Just when you thought 3,000 people being baptized in one day was crazy (Acts 2:41), along came Web 2.0 (and now 3.0). I saw this video over at Emergent Nazarenes:

What does this mean? It certainly makes me consider the impact a single blog post or video could have if it “goes viral” (gains massive popularity on the internet). How will we handle all of this information?

I saw an article the other day talking about Web 3.0, “taming the deluge of data.” The author of the article, David Griner, gives the following definitions of Web 1.0 through 3.0:

Web 1.0: Mainstream media and retailers dominate, using traditional approaches to broadcasting and sales.

Web 2.0: Blogging, peer-to-peer sharing and Google empower the masses to communicate openly. The old guard struggles to remain relevant.

Web 3.0: Mainstreaming of social media creates a constant flow of information. Challenge for users and businesses alike is to harness the flood without drowning.

Griner cites Twitter as an example of Web 3.0, or at least of its emergence. What do you think? Is Web 3.0 just another cliché or it a genuine shift in how the internet is being used? What does this mean for you?

Yes, the Pope has officially launched his own YouTube channel. The Christian Post reports:

The Vatican said it was launching the channel to broaden Benedict’s audience while also giving the Holy See better control over the papal image online. . . .

. . . . The site, http://www.youtube.com/vaticanit, was launched the same day the pontiff praised as a “gift to humanity” the benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in forging friendships and understanding.

But Benedict also warned that virtual socializing had its risks, saying “obsessive” online networking could isolate people from real social interaction and broaden the digital divide by further marginalizing people.

And in his message for the World Day of Communications, he urged producers of new media to ensure that the content respected human dignity and the “goodness and intimacy of human sexuality.”

The 81-year-old pope has been extremely wary of new media and their effect on society, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence.

Now if the Pope has managed to begin his own YouTube channel, I don’t want to hear any pastors tell me they can’t even start a Facebook account. I think this speaks volumes about Web 2.0 and its effect on our world and culture. The Catholic Church isn’t exactly known for its rapid adaptivity to cultural and technological change, yet they’ve apparently gotten on board with this one faster than most Protestant churches. It is becoming all too clear that Christianity 2.0 will embrace technology as a means of communicating the Gospel and connecting people.

I gleaned the term “friendonomics” from Scott Brown in a Wired article he wrote about Facebook. In that article, he says,

Thanks to Facebook, I never lose touch with anyone. And that, my Friend, is a problem.

Hey, want to be my friend? It’s more than possible; it’s probable. Hell, we may already be friends—I haven’t checked my email in a few minutes. And once we are, we will be, as they say, 4-eva. A perusal of my Facebook Friend roster reveals that I, a medium-social individual of only middling lifetime popularity, have never lost a friend. They’re all there: elementary school friends, high school friends, college friends, work friends, friends of friends, friends of ex-girlfriends—the constellation of familiar faces crowds my Friendbox like medals on Mussolini’s chest. I’m Friend-rich—at least onscreen. I’ve never lost touch with anyone, it seems. What I’ve lost is the right to lose touch. This says less about my innate lovability, I think, than about the current inflated state of Friendonomics.

Yes, I know he said ‘hell’, so did Jesus — get over it. Aside from that, this raises a serious point. I’ve written about Facebook before, and I’ve even mentioned how you never lose touch with people using the service, but Brown really hit the nail on head when he said, “What I’ve lost is the right to lose touch.” He goes on to say:

“A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature,” Emerson wrote, not bothering to add, “and like most things natural, friendship is biodegradable.” We scrawl “Friends Forever” in yearbooks, but we quietly realize, with relief, that some bonds are meant to be shed, like snakeskin or a Showtime subscription. It’s nature’s way of allowing you to change, adapt, evolve, or devolve as you wish—and freeing you from the exhaustion of multifront friend maintenance. Fine, you can “Remove Friend,” but what kind of [person] actually does that? Deletion is scary—and, we’re told, unnecessary in the Petabyte Age. That’s what made good old-fashioned losing touch so wonderful—friendships, like long-forgotten photos and mixtapes, would distort and slowly whistle into oblivion, quite naturally, nothing personal. It was sweet and sad and, though you’d rarely admit it, necessary.

