RETHINK EVANGELISM

Sorry about this being a bit late, but I have been travelling to El Paso and Atlanta...not an excuse, just a reason. Last week we discussed RETHINK Evangelism...or Witnessing...depending on which publication from the United Methodist Church you read. As Pastor Jim chose Evangelism for his sermon, I will use the same word. If you're reading this blog, then you probably were very comfortable with the class last Sunday. We chose to look at this topic of communicating our faith with others from a modern perspective and examined some of the social networking/communicatino tools that are common in today's world. A quick tour through blogs, wikis, tweets, and a dose of delicious left some bewildered and others energized. The reality of life in 2009 is that social communication tools are here to stay for the foreseeable future and they, or their different iterations, will be common forms of communication that we as an organization need to master. This blog is not yet reaching as many folks as we would like, but it is an example of the uses of this technology. Here we can express our opinions and discuss what went on in class on Sunday...with a wiki we could collaborate on different projects within the church. I think a Confirmation wiki might work well with our teens...this week we are discussing the question of "who was Jesus?"...that could easily be done on a Wikispaces page and the kids could contribute their ideas throughout the week or for a couple of weeks. It might allow for a bit deeper thought in the long run. The real question from the class is how can we, as Christians and as members of St. Paul's, use these tools to reach others for Christ or help to affirm our faith to others. Once upon a time my bosses thought of email as a passing fad...they figured to wait it out...we need to avoid trying to wait out these social communication tools, things are going to move more in this direction...not less. Pastor Jim couldn't make the class, but he and I are going to sit down so I can acquaint him with some of these tools...I have my Powerpoint slides available for anyone who is interested. Have a great Saturday and go K-State!