Being Presbyterian

Wow. Remember when MySpace was the dominant social network? Seems like a long time ago, as the past three years have seen Facebook approach, catch, and blow past MySpace to become our preferred online hangout spot.

Now, new data released by Facebook and third party researchers show just how influential Facebook has become in our daily lives. Combined with several critical adjustments to how Facebook publishes “news” and intersects with other sites, the state of Facebook is mind-blowing. And important for business.

It's getting harder and harder to dismiss Facebook as the domain of young people. Indeed, according to Eric's post, a full 60% of Facebook users are over 25.

This weekend I returned home from another week of travel that took me to Atlanta and Nashville. My Atlanta trip was built around an invitation by Columbia Theological Seminary to participate in the Emergence NOW conference with Tony Jones, Phyllys Tickle and Phillip Clayton.

My week in Atlanta began with a visit to Central Presbyterian Church where I met with various configurations of the congregation: staff, session and youth. The youth group at Central and I go WAY back . . . all the way to General Assembly in San Jose where they attended as a group. We then ran into each other at the Inauguration and will see each other again in Minneapolis. What a thoughtful and faithful group of folks who just so happen to be young! Thank you!

It's that time of year again. All PCUSA congregations are supposed to turn in their statistical reports this week to Louisville.

Statistics perennially seem to make us feel bad about ourselves (membership losses!) or give us amo for feeling important (look how big my church is!) but – honestly – I have changed my mind about the usefulness of statistical reports in a positive direction.

We've been in the business of educating congregational leaders since 1974 . And over the years in some significant ways "the more things change, the more they remain the same."

Yet when you look at the educational programming offered by Alban here at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, even those who think they know us very well shouldn't be surprised to find themselves saying,

this just isn't your grandparents' Alban!

According to a recent study, most churches and non-profits are leveraging 3rd party systems for their online donation efforts coming in at 51%. 16% say they are using a whitelabel solution while a whopping 33% don’t use any at all.

Today, Pope Benedict XVI announced that priests and church leaders should be actively using digital tools, including the social web, to communicate with laypersons, particularly young people.

The occasion was the 44th annual World Communications Day, traditionally a time for the Vatican to project an annual message from the church to its people and the rest of the world. This year's message stood in sharp contrast to the missive he delivered in 2009, when the Holy See stated that mass media – including online information sources – acted as a "poison" that numbed morality and sensitivity. "'It recounts, repeats and amplifies evil," he said, "making us accustomed to horrendous acts, desensitizing us and, in some ways, poisoning us." So, why the about-face?

I really, really love Twitter, here’s why: