organizations manage to exploit the dynamics of new media to their advantage, leading to what Charles Taylor calls shallow or “flat” debates about authenticity. The scandal that erupted in the summer of 2010 surrounding the firing of USDA official Shirley Sherrod exemplifies a trend that began during the 2008 election, as video clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright circulated between cable news and YouTube. Media coverage of Wright, and subsequently of Sarah Palin
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christianity. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, February 22, 2010
CFP on book on Church and New Media
Call for Papers for Edited Book on CHURCH AND NEW MEDIA: PERSPECTIVES, PRACTICES AND FUTURES
Editors: Pauline Hope Cheong, Peter Fischer-Nielsen, Stefan Gelfgren and Charles Ess
Background and Rationale
This book brings together, for the first time in five years, a collection of key articles in the area of religion and the Internet, particularly as new media relates to church, mission and interfaith dialogue. In light of the increasing mediation of everyday life in many parts of the world, this book approaches online religion with a fresh perspective, to account for contemporary developments in media and spirituality, with implications for faith and other civic organizations.
Arguably, as institutionalized religions and movements rush to leverage the Web to improve their reach, religious communication on the Internet takes an increasingly significant role alongside more traditional venues for such discourse. It may be, however, that religious use associated with new media problematizes established faith rituals, and religious community building in both its conception and operationalization. Changes in the Church can also
be conceived as intertwined with a range of other forms of social and political developments, such that new media acts as an agent and practice to challenge and transform the influence and authority of the Church. Furthermore, as ³new² media is a moving target, there may be past concepts that are more able to explain the nature of church life (such as evangelical
mission and systematic theology) or new concepts that are being developed that are better able to address the diversity and complexity of contemporary social and religious life (such as the ideas of social networking, viral marketing and church branding).
This edited collection aims to address and inform such issues and debates by offering new empirical, theoretical, and theological insights into how religious life continues to transform and be transformed by these new communication technologies. Current contributors, together with the editors, include Knut Lundby, Heidi Campbell, Mark Johns and Jørgen Straarup.
We hereby invite proposals for additional chapters (particularly in the historical and theological sections as explained below) that will complement and expand upon these contributions.
Section 1: Theoretical Approaches
This section maps the range of theoretical perspectives on religion and new media. A number of different theories have proven useful for researchers and scholars ¬ but new media also challenge our theoretical frameworks and categories. How far do current theories ³work² in helping us research and understand the complex interactions between religious life and new media ¬and how far are new theoretical understandings needed? And: what might these new theoretical understandings ³look like² ¬ i.e., are new theoretical frameworks and categories available that have yet to be fully explored by scholars and researchers that can be argued to be potentially fruitful?
Section II: Historical Perspectives
This section discusses the presence and significance of historical
perspectives in church and new media research. Transformations in communication media are deeply interwoven with the history and theology of Christianity. In light of this history, how do churches respond to the continued expansion of contemporary communication media? For example, given the close correlations between distinctive forms and modalities of communication ¬ including the broad categories of orality, literacy, print, and the secondary orality/literacy of electronic media ¬ and conceptions of self, community, and institutional authority, what does this history suggest regarding the possible implications and challenges of contemporary shifts
towards new media?
Section III: Empirical Investigations
This section reports on the empirical research studies that investigate emerging media and social media practices related to the Church. Disciplines represented include but are not restricted to: sociology of religion, ethnography and online ethnography, linguistics, and the social sciences and humanities more broadly as represented within the field of computer-mediated communication. Contributions may focus on, but not restricted to, contemporary uses (successful and not so successful) of new media in the life of religious communities (local, national, international). Guiding questions for such research and studies include: Do the possibilities and affordances of new media lead to genuinely new and demonstrable impacts on the life of congregations? What factors appear to accompany whether or not a given community or institution embraces or resists specific media? What factors are at work in both successes and failures for faith believers and organizations to adopt and adapt to new media? How does religiously related new media use interact or affect the offline practices of established religious organizations?
Section IV: Theological Reflections
The last section of the book provides theological reflections on the Internet, to forward the development of a theology of the Internet which is a budding field of research. Although practical perspectives and guidelines for Internet use have been published, a more thorough theological analysis of new media is missing. The need for theological clarification is apparent
since web-enabled applications challenge churches with a number of difficult questions.
