Social Media: Blessing or Curse?

From the Desiring God blog:

Many have expressed concern that emerging social media will hinder authentic face-to-face gospel community, but Ed Stetzer (in an article titled The Blessings of the New Media) says Social Media can be a blessing to the local church in four ways:

1. While social media does not provide community it can assist in building it.
2. Social media can communicate news within the local church.
3. Social media can communicate biblical, inspirational messages.
4. Social media can better acquaint people with the life and ministry of public ministers.

Within the UK, Urban Saints are running the Totally Wired tour: "an essential seminar for all parents, church leaders, youth leaders and anyone who cares about young people and the technology revolution". This comes to Leicester on 1st July.

Free Christian iPhone applications

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch then there are plenty of great Christian applications and websites that you may be interested in. You can find a range of iPhone and iPod Touch Christian applications listed in five sections on the free Christian resources website to make it easier to find exactly what you are after.

10 moments when Britain prayed

Heaven help us : 10 moments when Britain prayed for its survival (Faith Central blog) provides a summary of a recent article in the BBC History magazine. Quoting Praying for Britain by Natalie Mears, it highlights 10 out the 540 nationwide prayer calls made by English monarchs and other leaders between the Reformation and 1947, the last time that England held a nationwide day of Prayer.

Internet Evangelism Day (25 April 2010)

Digital media have transformed the world in the last 15 years. We have entered a new ‘digital communication culture’ where all the rules for effective communication have changed. There are 1.7 billion web users, and over 3 billion people use mobile phones (increasingly these are web-equipped). The Web is not just another means of communication, but a hyper-medium that subsumes, links together, and enhances all previous media.

Internet Evangelism Day exists to help Christians understand the huge and growing potential to share the good news of Jesus through digital media. This involves two complementary concepts: an annual focus day on the last Sunday of April each year, and a year-round resource guide, with ideas and strategies for all types of digital evangelism

Diocese Election website

The Diocese of Leicester has developed an Election 2010 website, with links to Events, Resources and reasons to get involved:

The challenge to our churches in today’s sectarian society is not to retract into some sort of Christian ghetto, but to be outward looking and acting, especially in the process of democratic renewal.

'This must reach out to everyone and in some areas it will require a change in attitudes and behaviour from politicians, churches and local communities. The church is charged with having a prophetic voice – not always a way to gain popularity – which shows people and communities a way forward into a more just, fair and equitable society.

The 2010 General Election is an opportunity for the Christian churches to offer neutral, safe and open space to begin this process.'

The Believers: 60s Christian pop (radio play)

The Saturday Play yesterday on Radio 4 was The Believers, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, set in Liverpool, 1963. The Merseybeat boom is about to take off. And with it, The Believers, a Christian pop band determined to spread the Word. If only they were all singing from the same hymn sheet...

You can Listen again for the next six days.

Preparing churches for the General Election 2010

A General Election will be held sometime before 3 June 2010. Christians across the country will be campaigning for different parties or standing for election. Churches may host hustings meetings where candidates can be questioned by local voters, and voters will have the opportunity to decide who they wish to vote for, and which party’s policies most closely match their own hopes and values. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has published a document, Faith in Politics, which covers a range of the most important policy issues, such as children and young people, criminal justice, the economy, education, environment, health, migration, poverty, and others. For each topic there are sections on subject background, the main issues, suggested questions to candidates and contact details for more information.

All the subject sections in Faith in Politics are available as web pages online, and additional material and links will be added as the election draws closer. The work comprises a series of articles on a variety of topics.

Sleep

Earlier Infusion blog posts have discussed sleep - here's a link to a blog post On Sleep which notes that "the Bible says quite a bit on this topic, probably because sleep is both a good teacher and a revealer of the heart":

1. 
Sleep is a daily gift from God (Psalm 127:1–2).

2. Sleep reminds us daily of our need for God (Psalms 3:5, 4:8).

3. Excessive sleep exposes sin and leads to poverty (Proverbs 6:9–11, 20:13).

4. Sleep is sweet when we are walking in wisdom (Proverbs 3:19–24).

5. Falling asleep provides an opportunity to examine our hearts before God (Psalm 4:4).


Church leaders call for 'technology fast'

Church leaders are urging people to give up iPods rather than chocolate this Lent as part of a 'technology fast' to save the planet as well as our souls:

• TearFund Carbon Fast 2010 webpages
• Telegraph article

Open University Christianity survey

In the 2001 Census, 71.6% of people in the UK described themselves as Christians, but only about 15% of these said they belonged to, or were active members of, a church.

The Open University has developed an on-line survey which has the objective of improving understanding of what it means to be a Christian without a church. Hopefully, we will soon have a better idea of what people mean nowadays when they describe themselves as Christian.

You can share your views, and learn about other people, in this anonymous survey:
http://www.open2.net/survey/history_of_christianity/embed.html

Is cyberchurch a viable option for Christians?

EN asks if if an exclusively online church is a viable option for Christians? The article is written in the context of a rapidly growing movement promoting the idea of an exclusively online church. The Church of England and the Methodist Church have already launched versions of online church, and in March of this year a group committed to the development of online churches met in London.

Read the full article Cyberchurch - the future church? which addresses some concerns about online-only and emphasises the importance of the local church and the necessity for all Christians to belong to a local church.

