"Following Jesus in a Digital Age" (Jason Thacker)

TITLE: Following Jesus in a Digital Age
AUTHOR: Jason Thacker
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2022, (176 pages).
 

Android, Apple TV, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc are all familiar names in our modern culture. The news that we get in the past via newspapers, TV, and radio, are now being disseminated faster and more efficiently throughout the world. No more waiting for the latest paper edition at our regular newsstands. All it takes now is an Internet connection all at the convenience of a modern smartphone. Unsurprisingly, this modern innovation has changed the way we interact with people and communicate with one another. Traditional barriers of entry have been lowered. The communications bigwigs now have to compete not just with their mega-peers, but also with individual social media enthusiasts. The Internet and social media are here to stay. This will affect our relationships in how we live and what we say. Due to the ease of getting into social media, fake news are also on the rise. How do we deal with this new reality? How could we discern each piece of news as they come along? Are all sensational news false? Are all routinely boring stuff true at all? Technology is shaping us in more ways than one. Like the proverbial face of beauty that launched a thousand ships, an insensitive Tweet or a scandalous post could launch thousands of reactions, protests, and even violence. Author Jason Thacker notices the impact of technology and offers us some powerful reflections on what technology is, what technology demands of us, and how we could co-exist ethically and meaningfully with people in a society drowning in technological waters. Thacker offers us four reflections to help us recognize the technology that is trying to shape us, and the need to be true to ourselves. 

"Reading the Times" (Jeffrey Bilbro)

TITLE: Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Lyle Bilbro
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021, (208 pages).
 

A few decades ago, we receive news via the radio or the daily printed newspaper. We hear the daily digest or news bites with the radio and for more details, we open up the editorial pages or the news reports for both local and foreign news. Then comes the Internet. Our hunger for news and information remains but the medium we use differs. This also coincides with the cellphone revolution accompanied by the rise of social media platforms. The new technological landscape has also broken up the dominion of the humble newspaper or printed magazines. Now, we read news snippets via short texts such as Instagram, Tik-Tok or Twitter; and longer pieces via blogs or websites. For information that matters to friends, we might opt for FaceBook. We look for jobs via LinkedIn, read books on electronic devices, do quick updates on Twitter, and watch videos on YouTube, and many more. When freedom of the press meets freedom of individual expression, everybody becomes a reporter, an editor, and sometimes, an expert. In such a decentralized environment, it becomes more challenging to sieve out the truth from falsehood. Even celebrity gossip and news opinions have become so decentralized that the world sees only specific angles from any one social media user. On the topic of news, Bilbro raises several specific questions on reading the news. Underlying these is a growing awareness that our daily habits are more effective than what we say or believe. 

"From the Editor's Desk" (John M. Buchanan)

TITLE: From the Editor's Desk
AUTHOR: John M. Buchanan
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016, (208 pages).

For evangelicals, the flagship magazine is "Christianity Today." Pentecostals would be familiar with "Charisma." For Roman Catholics, popular magazines include "Catholic Herald," "National Catholic Register," and "First Things." For many mainline Protestants, it is the "Christian Century." Originally formed as a "Disciples of Christ" journal, it was renamed "Christian Century" among various attempts to revitalize the floundering publication. Whatever public opinion may be, former publisher John Buchanan prefer to see this magazine as an advocate for "thinking critically and living faithfully." It aims to be open to the world and generous to the Church. The magazine was founded in 1884 as "The Christian Oracle" and has featured contributions from past well-known personalities like Gerald Ford, Karl Barth, Martin Luther King Jr, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, Karl Menninger as well as more modern writers such as Thomas Long, Barbara Brown Taylor, Eugene Peterson, Marcus Borg, and so on. A key mission of the periodical is to analyze and advocate for issues of the age according to the conscience of the church. For instance, it takes a pacifist position as international conflicts mount. It fights against human rights violations. It focuses on civil rights for all, being the first periodical to publish in full Dr Martin Luther King Jr's "A Letter from the Birmingham Jail." Looking at the title of the periodical can be embarrassing as one remembers how the century has been tainted by the Holocaust, Hiroshima, and 9/11. Reflecting as a grandfather, author John Buchanan sees a new wave of hot button issues on the horizon.

"Go Tell It" (Jim Killam and Lincoln Brunner)

TITLE: Go Tell It: How--and Why--to Report God's Stories in Words, Photos, and Videos
AUTHOR: Jim Killam and Lincoln Brunner
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014, (176 pages).

You have a great story to tell. You have spent years serving faithfully. You have also witnessed many beautiful moments of how God has worked mightily. Unfortunately, your story is untold. Your witness is hidden somewhere. Maybe, you want to tell it but you lack the know-how. What if there is a way to tell it, that more people can be blessed? What if there is a way to spread the good news so that God's Name and Work can be shared more broadly?

