Weekly Web Roundup (4/8/17)

Photo Credit: Amaza Design

Here is a collection of items from around the web that caught my attention over this past week:

How to be a Tech-Wise Family & manage kids, technology & family by Andy Crouch (AnnVoskamp.com)

"Some of our happiest times as a family have been spent on this first floor, lit entirely by candlelight and the glow of a wood fire. Why wait for a power outage? The Wi-Fi and cell signals are there, all right—but we can choose to ignore them, turning instead to conversation, music, books, or silence. Indeed, on Sundays that is what we intentionally do, all day long. And all the most beautiful and striking things—everything that would start a conversation or capture a child’s attention—require our active engagement. Children love this, by the way. They thrive in a world stocked with raw materials. Too often, and with the best of intentions, we fill their world with technology instead—devices that ask very little of them. A cheap electronic keyboard makes a few monotonous sounds, while an expensive one promises to make all kinds of sounds. But actually, neither the cheap keyboard nor the expensive one has anything like the depth and range of possibility of an acoustic piano. A single pencil can produce more “colors” of gray and black than the most high-tech screen can reproduce. For a child’s creative development, the inexpensive, deep, organic thing is far better than the expensive, broad, electronic thing."

Faceless of the Game: Where have all the MLB superstars gone? by Jayson Stark (ESPN.com)

"For more than three decades, dating to the arrival of Bird and Magic, the NBA has embraced star power as the secret sauce for How To Sell Your League. And baseball? Not so much. "Baseball has always promoted the game," [Arn] Tellem says. "But it's been more about the game and its history. And it's been less about the individual players." Tellem sees that approach beginning to change. Finally. But in a star-driven society, he said, it can't shift gears fast enough. "Baseball is at a point now where they have to reach the youth of America," he says. "And clearly, [promoting] the game is important. But it's about using stars and developing stars and helping them become bigger names, as a way of reaching the youth. And baseball has to see that convincing [those stars] and having them participate will serve the game."

‘S-Town’ Explores the Maze of the Divine Clockmaker’s Mind by Kaitlyn Schiess (Christianity Today)

"My favorite professor likes to say that a biblical view of humanity “needs to start in Genesis 1, not Genesis 3.” In saying so, he’s arguing for a fuller picture of what Scripture tells us about ourselves—not only that we’re fallen and sinful, but that each and every one of us is made in the image of God. It’s actually the combination of these ideas that most fully explains both the goodness and evil of which humans are capable: We display—albeit brokenly and imperfectly—characteristics that point us to the perfect character of our God. Christians can find signs of this eternal truth in highly unusual places, such as the incredibly successful podcast S-Town."

How Japanese Americans Survived Internment in WW2 by Emily Wilson (The Daily Beast)

"With President Trump having issued executive orders for two travel bans for majority Muslim countries, both blocked by federal judges, the history of rounding up a group of people based on ethnicity or religion seems especially relevant and urgent. A couple weeks before the exhibition’s [Exclusion: The Presidio’s Role in World War II Japanese American Incarceration] opening, Eric Blind, the director of Heritage Programs for the Presidio, showed me the space that would house it. Outside the entrance visitors will see a telephone pole with a replica of the poster telling all Japanese Americans to report to that buses that would take them to the camps. “It’s an ordinary object with an extraordinary pronouncement,” he said. “We want to create this empathy with people seeing the order—not just if you were Japanese Americans, but their friends and neighbors—about how would you feel if you saw this on a telephone pole?”"

Black Eye on America - What Is Black Twitter?: The Daily Show

Roy Wood Jr. explains how the African-American community uses Twitter to discuss social issues and finds out why that communication is unique to black culture.

African Americans, Twitter & Troubling Trending Topics

Photo Credit: Miralize

From Patrice J. Williams:

"Here's an interesting fact about Twitter: Black people love it. According to a study by Edison Research, we make up 25 percent of the 17 million (and counting) people who use the social networking site. And here's something else about black people and Twitter: We love to start trends -- trending topics, that is.

Twitter defines trending topics as the "new or newsworthy topics that are occupying the most people's attention on Twitter at any one time." Adding a hashtag (#) to a tweet creates a themed, grouped message. If enough people tweet the same hashtag, it's considered a trending topic.

With African Americans disproportionately represented in the Twitter game, trending topics often originate with and are perpetuated by black folks. According to Edison Research, "many of the 'trending topics' on Twitter on a typical day are reflective of African-American culture, memes and topics." Though many trending topics are about specific people, events or silliness like #liesmentell, #itsnotcheating, etc., the mood has recently shifted into far more ignorant territory. Why is this how we choose to wield our power on Twitter?

...Of course, not all black users embrace these trends, but the way many of us choose to leverage our loud voice on Twitter speaks volumes about us to outsiders looking in. The source of entertainment for some may be fodder for white tweeters.

Writer Choire Sicha, who is white, even admitted on the Awl to being obsessed with what he termed "Black People Twitter" because of our "hilarious" trending topics. I wonder if Sicha, along with millions of other white people on Twitter, finds himself amazed that this is how we choose to use our power on the social networking site.

...It has already been proved that we have a strong-enough presence on Twitter to dominate the conversation, but having that power doesn't matter as much as how we use it. Some trending topics just make you laugh and get you through a rough workday, but they can also educate, bring awareness, and even show advertisers and networks that our shows are bankable, as is the case with The Game.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, top trending topics included #mlk, #mlkday and #ihaveadream. At least for one day, positivity instead of ignorance reigned on "Black People Twitter."

To read Ms. Williams' complete article on TheRoot.com, click here.

