Radical Civility: 2019

Welcome

I've resurrected this blog as a tool for discussing what might be called "the spiritual world of social media."

In 2019 the Evangelism Board at my church will be making a major effort to improve and expand the church’s presence on social media. So I'm putting together “God in Cyberspace” as a four-week course intended to support this effort through an exploration of the impact—both positive and negative—of social media in contemporary society.

Web sites, blogs, and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have revolutionized our world in ways we still do not fully understand. Social media has allowed ordinary people to organize politically in ways that would have been unthinkable just two decades ago. It has helped to spark revolutions. It has energized campaigns for social justice. It has enabled far-flung family and friends to share their daily lives in ways that have annihilated distance.

Paradoxically, it has undercut real-world connections, enabled a corrosive political hyper partisanship, and given the most toxic ideologies a reach and power they would not otherwise have possessed.

Where is God in all of this? And how can the church maximize the positive potential of social media while being a force against his negative manifestations?

Radical Civility

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Social Media Sites Explained in One Chart