Submission Details
Please submit a 500-700 word abstract (including important and initial references) to the editors as an email attachment tono later than April 15, 2010. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by May 31, 2010, and will then be invited to submit a full paper to the editors. Final manuscripts should be no more than 6,500 words, including notes and references, prepared in APA style.
Important Dates:
April 15, 2010 Deadline for abstract submission
May 31, 2010 Announcement of results and full paper invitations
August 31, 2010 Submission of full papers
Inquiries should be addressed to:
Pauline Hope Cheong
Associate Professor of Communication
Hugh Downs School of Human Communication
P.O. Box 871205, Stauffer Hall 462 Tempe, AZ 85287-1205
Arizona State University
Pauline.cheong@asu.edu
Editors: Pauline Hope Cheong, Peter Fischer-Nielsen, Stefan Gelfgren and Charles Ess
Background and Rationale
This book brings together, for the first time in five years, a collection of key articles in the area of religion and the Internet, particularly as new media relates to church, mission and interfaith dialogue. In light of the increasing mediation of everyday life in many parts of the world, this book approaches online religion with a fresh perspective, to account for contemporary developments in media and spirituality, with implications for faith and other civic organizations.
Arguably, as institutionalized religions and movements rush to leverage the Web to improve their reach, religious communication on the Internet takes an increasingly significant role alongside more traditional venues for such discourse. It may be, however, that religious use associated with new media problematizes established faith rituals, and religious community building in both its conception and operationalization. Changes in the Church can also
be conceived as intertwined with a range of other forms of social and political developments, such that new media acts as an agent and practice to challenge and transform the influence and authority of the Church. Furthermore, as ³new² media is a moving target, there may be past concepts that are more able to explain the nature of church life (such as evangelical
mission and systematic theology) or new concepts that are being developed that are better able to address the diversity and complexity of contemporary social and religious life (such as the ideas of social networking, viral marketing and church branding).
This edited collection aims to address and inform such issues and debates by offering new empirical, theoretical, and theological insights into how religious life continues to transform and be transformed by these new communication technologies. Current contributors, together with the editors, include Knut Lundby, Heidi Campbell, Mark Johns and Jørgen Straarup.
We hereby invite proposals for additional chapters (particularly in the historical and theological sections as explained below) that will complement and expand upon these contributions.
Section 1: Theoretical Approaches
This section maps the range of theoretical perspectives on religion and new media. A number of different theories have proven useful for researchers and scholars ¬ but new media also challenge our theoretical frameworks and categories. How far do current theories ³work² in helping us research and understand the complex interactions between religious life and new media ¬and how far are new theoretical understandings needed? And: what might these new theoretical understandings ³look like² ¬ i.e., are new theoretical frameworks and categories available that have yet to be fully explored by scholars and researchers that can be argued to be potentially fruitful?
Section II: Historical Perspectives
This section discusses the presence and significance of historical
perspectives in church and new media research. Transformations in communication media are deeply interwoven with the history and theology of Christianity. In light of this history, how do churches respond to the continued expansion of contemporary communication media? For example, given the close correlations between distinctive forms and modalities of communication ¬ including the broad categories of orality, literacy, print, and the secondary orality/literacy of electronic media ¬ and conceptions of self, community, and institutional authority, what does this history suggest regarding the possible implications and challenges of contemporary shifts
towards new media?
Section III: Empirical Investigations
This section reports on the empirical research studies that investigate emerging media and social media practices related to the Church. Disciplines represented include but are not restricted to: sociology of religion, ethnography and online ethnography, linguistics, and the social sciences and humanities more broadly as represented within the field of computer-mediated communication. Contributions may focus on, but not restricted to, contemporary uses (successful and not so successful) of new media in the life of religious communities (local, national, international). Guiding questions for such research and studies include: Do the possibilities and affordances of new media lead to genuinely new and demonstrable impacts on the life of congregations? What factors appear to accompany whether or not a given community or institution embraces or resists specific media? What factors are at work in both successes and failures for faith believers and organizations to adopt and adapt to new media? How does religiously related new media use interact or affect the offline practices of established religious organizations?
