Morecambe Sunday Night Project
By: Graham Doel, June 10th, 2008
Last Sunday we launched our Sunday Night Project. My initial reflections are:
- Fantastic start, 75-80 People.
- Lake of Fire are very good, as are the Jazz band from Ripley School.
- Great venue (who didn’t charge us all they said the would). The horse shoe layout worked well, giving a quieter space and a loud space.
- Things like this usually start well, I’ll be surprised if there is the same number of people next week (circular walk).
I’m very pleased with the way that it went. I have had various comments back, and am arranging with RevJev to impartially interview me and ask probing questions.
Permanent Link to: "Morecambe Sunday Night Project" you can add a coment to this post,Participation, Political Organisation and the impact of the Internet.
By: Graham Doel, November 9th, 2006I read the final report of a group involved in research about the impact of the Internet on political participation. The report can be found here:
http://esri.salford.ac.uk/ESRCResearchproject/ papers/IPOP_final_report.pdf
The project have a web site http://ipop.org.uk
The report summarises the activities of the research project and lists some of the overall findings and the publications and influence of the project members. In short they examined the way that political parties, pressure groups and protest networks used the Internet to “Promote greater participation by their members and the wider public” (Page 1).
Some of the most effective campaigning uses of technology have come from new virtual protest groups, which lacking material resources and physical headquarters have focussed their efforts on developing initiatives that generate more wide spread media mainstream coverage. Page 4
I don’t find that finding particularly surprising. It strikes me that organisations that have been born in a different era have to spend their time upholding the apperatus of that era. Organisations that are born around the ease of communication provided by the Internet are going to be both more focussed on using it and better at doing so.
Some of the interesting conclusions of their research are:
- Using both web sites and e.mail can increase the likelihood that people will become more involved in the events of the organisation. (Page 5)
- People visiting the sites tend to be the newer and younger members of the organisation. Generally they have a higher income than the average member. (Page 5)
- The major impact of the use of new online technology is that people stay involved in the organisation, though one side effect is that it is managing to attract people to the organisation as well. (Page 5-6)
- They also observe that a significant proportion of people would not have looked for the information about the organisation and its events if they “had to rely on conventional methods such as telephone or mail.” (Page7).
I feel compelled to note that some of the sentences are very long and have to be re-read a number of times before the intended meaning becomes absolutely apparent. It is a good reminder of the need to read and reread my own work so that to make sure I have made my own writing as easy to understand as possible.
Permanent Link to: "Participation, Political Organisation and the impact of the Internet." you can add a coment to this post,Summer Reading
By: Graham Doel, September 21st, 2006Summer Reading
Looking at the dates of my recent posts you’ll see that I haven’t made any over the summer. That does not mean I haven’t been reading though, just that my notes haven’t been quite so detailed… actually my notes are non existent. However for the record I have read.
A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren.
It looks to me that Brian has written this particular book as some kind of explanation or defense of his views. It is written in a popular style and is very easy to read, and follow his thought process. The experiences and perceptions are born out of his own experiences of church life in the States. He argues for drawing the best from all Christian Traditions. In every way it is an supreme example of a post-modern approach to Christianity.
A New Way Of Being Church (Phd Thesis) by Steve Taylor.
Steve’s Phd thesis is very easy to read. It is an interesting analysis of Cityside Baptist Church in New Zealand, a church that deliberately chose an Alternative Worship approach to its regular worship.
Out Of Bounds Church by Steve Taylor.
It is difficult to divorce Out of Bounds Church from Steve’s Phd thesis. This book has used the same core material but instead of applying it to one church, it has applied it to many different communities across the globe. Having read the thesis first, I often found myself thinking “I’ve read this before somewhere”. It is a cleverly written book, following a narrative of an imaginative journey across the globe to visit Emerging Churches. Not only does it serve as a good introduction to the Emerging Church scene, it also provides some thoughtful background to the changes in culture. I have found it a good book to lend as an introduction to incarnational missional thinking. However, having said that in my own community I am keen to avoid the term “Emerging Church”, a term that is used liberally throughout the book. I don’t want to give the impression that I am jumping on the latest bandwagon, but simply encouraging the community I am involved with to think incarnationally and missionally.
Church after Christendom by Stuart Murray.
I thoroughly enjoyed Stuart’s book, particularly his approach and writing style. It is an easy book to read and gives a thorough summary of the current thinking regarding changing culture and mission in Britain. I noticed that he offers some gentle critiques of the other prominent literature in this field. I think this is a book I should go back to, unfortunately I leant it to my friend Graham at Caton Baptist church, so I can’t go back over it until he has finished with it.
Permanent Link to: "Summer Reading" you can add a coment to this post,Darren Rowse talks about the missional ethos of Living Room.
By: Graham Doel, March 30th, 2006An Austrailian church leader, Darren Rowse, leads a church with a missional emphasis and a non traditional style. He talks about the experience on a podcast.
Living Room: http://www.livingroom.org.au/blog/
Matters of the Heart: http://www.inthepursuitofgod.com/mattersoftheheart/
The group follows a seven week cycle:
- Large Gathering
Both groups meet together and have a teaching orientated night. - Spirituality Tour
One member of the group shows the group around their life, perhaps giving the group dinner at home and then a tour of their life, talking about where they find God in their life. - Reflective Night
A more medative night, experimenting with different ways of praying drawing on ancient monastic tradition. - Bible Night
Dialogue over specific passages. - Topic Night
A visitor will guide the group through exploring a particular topic. eg. “Food and Spirituality”. - Real Life Spirituality
Talking about each persons journey and life of faith. - Bring Your Own Worship
Every member of the group brings something to lead the group in a “worshipful experience”. Often the evening revolves around a topic.