Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[RNS]

Social networking sites and microblog hosts like Twitter are drawing atheists and agnostics out of seclusion and giving them a platform on which they can discuss and debate their religious beliefs—or lack thereof—with the world.

The online buzz surrounding the Creation Museum trip is just one example of how atheists are using the Internet to band together to form a virtual support network, and to provide information about atheism.

Blair Scott, national affiliate director for American Atheists, credits Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Atheist Nexus—a social networking Web site exclusively for nonbelievers—with drumming up interest in his organization and the overall “free thought” movement.

Scott is responsible for maintaining American Atheists’ social networking accounts. He identified Twitter and MySpace as two particularly safe havens for “closet” atheists because users can adopt pseudonyms to mask their true identities.

Read more here.

[From me]

If an Atheist tweets in a forest and there is no one there does it really exist? I still don’t get the point of being evangelistic about something you don’t believe in. If I didn’t believe in God I would just ignore it.

What do you think?

[NY Times]

Things went smoothly for the first hour of the Twitter experiment at Trinity Church in Manhattan on Good Friday in April.While hundreds of worshipers watched the traditional dramatization of the Crucifixion from pews in the church, one of New York’s oldest, thousands more around the world followed along on smartphones and computers as a staff member tweeted short bursts of dialogue and setting (“Darkness and earthquake,” “Crucify him!”).

The trouble began in the second hour.

Twitter’s interactivity — its essence — made it easy for an anonymous text-messager to insert an unscripted character into the Passion play: a Roman guard who breezily claimed, “I’ve got dibs on his robe.” When another texter introduced a rogue Mary Magdalene, the intrusion only confirmed the obvious: Twitter’s trademark limit of 140 characters per message is no bar against crudity.

Religious groups from Episcopalians to Orthodox Jews have signed up for Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks with the same gusto that celebrities and politicians have, and for some of the same reasons — to gain a global platform and to appeal to young people.

Still, many clerics admit to an uneasiness about the merger of worship and electronic chatter.

In online debates and private discussions, leaders of all faiths have been weighing pros and cons and diagramming the boundaries of acceptable interactions: Should the congregation have a Facebook page, or should it be the imam’s or priest’s? Should there be limited access? Censoring? Is it appropriate for a clergy member to “friend” a minor?

Some recoil at the informality and unpredictability of the crowds marshaled by social media, and at their seeming immunity — even hostility — to the authority of established institutions. More deeply, some in the clergy see a basic tension between the anonymous world of online life and the meaning of religious community.

“In Judaism, we believe that God resides in the community — among people in the same room at the same time, hearing each other’s voices and looking in each other’s eyes,” said Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik of the Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens, who also wanted it known that he carries an iPhone and a laptop and is talking with his congregation about a Facebook page.

“But can you tweet a minyan?” he asked, referring to the quorum of 10 people required for most Jewish devotions. “I don’t think so.”

Religious groups are answering many such questions for themselves — and, for the most part, signing up for interactive media, said the Rev. Bill Reichart, a Presbyterian minister in Atlanta who leads an informal network of Web consultants who work with people of a broad spectrum of faiths.

“If total control is what you want, social media will frustrate you,” he said, reprising his advice to the clergy. “But the trade-off is the ability to hear and learn, reach out in new directions.” Many clerics, desperate to connect with young people, have been like radio dispatchers using the wrong bandwidth, he said. “The young don’t do e-mail anymore,” he said. “They do Facebook.”

Evangelical Christian ministers were among the earliest Web networkers, and today, popular preachers like Rick Warren and Joel Osteen have thousands of followers on Twitter. At Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens, Pastor Adam Durso and his brother Chris, the youth director, keep in contact with their flock, sometimes hourly, on a half-dozen social media sites.

Leaders in other faiths are catching on, but moving slowly, said Monique Cuvelier, a Web consultant in Boston who attributes some of the resistance to the conservatism of any established institution, and some to a sense of privacy: Gossiping about the rabbi’s wife may be common in temple parking lots, “but having it end up on the Internet — that freaks some people out,” she said.

Read more here.

[From me]

I hear people lamenting the evils of technology. Sure there are bad elements to it. But you had better get on board or be left behind. The world is changing whether we like it or not. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, My Space, texting, Looped, etc…. are the way people communicate. Some can say it is impersonal but they have probably not tried it.

I have reconnected with people I haven’t seen in 20+ years through social media. I have met people online and then actually met in person at conferences later because of social media. I pray for people and they pray for me. Are they relationships? Yes. Maybe not in the same way as the past but they are relationships. People can complain or chose to adapt. The church had better adapt or be swept away in the technological tsunami.

What do you think?

