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Social Media Ministry

Undercover Bishop: “Like Us”-1

The story of Bishop Ruby Kinisa and the staff of NorthEast WestSouth Synod (NEWS) of the National Lutheran Church (NLC) continues. It’s a serial so enjoy a couple a chapters each week as NEWS Synod explores Social Media. Read it with your church leaders!

You can find the first book, Undercover Bishop, on our sidebar.

Chapter One:
The Undercover Team Reunites

UndercoverBishopSM260Bishop Ruby Kinisa was late coming into her office. It was the first summery day of late spring. Traffic reflected the communal exuberance. Even so, twenty extra minutes in traffic was unsettling. She leaned back in her chair and stretched, hoping to relax.

She heard a commotion in the office but thought little of it. It was coffee break time.
Then she heard a familiar whistle. That could be only one person, her long-time colleague, Gil Ableman. “I wonder what Gil is up to now,” she thought.

She recognized the tune. She was accustomed to his use of hymns to accent some theme of the day, but this time he was whistling the theme to the Lone Ranger.

Then Gill appeared in her office doorway holding a small cake with a single lit candle. Her staff soon joined him, crowding the threshold. They began singing “Happy Anniversary” to the William Tell Overture.

At last it made sense. Her staff, prompted in all likelihood by her secretary, Pam, was marking her first year as the bishop of NorthEast WestSouth Synod (NEWS) of the National Lutheran Church (NLC).

She leaned forward as Gil placed the cake on her desk. Whoof! She blew out the candle to enthusiastic applause.

“Thanks, everyone,” the bishop said. “It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?”

After a little chatter, Pam, took the cake promising to cut it in the break room and return with a big piece for her. The staff followed her, but Gill lingered.

“Ruby, do you have a minute?” he asked. “I have something I’d like to run by you.”

“Shoot,” the bishop said, “I have at least until Pam returns with the cake.”

Gill took a seat without being asked and glanced around the office.

His eyes settled on a portrait of the bishop with Bob and Martha Forster from Pleasantville Church. They and their whole congregation had been estranged from NEWS when she took office.

“I’ll say it again,” he mused. “It’s been quite a year!”

Ruby followed his eyes and smiled, remembering her first month in office when she visited the smallest NEWS congregations in disguise. It had been a gutsy move and could have been a disaster, but she had found the three visited churches were relieved that a bishop had paid attention to them at all. After she revealed her identity and after they got over their initial shock, they eagerly worked with her for months.

The project had marked the tone of her first year as bishop. It had revived Gil, who had come into her first term discouraged.

“I’m sure glad we did that,” she said. “I hear from the Forsters every month or so, now.”

“I’m glad, too,” Gil recollected, “I must say, I had my doubts . . . but I also had hopes.”

Gil was the senior member of NEWS staff. He had worked under every bishop who had served in the last 30 years. He was quickly nearing retirement, but his love for the church was so deep that he was still cutting edge in his thinking. It was he who had urged Bishop Kinisa to learn about small churches before making decisions that affected them.

“I ran into Bruce James at the conference I attended last week,” Gil paused. “He has finished his seminary studies. He is looking for that first call.”

Bruce had been Ruby’s sidekick on her Undercover Bishop visits and had been invaluable at helping her talk to people without raising their suspicions.

“How is Bruce?” Ruby asked fondly. “I don’t want to let a good man get away!”

“He’s remembering that conversation we had about serving small churches,” Gil replied. “He’s coming in today to talk. Would you like to join us?”

“I can’t wait to see Bruce James or James Bruce,” she laughed. “I hope I can keep his name straight.” she said, recalling how he changed his moniker for their visits.

Bruce arrived in the NEWS office that afternoon in high spirits. The three sat together at the end of a long table in a large conference room. Bruce took the head and Ruby and Gil flanked him.

“Thanks for seeing me,” Bruce opened the conversation. “Bishop, Gil . . . I’ve been thinking about our undercover bishop project all year. I learned so much, especially in our follow-up visits to Grace and Zion. Do you remember asking me if I’d consider serving in a small church?”

Ruby nodded. She knew that the economics of serving a small congregation were more challenging to young pastors. It was hard for them to see a future.

“I’m still hoping! Are you here to tell us you’ve made a decision?” Ruby asked.

“Yes and no,” Bruce said. “If you remember, I didn’t turn you down that day. I said I’d have to explore the feasibility of supporting my wife and boys in small church ministry.”

Ruby’s hopes sank. Gil noticed. “Hear him out, Ruby.”

“Thanks, Gil,” Bruce said.

