Luke 24:13-25

The road to Emmaus is one of the best biblical accounts of how social media works. And I find it striking that in this 2000-year-old account of a resurrection appearance of Jesus Christ we have the very fundamentals of social media. But then again should I be surprised? The Gospel is, after all, always astonishing.

In this passage Jesus appears to the disciples, although they do not yet know who he is. He walks with them along the long and dusty road. He comes into relationship with them. Jesus dialogues with them and lets them open up to him about themselves and what has just transpired in Jerusalem. Jesus does not force the conversation or push content upon them instead he builds a relationship.

After a time, once a relationship has been established, Jesus continues to dialogue with them, but he also begins to offer content. He opens their minds to scripture. This is tricky of course, because this is the moment when we would want to push content upon people, but instead Jesus demonstrates for us that the time is not yet right. Instead, He focuses on building the relationship, understanding a subject (namely the scriptures) and how we must first come to walk together before being bombarded with content, the finale is when he appears to the disciples in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus on the road to Emmaus knows something fundamentally important about relationship building that we lose at times in social media. We push content, new post, new blogs, new sermons posted to the web. We push content in the hopes of gaining new followers and new “likes”. We purchase ads to further our reach and further the reach of our content. And by doing so we forget what Jesus talked about so long ago, and that is to come into relationship with people.

Pushing content seems natural to us. Having something new up on our Facebook pages and websites seems critically important in an ever-increasing world based on consumption. Yet, I think, Jesus is demonstrating for us on that long and dusty road that instead of consuming, we ought to be coming into relationship with one another.

So always remember, that while content is important, so also is it important to stop, engage and interact with those that like, comment or share our posts. Take time in your day to read what others put forward on their social networks and work on building relationships. Enter into dialogue and discuss, get to know one another.

In today’s media savvy world, it does not take long to develop a reputation as a spammer, content pusher and a social media version of an ads pusher. And remember we count success not in number of likes, multiple points of entry into our churches or growth, but we count success always in the spreading of the Gospel message and coming into real relationship with our brothers and sisters.

Churches often wish to jump on bandwagons as a means to reach people and to tell the story of Jesus Christ, to share the good news and how peoples lives can be transformed. The church’s desire to jump onto the social media bandwagon is no different.

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with jumping on bandwagons, or being a little late to the game so to speak, unless that is cheering for the Leafs. That is always wrong. But I digress.

Yet before getting onto the social media bandwagon, there are a few things that you should consider before jumping into the social media world. First of all, this is not a once off campaign, but a new form communication. In reality a new relationship with people, and it does not stop once we “get” what we want.

As well, once the train has left station, it is very hard to turn it around and start over again. And there is a process of letting go of the message. Social media by its nature is public and once your message is out there, it is out there. You will not be able to control it. Therefore I offer a few things for your consideration when planning your social media endeavours and for the people tasked with being church community managers.

1) Do you have the resources for such a campaign?

Resources must be allocated to the endeavour, and these consist not only of financial resources, but also technical and human resources. Who will be responsible for updates and engage with your audience? Do you have the right technology and the right platforms? Who will maintain the technology? Does the person in charge know how to use the platform properly and understand the etiquette involved?

2) Who is your target audience? What platforms are you going to use to reach them?

Any job to be done right needs the proper tools. Therefore, knowing not only your target audience, but also where your target audience is, as in on what platform, is key.

For instance, being aware that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is 55-65 year old women is crucial if that is the demographic that you are targeting. It is also then important to know NOT to waste time, energy and resources on other platforms like Twitter if few or none of your audience is active there.

3) Engage, engage, engage.

Seems self-explanatory, but far too often this is overlooked. If someone leaves a comment on a blog or Facebook page, make sure to answer it. Even if that is just to acknowledge that you have seen it. In the case of negative comments, one must exercise caution in not appearing to ignore the dissenter, but also not in engaging in an escalating turf war. Also there is a difference between disagreements and trolling. Learn it, and never feed the trolls.

It just looks bad if you are broadcasting without engaging. A good analogy for engagement is a priest or pastor who only ever talks, talks and talks and never listens to his/her parishioners. Nothing looks worse for social engagement then talking without listening and responding.

4) Be an expert. You are the evangelist. Know the ins and outs.

Having the answer on the tip of your tongue or the tips of your fingers is important. Knowing your church or program is key. You need to be able to answer any question or direct people to those that can in a timely manner. It is okay to say, “I don’t know but I will find out for you”.

Knowing also shows you care. And nothing is more authentic in relationship building than personally caring. So study hard.

