rise of the social media pastor

Social media expert Chris Brogan (and Jon Swanson) tells a pretty true-to-life story of what it's like to pastor in the web-connected world:

Workflow - Social Media Pastor >> Emilio rises at six and starts coffee. His RSS reader has many blogs to read, plus links to a “Bible in a Year” website that sends him daily updates. It’s no longer strange to be reading the Bible in his RSS reader. It just feels like another way to connect. Emilio is thinking of setting alerts for his community in general, plus for specific issues facing the people in his congregation.

Emilio has a personal blog for reflections, and a website for the Church, as well. Most recently, he’s added a section for using UStream.tv to show live sermons. ...

... Others have been confronted for bringing technology into the church. In some affluent churches, there are even Second Life outposts, and online campuses. It’s a balance of concerns and considerations: are you still part of a community when represented digitally? Does God hear your prayer in pixel form?

... There’s still so much face to face that he does, and much that doesn’t require an Internet connection, but through these options, Emilio has reached out far beyond his local congregation. ...

And the story continues(!) -- as Jon Swanson adds:

Social Media Pastor part two >> Back in his home office this morning, recovering from being away, among the 200 new items in his reader was one that would change the week significantly. Emilio had a vanity search set up with Google, looking for his name on the internet. Usually it only showed his own writing. Today he discovered that Chris Brogan and Jon Swanson had been talking about him... “Workflow - Social Media Pastor.”

As he scanned through the post, all his social networking struggles came rushing to the front of his mind, not the least being, “What if someone from the church reads this?”

Emilio regularly wrestled with what he called his “living in two worlds” question. He had his “real world” congregation, the people he saw and talked with and cried with every day. But then he had his “digital world” friends, the people he saw and talked with and cried with…every day. To call the latter a congregation was a stretch. But they were friends, he was their touchpoint for questions about God and church. He even was in conversations once about doing a wedding for a couple he only had contact with through twitter.

If he were hired to work full-time in social media, working as campus pastor for an online campus, for example, it wouldn’t be so hard.

There are already 60+ comments on those 2 blog posts. Read both blog posts in its entirety, and comment here or there. How has social media changed your approach to ministry?

I'm beginning to see churches hiring internet campus pastors and social media pastors. What are you seeing?

-- DJ Chuang, Digital Initiatives Director @ Leadership Network

Comments

[Paul Merrill]

"I'm beginning to see churches hiring internet campus pastors and social media pastors"...

Which churches? (Just curious.)

[myles]

sounds like just the right pastor for the gen y christian: http://biblebasics.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/how-gen-y-reads-the-bible/

[Greg Atkinson]

This is shaking up and stirring in churches and Church leaders' hearts around the world. I've had countless conversations with peers (including you) about this.

Many of us are wondering what our jobs and titles and responsibilities will be in 1 yr, 3 yrs, 5 yrs. The face of Church is changing. I think we'll see more and more "Innovation Pastors" and "Social Media Pastors".

As Bob Dylan said, "The times, they are a changing."

[Cynthia]

Yes, and won't it be a shift if the online pastor is hired before the youth pastor, Children's Ministries director, events co-ordinator, etc.?

I, too, have had countless conversations with peers and others (I've been consulted by 3 different churches in the last 60 days!) about how online outreach & ministry is moving into the central flow of church strategy and planning.

To Paul Merrill above, you'll find a brief starter list of churches with internet campuses in the left side bar of this blog listed under top posts (see http://digital.leadnet.org/2007/10/churches-with-a.html )

[djchuang]

@Paul, The list of churches with internet campuses http://digital.leadnet.org/2007/10/churches-with-a.html , that Cynthia mentioned above, is as complete and comprehensive as I have found, and I try to keep it up-to-date.

Off the top of my head, the ones that have paid staff for internet campus pastors are: LifeChurch.tv, Seacoast, Flamingo Road, Living Hope, and Christ Fellowship.

[Brian Vasil]

I have read both of these posts and obviously think they are a step in the right direction toward understanding the purpose of social media and Internet Campuses. As an Internet Campus pastor here at Flamingo Road Church, I am contacted by so many churches that want to start an online ministry. I always tell them that the most important thing is to find a tech-aware person with a Pastor's heart for the world. I think posts like these are important to help folks understand the motive of the people (like myself) that are really trying to reach those that connect to God via their PC rather than in a pew. I know that God can be in both places at once...