Tag Archive - narrative

The Beautiful and Intriguing Simplicity of Twitter

June 23, 2009 in Technology-Social Media with 4 Comments

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[image by Robyn Twomey]


The thing about Twitter is that it is beautiful in its simplicity, and powerful in its capability. Not everyone gets it at first…or second…or third time. But if you stick with it, it will pay off for you.

I was struck the other day with some of the common themes around the uncertainty of those who first tweet (What’s it all about?), as well as some of the subtleties that attract people to it.

Couple of things:

One, Twitter is sort of weird the first time you try it. I mean, when have you ever before sent out something in 140 characters or less to lots of friends. Okay, maybe text messages and Facebook status updates. But there is something unique about Twitter. Here is a sample from my article in Collide Magazine from March/April, and from Time Magazine’s latest cover story on Twitter.

Why Twitter? Shaping Your Narrative One Tweet at a Time

“working on my blog,” was the first tweet (Twitter slang for an update) I typed out on the mircoblogging tool Twitter on December 9, 2007. In fact, I remember clearly where I sat in our home at that moment and what thoughts of curiosity, hesitancy, and narcissism ran through my head as I posted those simple little words. It doesn’t seem like much does it? In fact, I used only 18 of the allotted 140 characters, unsure if anything I had to say was worthwhile at all. I had two questions for myself: Who is going to read this? Who cares? In and of itself, one tweet is just that: one tweet. But in the context of all the tweets that compose my growing Twitter profile, a more complex portrait of my life began to emerge, forming a narrative that is the beginning to a relational connectivity with others online, (and most likely in person) that is easier to achieve than it was before.

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. You hear about this new service that lets you send 140-character updates to your “followers,” and you think, Why does the world need this, exactly? It’s not as if we were all sitting around four years ago scratching our heads and saying, “If only there were a technology that would allow me to send a message to my 50 friends, alerting them in real time about my choice of breakfast cereal.”

Second, I think that if you think of Twitter as only isolated, short, 140 character messages at a time, then you are missing out on it’s beauty. In my opinion, it’s about the totality of your narrative you are creating. The more you tweet, the more there is to shape that story. Again, here is a sample from my Collide Magazine article below, and one from the Time Magazine cover story…I love the phrase “ambient awareness.”

Why Twitter? Shaping Your Narrative One Tweet at a Time

We all have the privilege to sit with people on a daily basis as they share various snapshots of their life with us. In fact, some of my fondest memories of being a college ministry director involve sitting across from a student at a coffee shop as we engaged one another over a cup of coffee and conversation. Those were memorable times, but one coffee talk chat was hardly enough time to even begin to get a sense of who that student was. Instead, I needed multiple trips to the coffee shop with them. One standalone conversation was just a short chapter in the larger narrative of that student’s life. But when compiled, all the conversations began to paint a beautiful portrait of who they were and what kind of story they were living.

How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live

And yet as millions of devotees have discovered, Twitter turns out to have unsuspected depth. In part this is because hearing about what your friends had for breakfast is actually more interesting than it sounds. The technology writer Clive Thompson calls this “ambient awareness”: by following these quick, abbreviated status reports from members of your extended social network, you get a strangely satisfying glimpse of their daily routines. We don’t think it at all moronic to start a phone call with a friend by asking how her day is going. Twitter gives you the same information without your even having to ask.

In your opinion, what makes Twitter so amazing?

And if you happen to be in Los Angeles September 11-12, come out and hear me speak on Twitter at the Christian Web Conference.

Why Twitter? Shaping Our Narrative One Tweet at a Time

April 14, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media with 4 Comments

why-twitter-imageI had the privilege to write an article for Collide Magazine for their March/April 2009 issue, and of course I wrote it on the topic of Twitter. But more specifically, my view on how Twitter is a shaping/sharing/telling of our narrative, one tweet at a time, to those we are in connection with. I began by saying:

“working on my blog,” was the first tweet (Twitter slang for an update) I typed out on the mircoblogging tool Twitter on December 9, 2007. In fact, I remember clearly where I sat in our home at that moment and what thoughts of curiosity, hesitancy, and narcissism ran through my head as I posted those simple little words. It doesn’t seem like much does it? In fact, I used only 18 of the allotted 140 characters, unsure if anything I had to say was worthwhile at all. I had two questions for myself: Who is going to read this? Who cares? In and of itself, one tweet is just that: one tweet. But in the context of all the tweets that compose my growing Twitter profile, a more complex portrait of my life began to emerge, forming a narrative that is the beginning to a relational connectivity with others online, (and most likely in person) that is easier to achieve than it was before.

I also list at the end of the article six reasons why I think pastors should Twitter (relationships, communication, frequency, sharing, mobilization, support).

