Digital Disciple

This time in our society is unlike any other. People communicate daily without ever having to speak face to face, news breaks around the world in a matter of seconds, and favorite TV shows can be viewed at our convenience. We are, simultaneously, a people of connection and isolation. As Christians, how do we view our faith and personal ministry in this culture?Adam Thomas invites you to explore this question using his unique, personal, and often humorous insight. Thomas notes, "" The Internet] has added a new dimension to our lives; we are physical, emotional, spiritual, and now virtual people. But I believe that God continues to move through every facet of our existence, and that makes us new kinds of followers. We are digital disciples.""""I gain renewed hope for the future by looking at a new generation of emerging Christian leaders like Adam Thomas.""Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity""Digital Disciple is a new kind of pastor's sermon to a new kind of flock. Go ahead and tweet your friends: GOT 2 READ THIS."" Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author, speaker and new monastic""Bright, innovative, perceptive, eloquent, and imaginative -- Adam Thomas is all that and more, as you will see in the pages of his dynamic book."" James W. Moore, author of How God Takes Our Little & Makes it Much

Social media has become a virtual world in which all manner of human communities are being formed, including many centered on prayer, faith, and spirituality. But with the benefits also come liabilities in terms of attentiveness vs. distraction, self-assertion, consumption, and anonymity—all enemies of healthy community. How to Be a Disciple and Digital provides a framework for an ethic of social media community to help foster the growth and stability of prayerful spiritual communities online.

Today’s youth grow up immersed in digital technology. This presents a unique challenge to the church as it seeks to faithfully make disciples of the next generation. What does it look like – theologically and practically – to minister contextually to those whose lives are permeated by social media and digital culture? In this in-depth study, Dr. Vo Huong Nam offers both social and theological insight into the task of discipling youth in the digital age. He examines the impact of digital media on both society and young people and offers an overview of Christian responses to the changing technological landscape. Engaging such authors as John Calvin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Henri Nouwen, he develops a constructive theology of spiritual formation relevant to the context of twenty-first century youth. He explores the implications of this theology on church practice, urging the church to take seriously its call to be all things for all people. Drawing specific examples from youth ministry in Vietnam, he addresses practical questions of application and contextualization and suggests that silence, solitude, and prayer are spiritual disciplines uniquely vital for the digital age. This book is an important resource for all those involved in discipling young people and longing to see today’s youth come to fullness of life in Christ.

This time in our society is unlike any other. People communicate daily without ever having to speak face to face, news breaks around the world in a matter of seconds, and favorite TV shows can be viewed at our convenience. We are, simultaneously, a people of connection and isolation. As Christians, how do we view our faith and personal ministry in this culture? Adam Thomas invites you to explore this question using his unique, personal, and often humorous insight. Thomas notes, "[The Internet] has added a new dimension to our lives; we are physical, emotional, spiritual, and now virtual people. But I believe that God continues to move through every facet of our existence, and that makes us new kinds of followers. We are digital disciples." "I gain renewed hope for the future by looking at a new generation of emerging Christian leaders like Adam Thomas." Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christianity "Digital Disciple is a new kind of pastor's sermon to a new kind of flock. Go ahead and tweet your friends: GOT 2 READ THIS." Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author, speaker and new monastic "Bright, innovative, perceptive, eloquent, and imaginative -- Adam Thomas is all that and more, as you will see in the pages of his dynamic book." James W. Moore, author of How God Takes Our Little & Makes it Much DVD with Adam Thomas introducing each chapter separate item 843504012489

Technological innovation has changed nearly everything about human life, including how we teach and learn. Many Christian professors and institutions have embraced new technologies, especially online education. But as followers of Jesus Christ, we face the same call to grow in our faith. So how should we think about and approach Christian education in light of new technologies? Is it possible for us to grow spiritually through our digital communities? Steve Lowe and Mary Lowe, longtime proponents of online education, trace the motif of spiritual growth through Scripture and consider how students and professors alike might foster digital ecologies in which spiritual growth—even transformation—can take place. IVP Instructor Resources available.

Digital Religion: The Basics explores how digital media and internet platforms are transforming religious practice in a digital age and the impact this has had on religious culture in contemporary society. Through exploring six defining characteristics of how religion is acted out online, including multisite reality, convergence practice, networked community, storied identity, shifting authority, and experiential authenticity, the book considers how digital religion both shapes, and is influenced by, religion offline. Questions asked include: How is religion being performed and reimagined through digital media and cultures? In what ways do the practices of religion online merge or correspond with shifts in perspective taking place in offline religious practice? How do the key findings of religion online reflect broader social, cultural, and structural practices observed within mobile, networked society? With case studies and further readings, Digital Religion: The Basics is a must-read for students wanting to come to grips with how religion is changing and experienced through digital media.

Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church is designed for pastors and parish leaders who wish to initiate or enhance their use of digital tools and methods to further their mission and ministries. No matter your level of confidence, comfort, and competency in digital ministry, you will find ideas, strategies, and next steps for you and for your church community. Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church provides concrete ways to create and foster digitally integrated ministry and faith formation, extending the ministry of the local church into online spaces and communities where more and more people gather to nurture, explore, and share their faith today. Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church was created by a team of experienced leaders who bring years of experience in utilizing digital tools, methods, and media in church life and especially faith formation. Margaret Babcock brings a special focus and experience in curation and website development for a Catholic diocese. Deanna G. Bartalini is a parish minister and writes about how to use technology to spread the Gospel. Claudia McIvor is the cofounder of Digital Discipleship Boot Camp. Bill Miller brings decades of experience in faith formation at the local and national levels and is an author and spiritual director. John Roberto is an author, teacher, and founder of Lifelong Faith Associates, and he has over a decade of experience in applying digital tools, methods, and media in lifelong faith formation. Tim Welch is an author and has served as the specialist in educational media/technology for a Catholic diocese.

This is a detailed analysis of how understanding of health management past, present and future has transformed in the digital age. Since the mid-20th century, we have witnessed ‘healthy’ lifestyles being pushed as part of health promotion strategies, both via the state, and through health tracking tools, and narratives of wellness online. This marks a seismic shift from a public welfare state responsibility for health towards individualised practices of digital self-care. Today health has become representative of ‘lifestyle correction' which is performed on social media. Putting the spotlight on neoliberalism and digital technology as pervasive tools that dictate wellness as a moral obligation, Rachael Kent critically analyses how users navigate relationships between self-tracking technologies, social media, and everyday health management.