It’s time to re-friend and unblock those people you unfriended and blocked before and after the election, Mia Moody-Ramirez says. And if you deactivated your Facebook, Twitter or other social media accounts because the anger and fear were boiling over,…
Church must leave four walls to heal post-election angst, Baptist leader says
Suzii Paynter didn’t get on Facebook first thing Wednesday morning like so many millions of other Americans did. But Paynter, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said she didn’t need social media immediately to tell her how people felt…
Social media and the communion of saints
La versión en español está disponible aquí. On the first weekend of November many churches will be observing Memorial Sunday, a day to remember and celebrate those who have gone before us. This fact prompted me to reflect on the…
Pastoral counselor promotes song titles as path to mini-Sabbaths, pastoral health
James Stillwell is a licensed pastoral counselor who does plenty of traveling to see clients in Kentucky. And somewhere in there he has a marriage he wants to maintain. That’s where prayer, meditation and Bachman Turner Overdrive’s hit song “Taking…
The year clichés stopped making sense
There is something wrong with 2016. That may be the most self-evident and non-controversial statement to come up in your Facebook newsfeed in quite a while. In fact, it has become an almost universally acknowledged truth. So many of us…
What will it take to get through this political season?
Lately I’ve heard friends talking about how their Facebook feeds seem to be turning into echo chambers — that is, all the political posts they see are posts that reflect their own opinions. This has not happened to me, thanks solely to my online and real life relationship with my cousin Kevin.
A Social Media Prayer
Words can be toxic. The apostle Paul knew that. Little has changed since the first century, though back then the only social media Paul had to contend with was the chatter at the well or outside the synagogue.
Small-town church gives big embrace to phones, social media in worship
Kevin Smith is a big believer is in using a Bible app, instead of a printed Bible, during Sunday morning worship. And he says it’s a good thing given the way his preacher preaches. “Brother John likes to jump around…
Social media a source of ministry amid disaster, pastor says
Mitch Randall’s Facebook posts read much like those of any other minister, complete with links to audio sermons and youth group videos, kudos to family and church members and steady reminders of ministry needs and volunteer opportunities. But Randall, pastor…
How a résumé-driven mentality is crippling our culture
I come from a long line of folks who cannot abide The Big Head. I don’t know if this malady is well known north of the Mason-Dixon Line, but down here in the South, everybody knows about The Big Head….
Soulforce asks Facebook to divest from National Religious Broadcasters
A Christian advocacy group for LGBT inclusion is trying to organize a Twitter storm to force a face-to-face meeting with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg calling on the company to divest from right-wing Christian media. Soulforce Executive Director Haven Herrin hopes…
Is your social network your community? Probably not.
Henry Mintzberg of the University of McGill has asked an interesting question of those who believe they are living in community because of their social networks. “If you want to understand the difference between a network and a community,” he…