The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community
Jesse Rice
David C. Cook, 2009, 240 pp., $12.99, ChurchOfFacebook.com
This title suggests a study of Facebook and potential implications for how the church understands community. The real study presented, though, is how people and things fall into sync with one another in ways that seem “unnatural and inexplicable.” Rice utilizes three realities that explore how a population can be spontaneously synchronized with one another, the outcomes this synchronization creates and the contagious adaptation that occurs.
Reading this resource feels like a journey with a flashlight—it’s easy to track with the narratives the author utilizes, and yet not see the punch line until he lays it in front of you. It’s also not clear who the target audience is—any mention of Christianity comes across as seeker-sensitive and initially apologetic. Still, there are solid Malcolm Gladwell-style takeaways for church leaders looking intelligently to maximize social networking and understand how a changing culture defines feeling connected.