Section IV: Theological Reflections
The last section of the book provides theological reflections on the Internet, to forward the development of a theology of the Internet which is a budding field of research. Although practical perspectives and guidelines for Internet use have been published, a more thorough theological analysis of new media is missing. The need for theological clarification is apparent
since web-enabled applications challenge churches with a number of difficult questions.
Submission Details
Please submit a 500-700 word abstract (including important and initial references) to the editors as an email attachment to
Important Dates:
April 15, 2010 Deadline for abstract submission
May 31, 2010 Announcement of results and full paper invitations
August 31, 2010 Submission of full papers
Inquiries should be addressed to:
Pauline Hope Cheong
Associate Professor of Communication
Hugh Downs School of Human Communication
P.O. Box 871205, Stauffer Hall 462 Tempe, AZ 85287-1205
Arizona State University
Pauline.cheong@asu.edu
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Church of England Blesses Technology in Search for Relevance
Today the Times Online covered a news story on the blessing of the laptops and Church 2.0, check out Blessed be the mobile phone users and those called the children of iPod.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Internet believers: Pastors open online churches
This is definitely not new news...the growth of online churches, but it is in the AP headlines today. Check the story Internet believers: Pastors open online churches which profiles established and recent online versions of church such as Life-tv, Flamingo Road Church, and Central Christian Church.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Cyberspirituality and the Spirit of Things
According to Rachel Kohn from Australian ABC radio, "Spiritual surfing on the internet is bigger than Ben Hur and it's changing the way religion is created, delivered and experienced". Kohn on her weekly radio show The Spirit of Things explores Cyberspirituality with yours truly and
Julie Hamilton founder and editor-in-chief of Omigoddess!. In our interview we explored debates over the authenticity of religious community online and case studies from my forthcoming book about the similarities and difference in Jewish, Muslim and Christian uses of the internet. Let me know what you think about my observations.
Julie Hamilton founder and editor-in-chief of Omigoddess!. In our interview we explored debates over the authenticity of religious community online and case studies from my forthcoming book about the similarities and difference in Jewish, Muslim and Christian uses of the internet. Let me know what you think about my observations.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Digital Faith
I spent the morning at Auckland University for a half day conference on Digital Faith. It was a good mix of discussion and interaction on practical and theoretical issues related to doing religion online (and an added plus were the fabulous scones during the tea break!) Another highlight was getting to meet the first presenter, Mark Brown of the NZ Bible Society, f2f after interacting with him for over 2 years online.
Mark spoke on the topic of Monitor Mediated Ministry: Being the Church in the Digital Space which explored his own experience in using Second Life and Facebook to do church. He argued that often offline church focuses on an invitational of trying to get people into the pews while in the online context there is a shift to an incarnational strategy that focuses on bringing faith into to where people are at...in this case the internet.
Tim Bulkley spoke on Digital Audio and Reading the Bible Online and explored how digital and communication technology changes our engagement with text and information. He argued that digital culture changes our relationship with the Bible when it is presented in hypertext or especially new visual or oral mediums. He described his work with the PodBible project and his work developing Vernacular resources for church leaders so that new media technologies empower new methods of translation and engagement.
Yours truly spoke about the offline implications of online religious community as the rise of online community reflects changes in larger society's conception and practice of community. I also addressed how the internet challenges traditional institutions conceptions and practices of church as it offers alternative means of spiritual engagement and connection
Stephen Garner concluded the day talking about Who do you day I am? Digital authenticity, ethics and community. He spoke about the long tradition in Christianity of tension between spiritual and physical spaces and conceptions, and how the internet can highlight these supposed Gnostic tendency as it frees users from the constraints of the body. The result is a blurred space where question of what it means to be authentic online are debated. He raised some important ethical points summed up by a quoted from Ron Cole Turner: "Technology for all its good is constantly on the edge of sin, exploitation and greed, it is after human technology beset by our weakness".
So overall it was a great way to spend a morning in Auckland!
Mark spoke on the topic of Monitor Mediated Ministry: Being the Church in the Digital Space which explored his own experience in using Second Life and Facebook to do church. He argued that often offline church focuses on an invitational of trying to get people into the pews while in the online context there is a shift to an incarnational strategy that focuses on bringing faith into to where people are at...in this case the internet.