“Bishop, I have an idea. To tell you the truth, I’m pretty excited about it. I want to serve in a small church. Maybe I could handle the needs of two small churches. But I’d also like to work in social media.”

Ruby leaned back. “You want to be a Facebook preacher?” Her skepticism was obvious.

“Ruby,” Gil interjected again, more forcefully. “Here him out.”

Bruce continued.

“As you know, I was one of the older students in my seminary class, but I’m not exactly on Social Security,” he quipped. “I’ve got about ten years on the younger seminarians. At times it seemed like twice that! I watched them . . . how they studied, how they communicated. I was sitting behind them in lectures. I watched them look up everything the professors were speaking about on their laptops  . . . right there in class. I would never think to do what I’m proposing without that experience. I’m living proof. You can teach an old dog new tricks.”

Ruby was puzzled but her interest was piqued.

Bruce continued. “I started studying social media and I think there is great potential in using it for ministry.”

“So, I’m right! You want to be a Facebook minister.”

Gil sighed.

“I’m listening, Gil.” Ruby said. “I’m listening.”

02 Oct 2013

5 Roadblocks to Church Blogging

2x2CategoryBarSMThe Power of Blogging Is in the Thinking 

Very few churches have blogs. Some pastors start one but usually give up after a month or two. Results are not immediate and other things take precedence.

That’s a shame. There is transformational power in blogging regularly—daily if possible.

Why don’t more congregations start blogs?

There are four major roadblocks.

  1. Because blogging is new and untested.

  2. Because it is work.

  3. Because no one knows who should do it.

  4. Because they don’t know how to start.

  5. Because it’s not in the budget.

When a congregation can overcome these roadblocks, they will have created a valuable mission tool.

People blog with the hopes of being read. For some bloggers, it is enough to have a readership of a dozen colleagues. Others strive for bigger numbers.

Numbers aren’t that important in evaluating other church activities. Many churches are pleased to reach fewer than 50 people each week in church—and we keep doing this without question!

Our 2×2 blog, a project of Redeemer Lutheran Church in East Falls, has about 200 readers each day between subscribers and “unique” visitors. (We consider you all “unique”)  :-)

We consider ourselves just starting out. There is great potential.

To reach people is certainly a goal. We reach more people today than when we had our own brick and mortar church. (That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t like our church home back, please.)

At the end of our first year of blogging, our average daily readership was 25. Today it’s more than 100 with another 100 or more subscribers.

We have been blogging for two and one half years now. I can say “we” because, although I am the “voice” of 2×2, our members are very involved. They discuss 2×2, they send ideas they’d like to see posted. They encourage. They prod. I just shape and organize the voice of our congregation.

As we grow 2×2 we are discovering that the daily exercise of blogging benefits US. We are becoming more conscious of our faith. We have become a thinking congregation.

That may, in some congregations, be the role of a pastor—to lead congregational thought. But we haven’t had a dedicated pastor since 2006—and maybe that’s why we were able to pioneer our blog.

Blogging has become part of our parish discipline. There is something magical about putting ideas into words and taking care in publishing them—especially when you know that people are looking for ammunition to use against you. We know how Paul might have felt!

Blogging forces us to think through issues, be careful with facts, anticipate objections and reconcile them in our thinking before we publish.

We write about issues in the church and we do so with passion. When we visit other churches we sense that the people are only marginally aware of church issues. The Church cannot witness effectively when its people exist in marginal awareness.

Perhaps the real value of blogging is in understanding scripture.

Spreading the Word is part of our congregational mission. And it drives our traffic. We write about scripture as much as we write about anything. 600 people find our website every week when they search for scriptural help.

Through our blog, we explore scripture before Sunday and after Sunday. It has become our own educational curriculum.

Clergy are aware of the liturgical year and the corresponding three-year lectionary cycle and how the various scriptures weave together in telling the greater story.

However, in many churches, the weekly scriptures are “sprung” on worshipers. They may be unaware that we are in Lectionary Year A, B or C or how the four weekly passages relate to one another. The pastor comments on usually just one of the scriptures for 20 minutes.

We use our blog to expand the experience of scripture. We begin writing about next Sunday’s scripture on Monday or Tuesday. We usually have two posts before Sunday arrives. Everyone knows what scriptures will be read when they come to church on Sunday. It is not unusual for our members to discuss them before worship begins or as we drive to one of our visits.

We are not hearing the Sunday scriptures for the first time during worship. When the pastor begins to preach, he or she is adding to our experience. We record our Sunday experience on our blog and can build on that experience.

And so our understanding of scripture becomes more central to our lives, and we can apply it to our secular endeavors seamlessly.

Blogging makes you think.

