Post: Twitter Church And Cyberconfessionals

I found myself leading a struggling church the day I arrived at Westwinds. After a year of healing, mending wounds, and performing triage, we forged a team leadership model where three of us worked in tandem to lead a church committed to the idea of thinking differently. We rewrote the church values to reflect imagination, permission, authenticity, and community.

As such, we find ourselves trying things that have never been done in church. Many garner national attention. Positively inclined media quickly labeled us "early adopters," "gifted," "movers and shakers," and "mavericks." These labels are flattering but only partly true. We think what makes Westwinds special has more to do with freedom and willingness than with some special dose of gifting. There are people in your community who are looking for freedom to pursue God and willingness on the part of church leadership to venture beyond the norm.

Willing people. Willing leaders. When these two groups of people find each other and freedom and permission are granted, the church's potential is endless.

Twitter Sunday

A Westwinds idea that caught the media's attention was what we called "Twitter Sunday." Conceived in late 2007 and launched in 2008, Twitter Sunday (aka "Twitter Church") was an experiment in weekend church service participation that caught the attention of Time, Fox News, CNN, and a myriad of other local and national media outlets.

The original Twitter Church experiment involved using multiple screens, increasing the bandwidth in our auditorium, inviting people to bring their laptops and smartphones, and providing classes on how to set up and use a Twitter account.

On Twitter Sunday, we encouraged conversation before, during, and after the service. We did not edit the conversation but let it happen in real time. We had five screens with ongoing and overlapping Twitter feeds. It was humorous, messy, insightful, challenging, emotional, worshipful, beautiful, and awkward. Such is the bride.

Posts ranged from silly comments on our attire and jokes about being late to church to deep questions about God and spirituality, prayer requests, struggles, and cries for help.

Since that original experiment we have used Twitter in various ways on the weekend, including having question-and-answer sessions, submitting prayer requests, posting words of affirmation and encouragement, exalting God, and conducting surveys in 140 characters or less.

Cyberconfessionals

Another Westwinds Social Networking worship gathering idea— perhaps my favorite—caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal. We called this idea "Cyberconfessionals."

We set up confession booths around the perimeter of the auditorium. Each confessional had a computer and a login screen for a Yahoo! chat group we had created. People were invited to log in as "Confessor 1," "Confessor 2," and so on, based on the number of their booth. The "confessees" who engaged them in conversation were made up of pastors, counselors, and ministry leaders from all around the globe. We recruited them to engage our people in conversation and hear their confessions. It was totally anonymous, although some people volunteered their real names.

All our confessees encouraged our confessors to make follow-up appointments with ministry leaders and counselors if they needed further help. Each of them was able to deliver the message "God forgives. He wants your surrender. He is willing to help. So are we."

The results were beautiful. The people we recruited to hear confessions reported that they were deeply moved and heard incredible stories. They were able to give good advice and offer help. Some confessors sought more help and made appointments with our staff, and one even checked himself into a suicide watch program. Social Networking allowed us to use a platform in a whole new way and incorporate an idea that has been around forever.

Using Social Networking in corporate worship has helped us:

1. Meet new people. Some people hid in the shadows for months (dare I say years?) and didn't feel as though they could participate in corporate worship until Twitter Church.

2. Provide an opportunity for engagement and participation. Some find the whole church experience foreign and don't know where to begin. However, engaging in cyberconversation can be both engaging and a gateway for further participation.

3. Spend more time with people outside of the weekend. The classes we provide beforehand minimize fears about Social Networking, provide valuable skills, and give us an opportunity to meet with a group of folk to talk about the mission of the church and what we hope to accomplish.

4. Get and give real-time feedback. Social Networking screen feeds allow us to respond to questions and comments that people are feeling in the moment. Even when comments are negative, we have an opportunity to respond in love, build bridges, speak the truth, and defuse bombs.

5. Embrace changing technology and culture. We have found that when we reference, talk about, and use technology in our services, we increase our chances of dispelling fears, educating, and demonstrating how Christians engage and enjoy technology and culture.

Not Everyone Thinks This Is a Great Idea

There are things we have done at Westwinds that would make many pastors raise an eyebrow or point a finger. That's fine. For the record, I don't care if another church uses Social Networking in corporate worship or not. I love it; I use it; but I don't have a Twitter mission. It has never been about a Social Networking agenda for Westwinds. It is about participation, new ways to connect with one another, reflection, interaction, and conversation. Regarding our church's use of Social Networking in church on the weekend, it is and has always been about creating a moment where we can all potentially respond to and move toward God in fresh...