'Sister Internet' expelled from Spanish convent - CathNews

'Sister Internet' expelled from Spanish convent - CathNews

The Church of Facebook.

This is the third part of my Literary Review.

With my next book, The Church of Facebook I felt I was on more familiar ground.  The graphic on the front of the book, of a virtual church was a bit disconcerting, but Rice is using virtual church in the sense that we can be church on Facebook as we can anywhere.

I enjoy using facebook, and I love the way it keeps me connected with family friends and colleges and I have an interest in psychology, so this book took my interest.

Rice begins with Martin Seligman’s positive psychology and what comes out on top of their research is that connection is the key to happiness, authentic connection.[1] No wonder Facebook is so popular.

In chapter 2 he looks at environmental psychology and describes;

“four homelike qualities that Facebook uniquely facilitates.”

1.       Home is where we keep all the stuff that matters to us.

2.       Home is wherever we find family.

3.       Home is where we feel safe because we can control the environment.

4.       Home is where we can just be ourselves.[2]

He looks at Malcolm Gladwell’s concept of “channel capacity” – which he used to determine that human’s can have a genuinely social relationship with a maximum of about 150 people.  The wider our social circles, the more socially and intellectually burdensome they become.

Rice uses the story or Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4.1-42) as an analogy for going into Facebook with the right mindset.  This section reminded me very much of Sister Angela’s story of the Navaho woman in the first book. Rice focuses on Jesus intentionality, humility and authenticity and then goes on to give 5 more specific hints to monitor online behaviour:

1.      Practice regular check-ins.  (checking feelings, thoughts in order  to bring us back to the present moment)

2.      Make the intention to not go online immediately before bed and immediately after waking up. (Time for God)

3.      Practice mindful Facebooking. (A bit like 1, check how much time you spend on it, check how you are feeling and how it is affecting you)

4.      Practice authentic Facebooking (Does the content of your contributions reflect your God-given nature?)

5.      Adopt one or two Facebook friends for one month.  (Pray for them, encourage them, invite them to catch up with you in person)[3]

---

[1] Rice, J The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2009), p. 28.

[2] Ibid., pp 76-82

[3] Ibid., pp. 211-215.

Free Range Social Media

In her blog  Ordinary Courage Brene Brown talks of shame being a fear of loss of connection, and that accepting the discomfort and danger of being vulnerable is what makes people wholehearted.

She has developed 3 rules for positive use of blogging.
Free Range Social Media

I think that first one, 'No Cages', is what Sister Angela was talking about as  'our way of being' or 'presence' in 'My Essay is Finished',

And Rice, in 'The Church of Facebook' uses the story of Jesus' and the Samaritan woman (John 4.1-42) as an analogy for going into facebook with the right mindset.  Rice focuses on Jesus intentionality, humility and authenticity as he interacts in a situation that is a cultural minefield.

Virtual Relationship

This is another article from Eureka Street; a response to Pope Benedict's World Day of Social Communications address, which I commented on in my post 'The Pope and the Internet'.
Pope's guide to social networking

I found the second last paragraph particularly interesting:

Ultimately all communication is mediated. It takes place through symbols. In face to face communication, for example, we are always interpreting signs. We read people's faces, compare what we see with the inner image we have of them, and adjust our image by what we learn in the new exchange. The same engagement between image and the encounter takes place in writing and in internet communication. 

This really relates to our discussion on my post

Another Film about Facebook: 'Catfish'.

All communication has a large virtual component, as in the "opposite of real, physical, or absolute"sense.  

I enjoyed Margaret's comment on the article:

margaret03 Feb 2011
A Church built largely on the blogging and messaging of one Saul of Tarsus should surely welcome such a generous endorsement of contemporary means of communication...

 Of course Paul's communication through his letters was built on plenty of face to face communication, but it is the letters that have had the lasting impact.

Thy Kingdom Connected

From the books I had bought, Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight J. Frieson appealed to me most. The archaic language of the title belied the way out thinking and language within. This is a big picture book and I felt at first I had made a mistake in selecting it.  Rather than talking about the internet and the church, this book uses the internet as a model of community and connection and communication for the church to learn from. 

For example it looks at Google as a metaphor for a leader’s role – the parable of Google.  

“We go to Google because we have come to trust that Google will consistently link us to what we seek.  Google is a hub, not of information, but links to information….This networked vision of leadership is vital to understanding who a connective leader is and what relational authority is in a networked vision of the world.”[1]

I was beginning to realise that grappling with the internet is a two or perhaps three way process.  We learn about the way the world is changing from the new technology and from there we can find the best way to use the technology but in the process we are also changed.

