A wise Dominican sister I studied with in graduate school once described theologians as the “scouts” of the Church: part of their task is to run ahead, discover what is over the hills in the distance, and report back so that the Church can be prepared for what lies before us.

With that in mind I write as a “techno-theologian[1]”: someone who has forged ahead, seen what lies before us in the intersection of faith and technology, and has returned to report on his findings. And I am here to tell you that we are not prepared.

The purpose of this article is not to examine specific platforms such as Twitter or Facebook. Nor is it to discuss the latest gadgets and gizmos we can bring into our catechetical programs. Instead I want to pick up on some of the threads from Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski’s 2011 address at the NCCL conference in Atlanta. In that address Sr. Zukowski spoke of the need to understand and engage the emerging digital revolution underway in our culture. This call has only taken on more urgency in the time since her address and remains one of the great challenges facing the Church’s catechetical ministry in the near future.

A Story: #CatholicRulesForTwitter

I want to begin with a story that illustrates just what opportunities and dangers await us as catechists in the digital continent. On Friday, April 1, 2010, I inadvertently started a minor internet meme[2]. A friend of mine on Twitter, who had made a sarcastic comment about another Catholic institution’s inappropriate use of Twitter, had been called to task for her complaint. Frustrated, she tweeted out “I didn’t know Catholics couldn’t be sarcastic online. Could someone please send me the Catholic rules for Twitter?”

Being a somewhat impertinent and snarky individual myself, I immediately replied “Never tweet anything from the NAB w/o express permission of @USCCB #CatholicRulesForTwitter.” Using the hash sign (#) before the phrase “CatholicRulesForTwitter” created a “hashtag” – a simple way for topics and conversations to be found and linked together. Soon my friend responded with a few clever rules of her own, including the same hashtag.

Because I included the Twitter name for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (@USCCB) as an “at” reply, whoever monitors their Twitter feed noticed that I had mentioned them. At first they thought we were being serious, but soon realized it was all in jest. And that’s when the interesting part happened.

As their last tweet of the week, the USCCB pointed their thousands of followers to the fun we’d been having: “If you want a good laugh, check out #CatholicRulesForTwitter.” And that’s when the whole thing went viral.

Soon Catholics from around the world were tweeting their own rules and sharing funny rules from other people. Some of my favorites include:

@CatholicDan: “Tweets posted on Saturday night count as being written on Sunday. #CatholicRulesForTwitter”

@JonoShea1: “On Fasts, only one full tweet is allowed. 2 smaller tweets permitted, if they do not equal a full 140 characters #CatholicRulesForTwitter”

@blueberries4me: “Married couples should not block the act of tweeting, but may abstain from tweeting on certain days if necessary. #CatholicRulesForTwitter”

@iTh0t: “Mary turned to the disciples & said, “RT[3] whatever he says.” #CatholicRulesForTwitter”

In fact, in 24 hours over 400 “rules” had been posted, and small spin-offs began to list similar rules for Methodists, Lutherans, and other religious groups.

Living in a Time of Technological Disruption

This story, as amusing as it is, points to the ways in which new technologies are disrupting traditional methods of communication. That these technologies are disruptive should not surprise us; it occurs anytime a culture experiences a transition to new communication methods. Indeed, the 1960 Confraternity Teacher’s Guide includes this sage advice regarding “new media” and catechesis:

The catechist will find that catechetical material in filmstrips, both black and white and in color, is steadily increasing in volume. He will find satisfactory filmstrips which correlate with courses of study and with the catechism… The number of catechetical subjects available on sound motion-picture film is comparatively limited. The teaching value of the silent movie is greatly reduced by the fact that today pupils are accustomed to sound movies. (emphasis mine)

While this appeal to sound movies may seem quaint today, it does make the point that the message we proclaim can only be heard if we use the methods employed by the hearer. As younger generations grow up with new ways of interacting with one another we would do well to ask what methods of communication are today’s youth accustomed to? What methods are we using that may be losing their effectiveness due to the adoption of newer methods?

Bishop Ron Herzog, in his 2010 address to his peers at the November meeting of the USCCB, echoed the Confraternity Teacher’s Guide when he said

Although social media has been around for less than 10 years, it doesn’t have the makings of a fad. We’re being told that it is causing as fundamental a shift in communication patterns and behavior as the printing press did 500 years ago. And I don’t think I have to remind you of what happened when the Catholic Church was slow to adapt to that new technology.

While these new technologies are disruptive in a variety of ways, they will be especially challenging to catechesis due to three factors: their democratizing tendencies, their subjugation of geography, and their cheapening of information.

