Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Books: Digital Media resources for pastors, congregations and church workers

Social Media has become an effective tool for some congregations and Christian communities.

Following is a list of some books to help you explore how you might be able to use digital media for your context....and if you know of others please let me know by emailing me

Books from 2009 

The Digital Church: How to Use the New Tools of Technological and Communication Revolution for Your Church by Mark Brooks  (2013)
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION – The Guttenberg Press and The Church
SECTION ONE: THE BASIS FOR BECOMING A DIGITAL CHURCH
CHAPTER ONE – The Technological Revolution
CHAPTER TWO – The Church and Technology: A Historical Perspective
CHAPTER THREE – Why the Church MUST Embrace the Technological Revolution
SECTION TWO: THE BASICS OF BECOMING A DIGITAL CHURCH
CHAPTER FOUR – Your Website: The Foundation For A Digital Church
CHAPTER FIVE – Web 3.0 Mobile Websites and Your Church
CHAPTER SIX – What is SEO and Why It Should Matter to You
CHAPTER SEVEN – What Is An App and Why Your Church Needs One
CHAPTER EIGHT – Online Giving: The Future of The Plate
SECTION THREE: THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR THE DIGITAL CHURCH
CHAPTER NINE – Social Media Is Where Your Community Is!
CHAPTER TEN – Use Facebook to Tell Your Story
CHAPTER ELEVEN – Why You Should Use Twitter
CHAPTER TWELVE – Pinning Outreach to Pinterest
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and The Rest
CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Putting It All Together



Facebook Jesus by Hintz and Courlis (2013)
Using Facebook to Build and Grow a Church. Facebook has changed the earth as we know it and has the power to revolutionize your church. No matter what your current technological skill level is, you are sure to learn techniques which will enable you to build and grow a church. From launching a fan page to advertising on Facebook, we will take you through each step and explain it in detail. Do you want to move from having a mediocre Facebook presence to becoming a FB ninja? Do you want to use technology to dramatically impact your community? Do you want to increase the quality of everything from your staff management to your outreach program? If so, this book is for you!


The iChurch Method: Changing The World When You Login by Jason Caston (2013)
The iChurch Method is a five part approach to taking your ministry online and reaching the world. In this edition, volume 2, Changing the World When You Login, we have expanded and progressed on the five parts introduced in volume 1, How to Advance Your Ministry Online. 
Part 1: Websites - Next level websites that adapt to any device.
Part 2: Multimedia - The Internet Church Campus.
Part 3: Ecommerce - Advanced Online Stores/Online Donations.
Part 4: Social Media - Building Social Communities.
Part 5: Mobile - Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites
With these five parts can help any ministry take advantage of technology and not be left behind.



Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology by Derek C. Schuurman  (2013)
Digital technology has become a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Our increasingly fast-paced world seems more and more remote from the world narrated in Scripture. But despite its pervasiveness, there remains a dearth of theological reflection about computer technology and what it means to live as a faithful Christian in a digitally-saturated society. In this thoughtful and timely book, Derek Schuurman provides a brief theology of technology, rooted in the Reformed tradition and oriented around the grand themes of creation, fall, redemption and new creation. He combines a concise, accessible style with penetrating cultural and theological analysis. Building on the work of Jacques Ellul, Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman, and drawing from a wide range of Reformed thinkers, Schuurman situates computer technology within the big picture of the biblical story. Technology is not neutral, but neither is there an exclusively "Christian" form of technological production and use. Instead, Schuurman guides us to see the digital world as part of God’s good creation, fallen yet redeemable according to the law of God. Responsibly used, technology can become an integral part of God’s shalom for the earth.


The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways by Meredith Gould (2013)
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and a growing number of other social media tools can help you build church, deepen faith, and extend your reach in previously unimaginable ways. In this easy-to-understand, step-by-step guide to digital ministry, church communications professional Meredith Gould goes beyond "how to" and explains "why to" engage your parish in the world of social media.
Social media tools make it possible to share conversations and content with the long-time faithful, disaffected millennials, the homebound, and spiritual seekers within and beyond church-the-building. Inspired by the Gospel and centered on Christ, The Social Media Gospel gently guides you and your church leaders and volunteers through the rapidly changing world of social media, helping you preach the Good News in new ways.


Click2save: The Digital Ministry Bible by Drescher and Anderson (2012)
Social media provide an opportunity for congregations to open the doors and windows to their congregational life before people ever step inside. It s no longer all about getting your message out as if people are passively waiting for the latest news from the parish, diocese, or national church. Rather, it s about creating spaces where meaningful relationships can develop. Click 2 Save: The Digital Ministry Bible is a practical resource guide for religious leaders who want to enrich and extend their ministries using digital media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and church or personal blogs. An ideal companion to Tweet If You Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation (Morehouse, 2011), Click 2 Save draws on extensive research and practical experience in church and other ministry settings to provide functional, how-to guidance on effectively using social networking sites in the day-to-day context of ministry."


The Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church by Bruce Reyes-Chow (2012)
For anyone who has wondered if and how social media can benefit the church, Presbyterian pastor and social media early-adopter Bruce Reyes-Chow steps in with answers. He deftly weaves practical how-to's with a convincing rationale for why social media matters for the church. Social media novices will find an accessible introduction and ideas for getting started, while more experienced users will discover new ways to use social media in congregations. Readers will learn from Bruce's experiences managing information overload and navigating social media issues during a pastoral transition. This is a book to pick up for both practical purposes and Bruce's insightful and inspiring commentary on the ways social media is changing our culture and the church. Learn how social media allows Christians to be in the world in new, powerful, and God-honoring ways.


Digital Religion, Social Media and Culture by Pauline Hope Cheong, Peter Fischer-Nielsen, Stefan Gelfgren, Charles Ess  (2012)
This anthology—the first of its kind in eight years—collects some of the best and most current research and reflection on the complex interactions between religion and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The contributions cohere around the central question: how will core religious understandings of identity, community and authority shape and be (re)shaped by the communicative possibilities of Web 2.0? The authors gathered here address these questions in three distinct ways: through contemporary empirical research on how diverse traditions across the globe seek to take up the technologies and affordances of contemporary CMC; through investigations that place these contemporary developments in larger historical and theological contexts; and through careful reflection on the theoretical dimensions of research on religion and CMC. In their introductory and concluding essays, the editors uncover and articulate the larger intersections and patterns suggested by individual chapters, including trajectories for future research.

Digital Religion:  Understanding Religious practice in new media worlds  by H Campbell (2012)
Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book:
- provides a detailed review of major topics
- includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations
- considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised.

Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field.


Geekpriest: Confessions of a New Media Pioneer by Fr. Roderick Vonhogen  (2012)
In this engrossing collection of stories and anecdotes, Fr. Roderick shares how he became a “new media missionary.” Focusing on the importance of personal connection (an essential ingredient of new media), he uncovers the exciting possibilities of using all forms of media to successfully accomplish the mission Jesus gave us: to evangelize the world. Each chapter contains illustrations of using new media as a way to reach out to others. Some examples:
- How the pope got his iPod
- Reaching 50,000 Harry Potter fans without waving a magic wand
- Why gaming can be good for the soul
- How to deal with online atheists
- The Mass and mass media
- How you, too, can become a new media missionary
Fr. Roderick’s stories introduce a young, secularized generation to an experience of God at work in his Church and in individual lives. Instead of presenting dry theories and principles, this book reveals those principles through experiences of one of today’s leading Catholic new media entrepreneurs.


Viral:  How Social Networking is poised to reignite revival by Leonard Sweet (2012)
The gospel is nothing without relationship. And no one gets it like the Google Generation.
God came to earth to invite us, personally, into a relationship. And while Christians at times downplay relationships, the social-media generation is completely sold on the idea. In Viral, Leonard Sweet says Christians need to learn about connecting with others from the experts—those who can’t seem to stop texting, IM-ing, tweeting, and updating their Facebook statuses. What would happen, he asks, if Christians devoted less attention to strategies and statistics and paid more attention to pursuing relationships?
The current generation is driven by a God-given desire to know others and to be known by others. Most of them, in seeking to connect in meaningful ways, have found a place of belonging that is outside the organized church. Why not bring the two together?
Those who are sold out to relationships can teach Christians how to be better friends to people who need God. At the same time, members of the social-media generation can learn how to follow their desire for belonging, straight into the arms of God. It’s time for relationship to be restored to the heart of the gospel. And when that happens, can revival be far behind?


The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet Paperback  by Brandon Vogt (2011)
Facebook has over 750 million users. Twitter hosts more than 350 billion tweets each day. Today alone, people will view more than two billion videos on YouTube. And in the past year, Americans sent 1.8 trillion text messages.
We're experiencing the most explosive communication shift since the printing press.
What does this mean for the Church? 
How can Christians harness these new tools to reach out, to teach, to cultivate community, to change the world?
Following Pope Benedict's call to set sail on the digital continent, The Church and New Media explores the benefits and dangers of New Media, while guiding Christians through this new digital landscape. The book features more than a dozen contributors including:
-- Cardinal Sean O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. with the book's Foreword
-- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan with the book's Afterword
-- Brandon Vogt on "the digital continent" and New Media's benefits and dangers
-- Fr. Robert Barron on engaging the secular online world
-- Jennifer Fulwiler on blogging her way from atheism to Catholicism
-- Marcel LeJeune on using New Media to connect young adults with the Church
-- Mark Shea on the benefits and perils of blogging
-- Taylor Marshall on using New Media to unwrap ancient truths
-- Fr. Dwight Longenecker on ecumenical dialogue through New Media
-- Scot Landry on New Media in the diocese
-- Matt Warner on New Media in the parish
-- Lisa Hendey on growing online community
-- Thomas Peters on faithful online activism
-- Shawn Carney on how the world's largest pro-life movement was built using New Media


Tweet if you heart Jesus:   Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation by Elizabeth Drescher (2011) 

Churches everywhere are scrambling to get linked with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. But are they ready for the Digital Reformation: the dramatic global shift in the nature of faith, social consciousness and relationship that these digital social media have ushered in? 
Tweet If You Love Jesus brings the wisdom of ancient and medieval Christianity into conversation with contemporary theories of cultural change and the realities of social media, all to help churches navigate a landscape where faith, leadership and community have taken on new meanings.