Enters this very helpful book about Christian journalism. Just like the gospel writer, Luke who aims to record down meticulously the works of Christ, we too can learn to exercise the Great Commission through faithful and accurate story telling and gospel reporting. We can learn to report what God has been doing, what he had done, and what is he up to. We learn about how details can be very important in the telling of any story. We learn to choose the most significant parts in order to strengthen our focus. We need to hone in on the central question, and to report the truth. Yet, this truth reporting has to be done sensitively especially in places where mission work can be risky, even dangerous. The authors provide some guidelines such as:

• Understanding the contexts of the mission
• Publish wisely, with guidance from the people from the field
• Adopt the Three Strands Rule: Name, Location, Ministry

At the same time, we are reminded that our world is filled with journalism that is more selling rather than telling. Understand the ethical implications. Learn to observe without obstructing; reporting without falsifying; and crediting God for what God has done. Know that freedoms differ from place to place. The clue is that Christian reporting is less about telling people what to think or do, but more about showing people the way far enough so that they can find the truth and act on the truth themselves.

There are tips on how to report bad news or "monsters," conflicts, and then search for universal themes. The main elements of any story include the central character, the conflict, the resolution, the biblical themes, and the story of grace and redemption. Other kinds of reporting include interviewing where one seeks accuracy on the one hand, and maintaining a cordial relationship on the other. Stories also need scenes in which the story plots are fleshed out. Photography and audio-visual aids are discussed too. A nice camera is not sufficient. One also needs some technical skills of a photographer and an eye for the relevant details. Movies must tell a story.

Christian journalism is vital. Good journalistic skills by Christians are essential if the truth is to be shared and spread throughout the world. This book is a primer for any budding journalist who wants to capture stories of the world from a Christian perspective. I am not a fan of using "Christian" as a prefix to things or activities. Personally, I prefer to distinguish between good vs bad journalism rather than Christian vs non-Christian journalism. For some of the best news reporting are not necessarily Christian. Some of the worst reporting can be done by Christians. The aim is to enable everyone everywhere to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. While there are instances where stories need bridges and links to move from one point to another, we need to maintain a truthful stance, to use whatever we have truthfully to communicate the truth accurately and faithfully. For Christians, the motivation toward journalism is a noble one. It is precisely because the gospel comes to us through the Word, we need to learn to use words, and every possible reporting tools to witness the hand of God working in this world. It is a calling.

I was hoping to read more about reporting in social media, blogging, and the new media opportunities but was disappointed that the book stopped short on that. Hopefully, in future editions, the author will incorporate more of these new technologies and their implications on modern reporting and journalism. That said, this book has refreshed my own zeal on the importance of journalism. Good journalism that is.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Book: "A Twitter Year"

TITLE: A Twitter Year - 365 days in 140 characters
AUTHOR/COMPILER: Kate Bussman and Fellow Twitterers
PUBLISHER: Bedford Square, London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2011, (286 pages).

This is the first published book of its kind. The basic idea is to bring together in one book a list of 'tweets' that covers a range of issues around the world. Recognizing the prominent place in which Twitter has become in terms of news dissemination, this book may be the beginning of a new breed of authors and publishers. According to the book's research, the number of tweets per day range from a low of 65 million (June 2010) to a high of 230 million in September 2011. According to Twitter, there are more than 100 million twittering accounts. What makes Twitter the place to go to is the speed in which information is being updated. A number of years ago, the defacto place to go for breaking news is the TV. Following the TV is the speed of Internet updates on various news websites. Now, the crown is being given to the two forerunners of social networking: Twitter and Facebook.

A number of months ago, the author, Kate Bussman very courteously asks me if she could use my tweet in this book. I gladly agreed, not simply because it is nice to share my tweet, but also because of the manner in which Bussman and the publisher handled the request. They promised me this book, which they duly delivered the week the book gets published. Here is my snapshot of what they sent me, (including my tweet).

Apart from seeing my tweet published, I marvel at how Bussmann is able to distill the millions of tweets into the various categories. There are 7 major sections where the tweets are classified. These include 'politics and current affairs,' 'royalty and religion,' 'celebrity,' 'science and nature,' 'sport and leisure,' 'arts, culture & media,' and a miscellaneous section entitled, 'a tweet a day.'

Three things stand out for me. Firstly, the book is able to provide the positive and negative tweets to provide a balanced presentation of tweets for each issue. One can easily thumb through the categories with the convenient tabs provided. Secondly, this book itself gives us a snapshot of the world in the past 365 days, simply by using Twitter. It tells me how the world has changed in terms in information sharing. Not only is it free, it is also fast. Thirdly, the careful selections of tweets mean that a lot of tweets have to be excluded from publication. This means a conscious decision on the part of the author and publisher to choose. This is no easy feat, considering the tonnes of data coming through each day. This book is an excellent example how social networking, self-publishing, and traditional book publishing and printing can be combined into one handy volume.

Thanks for selecting my tweet, Kate!

conrade

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This book is provided to me free, courtesy of the author and Bloomsbury Publishing without any obligation for a positive review. The comments above are offered freely mine.