how do i reach people who aren’t "cool"?

March 5, 2009 in community,leadership with 4 Comments

I love twitter and facebook. I really dig the idea that I can connect to other folks around the country/planet and get to know them. I’ve shared phone conversations/coffee/lunch/hang out time/halo/iChat/tokbox with people I either a) wouldn’t met otherwise or b) lost touch with, all because of the new and beautiful world of social networking.

But, some (if not most) of the people I’m called to serve in the local church setting don’t get it.

There’s even some that don’t like it.

Think it’s a waste of time.

Not interested in connecting over facebook/email/twitter.

Folks that in my social networking world wouldn’t be “cool”.

People who are just as much in need of life change and someone to love them where they are as all my connected friends. People who need friends and go about sharing life in a totally different way than I do.

I really would love it if everyone was like me and communicated and shared life in the same way. But then again, wouldn’t that make life boring? :-)

I’m trying to figure this out because, at the end of the day, what matters to me is seeing people connected to and embraced by a God who loves them whether they’re “plugged in” or not.

How do you connect with “offline people”? You can talk about them freely because they’ll never read this anyway. ;-)

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Julie Spitzer

Hey Adam - I'm reminded that Jesus meets us where we are. He doesn't wait for us to come to where he is. Fortunately he seeks a relationship with us.I think that when we communicate through email, people see only what we want them to see - it may not be an authentic relationship. Responses can be carefully crafted.Social networking can help initial contacts, but for an authentic relationship, I like real time, face to face.You connect with offline people through good old fashioned socializing. It probably takes more time, but can be very rewarding :-)

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Misty

So my hubby wants to connect with me...isn't that sweet? Seriously, I like facebook don't care for twitter and until 3 months ago didn't have a computer so I am one of those people. My advice? Talk to them face-to-face or call them. I love technology, but I hate it when it takes the place of real life conversation. I like hearing a persons voice and seeing their face. It makes things more authentic for me.

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adam herod

mike...part of it for me is letting them know that I'm here for them through a medium they accept. i.e I sent an email out to our team and told them I was open to help walk them through our recent shifts as a church. I've had about 4 invites to lunch/coffee with otherwise unconnected people. the other hard part for me, if I'm honest, is that the people who twitter/fb are people like me. That makes them easier for me to converse/grow/share with. I think part of my struggle is getting past that and also letting go of the need for everyone to like and understand why I'm passionate about networking that way.

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mike pittman

It's hard to connect with "technologically unconnected" people because I am connected with so many technologically - does that make sense?I want to connect with everybody and the reason I am so "connected" is a desire to make connecting with people a priority. I am totally open to connecting with those who refuse technology but have found that my desire to connect is sometimes one-sided. 3 words reflect my answer to your question: I don't know. (when you figure this out let me in).

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