Book Review: iJesus: The Culture of God in a Digital World

 

iJesus: The Culture of God in a Digital World By Nadim Nassar ©2023 Sacristy Press (153 pages)

Last fall I went looking for a book I heard referenced in a podcast. Because I wanted to reach the free shipping threshold I needed to buy a second book and this title seemed like something that would fit my Sabbatical plan. Ironically I have yet to read the book I originally went looking for.

Nadim Nassar has written a previous book called The Culture of God to which this is a bit of a follow up. There were times, particularly early in the book, when it might have been helpful to have read that first one to know what Nassar means by the phrase “Culture of God” as he tends to use it assuming that foreknowledge. But with time I was able to pick up where he was going with it.

The book as a whole is, as one might expect from the title, very Christ-centered. Nassar is pushing the reader to find how we can best share the encounter with Jesus on a digital world. Within that discussion he talks about the centrality of communication as a building block of community. He also takes time to talk about the cultural clash we find in a digital world. I found his suggestion that the onset of digital globalization has brought about culture clash at a speed that was not known with slower, and earlier, forms of communication and cultural change quite intriguing Still the reality that how we communicate the old story in a new world is a central point of being the church in a digital world is inescapable. As he says at one point: “...because Christianity is about knowing the risen, living Christ, the Church has the responsibility in every generation and in different cultures to reinterpret the timeless revelation in Christ for its time and place” (p.30) [this quote reminds me if the United Church of Canada understanding that each generation needs to restate the Gospel which is why we have a succession of statements of faith].

I found that Nassar does a good job of naming both the positive possibilities and the negative possibilities of technology as we move into the new world. Over and over he talks about what new communications are available to us but also that we can not let the technological relationship replace ‘IRL’ relationships. This is important but at the same time I have to wonder at his suggestion later in the book that online relationships lack a reality that can only be found in person. I wonder how this might sit with the debate during Covid (and following) if online worship/online church was ‘real” or just a stand in.

In the end this book did not quite fit my Sabbatical goals quite as well as I thought it might. But that does not mean it was not an important read in the topic area. A big takeaway from it was the insistence that the way we measure our actions, the thing that we allow to shape our actions needs to be the Culture of God/Culture of Trinity (which is inherently relational)/Culture of Love. Technology may be one of the tools but it should not be the primary force that shapes us – even if it can be a powerful force to shape us. At a number of points I found myself thinking “I need to remember this for a sermon” even when the sermon was not going to be about the Digital world – for example Creation Time this fall.

Book Review: Tweet if you ❤ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation

Tweet if you ❤ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation By Elizabeth Drescher ©2011 Morehouse Publishing (190 pages)

Fourteen years ago standing at a Presbytery book display I saw this book and picked it up. Never really got into it at the time but gave it another crack this month.

Drescher uses this book to both explain what she sees happening in this new Reformation and share thoughts about how the mainline church might be best able to move into the new way of being. Based on her understanding of how social media works she suggests that the mainline Protestant church is better able to adapt to new communication patterns in the Digital Reformation Social Media than other forms of church.

The model that Drescher starts with is to talk about what she terms habitus, a term used to describe a model of understanding and being in the world. This is similar to a rule of life but a more complete thing than that. Early in the book she talks about how this habitus has changed from medieval to modern to current eras. Habitus, she says, is resistant to change but also evolves over time. One of the questions she raises pushes us to look closely at what our habitus is. As habitus evolves and a new paradigm takes over it raises questions about authority, something we can see happening in the development of the Digital age.

One of the things Dresher seems to see in this new paradigm is the idea that some of the ancient, pre-modern ways of approaching storytelling and h ma become more relevant in the new Social Media age. She talks about interactivity and visual imagery as examples. She suggests that Boradcast media (particularly in the last half of the 20^th Century) was much more spectator based than the new way of corresponding. She suggests that mainline churches, being less focussed on a charismatic leader ove the community as a whole, may be well suited to make use of those ideas.

All of what Drescher has to say in this book really is about communication and how we do it well (or poorly). How we mightdo it well using new tools and models is the discussion churches need to have. It is not about the technology, it is not about making use of all the flashy bells and whistles. It is the how rather than the what that takes precedence. At one point she does lead the reader to ponder “what might Jesus tweet?”, pointing out that Jesus makes use of the communication styles of his day. She also discusses more than once the challenge that the Digital Reformation might encourage more vicarious participation and lessen incentive of IRL participation. This certainly has been a discussion as more churches have moved to streaming worship services.

Drescher raises some very good points about how life in the church might look in what she terms the Digital Reformation. She raises the image of dispersed authority and less reliance on charismatic leaders repeatedly. This brought to mind Phyllis Tickle’s book The Great Emergence and made me ponder of maybe the Digital Reformation is part of what Tickle would call the church’s next great rummage sale.

