I happened across a copy of the December 17, 2011 Economist, and was intrigued to find an article titled, “How Luther went viral.” It makes the comparison between the spread and acceptance of Luther’s ideas to last year’s “Arab spring.” The article suggests that “the important factor was not the printing press itself (which had been around since the 1450s), but the wider system of media sharing along social networks – what is called ‘social media’ today.” Pamphlets and broadsheets were spread from one person and one community to another. Popular pamphlets were reprinted quickly. People read them and discussed them. The article concludes “Today’s social-media systems do not just connect us to each other: they also link us to the past.” Relationship systems are part of human experience, from the beginning until now. Church leaders have always needed to be savvy about navigating those webs of relationships.
Are you clear on what you need to be saying, who you need to be saying it to, and what media you intend to use?