First, new digital technologies democratize the tools of communication. In the past, mass communication was in the hands of very few people. In the ancient and medieval worlds it took years to reproduce a book. Even after the advent of the printing press mass production of books and newspapers was only available to those with the capital to invest in expensive and immobile machinery.

Today anyone with an internet connection and something to say can have a blog up and running in a matter of minutes. Communicating “on the go” – a staple of science fiction as late as the early 1990s – is now so ubiquitous as to be unremarkable, including textual, audio, and video media. Mass communication tools are no longer in the hands of a few, but the many, and people are participating in them in a way Gutenberg could only have dreamed of.

Second, these tools overcome what Sherry Turkle has called the “tyranny of geography.” In the past people had a limited pool of contacts with whom they could communicate easily. Today we can easily connect with people from across the globe. As a result, it is easier than ever before to find people with whom we share passions and interests. I can just as easily discuss the latest news from the Vatican with my colleagues down the hall as with a catechist in South Sudan – something I do regularly via an online forum.

Finally, new technologies – and the internet in particular – have made accessing the world’s knowledge extraordinarily cheap and easy. Gone are the days of long library searches and endless cross-referencing. The answer to any question, whether complex or trivial, is little more than a Google search away. As a result the participants in our programs will have little need for an “expert with the answers” since their questions regarding the content of doctrine and dogma will be easily satisfied. Helping people find good sources of information will become more important than helping them find the answers.

Implications for Catechesis

These three trends – the democratization of communications tools, the defeat of geography, and easy access of information – produce a powerful confluence of social and cultural forces; they will have some important implications for the future of catechesis.

First, catechists and catechetical leaders will no longer be able to function simply as overseers of programs and classrooms – as the “sage on the stage.” Rather, we will need to view ourselves at the hub of a network of relationships. Catechetical leaders will need to become adept at helping make connections across these networks by introducing parishioners to authors and experts who can answer their questions or further their interests in particular subjects. Social media is already facilitating these types of connections and there is every indication that this trend will only continue.

Catechesis will also need to adapt to the particular needs of discrete communities and interest groups, replacing the “one-size-fits-all” approach of many programs. Catholic blogs are one model for this diversity: it’s possible to find blogs targeting very specific groups and interests, from Catholic mothers (www.CatholicMom.com) to professionals (www.IntegratedCatholicLife.org) to the intersection of faith and beer (www.CatholicDrinkie.com). Because of the low start-up costs of these sites it’s possible to target small but passionate groups of followers. The Church would do well to encourage these types of “micro-communities” by helping Catholics with similar interests to connect with one other online or face-to-face for fellowship and support.

Finally, we need to give the faithful access to the tools of the faith in these new formats. For all the cool things I can do on my smart phone I still cannot access an elegant, easy-to-use version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church or New American Bible without a steady internet connection. The recently released online version of the Catechism is a step in the right direction, but in my rural diocese we have areas – including one of our major population centers – that have no wireless data from my carrier. Giving faithful Catholic app developers access to the text of the Catechism and NAB would help to fill this gap and provide the Church with a much needed digital tool for catechesis and evangelization.

I’m not going to pretend that navigating the digital culture will be easy or without its pitfalls. Catechetical leaders will make missteps and mistakes as we seek to learn these new tools and apply them to the work of evangelization and faith formation. Yet the work we do now to acclimate ourselves to these new technologies will pave the way for greater innovation and engagement in the future. The Church cannot afford to fear these new technologies and cannot afford to ignore their impact on our work of evangelization. We must embrace new methods if we are to fulfill Christ’s call to make disciples of all nations – even on the digital continent.

[1] “Techno-theologian” is a phrase originally coined, to the best of my knowledge, by Richard Drabik of the University of Dayton.

[2] A meme is a small idea – be it a catchphrase, joke, or image – that is easily and rapidly adapted and reproduced. Online, memes are often said to have “gone viral.”

[3] “RT” stands for “retweet” and indicates that something is being quoted from someone else.

With that in mind I’ve grown restive about the terms we use to describe our catechetical ministries, especially those aimed at children and youth. It’s no secret that the titles used for parish formational programs are many and varied; in my diocese we tend to use PSR, which is commonly understood to stand for “Parish School of Religion,” although I’ve heard other variations as well. Other places use “religious education” and I still see “CCD” used in some dioceses.

The problem as I see is with many of these terms is that they mirror terms from secular education — terms that bring some unwanted connotations to catechesis. Faith formation is more than just information delivery. It includes participation in the sacraments, prayer, integration into the Christian community, and other tasks that have no direct corollary in secular education. As a result using words like “school,” “student,” and “class” grate a bit because they don’t properly convey the totally of what catechesis is about. (To say nothing about the graduation mentality around Confirmation.)

