Meredith Gould - The Social Media Gospel: Sharing the Good News in New Ways

Meredith Gould has provided an excellent resource to those who believe that the future of mission lies in a world where networked lives and amplified humans await the proclamation of the Gospel. The Social Media Gospel offers a road map for those leaving the Church of the modern era behind for the adventurous missionary landscape of a social-structured world.

The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle,
IX Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Texas

For those beginning to explore new technologies, those regularly engaging with social media, or for anyone who wants to communicate the good news to a new generationThe Social Media Gospel is crucial.

Carol Howard Merritt,
author of Tribal Church and Reframing Hope

Meredith Gould has poured her training as a sociologist, experience as a magazine writer, omnivorous appetite for social media, and passion for the Gospel into a book that should appeal to just about anyone who thinks about digital ministry. The Social Media Gospel is a valuable contribution from one of the best known thinkers in the field.

Jim Naughton, founder of Episcopal Cafe and coauthor of Speaking Faithfully: Communications as Evangelism in a Noisy World

For those interested in mission and ministry in the newly-discovered, heavily-peopled, land of the Internet, Meredith Goulds book on The Social Media Gospel is a must-read. For those of us already active there, Meredith brings an invitation to reect on what we are doing and ways to improve. For those new and uncertain here is step-by-step advice from a skilled practitioner.

Rev. Bosco Peters, www.liturgy.co.nz,@liturgy

In the world of social media where so many proclaim themselves as how to gurus, Meredith Gould breaks through the clutter and jargon. She uses simple language to help churches and pastors understand why social media is important and how to effectively use it as a tool for ministry. This book is for the beginner or those looking to go further with social media.

Rev. Alan Rudnick, pastor, author, blogger, and social media practitioner

If your church is using social media or considering it, you need to read The Social Media Gospel. As a veteran sociologist, author, Twitter chat host, and lover of Christ and his church, theres no one better qualified to serve as your guide to church social media than Meredith Gould.

Paul Steinbrueck, co-founder & CEO of OurChurch.Com

The Word is active and alive via social media, connecting minds and hearts through shared faith. While some church leaders fear exploring the digital mission field, people like Meredith Gould write groundbreaking books like this one, fearlessly and wisely leading the way to a truly new evangelization.

Fran Rossi Szpylczyn, Catholic writer
and lay minister blogging at There Will Be Bread

Meredith Gould answers the questions many church leaders and ministers have about the use of social media for ministry in her new book, The Social Media Gospel. A ministry insider and experienced user of social media, Meredith overcomes objections and eases fears with knowledgeable insights, good humor, and excellent end-of chapter reection questions. The Social Media Gospel is a delightfully warm and welcoming invitation to share the Good News in new ways.

Sister Susan Wolf, SND (@srsusan),
Founder and President of Catholic Web Solutions

Cover design by Stefan Killen Design. Cover art GL Stock Images and iStockphoto.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2015 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint Johns Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

Second edition:
ISBN 978-0-8146-4707-3 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-8146-4732-5 (e-book)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier edition as follows:

Gould, Meredith, 1951

The social media gospel : sharing the good news in new ways / Meredith Gould, PhD.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8146-3558-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8146-3583-4 (e-book)

1. CommunicationReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Social media. I. Title.

BV4319.G67 2013
269'.2dc23

2013010963

For all who boldly embrace new technologies
to build community and deepen faith.

Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.

Matthew 18:20

Dear Pastor...

I probably know what youre thinking, sitting there with this book in your hands. Maybe someone on your leadership team recommended it to you; perhaps you got it for yourself to learn something new. However you started reading The Social Media Gospel, chances are your first thought was something along the lines of I dont have time for this.

Home visits, hospital visits, sermon preparation, small groups, meetings, judicatory responsibilitieswho has time for one more thing?! As a solo pastor of a midsize congregation, I understand. Time is both precious and at a premium.

However, you cant afford to continue to ignore social media. In one form or another, social media is here to stay. Social media is part of your congregants lives, part of your community and neighborhood, andwhether you realize it yet or notpart of your ministry.

A few words as you begin this journey of learning about social media.

First, social media is not a replacement for face-to-face, in-the-flesh pastoral care. Social media can be an extension of a pastors personal presence but will never entirely replace it. As you think about how social media can help your ministry, avoid either/or thinking. Instead of asking, Should we do this online instead of how we currently do it? ask, How can online communications enhance the ways were currently doing this ministry?

Second, you dont have to be the expert for your congregation. I bet there are people in your congregation who know how to use social media. Enlist their help. Encourage them to use their gifts. Support them as they bring the churchs presence onto social media. Be their cheerleader and advocate, and ask them how you can best contribute to the work.

Third, pastors who are online run into the same sort of boundary and confidentiality issues that pastors always run into. The rules of confidentiality that apply in the rest of your ministry also apply online. The ultimate privacy setting is not found in the user settings of Facebook or Twitter, but in your own heart. If you would not say it in public, dont put it online. Period.

Finally, be brave, be bold. In many ways, the church is blazing new paths with social media. Now is the time to do a new thing, to proclaim Gods word in new and exciting ways. It is good to read about social media; it is good to think about how youre going to move forward. Sooner or later the time will come when you just have to take the plunge.