How do you overcome the roadblocks?

Get started. Start by posting twice a week and build.

If you dedicate yourselves to blogging for one year, you will never want to give it up.

2×2 has written extensively on social media for churches. Just type a topic into our site search engine to find help in getting started. Or contact us. We want other churches to harness this tool. We’ll be glad to help.

A Few Related Posts (of many)

23 Advantages for Churches Using Social Media

Why Would Anyone Read A Church Blog?

Don’t Know How to Start Blogging? Start Here.

Building Ministry One Post at a Time

20 Sep 2013

Social Media Will Guide the Church of the Future

2x2CategoryBarSMSocial Media Is a Game Changer for Churches
…and that’s a good thing.

It’s not easy to understand the Social Media Revolution. Everyone is trying to figure out how it applies to them.

Let’s look first at the business world — something everyone interacts with.

Every business covering every life need from cradle to grave is exploring social media. One of the leading speakers on the topics gained his expertise promoting his swimming pool business.

Most businesses know they must have an interactive online presence if they want to stand out.

Most churches are making no effort whatsoever to enter the lives of the people who populate the modern world.

Let’s look at what businesses are learning and apply it to church mission.

At first businesses tried to lure customers by “hanging out” like buddies.

The hoped for benefit was to create loyalty, buzz and awareness of their expertise which would translate to success and dollars.

The reality is that no one is really going to spend a ton of time hanging out with every business they interact with.

If they visit a social media site they probably fit into certain categories.

Churches, look closely at this list and consider how each might apply to church life. It will help you develop a content strategy (mission strategy).

People who engage in Social Media are seekers. They find your website for a personal reason:

  • They have a specific question. Something made them think you might have the answer.
  • They are curious. Some experience sparked their interest and they want to know more.
  • They have a problem that needs to be solved.
  • They have a passionate cause and are looking for like-minded people.
  • They have had an experience with your product or service (good or bad) and feel a need to share with others.
  • Something is missing in their lives. They may not know what it is.
  • They stumbled upon your site serendipitously and an interest was sparked.
  • They found something entertaining.

If  you want readers to make visiting your site a habit you must engage them by meeting one of these needs, especially if you want to engage readers to a point that they take  action. That’s what evangelism is all about.

Yes, it is likely to cost some money to find the talent to devote to this. Done correctly it is guaranteed they will work as hard as any pastor, organist or sexton. Online communicators are pivotal to the emerging church.

Relating Social Media to Ministry 

Let’s explore each item on the above list.

  • They have a specific question—something made them think you might have the answer.

Seekers have questions. If your church regularly provides answers, your site will attract an audience. You could create a one-time Frequently Asked Questions page and let it sit there OR you could regularly engage your audience in finding answers themselves (the better educational technique).

  • They are curious. Some experience sparked their interest and they want to know more.

You can provide a service to readers by building links to information in your field. Often this translates into providing a link to the regional body or national church entity. That’s probably not what curious web surfers are looking for.

2×2 regularly provides a collection of art that might supplement a congregation’s understanding of scripture. We provide links to sites that will help them learn more about religious art. This feature is starting to draw some traffic from search engines.

  • They have a problem that needs to be solved.

Churches serve individuals. Individuals come with needs and problems. How can your website address this need? It may be a daily spiritual reading. It may be a directory of your members with their skills and experts attached (your own little LinkedIn). Your congregation will become known as more than Sunday morning church-goers. They will be recognized for their skills, talents and willingness to become involved in their communities.

Churches serve communities. Communities have problems. Identify your community’s challenges and address them regularly. Members of your community with an interest in the same problems will find your site.

2×2 found that people are looking for object lessons. We were familiar with a site that catalogs object lessons for children. We found our own niche: object lessons for adult learners. About 600 people per week find our site when they are searching for object lessons for either adults or kids. We fill a need and are opening a relatively unexplored teaching tool for whole congregations. We target the adults but keep the whole congregation in mind with our tips. 

Another church found that families with an autistic member felt shut out by society, including the church. They developed a church curriculum to embrace this need.

  • They have a passionate cause and are looking for like-minded people.

2×2 has a passion for small church (neighborhood) ministry which is being gulped up by corporate church economics. We write about this topic regularly.

  • They have had an experience with your product or service (good or bad) and feel a need to share with others.

Churches love to talk about the good. No problem understanding this need. But dealing with the bad (they like to call it “baggage”) is not their strength. The Church tends to pigeonhole all but the most exuberant emotions.

The standard solution for disgruntled Christians is facilitate their becoming unchurched. The Church is happy that way. They’ve avoided unpleasantness  by sacrificing their mission. Forgiveness, reconciliation, etc. are easier to talk about than to engage in.

