DISQUS

Pete Wilson · 1 year ago

Awesome! I love seeing church's take risks like this. We may have to give this one a shot.

Loving your blog!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks a bunch Pete. I am in Nashville quite a bit. We need to hang sometime.

fowpa · 1 year ago

Hey John, very cool idea - I just forwarded this article to our pastoral staff - who knows what wil become of it! I never thought Twitter would matter to me but it has been like a life-line, allowing me to share ideas and thoughts that I may not be ready to share with those closest to me.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks, bro. I hope good things come of it.

Karla Akins · 1 year ago

I love it. It's not the method that is sacred. It's the message. Twitter on!
Karla Akins
Pastor's Wife in Indiana

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Agreed, Karla.

pajoseph1 · 1 year ago

So what are your 20 other ways to use it? Enquiring minds want to know...

Jason Lee · 1 year ago

so tight. great use of technology to make the weekend experience memorable. twitter rocks. twitter.com/jlee268

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks for your encouragement, Jason.

davidrussell · 1 year ago

John: Brilliant documentary on the experience of fusing Twitter and your church. I'm really excited to read about a church who has reached into this space. Thank you for the level of detail in the write-up of your experiment and the strength of your argument for supplementing the existing community with a community-centric interactive tool like Twitter.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks, David. I am going to blog soon about more of the hurdles and frustrations so everyone can prepare if they follow.

cadillaczak · 1 year ago

awesome idea! have any video of how it looked / worked?

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Why, yes. In fact we do. More photos than anything.

robertmerrill · 1 year ago

Very interesting post.

Seems exciting to bring social conversation to a normally one-sided sermon. Seems powerful in many, many ways.

Thanks for sharing!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks for commenting, Robert. It has been exciting.

Scott Fillmer · 1 year ago

That is just great, I love it. There are a few of us at our church that are on Twitter and convos go on all the time, and I have made many new friends, Believers and non-Believers through Twitter.

Probably one of the best tools I use right now.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Scott, that has been the biggest win for me--for us. The NEW relationships I have made IN MY OWN CHURCH with people who have been there for awhile are amazing. It has opened up a whole new inroad to the community.

Brice · 1 year ago

Sounds cool. Could you give us some more of the negative side so I could get a good balance? Like was the twittering monitored? Can you say whatever you want? Anything in more detail would be helpful.
thx

Scott_Hoel · 1 year ago

you know what impresses me?
i read the post fresh from my cellphone last nite (heard it vibrate on the kitchen counter @ 1 am, hmm twitter - gotta remember to turn off updates @ niteynite) since then i've looked forward to see what kind of comments it would draw.
i check back "wow, 10..." i open and really expected a bunch from WW tweets - how cool is it that every single one came from "outside"
that is impact, my friend

to you 10 & others - it was really fresh & fun, i was totally surprised at the number of laptops in the room. it was distracting at times, but then i was twittering too. looking forward to more to come

thanks jvo for constantly thinking outside the box. if i covet anything, i covet your freedom of a creative job, no matter the downside of ministry!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Crazy, huh?

AngelBear_OH · 1 year ago

I just signed on for a Twitter account (AngelBear_OH). I realize it's a bit early in the game to be evaluating it, but for now, I just don't quite get it.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

I get ya. No problem. It will become more alive to you as you get more of your friends involved. That is the key. I will follow you.

chuckk gerwig · 1 year ago

great stuff we were talking about doing something like this and one of our team pointed me to your blog entry. hey r u going to publish your 20 other ways to use twitter?

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks, man. And, you saw the new post on the 20 ways right?

Kevin Bradford · 1 year ago

Thank you, JVO, for sharing this and taking the risk of exposing people to what twitter could add to their lives. I've been on twitter for a month now (www.twitter.com/kevinbradford) and i'm loving it! The sense of connectedness I feel with others is really cool.

Keep it up!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Cool, Kevin. I will follow you.

Brice · 1 year ago

Yea, thats great. Now could we get some more in depth answers and analysis.

Apparently there were ZERO negatives? Was it filtered? Could anyone remember the message? Stuff like that. I may want to use this technology but I have to be able to go to the powers that be with a more comprehensive analysis of it.

thx

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

You sound a little frustrated, Brice. I thought I did mention some of the negative feedback already but, no problem. I get where you are coming from. I will do a new post on the hurdles and the negative feedback and how we deal/dealt with it. Thanks for reading and sharing in the conversation.

wanchanken · 1 year ago

I agree with Brice. Every comment seems to talk about the positive part. And that is great... but it would be interesting to read about the negatives... just to get the whole idea =)

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Hello! You posted this comment on June 7th. If you read through the rest of the blog you will find what you are looking for. I did a whole post on the hurdles two days ago. Check it out here http://johnvoelzblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/twitt...

steven · 1 year ago

Hey man, this is a pretty sweet usage of tech, and I was interested in using it in our teen gathering for a prayer request time via SMS tweets. mind if I ask how you guys handled the refresh issue? I'm pretty new to Twitter, but that seems like a (small) obstacle to figure out. And did you just set up a twitter account for that particular service? did people find and become followers of it it that night on the fly or did you use an account people were already hooked into?

this is great work...not just the initial action, but the way you're reporting it makes your experience an opportunity for the church worldwide. awesome.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Yeah, man. We set up an identity called "westwindsseries" for the LIVE Twitter. We promoted it weeks in advance and told everyone how to sign up, we ran a clinic, we sent emails, we put it in our newsletter, etc. Some signed up four weeks prior and some that morning. MAKE SURE you follow everyone who is following you so you are all in the loop. We set up our computer to auto refresh the screen every ten seconds.

eric · 1 year ago

AMAZING!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks, man. I agree. Much fun.