My title for the magazine edition was “Why Twitter? Shaping Our Narrative One Tweet at a Time,” but you can read the entire article online, “Why Tweet?”

Donald Miller, J.J. Abrams and the Bible on Story and Mystery

December 12, 2008 in Uncategorized with 3 Comments

Will Smith was on Good Morning Texas talking about his new movie Seven Pounds yesterday and he began to talk about his value on the idea of “story” as in relation to his movie choices. I then sent out this Tweet:

listening to Will Smith talk about the importance of “story.” he also has a premier tonight of 7 Pounds about 2 miles from me tonight.

Following that Tweet a lot of great discussion ensued about “story.”

Depending on the context of how one uses the word “story”, that word can come to represent various things. In the context that I often use it, and am most familiar with its use…is around the idea of story, or narrative in the Bible. Or story, as that which is the sum of someone’s life. How they are living it out. I tend to be around a lot of people in ministry, the helping professions (counseling, medicine) and the arts (movies, writing, photography)…so that is how I am most familiar with it.

When I talk about “story” I am suggesting the importance of it…sometimes over and against simple fact giving and non-narrative. As a Christian I think we have sometimes lost the importance of “story” in the Bible, the Gospel, the Christian message. We grow up on “story”, hearing all the wonderful and frightening Bible stories as children or the other stories that parents read to us as well. But as we get older, something happens, and we drift away from “story”…we drift away from mystery…instead choosing to live more in facts and truths and apologetics that is detached and not driven by narrative.

I think we have lost something valuable when this happens.

There are two messages that come to my head when I think about this idea of story and mystery.

First, Donald Miller’s sermon at Mars Hill Church, “Story.” Awesome! My wife and I listened to it sometime this last year, and it really challenged us about whether or not we are living the “story” God wants for us. What kind of “story” are we telling with our lives? In fact, it was the final impetus for getting us over the hump of moving from Los Angeles to Dallas this year. (Joshua, thanks for finding this podcast link for us yesterday).

Second, J.J. Abrams: The mystery box which he gave at TED. (HT: Thanks John Dyer for the reminder about this video.) I love this talk. In fact, he makes an interesting statement:

J.J. Abrams:“What a bigger mystery box than a movie theater?”

I sometimes wonder if in our attempt to explain everything in the Bible, we have removed mystery, and therefore, have removed a very valuable component to the narrative. I guess it’s not a surprise that many call movie theaters the cathedrals of the 21st century, and that many churches meet in theaters or design their churches like theaters. Check out his talk…and sorry, he uses a few “choice” words.

8 Ingredients In Storytelling

April 25, 2008 in Ministry-Theology with 4 Comments

Drew Sams has written a great post at Collection of Crumbs.

The Power of Story in Youth Ministry (2 of 5)

Drew talks about the following 8 ingredients:

Ingredient #1 – Point of View
Ingredient #2 – Setting
Ingredient #3 – Characters
Ingredient #4 – Protagonists
Ingredient #5 – Antagonists
Ingredient #6 – Conflict
Ingredient #7 – Climax (Turning Point)
Ingredient #8 – Denoument (Resolution)

New Post at Collection of Crumbs Youth Ministry Blog

December 17, 2007 in Ministry-Theology with 0 Comments


Check out Drews Sams over at our new youth ministry blog, Collection of Crumbs, as he starts his first post of six, on The Power of Story in Youth Ministry.

Stay tuned for more writing on Junior High, High School and College Ministry.

The Changing Face of College Ministry (Part 2 of 2)

December 14, 2007 in Ministry-Theology with 0 Comments

In my post a couple of days ago I began talk about some of the changing trends in college ministry. This is my second post on this topic. These are trends based on my own experience, anecdotal evidence, conversations, readings, etc. As you see near the end of this post, a few of the trends are things that I have noticed, but I don’t know if they are necessarily a move away from something prior towards something new….or just a movement towards something new and unique. Some of them are also changes that may not be earth shattering in any way, but just unique. Like the trend towards text messaging as one of the only forms of communication with my students, versus phone and email.

So take a look at this post and the previous one, and give me any feedback you might have. I’m really curious to hear from you.

  • We know college students and students in general are always changing, but has there been a paradigm shift in college students and the types of ministry that we do?
  • If you have some further thoughts, let me know and we can interact via blog.

