After the pie, when all the dishes are cleaned, and life returns to normal portions, my mind returns to pressing needs like TRC Magazine’s next edition. It’s the last edition of 2017. It’s been a fruitful year.
December means our Intern is coordinating the social media for TRC Magazine in honor of Advent. We’ll see devotionals and maybe some interviews. Renee, our volunteer, will compliment our intern’s social media with her art.
TRC Magazine is not an ordinary ezine. We publish stories to influence and make a difference. We also teach our volunteers and intern to engage with our readers. Our readers are global. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Not all are believers. Our vision is not to chase the stories everyone else is chasing. It’s a creative way to empower the church to serve online.
“You bring your phone to church?” John asked me somewhat surprised and cautious.
“Yes, and so do other people.” I launched into great detail as quickly as I could due to a lack of time. “One person invites people to sit with her at church. She brings her cell phone to follow along the live sermon. Our church does a live sermon and a handful of us work to inspire deeper conversation about the sermon in the comment section of Facebook. I have a new phone, and this means, it can go total silence so I can have the live video playing and be there to serve the community online without disturbing others around me.”
“How do you focus on what you are being taught?” John looked troubled.
“Before the live sermon, I used to Facebook and Twitter my sermon notes. I can easily follow along the sermon. I even use my YouVersion Bible on the same device so I can keep up. So many times, when one does handwritten sermon notes, they go into a Bible or a notebook and never are used again. Why not share what I am learning with my community? If I am wrong, people can talk to me online about that, and I continue learning; and if an unbeliever is watching my notes, it allows for the possibility of more private conversations. The whole idea is to build a community inside and outside of church. Being available to pray for and answer questions during the live sermon is no less serving than handing out bulletins on Sunday or manning the Welcome Center. Some children workers can’t even hear the sermon most Sundays because of their service.”
When I had this conversation with John, I wanted to explain so much more, but we had to part ways. The most important thing one can remember when thinking about how social media impacts missions and evangelism is how we should use it to serve each other online. You can arrange for teams of people to serve on Sunday and some to serve during the week. All online and all using their own social media. With today’s technology, you can even do so while sitting in the service (tip: if your phone doesn’t have total silence, plug in head phones or go to the cry room of your church; you don’t have to wear your headphones; it’s just a way to keep the sound off).
Let’s reflect Jesus in our conversations as it is not about growing the church, but inviting people to participate in meaningful conversations so we share the Good News with people in our communities.
I’m on a social media fast today in a hotel somewhere in Phoenix. This means I fast from all social media so I can rest, study, and even write without distraction while I focus on God, worship Him, and focus on who I am in Him. I am reading, “How to Read The Bible For All It’s Worth,” by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart.
Page 109 through 110 brought me up short. So far, I had been reading about Hebrew narrative and how the Old Testament narratives implied things, definition of what is cultural and what is truth, and what something meant then and what it means now. As I read, Redefinition, I knew that this is the kind of truth that I am trying to share in my life with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in America:
“Redefinition. When the plain meaning of the text leaves people cold, producing no immediate spiritual delight, or says something other than what they wish it said, they are often tempted to redefine it to mean something else. An example is the use often made of God’s promise to Solomon as it is narrated in Chronicles (2 Chron. 7:14-15). The context of this narrative clearly relates the promise to “this place” (the temple in Jerusalem) and “their land” (Israel, the land of Solomon and the Israelites). Understandably, many modern Christians yearn for it to be true of their land wherever they live in the modern world–and so they tend to ignore the fact that God’s promise that he will “hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” was about the only earthly land God’s people could ever claim as “theirs,” the Old Testament land of Israel. In the new covenant, God’s people have no earthly country that is “their land” –despite the tendency of some American Christians to think otherwise about the world. The country all believers now most truly belong to is a heavenly one (Heb. 11:16). (emphasis mine)”
Pastors periodically talk about examining ones spending habits on their checking account to see if God is a priority. What do we spend most of our money on? Are we investing in God’s Kingdom or in pleasure? The same should be said of auditing our own social media profiles. What is posted most often on your social media expresses the depth of your faith, your heart, whether it bleeds from pain and anger or oozes political angst. Do we wish death on our enemies even in a joking way?
“Sarcasm is anger gone underground and come back up in a clown suit,” says Patsy Clairmont, a Women of Faith writer and speaker. Our citizenship is in Heaven as believers. How can we reflect this in our postings and honor the country in which we live?