The Church that is emerging in the Social Media Revolution will have to start handling the whole person. They will no longer be able to avoid the baggage or assign it to short-term scapegoats to deal with. The disgruntled now have a place to go.

Business is learning that it is a big mistake to not work with their critics. Will the Church learn from their experience?

  • Something is missing in their lives. They may not know what it is.

People love to share when they are happy and when they are angry. Webmasters love happy people. We figure out how to handle angry people. But there are a lot of lost emotions. People are less willing to share when they are sad and lonely and hurting. But this is when they need other people (the Church) the most.

Here’s an emotional niche the church must fill. Online is a good place to start.

  • They stumbled upon your site serendipitously and an interest was sparked.

People talk. Talk leads to questions. Answers to questions these days are frequently found by googling. If you can anticipate questions and provide the answers, curious people will find you.

People looking to expand their experience or interest will find you if you let them know that you have people who share the same interests. Churches already do this when seeking musical talent. What if they put the same interest into finding and nurturing other talents.

Example 1: One church our Ambassadors visited had a passion for serving people dealing with cancer. They developed resources for patients and caregivers and families affected by this decease. They haven’t done this, but if they put those resources online, people would begin to view them as partners on a difficult journey.

Example 2: Another church realized that economic development was important in their community. They offered classes and even small loans to help small businesses. They built a relationship with a nearby business school. The networking could help the church grow—if they are online.

In these examples someone googling “cancer” might find your site. Likewise, someone googling “business education” might find your site.

As Google localizes their algorithms, this will become even more valuable for churches! Local needs will be easier to identify and fill. You will come up online as the answer—if you addressed the need.

Get started! Start answering the first concerns on the list and watch people find your site serendipitously.

  • They want to be entertained.

Everyone likes to have fun. Everyone appreciates beauty. Address these basic human qualities online. Post cartoons. Take a poll. Share a video. Ask questions. Engage!

Social Media Is A Game Changer

The Church often views Social Media Ministry as something to be added to what they already do. In fact, the use of Social Media will change everything about how we “do” church as we move into the digital future. There will be less guessing about how to reach people. You will know your community better and you will be prepared to serve your community better.

Social Media will guide your ministry. But only if you are online!

 

16 Sep 2013

Are Sermons Passé?

storybookIs the weekly Sunday sermon
reaching anyone anymore?

When my son was little, he created a little ritual. He’d pick out a stack of storybooks for bedtime reading. Ten or so was the usual number and we usually went through all of them. But I did not dare start a story without saying certain words.

“Say it, Mom. You have to say the words.”

The first time he demanded this, I had no idea what he was expecting.

He patiently prompted me.

And so I took orders from my tot.

I opened the book to the title page and said. “And now it is time for our featured presentation.”

He was, obviously, influenced by his video and movie experience. A story just wasn’t a story without this little bit of fanfare.

Beyond “Once Upon A Time”

Modern culture does influence us. It affects our point of view, our attention span, and are ability to process information that we hear. When we set about listening, we have different expectations than our ancestors may have had. We recognized this when we moved from the two-hour sermon to the one-hour sermon to today’s 20-minute expectation. But today, things are still changing.

I have written many times about the futility of paying a pastor a salary with one of the primary objectives having a 20-minute sermon written for just fifty people once a week.

That’s a lot of resources invested in something that half of the listeners are likely day-dreaming through. At the end of the service, we never really know whether or not we have reached anyone with the Word. But we keep at it because that’s the way the Word was delivered for hundreds of years—since farmers and tradespeople took a break from the isolation of their fields and shops and gathered with the whole village to spend the day.

I know that I may be beating a dying horse with my arguments. Dying is probably the right word. Just look at the statistics. We are watching the steady decline in attendance in most mainline churches. If you think the 30 to 50% drop of the last 15 years is alarming, be prepared. The biggest decline is in people under 40. The next 20 years are going to be really bad for a lot of congregations. There is no one to fill the roles of today’s 50-, 60-, and 70-year olds. It is unlikely that the younger generations will ever adapt to the traditional delivery of a sermon.

Understand I’m not against preaching. It’s been our family business for generations. I’m questioning whether the ritual format of worship, including the sermon as the weekly featured presentation, is achieving its purpose—any purpose.

Consider the Lowly Podcast

Podcasts are voice only online presentations. They can be easily promoted on a  blog or web site and delivered to listeners through itunes. One of their major benefits is longevity. They can be accessed long, long after they are posted and certainly long after the Sunday morning church service ends. They can be shared. Your audience can grow!