Already in that short quote are some of the terms Frieson has coined, new words or new uses of words to explain his concepts: hub, links, connective leader, relational authority, networked vision, but in the book there are many more: nodes (ourselves and anything we can have a relationship with), Christ Commons (Churches), Network Ecologist (Pastor) Catalytic Converters (Pastors facilitating change), Christ Clusters (Spontaneous Christian Groups), Connective Practices and And’ing (inclusiveness) and many more.

Frieson also uses Anrei Rublev’s “The Trinity” as an example of the relational connected nature of God[2], and he uses Jesus life and other examples to show the way we need a balance between control and chaos to allow God’s Spirit to enter[3].  He talks about story; all good stories are about the gospel, the great connection.[4]

---

[1] Frieson, J. D. Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks. (Grand Rappids: Baker Books, 2009), p. 81.

[2]Ibid., pp. 54-55.

[3] Ibid., pp. 96-101

[4] Ibid., p. 177.

courting-the-net.wmv

Fast Track to Divorce Courts

Thanks for this link David.

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/facebook-the-new-fast-track-to-divorce-courts-20110126-1a5f2.html

Early on I realised  that as long as I remember Facebook is public space, and I could be overheard at any time, I am not likely to get into trouble with it.

The danger is that when it is just you and the screen, it can all seem very cosy and private.

Another Film about Facebook: 'Catfish'

It says it is not a horror movie but their are scary parts so I probably won't watch this film, but the comment in the review from Eureka Street that jumped out at me, and is relevant to my study of church websites is:  

'If a "virtual relationship" affects you emotionally, then it's not virtual at all. 
Ariel Schulman.

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=24799 

Though the critics at Rotten Tomatoes give it 81% so it may well be worth seeing.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/catfish/

My essay is finished. :)

I am posting it in 7 parts over the next week.

Why should the church embrace the internet? It is seen as costly, time consuming, impersonal, confusing, irrelevant, threatening and downright dangerous for many of the people I speak to.

In this essay I will examine some of the current literature relating to the use of the internet in local churches; looking at the themes that arise in the discussions, to find out why my church should be involved in the internet. I will use my conclusions to decide how and to what extent this involvement should take place.

I found only one book in the Library for this reading unit, The Gospel in Cyberspace: Nurturing Faith in the Internet Age.   It was also the oldest, a 2002 publication, but it was valuable and set the scene for the rest of my reading.  It is written by Catholic Priest Father Pierre Babin, and Sister Angela Zukowski. They write as Catholics and frequently quote the Pope. 

The argument of the book seems to be that the internet as new medium and spawns a new culture and as with all innovations and cultures, the gospel needs to be translated into the new culture’s language.  Father Babin quotes the maxim of Mencius, “The man of a different race is a forgotten aspect of ourselves, and, thus he is a secret mirror of God”[1]  For Sister Angle the most significant symbol for the discussion is Rublev’s Trinity Icon.  It is a door to authentic community and communication.[2]

There was some discussion in the book about Christianity being at the cutting edge since Christianity began as far as media are concerned. 

“The new technology calls for a deep change in the system.  The Council of Trent also changed the system after the invention of the printing press.”[3]

Pierre examines the evangelisation that needs to take place in this new medium.  Evangelism is not proselytising he explains but needs to be a respectful authentic exchange.[4]

Sister Angela talks of a four part approach to enable effective evangelisation.

1.      Our way of being (or presence)

2.      The environment

3.      Authentic listening

4.      Action within our cultural contexts

Her example of this is going to visit a Navaho woman in her village.   She went seeking answers but the woman just smiled and kept weaving and she felt most uncomfortable.

After seeking advice she went back and sat with the weaver week after week (environment), Until she could perceive the whole range of sounds around her. (authentic listening) Eventually the woman said:

 “You know sister, several weeks ago our spirits joined.  In our silent presence with one another we were woven into a deep communion.  Have you felt it? What has it said to you? You first came to me with so many words.  Your vision was narrow.  In the silence I have learned much about you and I hope you about my people our land and myself. Now are there questions or comments you wish to make to me (action)?”

Well what could I say?  So many of my original questions appeared to no longer be relevant to the context.  I the evangeliser was being evangelised.  As we proceeded to tell stories about our spiritual experiences of the All Holy, I found we had much in common as women and seekers of spiritual truth”.[5]

---

[1] Babin, P. & Zukowski, A The Gospel in Cyberspace – Nurturing Faith in the Internet Age. (Chicago: Loyola Press,  2002), p. 193.

[2] Ibid., p. 191

[3] Ibid., p. 191

[4] Ibid., p. 177

[5] Ibid., p. 127.

The Pope and the Internet

How timely.  So nice to see the Pope coming in on the discussion.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24821