John Baker · 1 year ago

Question: How did your church deal with the refreshing problem? Did they just constantly refresh the screens?

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Our tech guys set the screen to auto-refresh every ten seconds.

Rhett Smith · 1 year ago

awesome....we have been experimenting with Twitter in some non-Sunday service groups....I'm addicted to it...haaa

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Fun and easy. Did you watch the video I posted? Amazing new uses.

cadillaczak · 1 year ago

where can we see the pics? that would rock...

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

I'll see what I can do. The newspaper is coming to take pics this weekend and do a story. I will try to snag their good ones.

Blane Young · 1 year ago

What software did you use to display multiple person's twitter updates?

GREAT IDEA!!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

We just used twitter.com, man.

paulwalker71 · 1 year ago

I'm excited to hear about this innovative use of Web2.0 technology. I'm currently doing a Master Dissertation about Web2.0 and Mission, and really enjoyed and valued your insights on this and the follow up posts.

I've linked from my blog, and submitted you to Digg

http://church20.squarespace.com/

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks, man. I added your blog link to my roll.

Brice · 1 year ago

thanks for the comments. (sorry I am just now back "on" . . . monday morning and all.

and really not too frustrated . . . just curious. thanks,

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

cool, man.

bnpositive · 1 year ago

Absolutely awesome! Thanks for sharing and literally testing the waters on somethings like this. I think it's brilliant. For those that are younger and comfortable with social media and the web, I don't see it as distraction. I can see it as very distracting for an older, traditional attender though. What we need to realize though is that we're not trying these things for them. It's not about them. It's about those who are out there and feel disconnected. What a great use of this technology! What's your twitter ID? I'm at www.twitter.com/bnpositive

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Thanks! My twitter ID is www.twitter.com/shameonyoko

hinutech · 1 year ago

Great idea. I love when people take collaborative software in new directions. I have pointed my customers to this post and have already received some questions about helping people establish Twitter accounts, etc.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Excellent. Thanks for the feedback.

WorshipCity · 1 year ago

Wow man that just blew my mind! I love it! I could never get it passed at our church but it's something I have the creative flexibility to do during our Youth services/activities. I love that ya'll jumped out there and tried it! Kudos and thanks for that!

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Very cool. Thanks for the kudos. Hope it works for you! Have fun!

Darryl · 1 year ago

I am open to new technology. yet, I have difficulty seeing how this could be utilized in a small, multi-generational church. Of course, I am presuming after read your article that you belong to a big church with a young demographic. But, I could be wrong. Would you care to offer some ideas.

BTW, I linked to this from Church Marketing Sucks <http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/20...>.

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Darryl, you know your church better than I do. It may not work for you in a live setting but Twitter could certainly work in connecting your people throughout the week or in any of the other ways I posted about here http://johnvoelzblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/20-mo.... Our church is not "big" in my mind--about 800 adults spread over 3 services (2 in the summer). Our demographic is not "young"--but we think fresh. All of our college students are gone for the summer. We have a team leadership model--our youngest lead pastor is in his 30's, I am 40, and our other lead pastor (who is no longer on staff as of a couple of weeks ago) is in his 50's. Stats say you will reach people 10 years younger than your pastors and 10 years older. That is very true of our congregation. We are very multi-generational--predominately ranging from college to late 60's.

Trevor Williams · 1 year ago

Hey JVO, I love this!
That is one of the things I miss about you and why I loved to work with you. I know the folks there realize what an innovator you are.
Peace Bro
Trev

Tim · 1 year ago

Excuse my newbie question, but I'm interested in how you had multiple members of your congregation updating the same Twitter page during the service. I thought that only one person could update one Twitter account? How did you do it?!

Thanks, Tim

shameonyoko · 1 year ago

Tim, followers send their comments to @westwindsseries and they show up on our page. Or, if we follow them back, when they send something it shows up on our page. Just like your friends' twitters show up on your page.

human3rror · 1 year ago

Oh man... this is freaking TIGHT!

Thanks for sharing this

shameonyoko · 8 months ago

You're welcome. Thank you!

Erik w/a "k" · 1 year ago

Wow. I love twitter! I am having a hard time grasping the concept of our church doing something like this. I would love to see it though. Thanx for your real and honest response to how it went.

shameonyoko · 8 months ago

Very cool.