Why I'm Giving Up Social Networking

In my blog post yesterday I shared some history behind the Christian season of Lent and the common practice of fasting during this period. Over the past number of years, I have often observed this season by giving up some sort of food or beverages. Things like chocolate, sugar, and caffeine are just some of the things that I've abstained from during Lent in recent years.

But this year is going to be different. Since I've been eating much healthier over the past year (I've lost 25 pounds since last February), I began seeking the Lord several weeks ago about how I could observe Lent this year. And the thought came to my mind: What about giving up social networking? Although I don't think I'm addicted, I do spend time visiting online sites like Facebook and Twitter several times a day. I also write several blog posts a week and this certainly takes up some of my evening time.

So that it is what I'm going to do. For the next six weeks or so, I will not be participating in any online social networking. No Facebook. No Twitter. No Blog.

Since my work requires it, I will still be available by e-mail and will actually receive e-mail alerts of any messages I receive through the above websites but I won't be responding.

Beginning tomorrow I'm choosing to focus more intently on my relationship with God and my family and am going to be more intentional about spending less time online and more time doing other activities. I'm also hoping to spend more time reading books and less time reading things online. As I've mentioned numerous times before, I think online social networking can be a wonderful thing that helps us stayed connected to those we care about and to learn more about the world.

But it also has the potential to become addictive and distracting. So I'm going to do a bit of a test over the coming weeks to see if I go through any kind of "withdrawal." Just a handful of years ago, none of these things were part of my life. So they're not really necessities. But they can be fun and I'm looking forward to re-connecting with you online in April. God bless.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

With the unusually high number of actual celebrity deaths that have taken place in recent weeks there has also been a slew of false reports about other famous people that have supposedly died. While checking my Twitter page last week I saw a few tweets that said actor Jeff Goldblum (pictured here) had been killed on a movie set in New Zealand.

After a quick Google search and checking a few reputable online sites, I saw no report of his death and guessed correctly that it was a hoax. But Goldblum isn't the only actor that has been reported to kick the bucket recently. I've also read that stars like Harrison Ford and George Clooney had died. (For what it's worth, they're still around).

Actor Rainn Wilson, who plays the immortal Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office, showed his funny side when he broke the story on his Twitter page that he, too, had apparently died on a movie set in New Zealand. CNN.com writes that Goldblum also took it all in good fun when he appeared on the Colbert Report:

"In the episode, host Stephen Colbert jokes that he thinks Goldblum is dead even as the actor appears on stage beside him.

Goldblum then posts to Twitter to try to prove that he is still living.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have huge news," Colbert says, upon reading Goldblum's tweet on his phone. "The dead can Twitter."

Goldblum then reads his own false obituary into the camera."

Very simply, don't believe everything you read. With the popular of online social networking, news, whether it is true or not, travels more rapidly than ever before. So anytime you see a friend or an online site posting something outlandish, make sure you double-check your sources before spreading the information on. Check the sites for established newspapers online for breaking news and visit http://www.snopes.com/ to check on newer rumors or potential urban legends. Your friends will thank you for it.

Should People Use Twitter in Church?

With the popularity of social media increasing by the day it's natural that churches would consider what kind of role these tools can play in ministering to their members and those outside the church walls. A lively discussion is going on now about whether pastors should encourage their congregation to use Twitter during their sermons.

Some feel that the sanctuary of a church is no place to be playing with cell phones during a worship service. Others, on the other hand, think that it is completely appropriate and relevant in ministering to the younger generation. One of the largest churches in the city where I live, Discovery Church in Orlando, has embraced this technology and the pastor encourages members to "tweet" during his messages.

Although not all churches are ready to make the jump to Twittering on Sundays, many are utilizing online social networking:

"In April, interactive marketing firm Sojo, Inc. surveyed 145 churches with memberships between 500 and 25,000 and found that 32 percent of them said they use Facebook, 16 percent are on MySpace and 10 percent are on Twitter, with many more chomping at the bit to sign up for the popular micro-blogging site."

I think most churches that have younger members with younger leadership are more likely to use these forms of communications since it's a more important part of their world. With faith communities comprised mostly of senior citizens it wouldn't make much sense for a pastor to emphasize using these tools much if it is going to alienate their flock.

But for many of the younger generation, the ability to share opinions and receive instant feedback is expected. For example, at our ministry's recent national Impact conference, we invited the conferees on the last night of the conference to share with others what kind of commitments they had made that week (e.g. share their faith more, read their Bible regularly, tutor a child, go a missions trip, etc.) The students were able to text message their commitments so that it would show on the big screen. It was a powerful display to see the various ways that God had spoken to those in attendance.

In a recent article by Diane Mapes on MSNBC.com this topic is examined in detail. Several church leaders comment on how they use social media to be effective in their outreach and care for their regular attenders. It is good to see that other Christian leaders are wrestling with how to communicate the unchanging message of the Gospel in the midst of rapidly changing times. Mapes quotes Kim Gregson, assistant professor of the television/radio department at Ithaca College:

"Everybody needs to reach the next generation, to give them a sense of belonging,” she says. "And online is where younger people live. It’s where they get their information, make their social connections, plan their weekends. You have to be there, you have to be in front of them. There’s a realization that if you don’t do these things, you’ll become forgotten."

Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, blogs or other forms of social media, churches that utilize these technologies wisely will continue to be attractive to young people. But they can't leave it there. For all the good that modern technology can do, it will never replace the importance of genuine, face-to-face, authentic community. Churches that learn how to work that balance will be those that effectively reach their communities in the years to come.