Podcasts are the fastest growing platform for social media.

Why?

People can listen to them when and where they want. It doesn’t have to be at 10:20 on Sunday morning in the sanctuary on Main Street in every zip code. They can listen while they ride the bus, do the dishes, or mow the yard. They can return to a section they liked or questioned. They can listen to their favorite podcaster (preacher) or follow any links he or she might give to other inspirational or insightful resources.

They fit into our modern way of life as Christians and seekers.

At Redeemer, without a sanctuary for our people to attend and since our pastors headed for the hills long ago, I connected our members to an online teacher. (We are determined to stay true to our mission despite our unjust expulsion from the ELCA.)

Every day our members receive a short email Bible lesson. Only recently have I started to get feedback. They like it. At our last Redeemer gathering they started talking about the week’s lesson, which happened to be the book of Philippians — the foundational scripture for 2×2’s publication, Undercover Bishop.

My next experiment may be to expand this feature and develop podcast commentaries. Or maybe we can record chapters of Undercover Bishop!

It may begin as early as this week. Watch for it!

Podcasts may be the wave of the future for preaching. Who knows? We don’t have to give up the Sunday morning sermon, but after a while, we may want to!

And now it is time for our featured presentation.

photo credit: Travis Seitler via photopin cc
07 Sep 2013

Why Churches Need a Church Social Web Site

19th century bank robbers

Why do people rob banks? That’s where the money is.
Why should churches use social media? That’s where the people are.

The web is the most powerful medium the Church does not use.

The web is no longer new. It’s been part of our lives for 20 years. With each passing year it is more integral to our society and lifestyle. And still a good number of churches have NO web site—not even a billboard presence.

The majority of churches WITH web sites don’t use them for anything but posting the most basic parish information. They are narcissistic. “We’re great! Come to us!”

It is not unusual to hear older people argue, “I don’t do computers. I’m not going to learn. I don’t want to spend the money.” It is often followed with, “Do you mind looking this up for me?”

Apologizing for not using computers is like explaining that you don’t brush your teeth.

There is no excuse.

Any arguments will fall on modern ears like this:

You don’t have a web site. That means you aren’t serious about your mission. Why should anyone take a second look at your ministry?

The web is how you reach people in today’s world. It may be the only hope for smaller congregations. Done correctly, it’s not a “Hail Mary” by any means. Done correctly it can be the catalyst of a whole new ministry. There are some basic questions to ask before you commit to a web presence or revise the site you now have.

  • Who do you hope to reach? If you are hoping to communicate only with members, you are wasting your time. You have the ability to reach thousands of people you never thought might find their way to your pages, but who do you see as your audience?
  • How are you going to announce your presence and spread the word? Turn to your members—especially your younger members. You will need them. (Knowing they are important to mission beyond their pocketbooks will boost morale.)
  • How are you going to respond to your online community?
  • What will appeal to your prospective readers visually and content-wise? Looks matter on the web. If your site is crafted in awkward HTML , it broadcasts that you are not serious or knowledgable. This does not mean you need tons of training or that you need to hire an intermediary. It is VERY possible to look very professional with only a day’s experience.
  • What do you expect visitors to get out of your site? Do you expect them to take any action? You have to ask them!
  • How do you want them to feel when they leave?

If your web site is nothing more than a list of worship opportunities and a list of staff these are not concerns for you. But if this is the type of site you have today, you are squandering a valuable resource.

Here’s our experience. Keep in mind as you read this that our regional body considered our ministry dead. We had no professional support and dealt daily with hierarchical hostility. All our property and monetary assets had been seized. Any church reading this is going to be in a stronger position than we were in!

Redeemer’s Social Media Ongoing Adventure-2×2

2×2 started this experimental site in February 2011—about a year after our regional body took our property and locked our members out. The Holy Spirit knows its way around locks!

Our property had already been empty for 16 months. We had been meeting in members’ homes, which was frustrating because we felt isolated and unable to serve as we had been. (Isolating us was part of the power game.)

We had a pretty comprehensive mission plan before all this happened. We revised it.

We no longer had a physical site we could invite people to visit, so we made the web site as welcoming as possible.

We built on our strengths. Redeemer worship was very inclusive and somewhat innovative. We had minimal pastoral presence for decades and had learned to do many things as lay workers. We expanded on this experience, drafting ideas for small church worship.

  • We began offering the same types of resources we shared weekly in our worship. Art. Music. Poetry. Plays. Worship ideas.
  • Since we were exploring Social Media, we reported regularly on our Social Media experiment and sharing what we learned.
  • As a congregation of immigrants (both historically and recently) we explored multicultural ministry.

