better know a (current) humc staff member
(interview with andy)
((part one))


last week, we talked with and posted an interview with former humc associate, chris perry. we appreciated the insight on several different topics we got from chris, even if he would probably admit, himself, that he kept some of his thoughts closer to his vest than our conversation. that's fair, though. we weren't looking to get him any trouble. honestly, i think the tone of chris' answers allows us to see just how much pressure our ministers feel when trying not to rock the boat of their congregation in a way that would inject more drama than holy tension.

this week, we offer something a little different. over the same period of time, i asked huffman's newest staff member, andy rickles, to participate in a like-minded interview. we started with the same first question, but the conversation evolved in a much different way after that.

i hope, once you get to the end of these two or three or four posts, you'll be excited about the thoughtful talent our church just hired. if nothing else, you'll have some good stuff to start a conversation with andy about the next time you shake his hand.

without further ado, we proceed.

ee cummings and i appreciate andy's similar disdain for capital letters.

"If you don't mind, tell us your general thoughts on social media and it's value to the global discourse. As a follow-up, how have you integrated social media into your own person ministry?" 

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i believe that social media has not just changed the methods by which we communicate, but the very essence of the conversation. we are connected on a global scale like never before, and this has given way to an ever shrinking world. one in which we can connect in real time to friends and family around the world. i believe that this has led to a decentralization of authority, as the availability of voices has exploded, and we no longer rely on traditional media outlets and authority figures for our information and direction. personally, when i am looking for news, i head to twitter, not cnn or msnbc. though this may have an inherent danger of wrong information getting out, it seems an acceptable risk for the benefit of getting the news quicker and more directly.

 

in my personal ministry, i am almost forced to communicate this way. when i began at huffman, the first, and it seemed most necessary, thing was to set up accounts on twitter, facebook, and instagram. and i have had to think beyond just using those for the spread of information or to generate buzz (both of which are good uses for this media). at its best, and what i am working toward, is creating a community that exists online alongside the one we create in our face to face interactions. this is beneficial in that it can expand our sphere of influence. it is necessary in that it is the language that my students speak. it is indeed an exciting and scary proposition, but one in which the church, and specifically youth ministries, must be on the forefront of if we are to have any place at the global conversation of the 21st century.

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how do you see your approach to social media differing from what you have experienced in your former years as a youth pastor and your most recent experience as a lay person? do you believe churches have any idea what to do with social media? 

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as far as my approach, i would say that i am just now really developing one. at the time of my last job as a youth pastor, social media was still in its toddler years, struggling with figuring out how to move. facebook was certainly a thing, but not as pervasive as it is now. basically, social media (and electronic media in general (email, text, etc.)) was simply another way for me to disseminate information. keep parents and kids in the loop, so to speak. in the ensuing "lay" years, it was not my responsibility to figure this out, so i approached it as an observer, and ultimately a user. i saw how other churches, blogs, charities, websites, etc used it and learned my lessons positively or negatively from that. now, i see it as an absolutely integral part to what i am trying to create. the online and "real life" communities must exist together. because i am just beginning this journey at huffman, this is all in its infancy stage, but i foresee a time when the online community builds upon the face to face, and vice versa. for example, one experiment that i am building toward is the idea of "crowd-sourcing" our teaching times. as we build toward a wednesday or sunday gathering, begin several days earlier with preliminary sorts of discussion questions. draw from those answers, stories, and more questions to create a "real-life" discussion that was organically created by the entire community, not just poured from the head of the so-called expert. dangerous? maybe. interesting and potentially life-giving. certainly.

as far as the church, i don't think most churches fully realize the potential of social media. some do, of course. but on a large scale, i think that they are floundering to scratch the surface of the possibilities. i think the reason for this is it requires the decentralization of authority from a "professional" pastor, who has the answers and leads the conversation, to the pastor as a conductor of a choir full of myriad voices, who are not necessarily singing from the same page, or in the same key, and certainly not in the same room. somehow, s/he must coax out something melodious from that. 

to be continued...