5) Have goals and measurements in mind to judge success.

Define your goals. Set targets. If your goal is to grow the church, then know by how much you want to grow your church. Set benchmarks along the way. Meeting the benchmarks will give your community excitement along the way, but also make those who come because of your campaign feel part of the success. Which, of course, will cycle that energy back into your project or campaign.

Of course there are many other nuances to keep in mind, and this is not an exhaustive list. It has, however, some basics to keep in mind when constructing a social media campaign and preparing to launch a new program.

As with the success of all ventures, the success is in the planning. So take some time and analyze the ways in which you will answer the above list, and with some careful planning and a little luck, social media will indeed help you achieve the goals of your church, its campaign and the effectiveness of your new program.

I love this commercial. Not because I love Midas, or I have fond memories of my years turning wrenches. Although I do have many fond memories of working as a mechanic and that bay at J&S Service Station back in Ottawa, but I digress.

I love this commercial because it sums up so clearly and succinctly why social media is important in today’s world. It shows clearly the power of social media and peer-to-peer communication, and it also shows what is commonly referred to as brand evangelism, as the customers become the means of advertising your business, services or dare I say your church.

In today’s age most people will Google you first but then also ask for recommendations from their peers. Simply put, it is now a rarity that people will just walk into your building to give you a try, whether you are a mechanic or a church.

Developing a web presence is no longer a luxury, but also what is becoming increasingly clear, as seen by this Midas commercial, is that failing to have a social media presence will leave you and your church years behind.

Eric Qualman describe the ROI on social media simply as this, “your business will still exist in 5 years.” While I think perhaps he is being a wee bit of a sensationalist, he does allude to a very good point. Social media and peer-to-peer communication is the new frontier of advertising. Through social media one is able to build trusting relationships were your own people would be willing to recommend you to their friends.

The growth of your church through social media, therefore, is not about one person, a young priest who Tweets or uses Facebook or Google+ well. It actually becomes about a community, and about all people of the church taking on the role of evangelist and living into the Great Commission.

And that more than anything, is why I love what this commercial and what social media represents.

I couldn't resist the temptation (or the irony)....

Copyright is an issue discussed in many churches far less than it ought to be. I have seen countless examples of churches breaking or ignoring copyright law, mainly for one of two reasons:

1. Ignorance of the copyright laws
2. The belief that because of its non-profit status or overall ‘good intentions’ the church is somehow exempt from certain laws

Of course, it should go without saying that neither of these are valid reasons for breaking copyright law or any laws for that matter. But somehow this one seems to slip through the cracks.

So what can we, as a church, do to protect ourselves and protect and honour the producers of materials that we wish to use? How can we use materials fairly while respecting those who used their time and talents to produce them? How can we understand what copyright law covers and what is available for Fair Dealing?

At the root, education is the key. Ignorance of the laws simply cannot be an excuse. I for one have unfortunately broken copyright laws because of my personal lack of understanding. As such, I have recently taken it upon myself to begin to educate myself about copyright law. Realizing how little I know, I was inspired to write about the experience and share the knowledge that I discovered.

Why Copyright Law?

Copyright laws exist to protect content creators and ensure that they receive fair compensation for their work, which may also be their livelihood. The term Fair Use is an American term and is often used in explaining copyright law, but Canada has a slightly different approach called Fair Dealing.

When considering Fair Dealing, there are a number of things to keep in mind:

1. The Purpose of the Dealing Is it for research, private study, criticism, review or news reporting? It expresses that “these allowable purposes should not be given a restrictive interpretation or this could result in the undue restriction of users’ rights.” In particular, the Court gave a “a large and liberal interpretation” to the notion of research, stating that “lawyers carrying on the business of law for profit are conducting research”.
2. The Character of the Dealing How were the works dealt with? Was there a single copy or were multiple copies made? Were these copies distributed widely or to a limited group of people? Was the copy destroyed after being used? What is the general practice in the industry?
3. The Amount of the Dealing How much of the work was used? What was the importance of the infringed work? Quoting trivial amounts may alone sufficiently establish fair dealing as there would not be copyright infringement at all. In some cases even quoting the entire work may be fair dealing. The amount of the work taken must be fair in light of the purpose of the dealing.
4. Alternatives to the Dealing Was a “non-copyrighted equivalent of the work” available to the user? Was the dealing “reasonably necessary to achieve the ultimate purpose”?
5. The Nature of the Work Copying from a work that has never been published could be more fair than from a published work “in that its reproduction with acknowledgement could lead to a wider public dissemination of the work – one of the goals of copyright law. If, however, the work in question was confidential, this may tip the scales towards finding that the dealing was unfair.”
6. Effect of the Dealing on the Work Is it likely to affect the market of the original work? “Although the effect of the dealing on the market of the copyright owner is an important factor, it is neither the only factor nor the most important factor that a court must consider in deciding if the dealing is fair.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_dealing#Canada

Individuals, churches and other organizations may use these categories determine whether they may use copyright materials. Although during my time in the church, I must admit, I have witnessed many obvious violations to these rules due to either ignorance or arrogance.