Redeemer was always a small neighborhood church. We had no illusions of ever being a large congregation. 2×2 has changed our vision. We now have about 1000 readers a week. We have formed mission partnerships all over the world. We have gained authority in the areas we addressed. We lead search engine traffic in many of them.

Embrace Serendipity

If you implement this type of ministry, it will take you to places you never expected. You cannot control who reads you, likes you, or friends you on the web. You can prompt them to share, but you can’t make them!

You can control how you react. It will reshape your ministry. You may find that you didn’t just add a new feature to your existing ministry. You may be changing the whole way you approach ministry, allocate funds, and how people work together.

Enjoy the ride. 

Why do people rob banks? Because that’s where the money is.
Why should churches use social media? Because that’s where the people are.

Click to tweet.

01 Aug 2013

Can the Church Afford to Give Anything Away?

What’s Keeping Us from Telling Our Story?

offeringI updated all the blogs I manage today. It was a simple click. Done.

When the installation was over a screen appeared detailing the benefits and features of the update.

There were three tabs at the top of the page: What’s New, Credits, and Freedoms.

I had already read What’s New. The Credits don’t interest me (although I’m grateful). I had to explore Freedoms.

The Freedoms tab explained the WordPress philosophy. The software is free. Anyone is free to modify and improve. In fact, they hope we do!

Several new business models revolve around the concept of “free.” Social Media is one of them. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. — all free to users. In the early days of this model, business people weren’t sure what to make of it.

Then FREE started to make billions. People chose to embrace the power of FREE.

Wikipedia has become an amazingly thorough and accurate encyclopedia with almost instantaneous updating. You hear on the news that a celebrity died. Check Wikipedia—it’s likely to already reflect the news.

Wikipedia opened its pages to contributors and editors — anyone. They rely on the idea that people want to share, appreciate accuracy and detail, and will correct what they discover is wrong.

You can find information on the most obscure subjects on Wikipedia. (We may start a Wikipedia page!) The editorial barriers that existed in a world of space limitations are gone.

What can the Church learn from this?

The Church is scared silly of FREE. They are protective of what they have. They want to give nothing away.

Control of assets is more important than use of assets.

That’s what is keeping the congregations from using Social Media.

Social Media costs practically nothing monetarily. The investment in Social Media is an investment of time and talent. It involves giving your message away.

Most churches have already dedicated a healthy third of their resources to proclamation. They hire a pastor to collate, interpret, teach and preach. Unfortunately most churches are investing that money on reaching very few people.

There is another way. With Social Media you can take the same message, already paid for, and reach millions.

But congregations, accustomed to old business models, ask, “What’s in it for us?”

Someone will be quick to say, “Let’s add a Donate button.”

This approach to Social Media is backward. Social Media works on the giveaway business model.

There may be a time and place for that Donate button, but first you have to establish voice and prove your dedication to your message and your readers.

But Church leaders are not leading the way. They’ve forgotten their roots! Our message should be free!

If there is any office of the hierarchy that should be subsidized, it is the church’s “house organ”—the voice of the denomination designed to reach every member. And potentially more.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has a magazine, The Lutheran. It is subscription-based. That barrier limits its effectiveness from the start.

The physical magazine works the old way. Readers get their magazine in the mail. They can read and participate by writing letters to the editor. Few will get printed. No room. The editors will choose who can comment.

There are no space limitations online. So why do we set up the same barriers as if there were?

The Lutheran online teases readers and expects them to pay to read and comment. They may be able to measure how that is working for them. What they can’t measure is how it might work better for them in the long run to eliminate that barrier.

Church house organs should be free. (Advertisers should be demanding this!). You want people to know your story. You want to engage the Lutheran community and build that community. There should be no fear of the dialog that results. It should be refreshing. People like to know they have a voice. They expect it today.

The same is true at the denominational and congregational levels. Their online presence should be delivering valuable information to the region and community. The news and features should be outreach-oriented—not all about how great the regional office or congregation is. The proof of the pudding is in the reading—and serving.

There is practically no effort at these levels to embrace the media tools available.

It’s all because we still focus on the offering plate and the structure that dwindling offerings must support.

The Church today exists in a world where people expect something for free. It helps differentiate those dedicated to service from those dedicated to self-interest and self-preservation. When people see you walking your talk — then they want to be part of the mission. When they are sure of their investment, they are more likely to become supporters of mission.

By the way, the giveaway model was how the Church got its start and spread all over the world within a few centuries. Imagine what we could be doing today with a simple return to our roots.

photo credit: archer10 (Dennis) via photopin cc
26 Jun 2013

How does a church measure success?

