#ChSocM chat: Zooming in on Video and Social Media

The Topic: A quotation: “…engagement for non-video content is declining.” 
Our jumping off point.

This week's (05/31/16) chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:

T1: We’re going to zoom in right away - *why* would you say engagement is falling when the content is non-video?
T2: What’s the last video you saw on social media? Why did you click on it? What drew you to it?
T3: Zooming in even farther…what, in your opinion, has worked in videography as it comes to social media? What doesn’t work?
T4: We can’t do it all ourselves. What are some good resources you know of/use when considering video in your own soc-med context?
T5: Next steps - how to incorporate video, even in small ways, for our communities? Let’s turn our creativity up to 11.

Read the transcript on Storify

#ChSocM chat: Crowdsourcing (to a new level)

The Topic: After the Alleluias - Crowdsourcing (to a new level). Let's learn from each other!

This week's (04/05/16) chat moderated by Jason Chesnut / @crazypastor

Topics:

T1: Outside of any specifics, what makes for a good, powerful online presence for a faith community? (In your opinion.)
T2: What’s the one thing that you see on a ministry’s social media profile that is an immediate deal-breaker for you?
T3: What have you found the most difficult in cultivating your *own* online ministry presence?
T4: How about deal-makers in #chsocm? What are the best examples you’ve seen of a ministry’s online presence? What excites you?
T5: (bonus) What examples of ministry content have you seen that might be so bad they…make Jesus weep? ;)

Read the transcript on Storify

#ChSocM chat: Why Church?

The Topic: Why Church?

As in: why do we do what we do? Why should anyone else be interested in this thing we call "church" in the first place?

This week's (02/16/16) chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor) 

Topics:

T1: What is a working definition of “church” from your own experience/situation?
T2: With "church" in mind, let’s go to the beginning. What got you here, doing what you do, in the church, right now?
T3: When you are asked #WhyChurch? (or if you’re not asked, there’s a first time for everything!), what’s your gut response? #chsocm
T4: What aspects of social media help to solidify for you the claim that church *does* matter, right here, right now? #chsocm
T5: How about our biblical tradition? What bible stories help to answer the question #WhyChurch? (Feel free to get creative!) #chsocm
T6: What’s one thing we can do, as this #chsocm community, to specifically answer the question of #WhyChurch in our own contexts?

Read the transcript on Storify

#CHSOCM: The Underside of Christmas

The Topic: The Underside of Christmas. 

How do we understand and engage Christmas from the underside?

This week's (12/15/15) chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:

T1: Let’s check in first. On the eve of this holy season of Christmas, how are you doing? How are you feeling?
T2: What aspects of Advent/Christmas excite you, energize you, give you/your community hope?
T2a: So. What about the aspects that frustrate you/your community about this time?
T3: How do we fully engage our communities in the essence of Advent/Christmas with those who celebrate it…and those who dread it?
T4: Bible time! What pieces from our biblical story illustrate for us how Christmas is a story for both the joy- and sorrow-filled?
T5: What’s a specific memory of an Advent/Christmas moment that remains with you even today?

Read the transcript on Storify

#ChSocM Transcript: "Pastoral Care"

The ways in which pastoral care can/does/should happen in digital gathering spaces. 

This week's chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:
T1: Have you given/received pastoral care online? How?
T2: What are the pros/cons of the act of pastoral care online (compared with face-to-face)?
T3: Get yo’ Bible on. Where in the biblical narrative do we see legit pastoral care happening?
T4: What would you say to someone who disregards the possibility of doing real pastoral care online?
T5: What specific things can we do (have you done) to provide pastoral care across the breadth of #chsocm?

Read the transcript on Storify

#ChSocM Chat Transcript: Vacationing From or With Social Media

Take a vacation, don't take a vacation,

how to take a vacation? We discussed

all of this and more!

This week's chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:
T1: Have you taken a vacation in the last year? (Kidding. Just a reality check. Don’t answer that one, y’all.)
T1: *When* you have taken vacation, have you taken a “vacation” from social media as well?
T2: What’s something you noticed when you took a break from social media (or chose not to)?
T3: What are the positives/negatives related to taking a break on social media, especially as it relates to church?

Some great themes are emerging -- the importance of taking a break for some, the seamless nature of online and f2f for others.

T4: Bible sourcing time! What biblical stories relate to these themes?
T5: So. We’ve all heard it. “Take a break from SM. Stop looking at your phone. Connect with the world around you.” Response?

Read the transcript on Storify

#ChSocM Chat Transcript: Using social media to inform, organize and mobilize faith communities

We chatted about using social media to 

inform/organize/mobilize 

faith communities around real-time events. 

This week's chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:
T1: What are some strengths/weaknesses when it comes to social media in relation to things happening in real-time?
T2: When meaningful stuff happens outside church buildings, what are some do’s/don’t’s/best practices when it comes to #ChSocM?
T3: Storytime! - what biblical stories relate to this work of leaving the building & sharing? (Out-of-the-box thinking welcomed.)
T4: So. What are some of the best things YOU have seen/done to connect faith communities to local communities through #ChSocM?
T5: If you had one tweet to tell people *why* Twitter is a place you do ministry, what would it be?

Read the transcript on Storify.

#ChSocM Chat Transcript: Social Media and All Things Sermon-related-ish

All things sermon-related-ish: 

observations, opinions, advice, snark!

This week's chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:
T1: What makes/breaks a sermon, in your experience?
T2: When you’re listening: how can we incorporate #chsocm while a sermon is happening?
T3: When you’re preaching a sermon: how can we use #chsocm to prepare/give a sermon?
T4: Give us a tweet sermon right now - 140 characters that conveys a gospel message, in some way. #GetCreative
T5: If you were going to tell someone why you would engage social media before/during/after a sermon, what would you say?

Read the transcript on Storify.

#ChSocM (Church Social Media) Chat Transcript: The Where, Why & How of #Hashtags

Hashtags! Where, why, and how. 
More specifically, how can they help as we
 look back and ahead to a new year?

This week's chat moderated by Jason Chesnut (@crazypastor)

Topics:

T1: What are some advantages to using a specific hashtag in your community?
T2: What are some general, helpful do’s/don’t’s when it comes to the use of hashtags?
T3: #2014InFiveWords has been trending lately. What’s a #ChSocM version of that for you/your faith community?
T3a: What can we learn from this hashtag? Why do you think it was trending?
T4: What are some situations/events/moments when would you create a specific hashtag?
T5: What are some examples of hashtags that have worked for you/your community?

Read the transcript on Storify