Summary & Sources
I've come to the conclusion, that the immersion in the world of social networks, is changing the message of the Christian Church. It's not simply that facebook and twitter are being used as a new way to communicate the Gospel. The pervasive use of facebook and twitter has actually changed the message that the church (as a body of individuals) is portraying of the Gospel. In effect, the advent of social networks, and the global scope of facebook and twitter, has made every Christian with access to them a preacher - or at least handed them a pulpit whether or not they choose to use it. And we are preaching in 160 character blurbs.
That's a scary thought. The Church doesn't let just anyone preach, usually you have to go to Bible college or seminary where your theology becomes soundly grounded. But how many of us who are "preaching" from facebook or twitter, really have that sort of theological foundation? Do we really know what we are saying? Are we sure that it's the Truth? I don't think my theology is sound enough that I want to be held responsible for preaching it to the world.
I'm not saying that Christians shouldn't share the Gospel. I'm not saying that facebook and twitter can't be used for this purpose. What I am saying, is we should consider the medium that is being used, and how it shapes the message we send before preaching through it.
Marshal McLuhan, in his book The Medium is the Massage says, "Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication."
I propose that the mediums of facebook and twitter are shaping the message. I do believe that the Church needs to remain culturally relevant in today's connected world. And I think that in order to do that, the Church has to have a presence on facebook and twitter, and should be using these forms of communication to spread the gospel. But as a body (of individuals), it seems that the medium has run away with us. It's taken the intended message hostage, and is turning people off to Christ where we would have them come to him.
Tweets like; "#ItsSadWhen some people r so ignorant they refuse to see that #God is real. Look around u & look at urself without #God there would be no u" and "@_S_P_R_ First off there is a #God... He is the man who created you & gave you life... So who lied to u & said the world is science? huh?"and even Bible verses as facebook status are turning non-believers off to God, Christianity, Christians, and in some cases organized religion in general.
I think where we are trying to encourage, we might be - at least to our fellow believers, but simultaneously we might be turning people off to the true message of the Gospel. Have we really counted that cost? There needs to be an understanding of the way these new mediums change the message before we as a Church can effectively use them as a tool for communicating the Gospel.
In my video I explain this in voice over and tried to express it by juxtaposing images of sermons and pulpits with new media, and visually showing people how the message is "preached" on twitter especially, and showing a global congregation of followers. I also wanted to catch people off guard by showing some of the things I've found people "preaching" on twitter. I used the quote from McLuhan to hopefully hit home the point that the medium of twitter and facebook shapes the message produced (even mass produced). I want people who see my video to think about what people "hear", instead of simply jumping on the Jesus bandwagon.
The Medium Is The Massage - Marshal McLuhan
Some Psychodynamics of Orality - Walter Ong
Sticky Theology Part 1: Emotional Selection - Richard Beck
Nicholas Christakis: The hidden influence of social networks - lecture (TED Talks video)
http://www.thewellhub.org/
Personal interviews