To help individual churches and priest conform to copyright law in Canada, what follows is some general infractions that occurs and some general information of how to comply with copyright law.

Images

General

When looking for images for a website, blog post, sermon series or poster, the first instinct of many churches is to do a google search and take the first image found. This is easy, but it’s also a violation of Fair Dealing.

Many artists are willing to allow free use of their images but require acknowledgement of their work. This creates traffic back to their portfolio and can increase sales and provide for their livelihood.

Something also to consider, is some artist will allow certain organizations to use their materials for free but not others. Artists are allowed to determine the “moral” use of their images. For instances, an atheistic artist may allow free use of his/her image except for religious organizations.

Even when an image is free, it is best to check with the artist or read the parameters that govern the use of the image.

Images in Sermons

Using a photographer’s pictures or a designer’s Photoshop files in a sermon PowerPoint presentation, may be allowed, but only if acknowledgement of the artist is sited at the end of the presentation or the artist has given permission for its use.

Images in promotional materials

Using unauthorized images in church flyers for a parish event would constitute copyright infringement even if acknowledgment were given to the artist. In this case permission from the artist is needed or the image needs to be purchased.

Solution

When it comes to images, there is a wealth of free resources online. http://www.christianphotos.net/, http://www.creativemyk.com/ and sxc.hu are excellent starting points for churches looking for royalty-free images.

If you have an image that you want to use but don’t know where it came from, http://www.tineye.com is a website that can help find the original source of the image. Once you know that, you can ask permission or determine if using it would be considered Fair Dealing.

Films

Pizza and Movie night or Film and Discussion groups are a common educational tool in many churches. But often, these are in direct violation of copyright law and Fair Dealing.

These free nights affect the market value of the copyright work.

Solution

Fortunately, there is once again a simple solution. A licence to show many movies at church events will cost only between $60-205, depending on your church’s size. http://canada.cvli.com/main.cfm

Music

Most churches though do purchase a One License or CCLI. (http://www.onelicense.net/ or http://www.ccli.com/). Somehow, music copyright has been impressed in us more than other forms of media. However, infringements still occurs when a priest or pastor wants to add in a new piece of music or make changes to a piece without due diligence.

For instance, changing content (substituting words) to appeal to a particular theology violates copyright law. The new piece of music would be considered derivative work.

Solution

In this case, awareness is key. Understanding the terms of use of the licence that the church owns and following it will solve most if not all of the music broadcast issues.

For recorded music, a SOCAN licence can be purchased from http://www.socan.ca/. This license will allow previously recorded music to be played at your event, such as WOW Praise music played during a dinner or such.

Why it is important

Why is it so important for churches and church leaders to adhere to the Canadian Copyright Law? Aside from protecting the rights of the artist, it becomes an issue of hypocrisy. If we wish to speak ethically about the world then we simply must comply with the laws and not circumvent them when it becomes burdensome.

The Christian life requires constant diligence and this is especially true for the leaders of a Christian community. After all, if we can’t bother to adhere to the law, then why would the parishioners listen to our message? As Christ lived as an example, so to must the church.

The longer that the church compromises copyright law the more damage is done to our reputation. We begin to lose our credibility to speak ethically to a society, about how we ought to be as a people, a culture and civilization. In many cases we quickly begin to resemble the Pharisees that Jesus denounced. And once our reputation begins to suffer, the more irrelevant we become.

Social media’s importance, frankly, can be found in scripture. Matthew 28:18-19, the Great Commission to the disciples was and still is to go forth into the world baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching all that Jesus had taught. Christians cannot be divorced of the call to go out and evangelize. It is who we are.

Social media allows the church and individual Christians to fulfill the Great Commission. Social media allows us to go where the next generation is and to engage with them openly and honestly. Yet many in the church are guarded and they doubt the importance of social media. But what if they knew…

Having a social media strategy is no longer an option for the church in North America. It simply is something we must do. With over 50% of the population of the planet under the age of 30 and 96% of millennials in North America having joined a social network, we can no longer afford to be silent.