Web-Empowered Ministry: Connecting With People through Websites, Social Media, and More by Mark Stephenson  (2011)
Let Web-Empowered Ministry be your comprehensive guide along your unique journey toward building a powerful internet ministry. You will learn the practical steps, techniques, and ideas needed to develop an excellent and effective web ministry. You will also learn how to apply the many tools the internet has to offer including websites, smart phones, social networking, media, instant messaging, and more to extend and multiply your ministry impact. 
Mark’s engaging style makes technology accessible as he offers firsthand advice on every aspect of building an internet ministry: from assembling a team to designing and maintaining your website to developing a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and more. 
People are coming to know Jesus. Lives are being transformed. It comes from God’s power and our use of the internet to share, teach, and connect.


The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch (2009)
The Blogging Church offers church leaders a field manual for using the social phenomenon of blogs to connect people and build communities in a whole new way. Inside you will find the why, what, and how of blogging in the local church. Filled with illustrative examples and practical advice, the authors answer key questions learned on the frontlines of ministry: Is blogging a tool or a toy? What problems will blogging solve? How does it benefit ministry? How do I build a great blog? and Who am I blogging for?
The Blogging Church is a handbook that will inspire and equip you to join the conversation.
The book includes contributions from five of the most popular bloggers in the world—Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Kathy Sierra, Guy Kawasaki, and Merlin Mann, as well as interviews with blogging pastors such as Mark Driscoll, Craig Groeschel, Tony Morgan, Perry Noble, Greg Surratt, Mark Batterson, and many more.


The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice  (2009)

A revolution is underway. A Wi-Fi, worldwide movement that is changing how we interact with others. It's a seismic shift that is redefining the idea of community. Every day millions of people connect through online social networks, sites that allow us to follow our friends, and shape how they view us.
But while personal profiles are revealing, they hint at even larger truths. They uncover our desire for identity, our craving to be known, and our need to belong.
Jesse Rice believes that Facebook offers a profound look at our deepest needs. Join Jesse as he explores social networking and its impact on culture and the church. Filled with fresh perspectives and provocative questions, The Church of Facebook encourages us to pursue authentic relationships with God and those around us.

Flickering Pixels:  How technology shapes your faith by Shane Hipps (2009)
Flickering pixels are the tiny dots of light that make up the screens of life---from TVs to cell phones. They are nearly invisible, but they change us. In this provocative book, author Shane Hipps takes readers beneath the surface of things to see how the technologies we use end up using us. Not all is dire, however, as Hipps shows us that hidden things have far less power to shape us when they aren't hidden anymore. We are only puppets of our technology if we remain asleep. Flickering Pixels will wake us up---and nothing will look the same again.


Sim Church - Being the church in the virtual world by Dougls Este (2009)

The meeting place for the church of tomorrow will be a computer screen. Don't laugh, and don't feel alarmed. The real-world church isn't going anywhere until Jesus returns. But the virtual church is already here, and it's poised for explosive growth. SimChurch invites you to explore the vision, the concerns, the challenges, and the remarkable possibilities of building Christ's kingdom online. What is the virtual church, and what different forms might it take? Will it be an extension of a real-world church, or a separate entity? How will it encourage families to worship together? Is it even possible or healthy to 'be' the church in the virtual world? If you're passionate about the church and evangelism, and if you feel both excitement and concern over the new virtual world the internet is creating, then these are just some of the vital issues you and other postmillennial followers of Jesus must grapple with. Rich in both biblical and current insight, combining exploration and critique, SimChurch opens a long-overdue discussion you can't afford to miss.


Thy Kingdom Connected:  what the church can learn from Facebook, Internet and other networks by D Friesen (2009)
Networks are everywhere. From our roads to our relationships, from our food supply to our power grids, networks are an integral part of how we live. Similarly, our churches, denominations, and even the kingdom of God are networks. Knowing how networks function and how to work with rather than against them has enormous implications for how we do ministry.
In Thy Kingdom Connected, Dwight J. Friesen brings the complex theories of networking to church leaders in easy-to-understand, practical ways. Rather than bemoaning the modern disintegration of things like authority and structure, Friesen inspires hope for a more connective vision of life with God. He shows those involved in ministry how they can maximize already existing connections between people in order to spread the Gospel, get people plugged in at their churches, and grow together as disciples.






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