The Wave: march and pray for climate justice

March and pray for climate justice on Saturday 5 December, in London, as part of The Wave. The Wave is organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen, and tens of thousands of people from all walks of life are expected to flow through the streets of London to demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all. Paricipants are asked to wear blue or bring blue banners to join the blue wave.

There will be a church service at 11am, at which Archbishops Rowan Williams and Vincent Nichols will be speaking. This will be followed by a fun and peaceful march around the Thames.

What to remember during the silence

David Winter, on Thought for the Day last Saturday, talks of the challenge: 'I never know what to think about during these silences'. He says "it would be inappropriate to tell other people what to think about" but it is important to reflect on what we do think about during the annual collective silence.

He concludes: "To remember, and then forget what we have learnt, is an unforgivable waste of the God-given gift of memory. The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures constantly call on us to remember - events, outcomes, people, tragedies, blessings - but not just to remember. Genuine, profound remembrance brings the past into the present so that the present may be changed....... The precious gift of memory is a means, not an end in itself. We remember the past, but in order to transform and renew the present".

US judge bans Christian car plate

A US judge has ordered South Carolina not to issue a vehicle number plate with a Christian image and slogan. The state legislature had approved a licence plate with a cross in front of a stained glass window and the words "I Believe" written along the top.

Free Audio Book: Desiring God

During November you can download the Desiring God audio book for free from Christian Audio.

Communicating God’s love through ice-cream

Young people in Coventry Diocese are about to blend their love for God with their love of ice-cream by opening an ice-cream parlour, to give away ice-creams and host events for young people in the area who fancy a fun flavour of Church life.

Meanwhile, in Chester Diocese a Christian Union wants to run the Sock Project to communicate God’s love to their school using sock puppets, running events and film-based discussions, and performing random acts of kindness in the school lunch hour.

These are two of 84 ingenious new evangelistic projects to receive a pump-priming grant of up to £3,000 from the Church of England’s Youth Evangelism Fund (YEF) in 2009. The fund is supported by the Archbishops' Council (50 per cent), the Henry Smith Charity, the Laing Family Trusts, and the Jerusalem Trust.

Launched in 2006, the YEF grew out of a report presented to General Synod in 2002 entitled Good News for Young People: The Church of England’s National Youth Strategy, which included proposals for a Youth Evangelism Fund. It aims to enable more young people to connect with the Gospel and develop faith within the life of the Church by allowing the young to share faith with friends in ways that make sense to them. Each year for five years, eight to 10 dioceses are receiving YEF support to resource new ideas for mission.

Reasons to be cheerful; sharing faith in everyday life

Spend a day with the Bishop of Leicester reflecting on how it is that we can both enjoy and share our faith more fully in everyday life. This year the guest speaker at the Bishop's Lay Congress is the Rt. Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading. Bishop Stephen has worked in parishes in London and Chichester, as Pastor of Peterborough Cathedral, as Missioner in the Wakefield Diocese and as part of Springboard, the Archbishop's evangelism team. He has written widely about evangelism, spirituality and discipleship, including Hit the ground kneeling: seeing leadership differently and Do nothing to change your life.

Reasons to be cheerful; sharing faith in everyday life will take place at Samworth Academy, Leicester on 14th November. There is no cost to attend; tea and coffee will be provided - simply bring your own lunch. To book your place, use the Booking Form (Print, complete & return to Church House).

Jesus more likely to shop at Asda or Aldi

Yesterday the Bishop of Reading bemoaned the Church of England's middle-class "Marks and Spencer" image. The Right Rev Stephen Cottrell, described his frustration that the established Church is regarded as the option for the highly educated or “suited and booted” only. Jesus, he said, would probably have shopped at Aldi and Asda. He said that church was “not about how you look, what you do, how you sound, how well you sing”. It should be a place “where people can be just as they are,” he said.

Bishop Cottrell was speaking as churches of all denominations prepare to mark “Back to Church Sunday” next weekend, with thousands of people expected to receive personal invitations from friends to give church another go.

Creation

All across the UK the posters are going up announcing the UK opening of Creation on 25th September. The film Creation explores the different sides to Charles Darwin - the man who some believe had ‘the biggest single idea in the history of thought’. Even today, Darwin’s legacy is at the centre of contemporary debate about our understanding of who we are and what it means to be human. This film explores the implications of Darwin’s theories, and the way that tragic events in his family life influenced his doubts about God. Creation is based on the book Annie’s Box by Randall Keynes (Darwin’s great-great-grandson). It is an emotional journey into the grief that shaped one of the great scientific minds of the last 200 years.

This film is guaranteed to spark many conversations about God, Darwin, evolution, Christian faith, suffering and the nature of humanity. Damaris are delighted to provide a host of relevant outreach resources, including downloadable clips from the film, specially created videos, guides for outreach events, home groups and church services. They are all completely free thanks to the support of the film's distributors, Icon.

Churches take to the airwaves to extend warm welcome

As half a million people across the UK are set to receive personal invitations ‘back to church’ in the next few days, thousands more will be hearing their invitation over the breakfast table or on their drive home, thanks to a ‘time share’ scheme being used to help churches spread their message on commercial radio. A professionally-produced syndicated radio advert has been created as a way of highlighting the warm welcome awaiting those who return to services on ‘Back to Church Sunday’, 27 September. Read full story.

See also: Half a million to be invited Back to Church