Facebook: Beyond Communication Tool

Facebook is a valuable tool for communication both on personal and organizational setup. Many companies including media organizations are now engaging in Facebook to promote their products, services and events. Prominent personalities and celebrities make a way closer to their fans using Facebook’s Fan Page. We, the researchers, also enjoy the privilege of using Facebook as our medium for conversation and exchanging ideas.

Facebook also becomes a valid communication tool for community groups. Despite of some restrictions that committees, clubs, small organizations, or associations experience such as limited resources, time consuming telephone communications, meetings poorly attended; Facebook made it possible for them to communicate effectively. It allows group events, meetings, and fund-raising initiatives, including group information becomes universally accessible to the members.[1]

On July 22, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook announced in just six years of making a connection [2] , its subscribers have reached to 500 million.[3] The figure shows that Facebook is a viable tool beyond communication. Zuckerberg and his team are hoping to improve the lives of people in significant ways. “So it's rewarding to see that as Facebook has grown, people around the world are using the service to share information about events big and small and to stay connected to everyone they care about.”[4]

The table below is derived from the recent study conducted by Harvard Business School (HBS) and it is found out that mostly men follow a man (65%) and a man is followed by mostly men (58%) in Twitter.

Table 1. Twitter follower statistics from HBS

Such phenomenon is used to establish a comparison between the natures of two prominent social networking sites: Facebook and Twitter; which one is a communication tool and which is an identity platform? Men mostly followed other men in Twitter while men mostly followed women in Facebook. The reason for this reveals the nature of Facebook and Twitter as social networking sites. Twitter is a conversation platform or a broadcast platform; thus it is largely public, though not all conversation must be in public. On the other hand, Facebook is an identity platform and it is largely private. There is a strong level of identity disclosure and social reinforcements- e.g. like “tagging friends or being tagged by friends in photos” support a real Facebook identity.[5]

Because of this, youth ministers must see the effectiveness of incorporating Facebook platform to effectively minister to the young people who have Facebook presence and virtual thriving becomes part of their existence. It could be challenging but it is equally rewarding.

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[1] http://ezinearticles.com/?Facebook-As-a-Communication-Tool-For-Community-Organizations&id=2382270. Date Accessed, August 7, 2010

[2] http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=287542162130&ref=mf. Date Accessed: August 16, 2010

[3] http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=409753352130. Date Accessed, August 7, 2010.

[4] Ibid.

[5] http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/06/08/will-facebook-and-twitter-become-communication-tools-or-identity-platforms/ Date Accessed, August 7, 2010

How does God communicate to us?

God speaks literally, not just metaphorically. That means the Scripture is not only inspired by God, it is a Word of God that requires illocutionary actions. This understanding calls us to pay attention to his words and to identify which one is said as writer’s perspective and which is the distinct speech of God spoken by way of the writer. God wants to communicate with us intimately. To say that God speaks literally does not mean to take Scripture literally. He wants to be understood, that’s why not only he reveals himself, but also he can speak to us- to make his intentions known. Our interpretation of the Scripture must also be guided by this perspective.

The Bible is a collection of books written by different authors of unique perspective and diverse personality. To interpret the part as the whole is to misinterpret the passage. One must also acknowledge that the infinite God conveys his message through the finitude of these biblical writers. To say that what one author has said represents the totality of the Scripture is to miss the point of other writers. It would be different to hear the voice of God by way of different writers than hearing it from one. Therefore, to interpret the passage in the light of the Scripture is to consider the perspective of all biblical writers—that requires reading the entire Bible!

Church history shows that the people in the past have gone a long and painful journey of understanding God. One’s lifetime isn’t enough to comprehend all about God. Because God is a community of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, no single person can fully understand God alone. We must interpret the Scripture in a communal living. Yet even God provides an aid for us to understand him better--- the person of the Holy Spirit. So apart from Him, it’s impossible to understand Him. We must depend on the Holy Spirit, not in our academic excellence, for a correct biblical interpretation.

Part of the dynamics of hearing God speak literally is to allow the Scripture correct our understanding of God. We come to the passage with our presupposition, but we must recognize the authority of the passage to replace our presuppositions. Faithful biblical interpretation requires interpreter’s humility. Only after this a dynamic transformation happens.