Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by AT&T and I was compensated for being part of the launch of their brand new program. Stay tuned for details!
I am a reasonably early adopter. YouTube was founded in 2005. My first video went up in 2010. Facebook launched in 2004 – I was all up in that by 2007. Twitter launched in 2006 – I was here for it by 2009. Google Plus? I try. Really I do. Myspace? Let’s just say I abandoned that right on time. Pinterest? Invitation only beta baby! Now as my tech track record shows, I’m not super early, like the first one to do anything really, but I’m not last. The kids get their daily scriptures online, delivered to Daddy’s inbox every morning. You know what I really picked up on quickly? PayPal. The idea of online payment processing was amazing to me – and it still is. So when I found out I could pay my tithes online? I was definitely ready for that. I was ready for just about anything that gave this mommy brain one less thing to keep track of… or so I thought.
Our church isn’t that deep into social media and the internet. There’s a website and a Facebook page, so they are more tech savvy than a lot of religious organizations. You would think that when my husband opted for his tablet to follow along with the scriptures during Sunday service rather than his well-worn Bible, I’d be giving out high fives like it was 1991. I wasn’t. I realized that day that I wasn’t as far ahead when it came to mixing tech and church as I thought I was. I gave looks as he typed like the stereotypical old lady in the front pew that said, “are you really looking up scripture, or are you playing on that thing?” I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this, and judging us.
I had a great chat with Jason Caston, internet church expert and author of The iChurch Method, and I asked him how he was able to get old school churches to get on board with social media and online outreach. “Results.” That was his simple answer. The great thing about social media and the internet is that everything can be measured, quantified. When someone leaves the church after service on Sunday morning, there’s no real way to measure how many people they shared the pastor’s message with – let alone if they were able to share it correctly, with the minister’s intent intact. And how about reshares? Online, short inspirational messages can be shared and reshared quickly and easily, and those shares can be counted. “I explain to them even if the tools change, the message stays the same. We don’t read scriptures from scrolls anymore. We moved from scrolls, to books, to phones and tablets. The message is still the same.”
As the Director of Innovative Technology and Social Media for T.D. Jakes Ministries and The Potter’s House in Dallas, Jason Caston has been able to expand the reach of the ministry “beyond those who can physically come through the doors of the church.” Social media sharing and mobile technology has changed what churches can do and who they can reach. It’s not just being on TV anymore. People are taking their faith on the road – on their mobile devices. I know I have benefited from a quick inspirational faith based quote every now and again on social media, and I eager to share it with my online friends as well. You know how they say ‘misery loves company’? I believe that inspiration, motivation, and faith love company too. That’s how T.D. Jakes’ Facebook page maintains a fan base of over three million Facebook users. Astounding.
Back to me and how I am dealing with the melding of the old and the new. You know how geeked I was about tithing online? I still am, but I have to be honest. The call for tithes and offerings is awkward. Everyone pulls out their little pink envelopes out from the pocket in the pew and gets busy filling them out. I sit and try to look busy – maybe scribble on the church bulletin. Everyone stands, pink envelopes in the air, to make their declaration. I whisper to my husband, “you didn’t bring any cash?” Then they turn to the aisle. I consider walking up anyway with an empty envelope – maybe scrawl “paid online” across it or something. The Caribbean gyal in me who as my mother says, “cyan do nuttin quiet,” feels like the giving should be seen. I should get to teeter up to the altar in my pretty church dress and heels with my pink envelope too. Eventually, I’m like, “whatever… my giving is between me, God, and my online banking – and I twist my knees to the side to let those tithing by cash, check, or charge scoot by.
Upon their return, I do feel like they are looking at me, judging me for not leaving my seat when it was time to give, but as I look around, about 10% of the church is still seated, twisting knees, and accepting the “pardon me’s” with a nod, a shift, and a smile. Maybe it’s not just us! Maybe one day that little pink envelope will be replaced by a share on your facebook wall – “I just gave my tithes and offerings!” – with a link for friends to give their gift and share their news as well. Looking for the approving nods of the elders when you drop the envelope in the collection plate? That’s now a “like”. Start getting used to the idea. It could happen – if it hasn’t already!
When I am physically unable to be at church, my giving still gets done. When I need a pick-me-up during the day, maybe sixty seconds of a sermon, or a great quote from a recent message, social media is the vehicle, and I don’t have to worry about getting the message wrong. “At the end of the day,” says Jason Caston, “It is still about fulfilling the Great Commission. Social media and the internet help us do that.”
No matter how busy I get, or whether I can make it into the four walls of the church, I can still give to the church, the church can give to me, and equip me with a clear, concise, shareable message of faith and encouragement.
Find out more about Jason Caston and the iChurch Method. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
Do you share inspirational faith based messages on social media like Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter? What other parts of your faith or religious practice have do you handle online? How do you feel about tablets and iPads replacing the printed page in the pews? Do you feel like the cell phone in church can be distracting? How do you engage with your church online?