And maybe that’s the answer: A Facebook app we’ll call the Fade Utility. Untended Friends would gradually display a sepia cast on the picture, a blurring of the neglected profile—perhaps a coffee stain might appear on it or an unrelated phone number or grocery list. The individual’s status updates might fade and get smaller. The user may then choose to notice and reach out to the person in some meaningful way—no pokes! Or they might pretend not to notice. Without making a choice, they could simply let that person go. Would that really be so awful?

I thought this was a neat idea about a ‘Fade Utility’, but aside from that, why has “friendonomics” become such an issue? I think a lot of people in my generation and younger migrate from Myspace to Facebook once they get a few years into college, in order to do away with the past, but often the old friends find you there, too. Myspace is even trying to replicate Facebook lately, with the creation of “Apps”, “People You May Know”, and other Facebook-cloned programs.

I think this causes a huge stunt in maturity for many Web 2.0 kiddies. And it’s beginning to stunt the growth of Busters and Boomers who are new to the technology as well, as they get caught up in the friend-o-drama of “friendonomics”. In real life, you simply “fall out of touch” with people, but in Web 2.0, you have to intentionally delete them as a friend. That causes a major crisis of conscience for many, and so they stay connected to hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of people whom they never interact with on a regular basis, aside from social networking antics such as “getting poked” or being invited to take part in some ridiculous application or cause.

What does this mean for Christianity 2.0? I really don’t think is a whole lot different from how the faith looks now, actually. What do I mean? Well, you show up for church on Sunday mornings, and there’s a whole slew of people you only interact with in that setting. In many cases, neither party really opens up to the other in a real and meaningful way, and they may even be annoyed by each other. Still, they continue to say “peace of the Lord” to one another every Sunday with a smile, never making any real connection. Take this over to the Web 2.0 realm, where now they’ve become friends on Myspace (or Facebook). They look at each others’ family photos, comment on one another’s walls on holidays and on each others’ birthdays, and they may even be sure to include them in their “top friends.” But what constitutes a “top friend”? And why so cordial with no real connection?

I’m not exempting myself here, I do it all the time — but I’m sick of it. My wife and I have been very blunt and authentic with people lately, and it’s not very popular. But you sure learn who your friends are quick. How can we be more blunt and “real” using Web 2.0? What can the church do to ensure that Christianity 2.0 isn’t a game of Schrades, where we all play our respective roles?

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.” –William Shakespeare

Church folks typically hide their sins and trade more noticeable sins for ones that are easier to hide. I think one of Satan’s best tactical deceptions has been to get God’s people to associate most sins with shame, guilt and embarrassment — and thus not share them. The worst part is that Satan has gotten church people to view people who struggle with sin more negatively. Most people in church will readily confess that they are sinful, but few can point to specific sins they struggle with or have been delivered from. Without real sin, there is no real Savior! But if your sin is real, then your Savior must be also! The reason we struggle with “dead churches” is that we have lost our gratitude — because we do not truly see ourselves as being sinful.

The Bible says to “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). I don’t know about you, but I long for that healing, and the transparency and profound relationships that come through it.

So where do we go from here? I’d say being yourself, i.e. becoming authentic is a great start. And after you can do that, it’s time to do some friend-purging. . . .

Are you overwhelmed by the sheer amount of social media services and Web 2.0? Do you feel as though it is impossible to keep up with the curve? You are not alone. ProBlogger wrote about this today. I was surprised to learn that the author of ProBlogger does this 60-70 hours per week, and he still feels like he can’t keep up sometimes. That’s a lesson to the rest of us who have full-time jobs and do this on the side: it’s ok — you don’t have to be on the cutting edge all the time. In his post he goes on to say:

My Mum isn’t on Facebook, she’s never heard of Twitter, she things YouTube is a deodorant stick and things RSS is something most people keep in their boxer shorts.

