The final day of our class! It's been a whirlwind of learning and reflection...and I know I'll miss this class ending...
The last post for this particular class is regarding some of my thoughts on Click 2 Save by Elizabeth Drescher and Keith Anderson. Keith Anderson is an avid blogger (pastorkeithanderson.net) and both have very active Twitter accounts: @edrecsherphd and @prkanderson. They have written a 'Digital Ministry Bible' - a very hands-on book on how to navigate social media in ministry.
I appreciated how the book emphasized the positive ways in which social media could affect your ministry, as well as giving good (but flexible) guidelines for tricky issues (such as 'friending a parishioner', and 'how much to divulge'). I was especially struck by the way in which you can see digital ministry as 'an art' you can practice. Digital media can allow you to practice hospitality, do pastoral care, discipleship, create community, and be a public witness - all of which are required to approach as an 'art' with no set formulas to make it happen, and leave much room for flexibility and creativity to flourish.
This book made me reflect on my own online presence - which is currently not very strong. I have Facebook, Twitter and LinkdIn accounts (and others) that I maintain regularly by reading most posts, responding occasionally, and posting events. However, if I wish to really 'do ministry' online, I need to think of social media as less of a 'broadcast media' and more as a social tool to personally connect, to show care, and really be 'present' (pp. 34-40).
It's not that I didn't know about these things, per se, but this book made me realize how much more important it is for effective ministry in the future. This means that I have a lot of work to do - to shift my focus and time toward using social media so that I can be more intentional about seeing social media as an integral tool to 'do ministry'. Our world and ways of communicating and doing ministry are changing rapidly...I hope I can keep up with this new art form!
We've finished more than half of the week-long class - time sure flies when you're having fun!
Today's main topic was about games. I first heard about Jane McGonigal when her first first TED talk went viral in 2010. She talked about her work with creating games and her experience/research with gamers - and how she believed that gaming had the potential to make the world a better place. Her book, Reality is Broken, written about this same subject (published in 2011), was one of our class readings.
I really appreciated how McGonigal's book (as well as her TED talk) tries to address and reframe the stereotypical bias against games and gamers. She explains in detail why games provide such satisfaction and happiness - even when you know you can't (always) win (chapter 2-4). She also makes a case that the reason why so many people play games and are 'gamers' in our world today is that reality is so 'broken' that it doesn't offer the satisfaction and happiness that games do (she offer many 'fix' sections throughout the book) Finally, she argues that if we were to create games, or ways, in which people worked together like in massive multi-player online games (MMPOG), we can use those skills and resources to solve some of our world's most challenging problems (like poverty, climate change, food security, etc.).
It's an amazing different way to think about our world, happiness, community building, and working hard together. We need to rethink the role of 'games' in our world, and how it can actually help us be 'happier', and help us move toward working together better. As religious leaders, we can 'translate' her concepts and solutions to our religious contexts to further God's realm in our world...so that we, as God's hands and feet, can change the world for the better, for all of God's children. It could be the best MMPOG ever!
Today we continued building on the the content from Jennings (see previous post here) and other materials covered, but also delved into the world of myths, parables and storytelling.
One of the first things that struck me from Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals by Herbert Anderson and Edward Foley was the reminder of the power of stories - the ones we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves. It not only shapes who we are, but who we are to become. There is much power in sharing our stories, but there are also consequences of NOT telling our stories. The book gives one example of the women in Rwanda, not permitted to tell their experiences of the Rwandan Genocide.
The community that I serve, a church that is the oldest Japanese/Japanese American Christian church in North America, carries a similar experience. During WWII, over 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated for no reason other than their ethnic identity. Between the years 1942-44, many Japanese/Japanese Americans were stripped of their possessions, their dignity, and American identities. Even though the community had experienced such trauma, many people did not tell their stories to their children. Although they were not forced to keep silent, many did do due to the 'culture of shame' that exists in the Japanese culture.
Having served my church for over 11 years, as well as other Japanese American experiences elsewhere, I cannot help but feel the effects that this silence has had on the generations that followed, as well as the Japanese American culture itself. In recent years, people have finally begun to open up and talk about their experiences and telling their stories (which I have seen to be a very liberating experience for those individuals), but the mark that the silence has put on the community and culture remains strong.
Knowing the power of story and storytelling, I wonder what stories our current Japanese American generations can develop and tell which can bring more healing and hope for the future....?
Day 2 - our class continues the journey of reflecting upon how we think theology in light of our the world of digital media and its evolution...
I was reading today the assigned article by Helen Campbell, "Understanding the Relationship Between Religion Online and Offline in a Networked Society" (Journal of the American Academy of Religion, doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfr074). (See abstract here.) It has traditionally been speculated that what happens with online religion would affect the offline community. However, the point that she makes is interesting: what is going on with religion online actually mirrors what is already going on with what is happening with religion offline.
To me, this means that we no longer cannot see 'religion done online' as something that is 'preventable' (to those who are afraid of its influence) or as an 'unique religious experience for some'. It means that what is happening in 'online religion' (both positive and negative) is already happening in the offline experience - and we need to pay close(r) attention to it.
So whether it's about how we do community, how we construct and perform our identities, perceive authority in new/different ways, see various religious practices being converged, or the different/multiple spaces in which religious is being practiced (the five traits that Campbell refers to) - it means that a major transition is happening in the religious landscape both on and offline. In addition, I personally think that the online and offline experience is intertwined and cannot be separated.
So, in this time of major transition - which inevitably involves chaos and uncomfortable displacement - what are we, as religious leaders called to do? I think it's first about paying full attention to what is going on, and seeking to be open to what we might see. Then, I think it's being attentive to the Spirit and open to what God is trying to bring forth. And as we are called, to participate in what is becoming.
As scary as it seems, it also feels pretty exciting to me! What do you think....?
I have just begun my studies
at San Francisco Theological Seminary - for the second time! I graduated
from SFTS in 1999 with a M.Div...and for a while now, I had been pondering
about going back to school again. Then, a couple of months ago, by the
grace of God, an opportunity arose that I couldn't resist. Taking that as
a divine 'sign', I took the leap and jumped right into the pool of doctorate
studies!
In any case, today was the
first day for me in this new role of a Doctor of Ministry student. The
course I'm taking is "Gospel and Social Media Culture" taught by Dr.
Mary Hess. One of the foundations for this course began with the book "The Christian Imagination" by Willie James
Jennings. This book begins by exploring how the Age of Discovery/Late Medieval period
had affected Western Christianity in a way that hinders the true call to
Christian living and community - one that seeks to embrace, love and adapt to
various diversities.
It was interesting to see Jennings explain how although Christianity began with Jews and the heritage of accepting those who were not (i.e. Gentiles), the dynamics
present during the Age of Discovery/Late Medieval period became the 'perfect storm'
for Western Christianity to be altered into something that was conforming,
coercive and domineering. It is apparent that these traits still haunt us
today and keep us from becoming/being the Christian community that was
initially intended.
Thinking about this reality, I wondered about my classmate - a priest from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. From my limited experience with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, I know that they had taken different paths from Western
Christianity. Jennings’ book made me
wonder what kind of journey the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has taken over these
centuries and how it affected the Ethiopian Christians and their communities
differently…
More 'food for thought' on its way over
the course of this week…
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