If you’ve visited the The Big Bible over the last week or two, you’d have heard talk about the Christian New Media Conference, otherwise known as #cnmac11. While taking into account a wide variety of areas (ranging from Twitter, to the theology of creating), the conference encouraged us to look at how to engage with a digital world.
While we’ve taken a short punchy approach to our comments so far over at The Church Sofa, I’d just like a moment to pause and reflect on a few of the subjects that seemed to be raised during the day.
Just do it.
Do you have an idea for something? Want to tell a story in a particular way? Do it. Get it out there. Put it online. Tell people. Find your community online.
Surrounded by people that think you’re a bit of geek for doing it? Well that’s ok. There may be people online who enjoy what you do.
Try it, and see what happens.
Just bear in mind one thing: check your motives and behaviour before God. On that note, do we pray about our online lives, relationships, and digital creations, as often as we should?
Be Yourself.
“Be yourself as everyone else is taken” – Oscar Wilde
I can’t remember who said this on the day, but I find the above really sums up the need to be authentic online. The thing is: Who are you? If you’re a child of God, do you seek to share that love for other people online? My wife came across the #LoveMonday hashtag at the event, and promptly used it on Monday. She found a great positive way to connect with her friends on Twitter, the added bonus being that she had people asking about #LoveMonday, and what it meant.
On this subject of “Being Yourself”, the various websites and apps available online, give a wide opportunity to “share yourself”. Share the person you are. On one level this could be as simple as checking into Church on Foursquare / Facebook / Google Plus… On that note have you tried the nearby function out on the Google Plus mobile apps? It seems a more natural way of finding and connecting with local peeps around you, then trying to find an app in Twitter to do it.
To quote one of the breakout sessions:
Share your life online. Someone may be better off because of it.
Stand up
Remember. We have an equal platform.
What do we stand up for? Do we stand up for anything? Or do we only stand up for a cause when there is a hype to buy into?
What difference do we really make?
This post was originally featured on the Big Bible website.
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