I hope this doesn't come off as pandering to "the media", but Steve Salyards' "The GA Junkie" is one of the few blogs I read in the Presbyterian blogosphere.
Like him, I consider myself a "junkie" when it comes to the ways in which the church works, particularly those of the Presbyterian variety (I tell people that I learned to love the PCUSA at General Assembly). I think that he is often dead on in his analysis of the goings on in our denomination and others, and I have an immense amount of respect for his view point, even if I disagree with it sometimes.
Not to be too flip about it: Steve is the Presbyterian equivalent of Tim Russert. I freaking LOVED Tim Russert. I wonder if Steve has a whiteboard.....
So imagine my heart-pounding surprise when I casually read through my feed reader for the last few weeks and see MY NAME on his blog. My jaw fell open. Why was I being named on "The GA Junkie"?!
It is, of course, because I have accepted an invitation from
Elder Cynthia Bolbach to stand with her as she stands for Moderator of the PCUSA. Steve is doing an analysis of all the candidates and I was referenced in that capacity.
What is prompting my thoughts right now, however, is the
recent post by Steve on the Mod/Vice-Mod candidates and their online presence. After some typically comprehensive research on Steve's part, he asks the question as to whether or not the current
Mod Squad has changed the game in terms of social media, and connectedness for the church.
As I look at these statistics I have a hard time seeing any of these candidates stepping up to anywhere near the social media connectedness that Bruce and Byron established right from the start, with the obvious exception of Landon. For the other candidates the level of connectedness so far gives the impression that they are either just getting their feet wet in this sphere or are not placing a major emphasis upon it.
So the question is, does it matter? If you are of the opinion that the world has not changed then all this is probably interesting but not important. Or, with the stereotype of the typical Presbyterian being of the "greatest" or "boomer" generation that does not heavily invest their connectedness in social media, this lower penetration into Web 2.0 may be perfectly reasonable since few of the commissioners, whose votes count, would be influenced.
Steve is, admittedly, analyzing the Moderator candidates' election chances, but I think his point might be broadened a bit and applicable to the wider church.
If the church I serve is typical, and the majority of the folks who are members are not connected with any kind of social media, does it matter if we engage it or not? Do we care about having a Moderator/Vice-Moderator who is willing to engage social media whether she/he really wants to or not? If the majority of Presbyterians are not hooked to social media, should we even bother as a church?
As you an imagine, my answers are "Yes, Yes, and Yes."
It matters that we engage social media both as the Body of Christ and individually as members of it. It matters that whomever we elected as our "goodwill ambassador" be willing to engage social media. All of this matters for one simple reason: Christ didn't come to save the "Church" but the "World", and the World is engaged in social media.
Our refusal to engage social media is us saying that we don't care about being an incarnational presence in this world. By refusing to engage the way those we would reach engage we are saying that we don't care about them.
How would it feel for me to approach a couple who spends their entire life around the rhythms of a farm and tell them that I love them and want to be a part of their life, but I don't give a damn about planting cycles and weather patterns? That I don't care to learn the ways of the local co-op? That, no, I'm not that interested in all that? I would not be taken seriously at best, and turned away as a selfish jerk at worst.
The number of those in our world using social media has swelled to number to big to comprehend. Do we care to reach them? Do we care to be incarnational in their world?
Does social media matter for the Presbyterian Church? Yes. Yes, it does.
I'm not someone you'd probably like. Unless you like people like that...then you'd love me.