New media opportunities

Thanks for a good meeting and a good starting blog post, Mike!

We have so many directions we can take right now. It's both frustrating and exciting.

One of the sources of info I rely on for new technologies and new ways people are connecting is a blog called Micro Persuasion. That's where I found the link to the article on the CDC and Second Life. I also often read Church Marketing Sucks, a blog aimed at provoking new ideas and clearer, more strategic communication from churches.

I think there's enormous and largely untapped potential in the new ways people are communicating, and it frustrates me greatly the glacial pace at which the church tends to move in those directions. When you look at the YouTube debate on CNN this past week, it's clear the power structure in communication is flipping from a hierarchy to a community model. We need to grab on to this - people want to talk to each other, not be talked at.

How can we move in this direction in the church?

WHY??

Let's continue the conversation... Some of you were much more disciplined in your note taking, but here is what I came away with from today's meeting:

- How do we bring young adults back to the church or keep them involved when many congregations take an adverse stance on involvement with social justice issues?

- How do we reach out to young people, both Lutheran and otherwise, who are not connected in some way to a faith community? (ie, through school, work, congregational membership, etc.)

Ideas for the group's direction:
- examine authority within the churchwide structure
- develop a list of small steps that can be taken to eliminiate organizational age-ism
- examine ELCA human resources policies
- sociograms
- training on relationships and relationship building
- examine the nine tactics in the strategic plan and find ways to unpack and give breath
- advocacy training events for young adults
- get young people involved, not observing, with CS events
- new ways of thinking about events: events are not the end-all-be-all
- sub-groups

What is the goal of this group? Where do we go from here? What are the next steps? Should we start trying some things and then figuring out if they worked? Or do we need to be a bit more strategic about planning things that are effective and easily examined?

Sub groups??
- Educational / training opportunities for young adults
- Young adults and the churchwide expression
- Social networking and other communication tactics with young adults
Which one do you like best? Which one inspires you?

AUTHENTIC -- GENUINE -- HONEST

Working with, through and for young adults must be done as something of mutual benefit. How can the work we do with young adults serve their needs and wants first and ours second? Or both equally?

Perhaps the most helpful thoughts that I took from the meeting are that: 1) there is incredible potential for this group and our other colleagues to be vehicles of change; 2) there is no single prescribed way to go about this work; 3) we are challenging ourselves and in turn challenging our colleagues to be accountable to the needs and desires of young people to be necessary participants in this work.

Well, everyone, this is Mike signing off. Sorry for the random ramblings. Let's get to work...