At the same time Drescher seems more optimistic about how the Digital Reformation and Social Media in general will play out in society. Looking at how things like Facebook and Twitter/X have actually developed over the last 15 years makes me wonder if that optimism was accurate. Social Media has indeed democratized sources of authority and information but has that really been a good thing? Has it diminished the role of the charismatic voice or emboldened and empowered it?

This is a good read. Drescher raises important questions (each chapter ends with some questions for reflection). She challenges the church to seriously engage in this new world. It is not a book of how to use specific tools, it is a book calling us to reflect on how we will be in the new world and the last chapter does include some suggestions for building a digital rule of life.

The church, perhaps especially the mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches of it, does not have a great history of adapting to new ways of being church. But when the world changes we have no choice. I close with two things from the conclusion of the book. One is this quote:

“if we update practices that have served us reasonably well for some two thousand years, i do believe we will be able to enrich relationships and build communities that will allow us to more generously live out the commitments of our faith” (p.181)

The other is this question asked almost at the end of the book: Is the Digital Reformation the end of the church? The beginning of a new way of being the church? Both? (p.181). Only time will tell, and the answer will in part depend on us.

Book Review: Theology in a Digital World

 

Theology in a Digital World by David Lochhead ©1988 UCPH (95 pages)

This piece by the late David Lochhead [1936-1999] (https://grokipedia.com/page/david_lochhead), United Church minister, theologian and professor is part of the early discussions of the role of computers in the life of the church. Written in the early days of personal and home computing and the very early days computer networks it is ahead of its time.

In 1988 many of us had barely even used a computer and when we had it was not to communicate with others – it was for word processing, or spreadsheets, or games. There were some early adopters who had been playing with programming for much of the 1980’s and those of us who went to see the movie War Games (1983) knew that it was possible for computers to connect across the miles – though that was in a setting that was both comedic and terrifying at the same time.

Lochhead was an early adopter. He was part of early networks like UCHUG and ECUNET and saw the potential for what these new possibilities (he calls the computer a possibility machine) could mean for the church. He also saw the need to give thought to how these changes needed to be intentional and would change the church. Still he is very positive on what he sees coming.

Each of the book’s 6 chapters is something that was first prepared for another purpose: public lectures, worskshops, addresses at conferences. The earliest dates back to 1984, which means it truly was ahead of it’s time. In 1984 the only computers I had seen in person were school machines with green screens and only operated using commands – menu-driven machines were yet to hit the market. As such there is some repetition of themes and comments over the course of the book.

Lochhead talks about how the computer changes communication patterns, looks at some of the theological questions that this new technology brings up, and how we might find ourselves using it. He is clear that the computer (even in what we would now call early early stages) can make big changes in how we are the church, how we build community. He is also clear that the computer is a tool (and more than a tool) and that it itself is not salvific, that, as he says at one point “That Computers have heir place in the Kingdom, I have no doubt. That computers will create the Kingdom, I have no illusion” (p.80). In the final chapter,”Toward a Theology of Information”, he talks about the differences between information and knowledge, facts/data and interpreting/organizing them to find meaning. I would have liked some more discussion about where things like truth and wisdom fit in to that discussion.

I found that Lochhead was somewhat prescient in this book, written on the cusp of a new world. At the same time so much has changed in the last 40 years as this new world has changed a few times. In the late 1980s any computer networking was text only, with all the limits that written text has in full communication. Now we share images and audio and video. It was a fairly small percentage of people who were involved in networks at that time – now with the advent of social media it has blossomed into something so much bigger. Lochead sees both the positive and negative effects of a ne technology (as he names that is the reality of any new technology). He is, I think [speaking with knowledge of what the Internet has become and how it has re-shaped/is reshaping our society] overly optimistic. I often found myself wondering what he would say in 2026.

This volume raises good theological questions, ones that continue to be relevant as we continue to be re-shaped by the possibility machine of the computer. The die has been cast, we can not go back to the pre-computer way of being. More changes are building (eg. the rise of AI). We still have to ask the questions. We still have to be intentional about how we build community using the tools and reality of our time. What is our theology in an increasingly digital world?

"Bible-Based" Culture

 All the time there are voices around us calling for a change to build a society based on "Biblical Values" or a "Biblical Worldview".

SOmetimes those voices become louder or more prominent than others. One example of this would be Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk. Another would be last week's Alberta Christian Leadership Summit. [SIde Note, a friend and colleague of mine attended this Summit and here are his thoughts.]

Now there are a number of problems with this quest to build society on some "Biblical Worldview".  Among them:

1. It is arguable that there is not one Biblcal Worldview, that the full text of Scripture contains multiple worldviews
2. It is not in doubt that in modern Christianity (in North America these voices always claim to speak for all of 'true' Christians) there are multiple understandings of what one means by Biblical Values or a Biblical Worldview
3. In a pluralistic world it is wholly inappropriate to build society around one religious set of standards
4. Theocracy damages both the faith community and tradition it claims to support and the pluralistic community it is imposed upon.