Sometimes it feels like we’re falling behind in adopting technology but it is good remind ourselves that what we do do online is actually ahead of the curve of the majority of ‘real people’.

What I remind myself on those days when I feel overwhelmed by it all is that 95% of the people who read my main blog don’t really care that much about social media or web 2.0 – they’re coming to my blog to read information on how to use their cameras.

As a result my core task is to develop that content and to distribute it using mediums that they are familiar with. My core task is NOT to have my finger on the pulse of every new technology. While it can be helpful to know about the latest widgets and tools to become distracted by them could actually be taking me further away from my audience.

This is very true. Remember that us Web 2.0 folks are far ahead of the curve of your average web user. Don’t become so distracted by social media that you neglect content and forget to enjoy yourself on the web!

An article in the Associated Press today made the point that young adults today seems to be the most influenced in regards to religion, politics, ideology, etc. while in college. The interesting point though was that it’s not professors who influence them the most, but their peers. The article begins by saying:

On issues such as abortion, gay marriage and religion, college students shift noticeably to the left from the time they arrive on campus through their junior year, new research shows.

The reason, according to UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, isn’t indoctrination by left-leaning faculty but rather the more powerful influence of fellow students. And at most colleges, left-leaning peer groups are more common than conservative ones. . . .

The percentage [of college students] who never attend religious services nearly doubled to 37.5 percent.

Hmm, makes you think, doesn’t it? Pirated music isn’t the only thing being transferred through peer-to-peer sharing. It looks like quite a few ideas are being shared that radically change people’s worldview during college.

Identity Formation
Part of this could be because college students are in a crucial identity formation stage where they are seeking input about who they are and what they really believe and value. Psychologist Erik Erikson proposed his stages of psychosocial development, and the two stages relevant to our discussion are adolescence and young adulthood. He proposes that in each stage we are presented with a conflict that is to be resolved, and satisfactory resolution of the conflict indicates whether or not we will progress and mature in a healthy way. The primary conflict of adolescence, from the teens into the early 20’s, is what Erikson calls “Identity vs. Role Confusion.” The main question in this stage is “Who am I?” The adolescent is very concerned with fitting in and being accepted. If the main influence from their peers is liberal agnosticism, what do you think they’ll believe? In the next stage of young adulthood, which Erikson defines as 20’s to 40 years, the primary conflict is “Intimacy vs. Isolation.” The young adult begins to ask, “Am I loved and wanted?” Don’t you think it is important for more mature adults to be instructing young adults from the Bible during this crucial stage in life?

The College Peer-to-Peer Idea Sharing Network: Facebook
I was sitting in a coffee shop in Naperville, IL yesterday waiting for my wife to finish an appointment. I began listening to the conversations of the people sitting around me, who happened to be mostly young adults close to my age. If I had a dollar for the number of times I heard the word “facebook,” I could have bought everybody in the place an overpriced cappuccino. For those of you who aren’t familiar, facebook is a social networking site that was initially available only to college students, which is what I was when I joined in 2004, shortly after its inception. Since 2006, anyone can join (for more information on facebook, see this Wikipedia article).

People who didn’t even have computers in front of them at the moment were talking about their recent interactions on facebook. Myspace was also mentioned a few times, but it is losing popularity among students entering their sophomore year of college who want to leave high school drama behind.

This is huge! While just five years ago you probably had to become a college student or at least live near a college campus in order to influence the lives of students, now anyone can jump onto facebook and begin forming meaningful relationships with them! With the aid of $5 webcam, cheap PC mic, and a free skype account, you can even chat “face to face” with students. Being a technological genius is not necessary, simply caring enough to try is all you need. I went through a period of extreme depression in college and dropped out at one point, and an older couple was instrumental in helping me get back on my feet. By the way, I consider them as adopted parents today, and I keep in touch with them on facebook! They have grandchildren, so don’t tell me you can’t learn how to do this.

