On Monday, November 15, 2010, Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria gave a report on integrating social media into ecclesial communications to the U.S. bishops gathered at their annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. The report was another positive sign that more people in responsible positions in the Church recognize the importance of social media for mission. I found a lot of realism in the Bishop’s presentation and would like to draw…
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Social Media Policies for Church Groups
As more and more Church organizations recognize the importance of having a presence on social media; as they experience pressure from members to “get with it;” and as some staff and members already are starting blogs, Facebook pages, etc., and commenting on others’ pages, there is a legitimate concern about protecting the organization’s good name. According to Charlene Li, in her book Open Leadership, the best way to do that…
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Six Questions to Consider Before Using Facebook for Ministry
Radio and TV programs are regularly inviting us to their Facebook pages. Friends and relatives are asking “Aren’t you on Facebook yet?” Some of our constituents are encouraging us to start a Facebook page. Here are six questions to ask yourself before you put your ministry or organization on Facebook.
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What is the place of social media in ministry?
The use of social media tools in ministry is one of the priorities of Benedict XVI and one of the challenges facing those who do ministry. The Holy Father has urged priests and those in pastoral ministries to take advantage of these new tools to proclaim the gospel and bring others to Christ. For ministry leaders already balancing many different priorities—social media might be the last thing they want to…
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A Mission-based Web Presence Needs to be Engaging
When most of us think about web presence, we are only thinking about our website. Web presence is much more than that. It is true that the website is usually the centerpiece of web presence, but a website (even a “great” website) alone is not enough to have an effective web presence. Today, an organization, religious community or ministry also needs to be interacting with their constituents via email and…
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Positive Interactivity: A New Way to Relate in Ministry
Let’s talk about that challenge of “positive interactivity” at the level of everyday ministry. Moving from one-way communications to “positive interactivity” in our ministries is a dramatic shift that demands a new way of thinking about our relationships. Most of us are serving many people in a variety of ways. However, we can be so busy carrying out our responsibilities that we don’t realize how important it is to ask…