At the same time “faith formation” seems clunky and “catechesis” is foreign to most people (not to mention hard to spell). So I’m at a loss.

Do you see a similar problem? What words or titles do you use in your parish or diocese for faith formation?

I’m interested in more generic terms, not acronyms for specific programs. Leave a comment and share your experiences!

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWed_5lflM

Presentation Slides and Notes

Books

• The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet, edited by Brandon Vogt (OSV, 2011).
• Technology Tools for Your Ministry: No Mousing Around! by Tim Welch (Twenty-Third Publications, 2008); technology books don’t always age well, but there is still some sound advice and tips in this book.

Additional Resources

• Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Social Media Policy Resources
• Fr. Robert Barron: 7 Great Qualities of a New Evangelist
• Blogger and WordPress (free blogging platforms)
• Sadlier’s Online Liturgical Calendar
• Edmodo (online class collaboration tools)
• CreativeCommons.org (information on the Creative Commons license)
• MorgueFile.com (free, attribution-free photos)
• OpenDNS.com (internet filtering)

Related Webinars

• 10 Ways That Technology Can Improve Your Religious Education Session (Victor Valenzuela)
• Catechizing Digital Natives (Jonathan F. Sullivan)
• Using the Parish Web Site to Power Adult Faith Formation (Jonathan F. Sullivan)
• Technology Tips for Religious Educators (Jared Dees)

I will be offering a free webinar sponsored by Sadlier Religion on May 2:

It should come as no surprise that technology is an increasingly important component in education. But how can catechists makes use of these tools without breaking the parish’s budget? In this hour-long webinar Jonathan F. Sullivan will outline three simple strategies for using low-cost tech solutions that are approachable and appropriate for parish-based catechesis. He will also walk you step-by-step through three sample activities that utilize these strategies. Parish and diocesan catechetical leaders will also receive tips on how they can help catechists use technology responsibly.

This webinar will be offered at 4p ET (3p CT) and 7p ET (6p CT); click on the times to register. I hope to see you there!

If, like me, you played computer games in the 1990s and 2000s, this is a time of grieving. LucasArts created some of the greatest games of the last two decades and gave me some of my favorite PC gaming memories:

• I flew against the Luftwaffe over Germany on my friend’s computer.
• I learned how to install additional RAM on my computer in order to steal the plans to the Death Star.
• I helped Professor Jones discover Atlantis.
• I installed a CD-ROM drive to play Rebel Assault (even though I never got past the caves on Hoth).
• I sacrificed a box of wind-up bunnies in order to cross a minefield.
• I piloted a TIE fighter for the glory of the Empire.

So the news left me somewhat surprised and saddened; another little piece of my adolescence has been parceled off.

That having been said, it was probably the right move for Disney to make. LucasArts’s track record in the last few years has been lackluster (their last published game was the dismally reviewed Star Wars Kinect, a game that actually included a Han Solo dance mini-game) and many of the best games using LucasFilm properties in recent years have been developed by other companies.

In other words, LucasArts was no longer producing games at its former levels, and other companies were doing a better job creating games with LucasFilm properties.

What does this have to do with ministry?

One of the hardest things to do is stop doing good things, especially good things we’ve been doing for a long time. Unfortunately we can’t do it all and sometimes we have to stop doing good things in order to do better things. In the case of Disney, this meant recognizing that they could license their propertieis to other companies who were just as capable of making great games, minimizing risk while freeing up resources for other projects and pursuits.

For parishes, this means recognizing when a program or ministry has come to the end of its lifespan. Usually this means a ministry that no longer serves the needs it was created for or consumes too many resources, leaving nothing for other important pursuits. Knowing when to refocus or even end a ministry is a difficult but task for all catechetical leaders, whether it’s a once-thriving small group ministry that has dwindled to a few members, or a youth ministry that has become more focused on activities and trips than the proclamation of Jesus Christ.

They key in all of this is discernment and regular review of a parish’s activities. We shouldn’t be afraid to take a close look at where we are putting our time and resources. Budget time is the perfect time to do this since it means looking at what is already going on and planning for the future. (As a wise CFO I worked with once remarked, a budget is moral document since it tells us what our priorities are.)  This doesn’t always mean shutting down ministries; it may simply mean restructuring them or scaling them back to more appropriate levels. But it does mean a fundamental shift in how the parish views its ministries.

Of course this process won’t come without some grieving; as I said, it’s always hard to stop doing good things. But as Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time for all things, including a time for endings. Our stewardship of the gifts we have been given requires nothing less than that we use them with care.