However I do believe that as people who are guided and informed by our faith we are called to consider the type of world God would have us live in. As people who pray "thy kingdom come on earth" we have an obligation to consider what we mean.

So from time to time I do ponder what a society shaped by Biblical values (as I understand them) might look like...

Such a society would be shaped wholly by love of Creation, the world that God loves.
It would be a place where the newcomer, the stranger, the wanderer, the refugee, the immigrant would be welcomed into the community.
It would not be about enforcing homogeneity, it would name and accept pluralism.
Discussions of Human Sexuality would be focussed on respectful relationships instead of rules and traditions
In this society there would be strong rules and laws ensuring that all are provided for, that their basic needs are met. In Torah there were rules about not harvesting too well, to leave produce for the gleaners to find later -- what is the 21st century equivalent of gleaning?
We would take seriously the stewardship of the earth as commanded in Genesis, we would only take what we need as commanded with the manna in Exodus.
We would know that allowing great inequality is a problem.
We would encourage sharing of things in common so that all would benefit (See Acts 2)
We would be encouraged to subsume self in favour of community, or at least to find a new balance between the two. WE not ME

WHat might you add?

How I hope to Spend my Summer...

As part of marking 25 years of Ordained ministry this year I am taking a Sabbatical leave. When I requested the time I said this:

...plan to take the time to look into newer ways of being the church in an increasingly digital world. This would include some reading (starting with David Lochhead’s ahead-of-its-time book Theology in a Digital World if I can get my hands on a copy) and interviewing people who have/are been involved in online work within the church...This investigation can include looking at both “how can we be a hybrid church” and different ministry models in a world where more places can not afford full-time ministry. Obviously this is an area that could quickly become a D.Min level project so some paring down of ideas will have to happen.

Now as I find myself 2 months away I find I should maybe give some thought to what this might look like. When I was ordained in 2001 there was not much talk about how the internet might change how we do church. It was still really Internet 1.0 at the time. There were some websites starting to pop up sharing prayers and sermons, some churches were experimenting with webpages. 3 years earlier Wood Lake Books had published a book called Get Me to the Church Online which was a listing of churchy websites -- I am sure many of the websites in the book are now defunct, I think I left my copy in Atikokan when we moved in 2010. Social Media and widespread online video conferencing were a few years in the future. I have no memory of any discussions at seminary about how the internet might impact our ministries.

Leap forward 25 years and the reality is soooooooo different. Through things like Zoom and Google Meets and Microsoft Teams (and Skype before them) many of us attend meetings virtually rather than by driving to the location, a real boon for those serving outside major centers. Those same technologies allow for Bible Studies where people out of town can take part. Particularly since COVID many churches now livestream their worship services thereby increasing the number of people who can take part in those experiences. Some do this simply with a stream on YouTube, FacebookLive, or Vimeo, others have chosen something like Zoom where there is more opportunity to be interactive. There are, or at least were, arrangements made where multiple churches can worship together with different spots doing different parts of the service. There was (I think still is) an entirely online congregation within the United Church. I know of one place where the minister alternates between a period onsite and a period at home but interacts with the church digitally. As it has in many parts of our culture, the Internet has transformed the ways we can do church.

I think the church uses online community in at least a couple of ways. One is marketing. Facebook pages, Instagram feeds, TikTok, websites... all are ways of getting our name and image out there. We need to explore how best to make use of these tools. That might be part of what I explore this summer

The other way we can use the online reality is to make it part of how we are a community of faith. How do these tools help us build community? As I look at that questions I am wondering how to fit the answers into a couple of frameworks. One is the 5 marks (or Core Ministries) of the church: Liturgia, Koinonia, Didache, Diakonia, and Kerygma. How does/can online community work with offline community to feed each of those? The other is the framework laid out by Janet Gear in Undivided Love. Gear talks about the different tables that are gathered at the Banquet of faith: Evangelical, Ecclesial, Missional, Ecumenical, and Spiritual. How can online community work with offline community to feed each of them?

Hmm still sounds a bit too broad. We will see what comes of it. Because the purpose of Sabbatical is not just to find work.

AS one of my colleagues said to me, Sabbatical is also about Sabbath. So part of the time will be finding other, non-church, things in life. This should include trying to improve my physical shape (otherwise I have to start replacing wardrobe). It might include relearning what I once knew about piano and guitar. It will include some family time. Maybe even getting a chance to visit camp again????

SO that is the hope/plan/dream for four months this year. I wonder what it will end up being in reality???

