Albert Mohler has an excellent post on his site about Christian leaders who may be ignoring modern technology in their ministries. Very telling. ​

Leaders who talk about the real world as opposed to the digital world are making a mistake, a category error. While we are right to prioritize real face-to-face conversations and to find comfort and grounding in stable authorities like the printed book, the digital world is itself a real world, just real in a different way.

Real communication is happening in the digital world, on the Web, and on the smart phone in your pocket. Real information is being shared and globally disseminated, faster than ever before. Real conversations are taking place, through voice, words and images, connecting people and conversations all over the world.

If the leader is not leading in the digital world, his leadership is, by definition, limited to those who also ignore or neglect that world, and that population is shrinking every minute. The clock is ticking.

Article link ​→

Over a billion people (I still shake my head in disillusion at that number) use the social networking site Facebook. Everybody is on it. Even your mother. 

So why did Facebook explode in popularity, and most importantly, how does it keep people coming back? 

It's all about connection. 

Some people will argue that social networks are about nothing more than getting attention, not connecting to people. I disagree. It is the connection aspect that has helped Facebook get 1 out of every 7 people in the world on their site. 

But is too much connection bad for us? Is being too connected end up being to our detriment? 

When I walk in my high school class on Sunday morning, I usually see two things: 1) Kids sleeping because they stayed up way too late on Saturday night and Sunday at 10AM is just too early (hope you're catching the sarcasm here), and 2) the ones who are not napping are glued to their cell phones. Kids literally sitting right next to one another are checking Twitter and Facebook and texts on their phone instead of talking to the person they see once a week. 

These devices connect us more than ever before. We get news, weather and status updates at the speed of light and at our fingertips. Yet, I think we're farther apart from connecting with those around us than ever before. 

Take the grandmother I talked to after Thanksgiving last year. 

"I had all my grandkids over and you know what, all they did all day was have their nose buried in those cell phones." 

Kids are easy to pick on in this example, but it hits adults badly too. How many people have you talked to that don't hear a word you say in a 5-minute one-way conversation because they're texting someone else?

Just walk down the road in a busy city or go to a coffee shop and you know what I'm talking about. 

So how can we solve this problem? How do we reconnect with those around us? 

1) Just put the phone down or turn it off. I've heard the new trend with a group of friends at a restaurant is putting all your phones in a pile in the middle of the table, and whoever grabs theirs first pays for everyone. If no one grabs theirs at the end of the meal, then everyone just pays for themselves. I've even heard of a coffee shop in New York who doesn't allow cell phones or any devices on certain nights in order to promote conversation. 

2) Make a conscious effort to pay attention. Most time we don't even realize how much we're looking at the tiny screens in our hands and not paying attention to those right in front of us. It's flat out rude. 

3) Place a priority on human interaction versus digital interaction. Can something be done in person? Then make it happen. Have a cup of coffee or lunch…in person. 

We can all retake our human interactions back if we can just place a priority over face-to-face and not faces in our phones. 

These are so cool. ​

Not sure if they're selling prints or whatever, but you should go check these out. ​

typographicverses.com​

The hardest job of a youth minister, I have learned, is discipling teenagers. 

Notice I didn’t say “converting teenagers.” I even think that is relatively easy as you get a teenager involved, socially connected, and then plant opportunities for them to serve and connect and they will most likely make a decision. Yet, like you, I am seeing more and more Christians who are still attending services but could be described as nominal Christians at best. They really, if they were to be brutally honest, have no need for God because their lives do not call for the God of Scripture. Maybe the god of America but not the God of Scripture. 

Excellent post this morning from Robbie Mackenzie at Missional Youth Ministry. ​

Last Summer I had the honor of being asked to be in the first iteration of Hashtag, the Hashtag video series. It was a series of 12 topics with 12 different speakers all magnifying Jesus. ​It allowed me to tie in with people I would have never otherwise met and opened up a new opportunity for the Church. 

Now that has developed into Hashtag Media, an online resource for content to help you deliver great lessons to your ministries. ​

Hashtag Media is coming right along and is steadily growing. They're offering new content every month, and they already have a great number of resources available. ​

The content, for the most part, isn't free though. Hashtag has to be supported somehow. The congregation I work for recently purchased a $200 ​subscription for 2013, meaning we got four resources and will get every resource released in 2013. It's a great deal. 

This is a great work for the Church, and you cannot ignore the need that we have for good, Biblical and solid content to teach. This content is basically grab-and-go, meaning you can literally grab it and teach it just like that. ​

Take a look at what Hashtag Media has to offer. I don't think you'll be disappointed. ​