We talked about how it might be cool if people could use a mobile device to talk to us during the sermon. Twittering is cool, but not everyone twitters (especially at my church), and it would take a little effort to set up a system to view twitters from the pulpit.
So I published my mobile number in the Sunday morning bulletin this morning and proposed an experiment.
I’ve always been a fairly avid, early adopter of technology. When I was my sons’ age, the first home computers were hitting the market. I started to program on TRS-80s, Apple IIs, and Commodore 64s. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I get a little edgy when I’m not connected. My iPhone is always on and with me. I monitor my email constantly as well as Facebook, voice mail, and text messages (and, yes, I'm paying attention to Twitter again @dtneary). I pride myself in being pretty easy to get a hold of, by just about any means. Many have noticed that I’m generally not still very long before I take a glance at the screen on my iPhone.
Earlier this week, Laurie got on my case a bit for fussing with my iPhone while listening to a speaker; she thought I wasn’t paying attention. Truth is, I was really paying attention. While listening to the guy deliver his talk, I was:
- Looking up scripture references
- Skimming an article that the guy had on a website
- Looking at his recently released book on Amazon
Folk who attend my church are connected too. Looking up things on their mobile devices, even occasionally bringing a laptop… nobody is freaked out by appropriate use of technology, even in our “traditional” church. As long as the gear isn’t distracting, it is welcomed.
So… with all of that said, here’s the experiment. I thought it might be cool if there was a way people could communicate with me during the sermon. What if folk were able to say “good point” or “you’re losing me” while I’m talking?
Some, of course, are happy to just shout out stuff like that… but for those who might want to try a more sophisticated approach, I invited them to send me a text.
They did, and I was able to read the feedback, in real time on my iPhone, without it being a distraction. Most were variations on “hey, this is cool, I’m texting the pastor while he’s talking,” but some were insightful, and helped me know that I was landing the points I was trying to make.
The response I received from people after the service was all enthusiastically positive. Even for those who didn’t take advantage of the technology, the idea that they could seemed to be meaningful.
I think I will keep encouraging this sort of thing, at least for the few weeks ahead. Stay tuned and I’ll give readers an update on whether we find this to be a meaningful practice, or just a gimmick.
You can hear how I set it up with our congregation this morning at http://www.cedarpark.org/thechapel/services
4 comments:
I think you are representative of what some have called "continuous partial attention." I work with a whole raft of such people, and I guess most of them fit into your generation. Interesting times for the "old guys." I'm on the back end of that learning curve.
that's cool. And if you created a hashtag for your church, the people in your audience who are on twitter can communicate with each other and make comments about the sermon or share portions to those not in the service, or just other twitterers that are interested. that would be cool.
This is cool, Dan. In the Pentecostal churches I grew up in (down in Alabam, as they sang in Tuxedo Junction), it was normal, expected, encouraged and deeply appreciated for people to shout encouragement to the preacher as he preached, or caution, or even rebuke if he needed it. I mourn the loss of that interactive community, and if it can be had again through technology, let's go after it with both hands.
(That culture is alive and well in the Black church--call and response. It should not scare us for people to disagree or try to correct us with such texting, even if it be simultaneously screened. If someone gets out of line, the other members will quickly reaffirm the preacher.)
As I said the other day in our talk with the Tutmarcs and Rick Portin, in Norway churches ask people to turn their cell phones ON at church, as it is often the only way they have of receiving the offering. The church bank account number is placed on the screen throughout, and people make their offering by cell phone whenever they are ready. We need to catch up!
Lead on, good friend.
I tried this in the University chapel (3/23). Bigger and more technologically advanced crowd... so a lot more participation. I was glad I did it. You can get to the audio from that service at http://www.northwestu.edu/ministry/chapel/schedule.php
I liked the way it worked.
Post a Comment