Graham Brenna

The Pope is asking priests to become more web savvy! So what does that mean? Is he going to be issuing iPhones to all the Catholic Priests? Well maybe not… but it looks like he’s suggesting something like that.

In his message for the Catholic Church’s 2010 World Day for Social Communications he told people people that church communities have traditionally relied on modern media to open the lines of communication. And as the culture changes, the church needs to use the latest technologies, especially if it wants to reach younger people.

- Lance Whitney

This is a pretty big step for the Catholic church as well as for Christians of every denomination. For the Catholic church, a church that is thought to be deeply rooted in tradition and older ways of thinking, to see the Pope suggest the use of modern media as a form of communication to reach the younger generation is a really big thing!

“Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, Web sites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization, and catechesis,” said Pope Benedict in his message

He went on to say that,

“Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ,” said Pope Benedict. “This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a ’soul’ to the fabric of communications that makes up the Web.”

I think that this is the most important thing that everybody who is using the web for ministry needs to keep in mind. That we can be incredible programmers and the best code writers but unless we have a closeness to Christ… we won’t really be ministering God’s word, we’re just ministering our own words. This is something that I struggle with all the time and I’m intentionally trying to do a better job of staying Christ the center point in my life. As church workers our primary job, no matter what our position in the church is, is to bring people closer to Christ. Everything else is secondary to that.

[Image by: The Vatican]

If you haven’t heard of Carlos Whittaker… I’m asking for you to pay attention. Carlos isn’t a celebrity, he isn’t a political figure, he isn’t a rock star (although his shoe collection says otherwise)… he’s a Christ follower, he’s a husband, he’s a father, he’s a worship leader, and a creative coach.

His blog is Ragamuffin Soul and on there we’ve created a community of people that interact with each other and that are open an honest with each other. Carlos says that he’s the type of guy that’s looking to be real with himself, others and God and I totally respect that. On the surface, Ragamuffin Soul seems like a huge gaping window into Carlos’ family life. But when we dig a little deeper… we find there’s so much more to it than that.

He’s able to do something I wish I could do. He’s able to take an everyday experience and find a teachable moment in it. It’s almost always Christ centered and he just seems to have a way about him that makes you trust him with your authentic self.

Since I joined the Ragamuffin Soul community a little over a year ago, the conversation has helped me to develop a closer connection to God. I’ve got a long way to go though. There are many times that I still feel very far from God and I have a hard time seeing God in my life. But more and more I’ve found myself thinking about the little things. Finding God in the everyday.

I had the opportunity to spend 10 minutes just talking with Carlos last October at STORY Chicago where we discussed his move to Chicago to be a part of Soul City Church because that’s where he and his wife Heather feel God is calling their family to be. After my brief 10 minutes talking with Los it was clear to me that this guy is the real deal. He’s got an authentic heart for God and for the local church and it’s simply contagious.

So Carlos is releasing his first album. I invite you to watch this video and get to know Carlos a little more as he explains the album.

Dear God… thank you for all the second chances.

You’re Welcome!

Some good stuff here from the Go Fish Guys for your children’s ministry. I learned different songs when I was learning the books of the Bible as a kid, but this one is pretty epic! This reminds me of when I was in Sunday School as a child. I attended a private Lutheran school during the weekdays from 2nd through 6th grade and part of our daily learning was an hour each morning dedicated to reading and learning about the Bible. It was like Sunday School everyday! Each classroom even had a piano and the teachers would play piano and we would sing songs. That was good times. I remember learning the books of the Bible, the Apostle’s Creed, The Lord’s Prayer, Luther’s Small Catechism… and learning what they all mean at a very early age. Looking back… I’m glad that I was able to get that knowledge early on in life.

It’s never too early to start teaching your kids about Jesus!

What’s your favorite memory of “Sunday School”?