Tim Bulkley spoke on Digital Audio and Reading the Bible Online and explored how digital and communication technology changes our engagement with text and information. He argued that digital culture changes our relationship with the Bible when it is presented in hypertext or especially new visual or oral mediums. He described his work with the PodBible project and his work developing Vernacular resources for church leaders so that new media technologies empower new methods of translation and engagement.
Yours truly spoke about the offline implications of online religious community as the rise of online community reflects changes in larger society's conception and practice of community. I also addressed how the internet challenges traditional institutions conceptions and practices of church as it offers alternative means of spiritual engagement and connection
Stephen Garner concluded the day talking about Who do you day I am? Digital authenticity, ethics and community. He spoke about the long tradition in Christianity of tension between spiritual and physical spaces and conceptions, and how the internet can highlight these supposed Gnostic tendency as it frees users from the constraints of the body. The result is a blurred space where question of what it means to be authentic online are debated. He raised some important ethical points summed up by a quoted from Ron Cole Turner: "Technology for all its good is constantly on the edge of sin, exploitation and greed, it is after human technology beset by our weakness".
So overall it was a great way to spend a morning in Auckland!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
A Study of Christian participation in online communities.
I recently got an email from a student at the The University of Illinois at Chicago who is trying to survey Christians' opinion and participation in online communities. I volunteered to help him out by posting his call for survey respondents here. So...if the shoe fits, I encourage you to take time to respond to the call below...
------------------------------------------
Hello everyone.
I am heading up a research project at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The project measures Christian opinions and participation in online communities.We need your help.
We need respondents to the following survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/112059/ec-involvement-in-online-communities-1
The survey is hosted on a professional online survey service. The survey is anonymous, so your privacy is protected.Participating in the survey is completely voluntary. The benefits of completing the survey are data for present and future research, as well as personal satisfaction. You may also request a copy of the research report once the survey has been completed. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.--
Kyong James Cho
Department of Communication
University of Illinois at Chicago
------------------------------------------
Hello everyone.
I am heading up a research project at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The project measures Christian opinions and participation in online communities.We need your help.
We need respondents to the following survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/112059/ec-involvement-in-online-communities-1
The survey is hosted on a professional online survey service. The survey is anonymous, so your privacy is protected.Participating in the survey is completely voluntary. The benefits of completing the survey are data for present and future research, as well as personal satisfaction. You may also request a copy of the research report once the survey has been completed. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.--
Kyong James Cho
Department of Communication
University of Illinois at Chicago
Friday, February 06, 2009
GodTube gets Tangle-d
GodTube has officially relaunched itself as Tangle, with a new vision and services. This new incarnation is kind of a Christian You Tube meets Facebook meets p2p/sns community. It promises to allow Christian to take their faith out of the Church and embed it more fully in their online activities, or have them get Tangled in their faith 24/4. Check out their promo:
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Relfecting on Christianity online at the Global Christian Internet Alliance
On Monday I will be giving a presentation at the annual meeting of the Global Christian Internet Alliance in the Texas hill country. GCIA describes itself as "an international network of Christian ministries using the Internet to help fulfill the Great Commission". I am looking forward to hearing about Christian online innovation from around the world and especially learn about the latest happenings at GodTube. As part of my presentation--"When Religion Meets New Media"-- I am posting links to some of the most interesting studies I have come across on Christian use of the Internet here in the past 2 years as resources for the conference participants [and anyone else in the blogosphere that might be interested]. I will be highlighting some of these in my presentation summary on "where do we go from here..." on the next wave of religion and internet research.
Heidi Campbell, (2007). Who's got the power? Religious authority and the Internet. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 14.
This article explores how the internet both powers and challenge online religious authority within Christian (as well as Jewish & Muslim) communities.
Pauline H Cheong, Alexander Halavais, Kyounghee Kwon, (2008). The Chronicles of Me: Understanding Blogging as a Religious Practice. Journal of Media and Religion, Vol. 7, No. 3. (2008), pp. 107-131.