When was the last time you evaluated the programs you run? Are there any “good things” you should let go of so as to be free to pursue greater things?

Thank you to everyone who participated in my webinar “Using the Parish Web Site to Power Adult Faith Formation” sponsored by the Adult Faith Formation Committee of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership! Here are the notes and links I mentioned during the presentation as well as the PowerPoint slides; I’ll have the video up as soon as it’s available.

Video

Presentation Slides

Books

• Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Nonprofits Impact Culture and Others Don’t, by Phil Cooke (Regal, 2008); you can also read my review of this book.
• The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet, edited by Brandon Vogt (OSV, 2011); check out the chapter by Matt Warner, “High Tech Community: New Media in the Parish.
• Technology Tools for Your Ministry: No Mousing Around! by Tim Welch (Twenty-Third Publications, 2008); technology books don’t always age well, but there is still some sound advice and tips in this book.

Websites Cited

• St. Clement (Chicago, IL)
• Holy Name of Jesus (Wayzata, MN)
• St. Paul the Apostle (Westerville, OH)
• Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Facebook Page

Other Sites

• Adult Faith Formation Professionals Group on LinkedIn
• Catholic Tech Talk
• Internet Toolbox for Churches
• Pilot New Media

Related Presentations

• “9½ Social Media Strategies for the Church” by Jonathan F. Sullivan
• “Creating Excellent Parish Websites” by Pilot New Media (includes links to lots of additional resources)
• “Social Networking – A Primer for Catholic Teachers and Catechists” by Jonathan F. Sullivan

Last week on Twitter my friend Greg Dhuyvetter complained about the lack of wifi availability at the NCEA conference in Houston. My immediate, if snarky, reply was

This surprises you? We’ve got to get better about supporting media users! RT @gdhuyvetter: NO WIFI!!!!! #ncea2013

— Jonathan Sullivan (@sullijo) April 2, 2013

The truth is, having worked on a number of conferences, I understand why wifi isn’t a priority. For one, it’s expensive. (Seriously; ask a convention center or hotel how much they charge for wifi. Just be prepared to pick your jaw up from the floor.) Second, most leaders still don’t recognize that internet connectivity is increasingly akin to a utility. You wouldn’t hold a conference without electricity or running water, would you? And finally, conference planners believe that either very few people will use it or that so many will that the connection won’t be stable. Either way, why ask for the hassle?

The truth is that internet connectivity (by which I mean wireless connectivity across most of the conference space, not a room with some ethernet plugs) is a must-have for modern conferences. Here’s three reasons why:

Offering wifi allows participants to help each other. Increased communication among conference attendees means that they can help each other with both mundane questions (locating restrooms, good restaurants in the area, etc.) as well as more esoteric concerns (which breakout sessions are worth attending, what’s the keynote speaker’s web site, etc.). Both of these can help relieve the stress of already harried conference organizers by helping participants assist one another without the need to track down staff.

Offering wifi encourages people to spread your message. I love it when I see people on Twitter sharing insights and questions from conferences they are attending. Most conference even distribute an official conference “hashtag” in order to help participants connect their communications with the conference. (Last week’s NCEA conference in Houston used the hashtag #ncea2013.) This helps non-participants see the value of attending the conference and may influence their future conference attendance.

Offering wifi lets presenters and exhibitors get creative. One of the most frustrating experiences I ever had speaking at a conference was arriving to give a tech demonstration only to discover that internet connectivity was only available in a side room away from the room where it was supposed to be held. Demonstrating live web resources (and incorporating them into presentations) is vital for many presenters, and limiting where internet connectivity can be had puts a damper on our ability to most effectively communicate how to use these tools.

What reasons can you think of for conferences to offer wifi?

O God, who by the Passion of Christ your Son, our Lord,
abolished the death inherited from ancient sin
by every succeeding generation,
grant that just as, being conformed to him,
we have borne by the law of nature
the image of man of earth,
so by the sanctification of grace
we may bear the image of the Man of heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Then after he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master, and Lord; and you say well, for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.

- John 13:12-15

On April 10 I will be offering a free webinar in conjunction with the Adult Faith Formation committee of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership:

Everyone knows that they “need” a web site for their parish — but what do you do with it once you have one? How can you best use your parish web site to reach out to adults? And what does this have to do with the “New Evangelization?”

This webinar, presented by Jonathan F. Sullivan, will assist parish catechetical leaders in strengthening their web site and other online platforms as an “engine” for adult faith formation. It will demonstrate the necessity of a modern, user-friendly web site and specific strategies for creating and maintaining a strong adult faith formation presence on a parish web site.

I hope you will join us for this webinar!