Move Away from Slick, Professional Looking Services/Events, Towards Organic-Authentic Services

  • Student’s seek authenticity, and if something seems to slick, it doesn’t feel organic and authentic to them. This is where the line between doing something excellent and being too professional are very blurred.
  • I just had a talk with a student yesterday who commented that he felt like our college worship service was not raw and organic enough. That the pre-programmed lights, flow and ambiance seemed too planned out and orchestrated. He is not the first that I have talked to this year or other years about this. This is a constant challenge.
  • As leaders, when we plan a service, we often have very different things in mind than those that attend. Too professional reminds them of overly rehearsed TV preachers and evangelists and can cause a bad reaction.
  • College students live very “organic lives.” (Meaning, they often go to and from on a whim, and even though they plan things out, college life is about spontaneity, and being organic and real to the moment.)

Move Away from Loyalty to One Ministry/Organization, Towards Interest, Involvement in Many Ministries/Organizations

  • It used to be that you could find a student, or student leader to commit solely to your ministry for a certain time period. Sure they have always been busy and had their things in other things. But it seems these days that they are involved in many, many things, and your ministry is just one of them. And it many not demand from them the loyalty, time or exclusion that you are expecting.
  • I think this can best be seen on Facebook and other social networking site. Students can join about 150 groups. One only has to watch the news-feed to see the groups that student’s join daily. Now, don’t get me wrong. joining a group can mean nothing. It’s online and often involves no involvement. But some do. But what it is more indicative of to me is that student’s want to be involved in as many things as possible. And to do this means that their time to your ministry is now more limited. Because now they have more access to things available because of the internet. Things that were not available to them, or they did not know about even five years ago.

Move Away from Dispensing Information via Paper , Towards Dispensing Information via Online/Web Based/Social Networking

  • I know, this is a funny one to mention. But the reality is, is that I make about three paper flyers a year, do a bulletin once a week and hang some flyers on campuses. There were several reasons. People just don’t read paper that you hand to them and it’s a waste of money and resources.
  • With Facebook, we create every flyer online in the events option, and we advertise and communicate primarily through our website. I’ve never heard students say they came to our group through bulletins or even some flyers, but rather through online networking groups and our website.
  • Online resources also help eliminate top-down authority and enable the community to collaborate, create and make decisions.

Move Away from Phone Calls, Towards Text and IM

  • I receive possibly, and I mean possibly one phone call a week on my work phone (and it’s never from a student).
  • If any student ever contacts me through a phone, it’s obviously their cell phone.
  • But even now, 9 out of 10 of my communications with students (for meetings, meeting up, questions, etc.) are through text messaging, not through a phone call. This began a couple of years ago when students sort of stopped calling and only texted, I just didn’t have a good enough phone to text rapidly. So I went out and bought one. If students can communicate without a phone call they will. I think phone calling is often seen as an invasion of privacy, especially if you are calling one you don’t know.

Move Away from Email, Towards Social Networking Messaging

  • I receive about 100 emails a day. Mostly from students. In the last few months, 5 out 10 of messages from my students to me come via Facebook now and not email. Everything they do needs to be done on one page. Why move to a different site when Facebook can do it all?

Move Away from the Traditional Favorite Christian Authors, Towards Newer Emerging Ones

Move Away from Political and Social Conservatism, Towards Moderate/Liberal

  • I know this shouldn’t really be surprising, as a lot of college students tend to lean more liberally in college than some of the other stages of life, but when it comes to Christian college students, you usually tend to get Conservatives. I remember when it was a really big deal that we had two Democrats (at least outspoken ones) in a group of about 200. That has changed. More and more students are identifying themselves as moderate and liberal, or just being disillusioned in general with both parties and wanting to vote independent. The most recent Ivy Jungle Campus Update talks about some of these trends.
  • Also, some of the leading speakers that Christian college students identify with (Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne and Donald Miller) aren’t walking billboards for the Religious Right or Republican party. If anything, they have been influencing students in other directions.

Move Towards Eco-Friendly/Green

  • Just look at the news. More and more students are trying to figure out simple ways of living more green, from recycling more responsibly, to driving more fuel saving cars, etc. Many pastors have been preaching series about God and green, so it’s not surprising that this issue has been picking up steam in the church.

Move Towards Social Justice Issues

  • I don’t know if students have ever not been interested in social justice issues. But with authors such as Shane Claiborne, and identification with more independent and liberal politics, to more awareness of global issues such as sex trafficking, etc, students have been talking to me more and more about issues related to social justice.

The Changing Face of College Ministry (Part 1 of 2)

December 13, 2007 in Ministry-Theology with 2 Comments

College is an interesting age and stage to do ministry in. It’s no surprise that college students are always changing and if one is in college ministry (or any ministry for that fact) long enough you are able to notice more readily some of those changes and trends.

I’ve been in vocational college ministry for almost ten years now:

  • 3 years at Grand Canyon University where I was an admission counselor and recruiter and where I worked on occasion with the Department of Spiritual Life as we coordinated events for students.