Jeff Finley · 1 year ago

I refer to this blog entry in the religion blog I co-write for the Sun-Times News Group. My entry can be found at http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/religion/2008/11/...

compassioninpolitics · 11 months ago

I find the twitter flow hard to keep up with sometimes. And I can imagine so over a 45 to 55 minute church service might be the same.

I'm curious if I wrap up blog post to clear up some of the clutter in the conversation might help move these dialogs from passing fancy to something more meaningful and lasting.

In a world of information overload its important to help clear the clutter in order for the flock to stay strong, vital, and focused.

Great post!

Picker · 10 months ago

so it appears that I'm about 8 months behind in reading this post, but after searching, this is the best source I've found for twitter in church. Great idea, and I've been thinking about doing this for my youth group worship time. Thanks.

jonniekiss · 9 months ago

Like Picker I've found this discussion about 8 months late.

I've approached our worship media tech about using twitter similar to what Fusion has down but he tells me we could not have a twitter feed on screen at the same time as using power point which is what we use to run our slides for songs and sermon.

So my question to you Twitter Fusion folks is how did you accomplish Twitter feeds on the screens at the same time as other images/feeds?

Thanks for your help with this and thanks also for taking chances with new technology like this in and for worship.

Jon K
Columbus, Ohio

shameonyoko · 9 months ago

Multiple computers and multiple screens for us, Jon. We alternated screens. Or, just two computers and a switcher to go back and forth. Does that help? If you want, you can call me at the church on Monday-Thursday and I can help you. 517.750.1111. Peace.

jonniekiss · 9 months ago

Thanks for the fast repsonse. So do you all use powerpoint for your worship presentations? What I was wondering if there is other presentation software out there that will allow multiple windows to display at same time from one computer.

Our pastor is really comfortable and really good at using powerpoint for his sermons and would like to avoid him learning a different software unless it really has multiple benefits.

I understand the multiple computer usage and that is an option for us. Switching should not be a problem. Thanks for the insight on that.

Jon K

shameonyoko · 9 months ago

We switched to Media Shout about 12 years ago. We use Media Shout and Motion Dive vj device for layered graphics. With Powerpoint, he could still create his slides and save them as jpegs to be imported into MS. Easy. Still, don't know about displaying multiple windows. That's one for my tech guys.

JTurgeon · 9 months ago

Great stuff! Loved reading this and the negatives of using twitter in the service. How did you get your feed to look like the pic w/o any sidebars, and profile pictures, reply buttons, etc?

shameonyoko · 9 months ago

That's just a screen shot that's cropped.

stephaniedrury · 8 months ago

I have a couple of thoughts on this.

Twitting your "religious experience" seems less like experiencing anything and more like just OBSERVING a possible experience....

Maybe that should be the gauge for tech stuff in church - if it makes you more engaged, more present, more incarnate it is good. If it makes you more transcendent, outside looking in, it holds the danger that technology always presents, the Walker-Percy-Lost-In-The-Cosmos danger of not living inside your life but watching it lived (like the fighter pilot bombing Iraq who came back to report "That was so realistic!")

shameonyoko · 8 months ago

And what is sitting and listening to a sermon and then going home like?

robert · 8 months ago

i have a question if you don't mind. what did you use for displaying it? we did it tonight for a film & theology thing using tweetdeck but i am looking for a better alternative.

shameonyoko · 8 months ago

We used the Twitter home page and changed the resolution on the computer so you could read it on the screens well.

juliaallison · 8 months ago

I'm really impressed :) And actually - I've just sent the link to my own pastor! Thank you for inspiring us all.

shameonyoko · 8 months ago

Awesome! Let me know if I can help.

dennis morga · 6 months ago

i was blessed by what you posted:)thanks keep sharing your wisdom...

shameonyoko · 3 months ago

Thank you.

allisonfarnum · 5 months ago

I really want to do this- I love it. We have rituals in various services where folks have time to reflect, write or draw a response to the Holy and then something special is done with these thoughts or reflections (depending on the theme). So with Twitter we don't need paper. Instead, these everyday objects lie our phones and laptops become sacred instruments - and the thought or feeling expressed just pops right up! I also love that it is not exclusive of introverts.

And we just got WiFi this year. But I need to do some schooling first about participation. What does your order of worship look like on days like this? We are still in hymn sandwich mode.

Thanks for your post.

shameonyoko · 3 months ago

First, sorry for my delay on a response. I have been on sabbatical since July 10th. If you want, you can call me at the church 517-750-1111 and we can talk about this. Our service order varied. We used it a few different ways and continue to use it different ways. Sometimes, in a block. Sometimes throughout the entire service. Sometimes just during the message. Peace.

John Panico · 3 months ago

Nice post! And I love the attitude of "Why the heck not?"
I have a saying that I have in my wallet and refer to often when talking to clients and my home church leaders...

"because it's never been...
is no reason not"

KUDO's for taking the shot! In church marketing and social media, not all the shots you take are going to go in. But if you don't shoot, you can't score.

From my vantage point, it looks like a 3 pointer :)

shameonyoko · 3 months ago

Thanks, man.