Social mediagospel M
A conversation with Meredith Gould By Susan M. Lang
eredith Gould, author of T e Social Media Gospel: Shar- ing the Good News in New
Ways (Liturgical Press, 2013) is a digital strategist and communica- tions consultant who works with churches and judicatories across denominations. T e Lutheran asked her (using
Gould
social media, of course) about help- ing congregations and ministries
use social media as tools for reaching out to the home- bound and those who can’t physically attend church.
The Lutheran: How is social media both a mission tool and a mission fi eld? Gould: Newcomers to social media tend to view social
media platforms as tools for communication, and rightly so. T ese platforms allow us to share content (e.g., links, pictures, videos) and engage in conversations from which relationships —and community—emerge. T ey morph into tools for mission when we share experiences of how God’s grace is revealed in daily life, when we articulate how gospel values are actively lived. For example, posting to Facebook about the felt
experience of grace while distributing blankets or food or cleaning up neighborhood blight is using social media as a tool for mission. Posting Instagram pictures or creating Pinterest boards with images that illustrate feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, comforting the sorrow- ful, etc., is also a way of using social media as a tool for sharing the gospel. Bonus points for adding captions like “Here’s where I saw God’s mercy today.” Used consistently, over time social media becomes a
mission fi eld. To illuminate this dimension, I invite people to think
about who they connect with through social media. What percentage of those connections are from church? Generally speaking, their Facebook, Instagram, Pinter- est or Twitter networks are dominated by family, friends from school days, co-workers and others from the secular world. Social media becomes a mission fi eld when posting
about the signifi cance of faith and church involvement is so seamless (read: not pushy and obnoxious) that secular friends notice enough to ask about it. Using social media itself or through other means, these questions emerge: “Why do you post about your faith so much?” or “You seem to spend a lot of time at church. Why?” Boom! Mission fi eld, as well as mission tool.
Top three myths about the homebound
Myth #1: In general, homebound parishioners are ill and old. Reality: Being disabled is not the same thing as being ill.
Myth #2:
Aging or elderly members are unlikely to engage via digital technology. Reality: Although recent research indicates a drop-off of Internet and broadband use at around age 75, we
can no longer assume lack of interest in or use of digital technology among those age 70 and older. Plus, today’s 60-somethings who do use the Internet are tomorrow’s seniors.
Myth #3: People with motor disabilities can’t use computers. Reality: Voice activated/recognition programs, many of which are used by the able-bodied (think: Siri), plus assis-
tive devices (e.g., mouth sticks, head wands, eye-tracking) make computers accessible.
To learn more about assistive technol- ogy, search for resources by Edward S. Rosenthal (http://offi ce.microsoft. com); articles at
http://WebAIM.org (search “motor disabilities”); and for “Older Adults and Technology Use” by Aaron Smith for the Pew Research Inter- net Project (
www.pewinternet.org).
June 2014 19
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