Their content analysis study of 200 blogs with mentions of topics related to Christianity, suggests that blogs provide an integrative experience for the faithful, not a “third place,” but a melding of the personal and the communal, the sacred and the profane.
Nadja Miczek, (2008) Online Rituals in Virtual Worlds. Christian Online Service between Dynamics and Stability. Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet: Vol. 03.1
This article investigates online worship services and interpret them through a framework of ritual theory, to look at issues of religious invention, transformation and exclusion at different stages of ritual action. This is found in a special issue of Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, entitled Being Virtually Real? Virtual Worlds from a Cultural Studies’ Perspective. Be sure to check out the other interesting articles on Christianity in virtual worlds, namely learn about St Pixels by Jenkins and Church of Fools by Kluver & Chen.
Paul Teusner. (2007). Christianity 2.0 - a new religion for a new web. Paper Presented at Association of Internet Researchers Conference, Vancouver, BC, Oct 2007.
Interesting reflection on interview research with emerging church bloggers, attempting to understand the Christian life via their use of media.
Studies in World Christianity, December 2007, Special Issue: In Search of Online Religion
This entire issues is a diverse and rich collection of a variety of Christian uses of the internet combined with theological reflection on religious innovation online.
Heidi Campbell, (2007). Who's got the power? Religious authority and the Internet. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3), article 14.
This article explores how the internet both powers and challenge online religious authority within Christian (as well as Jewish & Muslim) communities.
Pauline H Cheong, Alexander Halavais, Kyounghee Kwon, (2008). The Chronicles of Me: Understanding Blogging as a Religious Practice. Journal of Media and Religion, Vol. 7, No. 3. (2008), pp. 107-131.
Their content analysis study of 200 blogs with mentions of topics related to Christianity, suggests that blogs provide an integrative experience for the faithful, not a “third place,” but a melding of the personal and the communal, the sacred and the profane.
Nadja Miczek, (2008) Online Rituals in Virtual Worlds. Christian Online Service between Dynamics and Stability. Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet: Vol. 03.1
This article investigates online worship services and interpret them through a framework of ritual theory, to look at issues of religious invention, transformation and exclusion at different stages of ritual action. This is found in a special issue of Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, entitled Being Virtually Real? Virtual Worlds from a Cultural Studies’ Perspective. Be sure to check out the other interesting articles on Christianity in virtual worlds, namely learn about St Pixels by Jenkins and Church of Fools by Kluver & Chen.
Paul Teusner. (2007). Christianity 2.0 - a new religion for a new web. Paper Presented at Association of Internet Researchers Conference, Vancouver, BC, Oct 2007.
Interesting reflection on interview research with emerging church bloggers, attempting to understand the Christian life via their use of media.
Studies in World Christianity, December 2007, Special Issue: In Search of Online Religion
This entire issues is a diverse and rich collection of a variety of Christian uses of the internet combined with theological reflection on religious innovation online.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
In the News: Doing Church Online
Last week I spent 40 min talking to Scott Andron from the Miami Herald talking about my research on christian community online. The result was an interesting article on how groups in Florida and across the USA are using the internet to do church and build community online that appeared last weekend. There's even a quote by yours truly at the end of the article. Check out: Every Sunday morning, while hundreds of South Floridians converge on...
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
GodBlogCon 2007
The 3rd annual GodBlogCon is coming up in Nov 8-9, 2007, to be held in Las Vegas held in conjunction with the Blog World Expo. The conference got it's start in 2005 at Biola University in CA, and recieved media attention as the first-ever Christian blogging conference. Thsi year's confrence promises sessions on "New Media Ministry to the Myspace- Facebook Generation" and "Developing a Pod & Vidcast Ministry". I can't make the conference myself because of my teaching schedule but sounds like a great opportunity to explore the thinking and motivations behind using new media for Christian outreach.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The IPod "from a biblical perspective"
Stephen G in New Zealand has highlighted a new book relevant to my previous post. Produced by Scripture Union in the UK the book, "The IPod" written by Brian Draper seeks to "explores the impact of the iconic iPod from a biblical perspective, inviting readers to consider issues such as active and passive listening, music as commodity or communion, the fluidity of self expression and the art of silence". SU has a full series of bible studies books called Connect that aimed to encourage biblical reflection for young people on many facets of our contemporary media-techno culture including AI, Computer Animated Films and even Harry Potter. These are great examples of mixing reflection on technology with religious education
Monday, August 06, 2007
Online Sarcasim: Motivational Posters for the Emerging Chaos
Some of you may have (or have not) seen these....Motivational Posters for the Emerging [Church] [Conversation] Chaos circulating on the web. These in-your-face images are meant to challenge some of the current discourse happening around the Emerging Church. Two weeks ago now I was able to take part in a podcast & online conversation hosted by Tall SkinnyKiwi, aka "Happy Hour with Andrew Jones" at Shapevine, where I and EC-ites debated the reality or not of these images. So I thought I would pass them on, especially for my other research colleagues exploring Emerging Conversation online, it is also a great example of how the web can be used a s a tool for critique and response. Below is an image created by two of t
he people involve "Happy Hour" as their response the these images...