This is an important question. We’ve addressed it before, but the answers keep changing. The answers of 20 years ago will not be the answers of the next 20 years. The answers this year may not be the answers of next year.

Old answers address old concerns. Here are some old answers.

A successful church has

  • a membership of at least 150 adults.
  • supports a budget of $150,000 with offerings.
  • has a settled, full-time pastor that intends to stay for more than seven years.
  • can boast of no conflict.
  • contributes 10% or at least $15,000 to the regional body each year.
  • supports at least three part-time auxiliary staff (sexton, secretary, and organist).
  • has a weekly worship service that one-third of the members attend regularly. That translates to a weekly attendance of at least 50.
  • has a Sunday School for children 3-11 and an adult forum.
  • has a five-day Vacation Bible School.
  • accepts 20 new members a year.

These old measures allow for a status quo existence. 

A traditional church can be criticized if their members do not live within five miles. It’s a sign that the church membership has left the neighborhood and can signal the regional office that the church is ripe for takeover. They equate “scattered” with “diminished.”

Geography is not that important anymore. Even our bishop travels about 20 miles to the church she chose to join!

At times the church sets goals for us. One such goal is diversity. Despite the emphasis on inclusion, the church has been largely unable to achieve diversity in the congregational setting. The answer has been to set up separate but equal worship venues. Two or three populations worship at separate times in the same building or are encouraged to serve others like them in their separate location. These multiple communities can worship in the same building for years and know nothing of the “others.” This is playing at diversity. It helps provide some statistics so that it looks like goals are being achieved while congregations remain comfortably homogenous. Homogenous congregations face fewer faith challenges and are more likely to contribute more.

Settled pastors with settled congregations are the goals. So the value of these statistics is rarely challenged. 

Why is this the goal?  Without this financial foundation of the pooled resources of “settled” churches, the hierarchy will fail.

This archaic way of defining and promoting diversity eases the comfort of pastors as much as the comfort of parishioners  The pastor of the homogenous congregation feels less challenged when a pastor with different skills serves the diverse congregation. There is peace in the diverse, but divided, kingdom.

This is all preserving the past while feigning innovation.

Here are some statistics that churches should be measuring if they want to survive in the Information Age.

Community Involvement: How many community events did your congregation participate in as a congregation this year?  How many times did you write about this on your blog and link it to local press sites?

Events: How many events in addition to worship did your congregation host? These can be charity events, artistic offerings, workshops, online events. In a diverse world multiple entry points to church life are needed.

Email List: How many people in the community can you reach by email should you want to rally support for a cause? How many on your list are members? How many are nonmembers?

Many churches used to remove nonmembers from mailing lists to save print and postage. This reinforced the thinking that evangelism is communicating only with people you know.

Since email costs practically nothing, this thinking (which was frugal but unwise) needs to change. Grow that email list!

Website and Blog: Do you have a web site with a blog attached? How many times a week do you post? How many people in your church are involved in the web site? How do you promote your posts to build your online witness? Are your subscriptions growing? Are you getting online feedback?

Collect Statistics: In the old days, an usher stood at the back or the church and clicked a counter as people walked through the door. That worship attendance statistic was all important.

That statistic is fairly useless today. There are so many other ways to measure involvement and provide ways to contribute.

How has your website grown this year? It should grow at least 15% every year. (2×2 doubled its readership in its second year and is on track to quadruple it second year statistics this third year.) Web sites with blogs are easy to measure. You can measure reach, numbers of readers and time spent on the site. This information will help you plan your ministry offline. 

How are you enriching your members’ lives? How are you providing a faith-building environment that involves life-long learning? How are members able to express their faith?

These are some of the measures of the emerging church. They used to be difficult to measure. Not anymore!

The new successful church may look more like this:

  • has a local membership of 20.
  • has an email  list of 6000.
  • has a budget of $12,000.
  • uses the legacy of property to fund ministry (if the regional body hasn’t seized it for themselves).
  • meets in homes or rented or borrowed space.
  • has no single pastor but many contributing clergy.
  • addresses conflict and causes regularly.
  • worships locally, acts globally.
  • contributes nothing to regional body because the regional body doesn’t recognize them.
  • provides diverse educational opportunities daily online.
  • is open 24/7.
  • supports mission efforts outside the denomination because they’ve learned about the opportunity and need online.
  • has virtual members and supporters worldwide.

We know this can be done. Redeemer has already proved it.

07 Jun 2013

On blogging daily.

Why don’t more preachers blog? 

