Pope Benedict XVI sent his first tweet last month, again confirming what many religion publishers have already discovered: churches are paying attention to social media. Many congregations use Web sites like Facebook and Twitter as tools for ministry and evangelization, but these resources also pose unique challenges. Three new books try to help the spiritually minded make sense of social media.
The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet (Our Sunday Visitor, Aug.) by Brandon Vogt includes contributions from 13 Catholic new-media experts and church leaders. Each chapter offers practical advice for parishes and dioceses seeking to engage the faithful in the digital world. It is the first substantial book on the topic geared toward Catholics, according to OSV acquisitions editor Bert Ghezzi.
Ghezzi said that while OSV will use a publicist to promote the book, the author’s social media skills have been invaluable for building buzz. The book has its own Facebook page and Twitter feed, and a book trailer on YouTube. “New media has changed the whole ground on which the church needs to stand to do its work.” Ghezzi said. “This book is very practical; it says, ‘Here is what you can do, and what you need to do it, and how to do it,’ but it also offers precautions.”
Elizabeth Drescher offers a more conceptual look at social media in Tweet if You Heart Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation (Morehouse, May). The book is aimed at ministry leaders in mainline churches, who she said can be self-conscious about broadcasting the faith. Dresher presents both modern case studies and medieval history while examining the roots of church communication across denominations and in different eras.
“Ecclesiology is destiny,” she said. “Medieval communications were multimedia, using words and images shared very socially. The pilgrims in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales competed to share their stories. Mainline churches have resources in our tradition that invite us to engage one another. Today people are praying the hours together on Twitter.”
But does the digital revolution have an effect on personal relationships? Lynne M. Baab examines this question in Friending: Real Relationships in a Virtual World (IVP Books, April). Baab looks closely at the ways social media is used to demonstrate love in real-life friendships, and examines the meaning and value of these friendships as they move—and form—online.
Baab is based in New Zealand, but IVP associate editor David Zimmerman said her distance from the United States has provided an opportunity to focus on a “more viral and virtual marketing plan,” adding that Baab has effectively used online videos to showcase the book. But this doesn’t mean she’s spending all her time online.
“We’ve got to get beyond the polarized views and come up with some guidelines for healthy use of social media and for all electronic communication,” Baab said. “Talking about [digital communication] as if it’s all bad or all good simply ignores the fact that most people who use it have mixed feelings and are thinking creatively about how to use it wisely.”
Kerry Weber is an associate editor for America magazine and the author of Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications).