But Why Would College Students Listen To Me?
Relevance is not a prerequisite, only a heart that cares. Remember what I wrote about identity formation at this stage in life? The three main things a young adult wants to know are: “Am I accepted?” “Am I significant?” “Am I secure, free to be myself?” Guess what? prayeramedic.com has already developed a tool to help you answer these questions scripturally. It’s called the Truth Sheets and they are available for free on this website! The Truth Sheets are fully customizable, so you can input someone’s name into them and print them out, or simply send the link to someone. P.S. the link is http://prayeramedic.com/truth-sheets/

And if you just aren’t sure where or how to get started on facebook, I’d love to help you. Click here to add me as a friend on facebook, then send me a message mentioning this blog and I’ll be happy to help you as much as I can! If I don’t recognize you I will probably send you a message asking you where I know you from prior to adding you as a friend anyways. Just mention this blog post and it’ll all be kosher.

Anyways, I hope this post helped you understand that you don’t need to be a Web 2.0 guru to become a mentor in the life of a young adult, you simply need to care. I also hope I convinced you to join facebook if you haven’t already, as it is a powerful tool that allows you to share ideas with a generation that desperately needs your Godly input.

• How might the anonymity of facebook make it easier for a young adult to open their heart to you? How could it make it more difficult?
• Do you feel as though Web 2.0 is a valuable tool for discipling the next generation?
• Does your fear of inadequacy inhibit you from stepping into the world of Web 2.0 or sharing your ideas with a young adult? Do the truth sheets apply to people of all ages and stages in life?

I saw a great article yesterday about Larry Osborne and his recent book, Sticky Church. The content of the article (and apparently of the book) really resonated with a lot of what I’ve been thinking and reading about lately. Osborne is focusing on what he calls the church’s back door: where we lose people.

When it comes to growing a healthy church, Pastor Larry Osborne doesn’t survey the front door to see how he can attract large crowds and wow them with a special program. For the most part, his eyes are glued to the back door.

That’s because so many churches have been losing people, and some, without even noticing.

“As long as the front door is larger than our back door or even equal, we often think things are okay. And if the front door is larger, we’re excited that we’re growing,” Osborne said as he explained how many churches lose almost as many people as they reach.

“Rather than reaching 100 people, 20 of which we keep, I’d rather reach 50 people, 40 of which we keep,” he told The Christian Post.

He goes on to talk about how to develop a “sticky church,” that is, a church that bonds and connects, a church that focuses more on keeping people than on reaching people.

While the familiar first half calls Christians to go into all the world and make disciples, the second half goes further in urging believers to teach others to observe all things Jesus taught them. . . .

The sticky church concept is about discipleship, Osborne stressed, not church growth.

At North Coast, discipleship is best played out through sermon-based small groups. Osborne has found small groups to currently be the most effective way of being a sticky church and helping people to grow spiritually.

George Barna has been saying this for awhile. The current president of the Barna Research Group, David Kinnaman, even wrote a book entitled unChristian, which deals with the church’s failure to monitor the back door and maintain a positive public image in the world. I wrote a three part series on this book at prayeramedic.com a couple months ago that you should check out for more information.

The church has been missing the boat! The church has been so busy focusing on programs and agendas to grow the church that it has entirely missed the bottom line: an authentic and intentional Christ-focused community. Campaigns and flashy gimmicks might get people in the door, but if we don’t deliver the true gospel and facilitate the necessary resulting fellowship, we might as well stop claiming that it’s all about Jesus. In that case, it’s just about man and bigger numbers. I grow weary of pastors boasting about how many people “got saved” or “got baptized” last year, but maybe 25% of them are sitting in the pews! Osborne suggests that this does even more harm than good:

“When we keep people for only a short time, what we’ve done is more likely inoculate them to Christianity rather than help them get the real disease,” Osborne noted. “Once someone’s been to church for a while, kind of connected and then fades out, it is really hard, outside of a major crisis in their life, to reach them again.”

After all, Osborne writes in his book, Jesus didn’t call churches to draw big crowds or just sign people up. “He told us to make disciples,” he says.