For the past few weeks, my prayers to God have been, “Oh, God; Oh, God; Oh, God…” It reminded me of Romans 8:26, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
A final video chat on November 1 sealed the deal.Southwest Church Connection is partnering with me to bring a pastors workshop to Phoenix, Arizona (coming in January, 2018). The intention is not to add more to what a pastor already does, but to teach him how to use his untapped resource to engage in greater outreach in their communities. The workshop will go beyond the marketing of a church to mobilization, to equipping, and to greater and more strategic evangelism using teams.
I am excited about this as I plan out the workshop, arrange a beta testing team for the final production of the materials and teaching, and plan the marketing for it. I’ll be pushing this out beginning after Thanksgiving. Most of us in my line of work use technology and/or see the potential of it for face-to-face discipleship, and my prayer is for the churches to embrace it as well. My heart gravitates especially towards smaller churches who have outdated websites, social media that is non-existent or out of date or underused, and who need creative inspiration to think outside the box.
So stay tuned and be praying for me as I work it all out.
In our deeply divided country, Mike Duran is one of the few who can challenge our culture without being inflammatory or divisive. In reading his latest book, Christian Horror: On the Compatibility of a Biblical Worldview and the Horror Genre, the book goes beyond surface arguments and shows us how the church should embrace the horror genre.
The book delves into various horrific details of Bible stories, art history, and how some don’t believe a devil exists. The book also presents a compelling argument how Christians have white washed everything. “Thus, Christian art became an alternative to ‘worldly’ fare, often defined as much by what it didn’t have, as what it did,” the book says on page 53. My favorite story shared in the book was about Christopher Hitchen’s brother, Peter, who became a believer when he viewed Roger Van Der Weyden’s painting, Last Judgement.
The horrific images portrayed in the painting caused, “Peter to see himself, ‘among the damned.'” Peter Hitchens became a believer because a painter didn’t hold back about heaven or hell. The book is a think-outside-the-box kind of thought process that inspires a Christian like myself to not put such narrow boundaries on how to reach the unreached, the unloved, and the unchurched. The book makes a strong case how horror should be an accepted genre among Christians.
Several years ago, I stood dangerously close to never walking into church again. I couldn’t pray in church. I couldn’t worship in church. I shut down the moment I walked in. The hurt was real. I kept wondering, “Are we alive? What is church supposed to be? Who am I supposed to be?” Part of my problem was being in the wrong place. God was asking me to start a movement, and that meant leaving the comfortable to become acutely uncomfortable.
So, here I am in a healthier place, loving the fellowship with other believers, and enjoying worship in church again. I’m in line with God’s will in my life and I have peace about it. But my memory of the question, “Are we alive?,” continues to drive me. How can I tap into the different talents and gifts of the church body to inspire them to serve online? How can I make these dry bones come alive? That’s when my movement (singular) became movements (plural).
Movements are ideas curated on Social Media to create online communities around a brand or hobby. The idea is to encourage conversation between people that build relationships; relationships that lead to Gospel conversations. I realized the way to begin positive change is not only through prayer and the heavy reliance on the Holy Spirit, but also to tap into the congregation–a resource rarely used by pastors to even market their own church.
It sounds easy. Set up a Facebook group, invite people, and post often to encourage participation. In all honesty, serving this way can be brutal. Social Media means bringing the unpredictable into your life. People are from different cultures, backgrounds, and are dysfunctional. Think of a family reunion and that crazy Aunt, and you have chaos coming through as notifications on your phone. Running a successful group means being the moderator.
The moderator is always the enemy–a heartless person always censoring people’s posts. What our society lacks is boundaries and when you set boundaries, they lash out. So, when you begin a movement to inspire a different way of living or thinking, or to encourage deeper prayer lives, don’t look for instant results. You’ll have to go through deep valleys and climb high mountains. You’ll have periods of, “Am I a failure?” You are not a failure. It takes time for a movement to capture people’s hearts.
Movements are ideas that take root and inspire a church body to act. How do you start a movement?
Open a Facebook group about a hobby you like to do.
Start a small group from a blog you write to encourage people. If you write for single again women, start a single again small group that meets at a coffee shop. The small group can be online or in person.
Your status updates, Instagram posts, or Twitter updates should all be around your own personal mission statement for your movement.
The key is to tap into those in the church body who are open to use their favorite hobby, their educational backgrounds, or (fill in the blank) and train them on social media to build up that movement so people are inspired by them to be different. When we create community, we are being the church. When we are alive as a church body, people can’t help but notice God first. When we are sharing hope through relationship, God will use you to point them to Him.
For a very short period in my life, I liked puzzles. My grandmother would tell me, “Start in the corners.” I believe she also said to do the sides first so you can figure out which blue piece is the sky. Without the corners and sides, it was nearly impossible to finish a puzzle. I talk about putting together a puzzle because it is like creating a social media ministry.