Over these last ten years I have had the opportunity to be a part of a lot of exciting things in ministry and it has been interesting to watch the college student change. Recently I have been in a lot of conversations with various college pastors in the local area as well as across the country. And we have spent a great deal of time talking about the changing face of college ministry. On top of that, it is interesting to continually watch the Ivy Jungle Campus Ministry Update and the changing trends they identify in college students.

What I want to do in this post is just identify a few of the trends that I have noticed. These come out of my observations and conversations with other fellow practitioners. In doing this, keep in mind that I am aware of the fact that I am casting a general stereotype which may or may not hold true for your experiences. And I’m taking into consideration that location and context greatly influence college ministry. So for everything I point out, you may or may not disagree. I would be interested in your feedback then. I’m also aware that the trends I identify are not exclusive to college ministry perhaps, but reflect a great movement in the Church.

I began working with college students on a small, liberal arts, Christian University in Phoenix, AZ, and I’m now working at a large church in Los Angeles that is composed of a lot of people in entertainment, while I work with students primarily from USC, UCLA and LMU. So that’s a little of my context.

Trends

Move Away from the Programmed Ministry, Towards Relational Ministry

  • This shouldn’t be surprising, especially since Willow Creek recently repented for their heavy reliance on program based ministry at the cost of traditional spiritual practices.
  • It used to be that if you had the right program, it would attract all the students you wanted, but now that isn’t enough. College ministry has always been relational (college students are relational by nature), but in recent years many have realized that relational ministry (relationships within the ministry) are sacrificed in order to keep the program running.

Move Away from the Big Gathering Event, Towards Smaller, More Interactive Gatherings

  • It used to be that college students were drawn to large gatherings. That is still true in some sense. But with the failure of many attempted big events on campus (I’m thinking of a handful at UCLA), to continued decreased attendance at traditional events like Forest Home’s College Briefing.
  • I was recently at a meeting with about 50 other college pastors for the upcoming Passion LA Regional Event, and the looming question was whether or not such an event could be pulled off in Los Angeles.

Move Away from Watching, Towards Participating

  • College students don’t want to simply come to a worship service, or outreach project and watch. They want to participate. That might not mean preaching, speaking or playing an instrument, but they want to participate in the planning of the event, and also participate as a worshiper in a service. It’s not good enough to sit on their hands in a service while others do all the work/performance. There has to be an element of participation.
  • This trend can be seen in the increasing number of prayer and art stations at college services and conferences. It’s hard to find a conference these days or a college service that doesn’t incorporate elements of small groups, group prayer, contemplative stations, etc. in their service.

Move Away from Expository Preaching Only, Towards a More Story Based/Narrative-Expository Combination

  • When I first started in college ministry I used to preach pretty expository, verse by verse in my sermons. But now I have had to learn how to incorporate more elements of narrative preaching and story telling into my sermons. This is something that I am glad to see happen.
  • But college students today have been raised in a story telling culture (not unlike other generations). But with the new media, computers, video games, movies, etc., they are immersed in story.
  • “The Christian mission is not well served when we speak in terms of spiritual laws or rational formulas. Propositional truths, when extracted from a narrative context, lack meaning. ‘The chief role of a Christian,’ he says, ‘is to tell a better story.’ Donald Miller in Christianity Today. Don’t underestimate the influence of Donald Miller in shaping the college mind in this area. The event that we hosted Donald Miller at in October of 2005 to this day has been our biggest draw and most popular/commented/challenging event so far from student’s perspectives. Though our event with Rob Bell is close if not equal.

Move Away from Top-Down Hierarchical Leadership, Towards a Bottom-Up, Flattened Leadership

  • I can’t say enough about this topic. But students today are very, very suspect of a ministry or organization with hierarchical leadership. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have it in a ministry, but student’s automatically will be suspect about it, especially in a church setting. Student’s today don’t want their churches or ministries to reflect corporate structures.
  • My thoughts on this issue were best addressed when some other’s commented on the moral failure of many leaders in our culture: whether it was the Jimmy Swaggart scandal, or the Bill Clinton White House scandal, etc., students are suspect of those in power.
  • Students want to see ministries that model servant, downward mobility leadership. (Read Henri Nouwen and others on this topic.)

These are just some of my thoughts based on observation, conversation and study. I will be posting two more times on this issue within the next seven days. But I would be interested in what I have posted so far.

  • What do you think of some of the trends I have identified?
  • What trends have you noticed?
  • Where is college ministry going?
  • Some may think of these trends as being one and the same with the “emerging church.” But I would say they neither are or aren’t “emergent” but part of a larger, more foundational paradigm shift. Thoughts?