he people involve "Happy Hour" as their response the these images...Monday, July 23, 2007
ELaunch: Voices of the Virtual World
Announcing the official launch of Voices of the Virtual World.This ebook explores the growing influence of technology on the global Christian church. In this premier volume, we hear from more than forty voices, including technologists and theologians, entrepreneurs and pastors… from a progressive Episcopalian techno-monk to a leading Mennonite professor… from a tech-savvy mobile missionary to a corporate anthropologist whom Worth Magazine calls "one of Wall Street's 25 Smartest Players." Voices is a far reaching exploration of spiritual journey contextualized within a culture of increasingly immersive technology.
ABOUT WIKIKLESIA: Conceived and established in May 2007, the Wikiklesia Project is an experiment in on-line collaborative publishing. The format is virtual, self-organizing, participatory - from purpose to publication in just a few weeks. All proceeds from the Wikiklesia Project will be contributed to the Not For Sale campaign.
“The Wikiklesia Project has garnered some of the savviest writers and bloggers around in a daring attempt to radically democratize knowledge and in the process unleash theological reflection where it matters most: the public sphere. This is not just some new way to self publish; it is a new and exciting form of collaborative theologizing on critical topics that concern us all. Welcome to your future.”
- Alan Hirsch, Author of The Forgotten Ways as well as The Shaping of Things To Come (with Mike Frost) and Founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network
The e-book is on sale for $15 on Lulu.com. For more information check out Wikklesia.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
PodBible: An experiment in MP3ing the Good Book
Tonight I got to meet Tim Bulkeley face-to-face. He is organizing a virtual theology colloquium while I am here in NZ on religion and authority which I am really looking forward. While chatting and getting acquainted I heard the story behind one of his many interesting projects, in this case the 'PodBible' project. In 2005 Tim gathered some 300 Kiwi volunteers who read portions of the Bible in shifts and over a weekend and provided a live streaming web cast of the whole Bible. The readings were also recorded and became the basis of the PodBible. The number of people downloading this recording continues to increase with the most frequent downloads coming from first the USA, then China and thirdly New Zealand. From antecedents he has been able to learn that reason for some of the Chinese downloads is due to users using the recordings to practice their English.
The PodBible recording is now being broken down into chapter segments, each being followed by recorded reflective "Think", "Share" & "Do" questions. The intentions is to provide a way for people to listen to the Bible over a year period through these podcasts.
The PodBible recording is now being broken down into chapter segments, each being followed by recorded reflective "Think", "Share" & "Do" questions. The intentions is to provide a way for people to listen to the Bible over a year period through these podcasts.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Work of the People
Recently, through the virtual introduction of Travis Reed, I have discovered an interesting new web site called The Work of the People,. This is a unique site that strives to be community of artists, storytellers, filmmakers, poets and theologians who have pooled their work online "to create tools for the Church to engage universal spiritual issues through progressive media". The sites house a great storehouse of images, video loops for use in liturgy along with books & CDs for sale, great resources abound for those wishing to use multi-media in a church context. They also host an interesting blog by the same name highlighting sacred images and films. This is a great example of resource sharing-commercial hybrid offering innovative multi-media items for those seeking to incorporate that language of new media culture into their expressions of church.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Wikiklesia: Voices of the Virtual World
After a short hiatus--thanks to a wisdom teeth extraction and 5 days with broken A/C amidst the sweltering Texas heat--I'm back.