Social Media employs my creativity, my love of story telling, reading, art, and it gives me boundless freedom to find new ways to frame the Gospel and help others follow Him and help Christians serve Him. Mike Duran, an author, often talks about the church’s uneasy relationship with art. Yet, it is the visual story that is gaining ground versus the literal story. Our world is becoming more secondary oral than literal and writers and Christian artists must find new vehicles in which to share the Gospel. To see all the pieces of how I serve, you must attend a presentation, even if you never intend to support me financially. How can you pray if you don’t understand what I do?
Everything I do online is a different frame in which a Christian can use their abilities and time to serve and share the Gospel in more strategic and authentically engaging ways. Our pastor at Grace Baptist Church said on Sunday that our society is feeling more hopeless, more anxious. We can blame that on technology, North Korea, or (fill in the blank); or we can get involved and share hope with them through our every day activity online.
I ran across this quote from someone I don’t know anything about, but he makes a point:
“Social media websites are no longer performing an envisaged function of creating a positive communication link among friends, family and professionals. It is a veritable battleground, where insults fly from the human quiver, damaging lives, destroying self-esteem and a person’s sense of self-worth.” (Anthony Carmona)
In my newsletter, you see one or two pieces of what I do. You may have come to some correct or incorrect conclusions about what you think I do online.
Would you like to meet for coffee sometime to see the whole picture?
Last year, I looked into a certificate program through Fuller Theological. The generosity of my home church pastor and friends gave references. I got into the acceptance part when we talked about financial and credit requirements per month that I realized the required time was more than I had at the moment.
Two classes a quarter were required. With a 40-hour a week day job and active ministries, plus raising support, that wasn’t feasible (unless I wanted to give up time with my husband). I am still looking at getting certificates in the future when I am mostly fully supported and part time or gone from the day job.
Until then, I am turning to my approved education plan which is developmental leadership courses through Western Seminary. Nothing with official transcripts, but an education that is for my own growth as a leader. The lessons are video with a quiz. You do get a certificate of completion. It is affordable, but even with the short videos and quiz, it’s been hard to keep it up.
Pray for me as I balance everything and still grow in relevance and leadership.
How do you participate in TWO great events the weekend of October 20-22, 2017? Thankfully, technology gives us access in small, portable devices like a smart phone and a tablet. Most of the time, Hackathons primarily draw heavily on the coders time rather than the creative marketer and social media person. I’ve only ever participated in helping with the research of a project at a Hackathon.
I plan on being available on Friday with Indigitous after 6 pm and after that time on Saturday. On Sunday, I have all day. Thrive is all day on Saturday with Chandler Bible. As you know, I have been working with them as they become more intentional in social media outreach since last August. They are continually in my prayers.
But I’ve also made some new friends there.
So, it is worth the drive to Chandler from up north to see them.
The Bible Study Project (from here) is going well. I am currently training two women to use technology to re-create the face-to-face Bible Study and build an online community that partners with the local church. How this usually works is,
The interested person emails admin@cataclysmmissionsintl.com with a testimony, even a resume.
The interested person schedules a time for a video chat. We proceed to discover what she or he wants to teach, learn about him or her, and talk about what video interface app he or she wishes to use. Normally, we go through Zoom.
Another video interface is set up for training on the particular video app he or she wishes to use for the Bible Study.
The first study is co-hosted with me as part of technology training. I help them navigate the technology. For every teacher, they are welcome to co-host on my Zoom subscription.
After the first study, they are required to get their own Zoom or let me know what video app they will be using. Video must be used to be listed on this site. The whole goal is to get away from fragmented relationships by only using chat to building a face-to-face community.
After the person has begun their perpetual online video Bible Study, I still pop in once in a while to monitor their progress and give support where needed. The responsibility of the teacher is to,
Build their own email lists to continue connection with the leaders.
Add their signees to our Facebook group. The group allows all participants to engage each other and the teachers in questions, prayer, etc. This is where the leaders can remind them of upcoming studies.
Recordings are kept on the teacher’s own social media with occasionally using Cataclysm Missions own Youtube account when video editing becomes challenging (at least until I have trained them).
Currently, the two women I am training are doing weekly Bible Studies. This means I am attending two Bible Studies each week night. I work at a day job which blocks out 40-hours from my week, restricting when I can hold these Bible Studies. A third woman is rumored to be interested in this movement. I can’t train her until I am free from one of the Bible Studies. I can’t hold any day time studies until I am 100% funded.
The interest in this movement far outweighs my financial support. If you feel led to give $25, $35, or more per month in a tax deductible support, please click here. I would love your support in challenging Bible illiteracy and sharing the Gospel worldwide.