For Osborne, it’s about fulfilling the second half of the Great Commission, instead of just the first half.

I hope there are more pastors like Osborne who bring us back to the central focus and correct execution of the Great Commission.

Developing a Sticky Church… 2.0
When reading this article, I couldn’t help but wonder if there are any Christianity 2.0 principles to be gleaned here?

In many ways, Web 2.0 allows for a community to be “sticky” much easier than face-to-face group interactions. For example, prior to my generation, you basically fell out of touch with most middle and high school friends after graduation and moved on in life. Because of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, staying in touch with folks from the past has gotten much simpler — almost too simple! Some things are best left forgotten as we mature, but social networking can awaken old wounds and drama if we aren’t careful. At the same time, I have several friends from the past who I still don’t interact with, I simply visit their profile on occasion to see how they’ve been doing. Have you ever thought, “I wonder what John is doing these days”? Now you can find out (unless John’s profile has been set to private and he won’t add you as a friend), without having to have cordial chit-chat with the individual.

But despite the drawbacks of social networking, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Last week I was invited to a small get-together via Facebook. I was able to chat with the host of the event briefly in an instant messaging window to find out more details, and then submitted my RSVP as “Maybe” through an electronic form moments later. I didn’t have to mail anything back to someone, nor did I need to pick up a phone. Within five minutes of receiving the invite, the host knew my inclination to possibly attend. Can you imagine the implications for events at your church? Here is a sample event I created on Facebook just as a joke to illustrate all of the Web 2.0 possibilities of using this as a tool:

Screen Shot of Facebook Event

In the screen shot above, notice that people have far more options than simply RSVPing to this event. Users can post photos or video of past parties, things they’d like to say to the group being invited, or more. You can see who else has already confirmed that they will be attending, if the host has allowed it, you can invite other friends — the possibilities are limitless.

Wrapping It Up
Ok, I know I spent a lot of time focusing on the ‘event’ capability of Facebook, but I want to be sure to give specific examples of using social networking in Christianity 2.0. Many complain that people talk about Web 2.0 but never explain how to actually break into this new and exciting world. Hence my examples in this post and starting points in my explanation of Christianity 2.0. I hope this post has helped you understand that building a “Sticky Church” is necessary, and Christianity 2.0 can help make this a reality with its unique platform.

• I mentioned digging up old drama and past wounds, what are some other dangers of Web 2.0 connectivity?
• Do you feel the advantages of Web 2.0 outweigh the disadvantages?
• How can we be more “sticky” in real life and in web interactions?

Yesterday I posted a video that talks about the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Since many are confused as to what Web 2.0 is, I offer a great definition from Stilton Studios’ glossary of terms:

Web 2.0 is a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies (the practice of categorizing content through tags). Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the internet.

Three terms that jump out at me are “collaboration”, “communities”, and “social-networking”. These three terms define Web 2.0 fairly well. prayeramedic.com is a blog that will discuss how revolutionary change within our culture, such as Web 2.0, affects our concept of community and Christianity in general. I have dubbed this transformation “Christianity 2.0,” that is, the emerging technological movement within the culture that changes the parameters of social interaction in our faith. As a young adult, I offer you a perspective on Christianity and church from a generation that has all but disappeared from both. This is a forum for people of all ages to discuss this transformation and learn from one another.

prayeramedic.com wants to help you make sense of the emerging technological movements in our world today that are reshaping and defining social interaction and what it means to be in community, both areas in which Christians should be known for leading lasting change. We cannot stand by and let an entire generation slip out of the church’s fingers because it is unable to relate to them. We also cannot afford to completely compromise to cultural standards and allow culture to dictate how we “do church.” We must emerge as leaders in social networking, and set the standards for how community can exist in a Web 2.0 world, with Christ at it’s center.

Why does any of this matter to me as a Christian?