Seth Godin, one of the earliest and most prolific bloggers, celebrates his 5000th post today. Congratulations, Seth. You make a difference in many worlds!

2×2 is approaching 1000 posts. We have a way to go!

In Seth’s reflection on his exercise in sharing an observation with the world daily for more than ten years, Seth writes:

My biggest surprise? That more people aren’t doing this. Not just every college professor (particularly those in the humanities and business), but everyone hoping to shape opinions or spread ideas. Entrepreneurs. Senior VPs. People who work in non-profits. Frustrated poets and unknown musicians… Don’t do it because it’s your job, do it because you can.

Why don’t more preachers blog? Surely they see themselves as shaping opinions, values and spreading ideas.

Blogging is a gradual art. It’s like having coffee or tea with your neighbor every day. The bonds build slowly.

  • Once a day, you take the time to share.
  • Once a day, you take the time to think through issues and ideas that might benefit other people. Writing really pushes the thought process!
  • Once a day, you see something new in the ordinary.
  • As you search for ideas, you will start to connect with other thinkers and bloggers. Their thoughts will enrich your own. You will benefit personally.
  • Day by day, you will build your voice and influence.

Why don’t more preachers blog? It’s work. The rewards are not immediate. It’s not part of the job description.

Preachers still think the world is going to come to them.

I’ve noticed a few church websites that contain blog entries. They tend to be once a week for about six weeks before they drop off.  I remember one that I opened eagerly from the link on the home page. The announcement was so enthusiastic! It had just one blog entry that had been posted more than a year earlier.

2×2 challenges pastors to blog daily for a year. If that’s too hard, blog daily for three months. Any shorter and you won’t learn from the experience.

Do it first thing. Share with your community before 9 am. Or post at the end of the day—whatever rhythm works for you.

See if it doesn’t make a difference in your community. It may also make a difference in you!

As Seth notes:

I’ve never once met a successful blogger who questioned the personal value of what she did.

05 Jun 2013

2×2 Is Interviewed on Social Media Podcast

2×2’s moderator, Judith Gotwald, was interviewed by D.J. Chuang for a podcast on a Social Media Church site a few weeks ago. The podcast is now airing.

This was our first such interview. Last month we posted our first multimedia video. We’re learning new skills all the time!

http://socialmediachurch.net/2013/05/social-media-saved-a-church-episode-48/

28 May 2013

Networking and the Modern Church

Will the Church Use the Power of Networking?

One of the joys of being excommunicated from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the freedom to not only think outside the Lutheran box but to explore religion and the concept of church beyond what is expected of the traditional congregation.

Here’s an interesting quote from a prominent blogger in the Jewish community, Rabbi Hayim Herring. He addresses many of the problems the Christian church faces but from a Jewish point of view. Do they have different solutions?

It seems one of the Jewish initiatives is building network-based communities. Here’s a quote from a recent discussion.:

Established organizations are structured as hierarchies. They still have a command and control model, complete with organizational charts that visually portray a chain of command. But networks rest on platforms and platforms abhor hierarchies. They are self-directed and not directed ex machina. They rely on influence and not control, connections and not command.

This observation will benefit Christian community in the new information era.

The Church that will survive in the 21st century will master network-building. Social Media is the turbine for network building.

Network building means reaching out beyond who we already are.

Why think “networks”? Why now?

Because now we can. Now we have the tools to reach people like never before. Now we can think beyond our traditional membership base (which is waning). We can easily look beyond family, friends, and immediate neighbors. Now we can go directly to the people in society who can help us or whom we feel we can help without the gatekeeping of hierarchy or the institutionalizing of our efforts.

 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all people.

Hierarchical thinking may have once facilitated the goals of Christianity. (It is debatable.) It may now be a handicap—an expensive handicap. Networks are not created by command but by nurture. We will not build networks effectively if we are looking over our shoulders for hierarchical approval.

Hierarchical thinking in today’s world will hinder the spread of the Gospel. As the self-proclaimed “Greatest Generation” fades, the new and as yet unlabeled generations will see no reason to submit to hierarchical thinking in most realms of life and certainly not in religion.

We, as Church, can spend the next decade trying to preserve the past, or we can start to build the platforms and networks that will keep our religion viable in a spiritually competitive world.

Every dollar spent preserving the past is a mission dollar squandered.

This should not be alarming. It is really what we have all been waiting for—a chance to open dialog with people who are not necessarily like-minded. (Don’t most churches look for people who will fit in and contribute in traditional ways?)

The new evangelist will listen and respond. Hyping the Church’s agenda will not build the networks and platforms. The new evangelical approach will return us to our mission of love.

Are we ready for the new world?

11 May 2013