[Time]

John Voelz isn’t trying to brag, but it’s fair to say he was down with Twitterbefore most people knew it was a proper noun. Last year, Voelz, a pastor, was tweeting at a conference outside Nashville about ways to make the church experience more creative — ways to “make it not suck” — when suddenly it hit him: Twitter. 

Voelz and David McDonald, the other senior pastor at Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Mich., spent two weeks educating their congregation about Twitter, the microblogging site that challenges users to communicate in 140 characters or less. They held training sessions where congregants brought in their laptops, iPhones and Blackberrys. They upped the bandwidth in the auditorium. (Finding God on YouTube)

There’s a time and a place for technology, and most houses of worship still say it’s not at morning Mass. But instead of reminding worshippers to silence their cell phones, a small but growing number of churches around the country are following Voelz’ lead and encouraging people to integrate text-messaging into their relationship with God.

In Seattle, Mars Hill churchgoers regularly tweet throughout the service. In New York City, Trinity Church marked Good Friday by tweeting the Passion play, detailing the stages of Jesus’ crucifixion in short bursts. At Next Level Church, outside Charlotte, it’s not only okay to fuse social networking technology with prayer; it’s desirable.

On Easter Sunday, pastor Todd Hahn prefaced his sermon by saying, “I hope many of you are tweeting this morning about your experience with God.”

Read more here.

[From me]

I’ve “tweeted” at conferences several times in the past year. I’ve tweeted during sporting events and while traveling.  But I had never tweeted during church until yesterday.  I was prompted because I was distracted during the sermon by a woman on the front row who decided to comment out loud after every sentence the pastor made. I understand “Amen’s” and other agreement phrases but this was rather disruptive at least to me. I don’t plan on it again mainly because Cassandra probably wouldn’t like it.

For those who don’t Twitter or understand it they can’t get what it is all about.  It is like a constant stream of information. You will never catch every “tweet.” If you try you will get frustrated. Some “tweet” to let people know what they are doing. Some tweet to market, others to meet people, and who knows what else people use it for.

It is hard to explain Twitter unless you try it.  Have you ever tweeted during church?

What do you think?

[Chronicle.com]

Televangelist Robert H. Schuller has reached millions worldwide with his weekly “Hour of Power” TV broadcasts, but when it comes to the Internet, he had a high-tech headache: an online impostor. When Schuller, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral megachurch, recently tried to set up an account on the micro-blogging Web site Twitter.com, he discovered another user masquerading as himself.

The site allows users to post messages — or “tweets” — of up to 140 characters from a mobile phone or computer. Those who sign up to read the posts are called “followers.”

Schuller’s impostor displayed copyrighted images and trademarked sayings from the Crystal Cathedral and “Hour of Power” Web sites on his Twitter account and had attracted nearly 1,000 followers in two weeks, said Greg Fayer, an attorney representing the church.

San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. confirmed that the user was an impostor and suspended the account late Tuesday, co-founder Biz Stone said in an e-mail Wednesday. A new account was set up Wednesday for the real Schuller, said Mike Nason, the church’s spokesman.

One of his first tweets? “This is the real Robert H. Schuller. The person saying they were me, here on Twitter is gone. So lets start a new day.”

The 82-year-old televangelist made light of the situation.

“I was honored that anybody thought my material was good enough to be repeated,” Schuller told The Associated Press. “Maybe I should find out the name of the person and I could hire them as a ghostwriter, look for the positive in the negative.”

Read more here.

[From me]

Well this is the real Kevin Bussey. Now I wonder if the John Maxwell I follow is really him? You gotta love Dr. Schuller’s sense of humor!

What do you think?

[WCCO]

A building materials company and its owner have appealed a $12.6 million verdict against them, alleging that a juror was posting related messages on Twitter.com while hearing the case. 

The motion filed Thursday seeking a new trial claims the juror sent eight messages – or “tweets” – to the micro-blogging Web site via his cellular phone. One read in part: “oh and nobody buy Stoam. Its bad mojo and they’ll probably cease to Exist, now that their wallet is 12m lighter.” 

Another describing what “Juror Jonathan” did today, read: “I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else’s money.” 

The motion filed by the lawyer for Russell Wright and his company, Stoam Holdings, alleges the juror researched the case and communicated with others outside the jury. Wright did not appear in court when the case was heard in Washington County in late February. 

The jury awarded the money to Mark Deihl and William Nystrom, who invested in Wright’s company. The company claimed its building material, Stoam, combines the insulation qualities of foam with the strength of steel. 

Read more here.

[From me]

I’ve tweeted during games, driving via Vlingo (hands free), even conferences but I wouldn’t think of doing it during a trial or anything that was confidential. What are some other creative ways to use Twitter?

What do you think?