All the believers were together and had everything in common. (Acts 2:44, NIV)

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)

The older women. . . can train the younger women. . . . Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. . . . (Titus 2:3-7, NIV)

There are numerous passages of scripture dealing with the need for community and fellowship amongst believers. We must encourage, teach, rebuke, guide, and train one another. In yesterday’s post about the anthropology of Web 2.0, I posed the question, “In a cultural context that continuously values individuality, could Web 2.0 have something to do with a longing within each of us for community and collectivism?” I would assert that that’s exactly what it’s about, and as Christians it is vital for us to be leaders in this emergent form of community.

I cited Titus 2 because it is crucial for older and more mature believers to embrace the Christianity 2.0 community so that they can mold and help mature it. If the only people who embrace this cultural shift are young adults, then we will look to each other’s input to grow and mature. Wouldn’t it be so great if older and more mature individuals were contributing valuable input to the community? Not only is this a great idea, it’s necessary for optimal growth!

The Greek word from which we get our English word “church” is ἐκκλησία (ekklesia). This word literally means “called out ones”, and in ancient times was used to denote an “assembly, congregation, or council.” Even the word itself invites us to be “called out ones” in a new and exciting age where we can embrace and shape the early foundations of Christianity 2.0.

So What Can I Do?
At this point you might be saying to yourself, “Well that’s all fine and dandy, but I have no clue how to even begin with Web 2.0. How am I supposed to relate to this generation and keep up with all this technology?” It may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s really not too bad. My first recommendation is to get young adults in your church involved. They will probably be your subject matter experts on this stuff. Here are four things every church should have, that give you at least a basic presence in the Web 2.0 world:

1. A web site that has pictures of your worship experience and a design theme that captures the atmosphere of your church, with at least one element of dynamic content. A static page is one that is rarely changed or updated, such as a biography of your church. A dynamic page continually features new content, such as a church events calendar. This is actually really simple and cheap to do using vCHURCHES if you don’t have the money to drop on a custom design. I know several pastors in their 30’s – 50’s who are able to maintain very relevant websites using this tool, who had little to no technical background to begin with.
2. A church blog (linked to or incorporated into your web site), or blogs for various lead staff members of the church. There are tons of free blogging platforms for you to get started with such as WordPress, Blogger, or LiveJournal.
3. A Myspace or Facebook account (preferably both, with links to and from your web site). Not only can you have a main profile for your church, individual ministries within the church can have their own profiles as well with custom themes best portraying their unique attributes. Be sure to add all of your sub-profiles to your top friends!
4. A lead staff member who regularly checks, updates, and maintains the three above-mentioned items. I cannot emphasize this one enough. DO NOT rely on a volunteer to handle all of this. You must be sure this becomes the responsibility of someone on the payroll. Too many web sites go stagnant when a young adult decides to leave a church or when an irresponsible youth inadvertently allows a spammer to get a hold of your Myspace profile and post links to pornographic websites on it.

For individuals, I recommend steps two and three for you. These are just a few suggestions to get you started in the Web 2.0 world, and to help you become a leader of lasting change in Christianity 2.0.

The church is rapidly evolving and becoming an organic network of communities, moving away from the traditional focus on a building and a local activity-oriented agenda. Change is being made towards a global and boundary-free approach to social networking, which is changing the way we “do church” and think about Christian community.

• What have you been doing in the Web 2.0 world?
• How can you share your faith with people you have never even met?
• What are some challenges to authenticity that are posed by a Web 2.0 world?
• What are some possibly unexplored new trails in the world of Christianity 2.0?

If you can set aside 55 minutes and 33 seconds, watch this video! This was on ProBlogger today. It really explains the Web 2.0 phenomenon and the anthropological significance of it. It’s NOT boring, check it out!

If you take the time to watch this, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Whether or not you watched the video, here are some questions to ponder:

• In a cultural context that continuously values individuality, could Web 2.0 have something to do with a longing within each of us for community and collectivism?
• What are some pro’s and con’s to this sort of community?
• Being that Web 2.0 incorporates text, video, photos, interactive applications, surveys, and more; what might Web 3.0 look like?
• How does Web 2.0 affect Christianity? Could we call the new internet phenomenon within the faith “Christianity 2.0?”