New Media Blog

By Frank A. Thomas, guest blogger | I believe that one of the vital roles for preaching, if not the most vital role, is to offer people hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which produces celebration in their lives as a natural byproduct of the gospel. I believe that it is impossible to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the congregation, at some point, not experience the joy and freedom provided by the gospel.

By Verity A. Jones | Aside from a bit of hooping and hollering at a funny video clip on YouTube, I don’t often think about the relationship between celebration and social media, much less Christian celebration and social media. Computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones are objects we usually stare at and type upon, not dance with, sing to, or exclaim about.

By Verity A. Jones | I recently reconnected with a friend whom I first met while she was in seminary. As a younger person who is bright, talented, energetic, and willing to speak up to older church leaders, my friend was tapped for leadership on our denomination’s general (national) board. She served faithfully for seven years, helping to shape some of the most important organizational and identity transformations in our church’s history.

By Lerone A. Martin | A recent Salon and Alternet article boldly declared, “Religion may not survive the Internet.” Religion has survived advances in communication technological in the past, but according to Valerie Tarico’s Religion May Not Survive the Internet, the Internet is the one taunting Goliath religion cannot overcome.

By Verity A. Jones | To draw this thought-provoking series on prayer and social media to a close, today we offer a summary of resources cited and mentioned in the series, additional resources from our blog archive, and a few new articles on prayer and social media discovered during Lent. We hope this final post might help readers consider how to use the series educationally with groups interested in social media and Christian practices such as prayer.