After all, if we are not talking to them about Christ, then who is?

Does this mean we rush out and spend big money on social media, trusting the first person to promise a large ROI? Obviously not. We have to come to understand the social media environment and how it is changing and evolving. For example here is a social media map from 2005 courtesy of www.xkcd.com:

And here is one from 2010.

Sound research into the changing landscape will show that Myspace is not the place to break into the social media anymore. Also good research will also help you identify the demographics that you wish to reach. For instance, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women 55-65. Yet you are unlikely going to get that demographic on Twitter. Knowing what networks people frequent will undoubtedly shape the social media strategy that your parish and community employs.

Who you wish to reach becomes just as important as how. If you want to reach the next generation, then pull up a keyboard and jump in before it is too late.

The Social Media Douchebag

Fads, trends, buzz words and industry jargon are the tools of the trade used by Social Media Douchebags to obfuscate their lack of skills and knowledge of the emerging social media industry.

They prey on unsuspecting people desperate to be part of the Web 2.0 revolution (see that, I inserted 5 year old jargon there to confuse you). According to the sales pitch, companies and individuals can and will fall increasingly behind the times and become irrelevant in today’s fast paced market.

Slick salespeople are ready to sell you on SEO (search engine optimization), LinkedIn profiles, blogs, cross-communication and community development through online resources like Twitter and Facebook. Through a synergistic application of new emerging techniques they will be able to monetize your blog into a book deal in no time flat. You will be able to produce your own commercials and broadcast them via Youtube, causing you and your brand to go viral!

Sound confusing? Don’t worry, there’s an emerging industry full of Social Media Douchebags who are more than happy to help you with everything from building your LinkedIn profile, to operating your Twitter account to managing your “brand” online. How else is a newbie supposed to navigate the Twitterverse?

The Fresh Expressions Minister

The church has its own emerging “professionals”: the Fresh Expression Ministers. This group of dedicated renewal experts are all too happy to come to your church and tell you that your tradition is wrong, that it doesn’t speak to the times and is irrelevant to today’s confusing post modern secular world.

The first thing to do is throw the font out with the bath water.

Your church needs to be gutted for liturgical renewal. The space needs to be flexible for the new rock/praise service you simply must do to attract young families.

The next thing is to empty out the endowments to pay for these projects to bring youth into the church. Build a skate park in the parking lot, and hand out bibles. Maybe take your church to a bar and talk about Jesus with the patrons.

The Fresh Expression Minister will show you flashy videos of churches that are casting off their tradition and heritage to attract new people into the building to consume a cathartic Sunday morning experience. Brief testimonials will be delivered by the new congregants about how relevant this new style of church is in their lives. You will swoon and before you and the rest of your leadership team knows it, you have been sold the new Fresh Expressions model of ministry.

Problem is, that is not Fresh Expressions; at least not according to the Fresh Expressions people.

Buyer Beware

Social Media is about community and the internet is a meritocracy. The best rise to the top and the betterment of the community as a whole is the goal of those who are truly invested in Social Media.

Whether the Internet lives up to this ideal or not, you can’t sell merit. Some Social Media Douchebags will try, but eventually the internet sees through the smoke and mirrors and calls out those that are less than honest.

This is also starting with the Fresh Expressions movement. The desire to make the Christian story relevant to a new generation is commendable, but not at the expense of the entire tradition. The theological grounding of the Anglican tradition simply can’t be represented by the Fresh Expressions movement in its Canadian incarnation. Fresh Expressions Canada has even partnered with the United Church of Canada to create a broader – and more diluted – base for it to sell it wares.

The theological principles and grounding of the original movement has been lost as the current leaders of the Canadian movement seek to find new “clients” to sell their liturgical innovations. The watering down of the “product” continues as entire centuries of tradition and prayer books are scuttled in favour feel-good liturgies and innovation. Eucharistic prayers are completely re-written without any thought to their sotoriological significance. The epiclesis is trashed, gutted or altered beyond recognition that we can no longer be sure if the Holy Spirit is descending or someone is passing gas.

Don’t get me wrong, as an ordained person who practices Fresh Expressions and whose partner works in the social media industry it is difficult to criticize movements that I see such possibility in, but I’m left wondering at times at the horrible hybrid that could be released upon the world if the Social Media Douchebag and the Fresh Expressions Minister were ever to join forces.

Simply put, it would be a match made in hell.