For those who haven't heard about it I wanted to point you to a forthcoming e-book sponsored by the Wikiklesia Project coordinated by John LaGrou and Len Hjalmarson who came up with the idea for a collaborative "ecclesial e-book - virtual, self-organizing" that seeks to facilitate a "conversation on how technology is changing the church". Book One is called "Voices of the Virtual World" and brings together an interesting cross section of bloggers, emerging church leaders and a few academic types like myself. I have written a piece called "Living as the Networked people of God" which will feature a summary of my thoughts on what online christian community has to teach offline churches about community, caring relationships and technology. Each chapter will also be downloaded as an MP3 file, read by each of the authors. All proceeds from the Wikiklesia Project will be contributed to the Not For Sale campaign. Coming soon...so check it out!
For those who haven't heard about it I wanted to point you to a forthcoming e-book sponsored by the Wikiklesia Project coordinated by John LaGrou and Len Hjalmarson who came up with the idea for a collaborative "ecclesial e-book - virtual, self-organizing" that seeks to facilitate a "conversation on how technology is changing the church". Book One is called "Voices of the Virtual World" and brings together an interesting cross section of bloggers, emerging church leaders and a few academic types like myself. I have written a piece called "Living as the Networked people of God" which will feature a summary of my thoughts on what online christian community has to teach offline churches about community, caring relationships and technology. Each chapter will also be downloaded as an MP3 file, read by each of the authors. All proceeds from the Wikiklesia Project will be contributed to the Not For Sale campaign. Coming soon...so check it out!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Building the Bible Online: The Brick Testament
I continue to be a amazed at the diversity and creativity of online content produced around religion. For instance the web site The Brick Testament. This an entertaining and irreverent site featuring popular stories of the Old, and New Testament as told through the use of Legos. Note the warning rating guide for particular stories highligthing nudity, violence, sexual content, etc. This is a classic example of what might have been the silent hobby of one man becoming a publicized phenomenon by using the internet as a platform digital publication...
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Selling Church Online
I am multi-tasking during a conference I am attending on the Internet in China. Right now a Chinese scholar based in Arizona is presenting on chinese cybernationalism and activitism, and I am learning about chinese hackers, honkers and the sino-china online war of 1999-2001. While trying to find a web site the speaker was talking about I came across a web site that linked me to several interesting sites on church marketing.
You can experience technological conversion online at Fellowship one, a web site that offers church managment software to help you retain and cultivate contact with casual church visitors.
Other interesting Church marketing tools include: Parishsoft, church software and Church Community Software.
For those who feel that most Church Marketing Sucks, we have a blog for you. It offers insights in how to communicate the christian faith cleverly and with clarity, with the aim to frustrate, educate, and motivate those that need it. The blog is linked to the Center for Church Marketing.
There is also Eministry notes which includes as series of posts that feature tools and concepts for churches seeking to raise their profile and minstry online.
It seems "selling faith" is becoming even more of an industry, faciliated through the proliferation of online resources. Business models motivating and driving religious organizations have become increasingly accepted. since the launch of the Willow Creek phenomeon--a church started by Bill Hybles based on a marketing survey. Yet I wonder how the medium and these strategies might reshape the perception and reception of spiritual content.
You can experience technological conversion online at Fellowship one, a web site that offers church managment software to help you retain and cultivate contact with casual church visitors.
Other interesting Church marketing tools include: Parishsoft, church software and Church Community Software.
For those who feel that most Church Marketing Sucks, we have a blog for you. It offers insights in how to communicate the christian faith cleverly and with clarity, with the aim to frustrate, educate, and motivate those that need it. The blog is linked to the Center for Church Marketing.
There is also Eministry notes which includes as series of posts that feature tools and concepts for churches seeking to raise their profile and minstry online.
It seems "selling faith" is becoming even more of an industry, faciliated through the proliferation of online resources. Business models motivating and driving religious organizations have become increasingly accepted. since the launch of the Willow Creek phenomeon--a church started by Bill Hybles based on a marketing survey. Yet I wonder how the medium and these strategies might reshape the perception and reception of spiritual content.
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