Book 13 of 2024 Twelfth Night

 Looking for a different type of read to end the year I remembered that I have a complete collection of Shakespeare on my e-reader so I thought it was time for a play. I decided a comedy was what I was in the mood for and given the time of year Twelfth Night seemed an appropriate choice.  

It was a good break over the last few days. Mixed up identities, prankish plots, love triangles, poor communication...has it all like any good Shakespearean comedy. I also re-learned that these plays are best read aloud -- though my girls were a bit less impressed by that part.

I should turn to that collection more often.

Book 12 0f 2024 -- Grace and Gigabytes

 This fall I took a course about digital ministry. The course was good but spent far more time talking about AI than I was expecting. It did however make me think more about the role of digital and hybrid ministry in the life of a congregation. If I were to take a sabbatical again that is the area I would take time to explore.

At any rate, the presenter/instructor of the course intrigued me so I went looking at the books that had been suggested for Further Reading and decided to read this one. Panzer lives in both worlds, he has an MDiv and a career in IT, so is very well situated to lead these discussions.

I liked what he had to say about the cultural change that is happening and ideas of how the church which is rather notorious for being behind when it comes to cultural changes) could respond. Panzer is clear that the way to do and plan digital ministry is about far more than simply signing on to a bunch of different platforms or tools. Like any other ways of considering new directions in ministry it means careful deliberation and discerning what is the best fit for your context.  I also really appreciated that he gives high- medium-  and low-tech options for how the ideas presented in each chapter could be played out.

Panzer talks about a variety of topics that address the philosophical foci of this new tech shaped culture. they are: Questions, Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity. I think it could be argued that the church as a whole has a mixed history of effectiveness on all four of those points. It is not just about the technology, it is about how people want/expect their communities to work. The technology is a tool (or a set of tools) to help us do ministry in a changed and changing culture.

This was a good read. It has things I need to ponder more. Now I am contemplating getting this book also by Panzer.

Book 11 of 2024 -- The Spirit of Hope: Theology for a World in Peril

 

Earlier this year when Jurgen Moltmann died I realized that while I had read excerpts of his work over the year I had never read one of his books (though I have been told that my eschatology might fall close to his). So I went looking and chose this volume. 

It appears mainly to be a compilation of lectures and essays from a variety of times in his career, mainly the later years. The first section was a very easy read and informed some of what I did in September sermons for Creation Time. Then second section was a bit less engaging and took into October to finish.

Overall I generally liked what Moltmann was proposing. I definitely like his focus on hope. There are parts I may go back and re-read as time goes on.

Book 10 of 2024 -- The Bright Ages

 Every year as the summer approaches I look for something different from my normal reading list to read while on vacation. This year I happened on this volume about Medieval history and decided that it would be my holiday reading this summer. I was especially intrigued by the title. It was a nice counterpoint to the oft-used (and IMO inappropriate) descriptor of the Early Middle Ages as the "Dark Ages".

The book is not a comprehensive history of the period or even a survey history. It is a selection of stories that are not as well known, told from a different point of view. The authors also take effort to remind the reader that the whole dividing of history into ages and eras is a bit artificial. It is not like there are hard divisions between different periods of history, there are always crossovers and holdovers.

I found this a very easy and entertaining read. Many of the stories were ones I was either completely unfamiliar with or were ones I had only heard from a very different perspective. I really appreciated the time taken to push the reader to see a Medieval Europe where female voices and people of colour were more a part of the story than most history has portrayed. In the same vein the intentional lifting up of the tension of a multicultural, multi-religious, world connected across Europe, Africa, and Asia was greatly appreciated.

It was indeed a good choice to start my vacation with.

Book 9 of 2024 -- A Year in the Life of the Atikokan River

For nine years every day I looked out the dormer window in the manse out over the Atikokan river valley. Many times I would walk the dog along the trails. When Patty came to Atikokan for the first time we took a walk along the trail leading down from the church before she left. The river is a highlight of the community though, as Brian says in the last column in this book, sometimes it might be easy to take it for granted.

So when I saw on Facebook that Brian and the Progress had put a series of columns into a small book I immediately asked how one might get a copy without having to travel to Atikokan.

It is a great little read. 12 monthly columns about the river. I really appreciated that for each month Brian had not only given the traditional English month names but also the Anishinabemowin names. It is a small act but one that recognizes that the river has been used for far longer than the 125 year that the community of Atikokan has existed.

As we travel through the 12 columns Brian leads us in an exploration of the biology, the flora and fauna one encounters in the valley. He talks about how climate change and human activity have impacted the river and also how the river has impacted human activity. He then includes an appendix with some scientific data about the river.

It is probable that the book will be of most interest to people who have lived in Atikokan and experienced the river directly and given how it was published it is not likely to spread much beyond the town. But I am sure glad I had the connections to get a copy (a signed copy in fact). Well done Brian!