Small admission, I’ve dropped the ball in terms of dealings with Digital Disciples (Charlotte). Some months ago, Dale and I talked about me taking a more central role in organizing things, and I willingly took on that role, but also had all of these other changes going on.
Please forgive me, and considering this stepping back into that role with (more time) a clearer focus.
Where’s Digital Disciples Charlotte Now
I guess the best way to start is to say where things had been and where they are now.
We started with some really solid interest from about 10-12 people in the region. The major problem though was that we couldn’t synchronize schedules and so the early gatherings included 3 core people and a few others who heard about Digital Disciples and wanted to check things out.
We talked a good bit about making a monthly schedule for topics, and also about what does it mean to be a Digital Disciple “branch” that extends out to the community. So, through out various relationships, we talked to local businesses and churches with the idea that we’d be eventually at a point to be able to serve them in some kind of digital equipping.
That didn’t work out so well. Hence this post.
Some of the Challenges
Anytime you are trying an organic group, especially one where technology is a connecting member and therefore people have several different approaches to connecting, there’s going to be connection or communication issues. Besides getting a day that works for everyone, syncing the communications across email, Twitter, and Facebook seems to be a challenge – and a good one really. As a connection point for Digital Disciple here in Charlotte, MMM is everywhere except Facebook. This means that networking with those of you who have a presence – and a solid one – there is key towards mitigating that aspect of things.
Another issue is just connecting. Amongst the early email group, we had such a spread of days to be available that it really became difficult to just get everyone together just once. This is going to continue to be an issue, but perhaps with MMM’s ability to be a bit more mobile, things can be addressed here from time to time (different locations, or certain types of meetings, etc.).
Lastly, there’s the challenge of content. While we all agree that the digital tools that we have indeed have some intersection at our faith, what it is we do together when we come together has been a matter of conversations. Some have wanted simple fellowship and knowledge sharing, others have wanted a bible study that teaches the text and introduces the tech as part of the learning, and still others have wanted something of a community workshop that’s grounded in the text, but serves the needs of the local Charlotte community.
These are challenges because they are all spread out, and all on the radar – not because they are impossible.
So Where to Go From Here
MMM has been invited to assist some ministries in an upcoming global engagement that will be hitting the Charlotte area pretty soon. There’s a need for facilitating communication and community activities – even to the point of digital discipling – to the local churches who are involved in this effort. I believe that Digital Disciples was made for this kind of task. Thing is, hands would be needed to in order to make that happen.
I’d like to know who would be interested in meeting to talk about that effort, and to assist in the planning and prep for that activity. Express your interest by commenting to this post, or by giving feedback via Twitter (@mobileminmag). In a week’s time, I’ll put out a meeting date, and that will be the one and only date for gathering the faces for this. From there, Digital Disciples Charlotte will extend to those who have interest, and there will be a plan of action for the local effort, as well as Digital Disciples separate from that effort.
When Gabe and I talked about Digital Disciples being in Charlotte, this is part of what we knew could happen. Communities take work and time to develop. And there needs to be someone (or a few someones) who are not just interested in the intersection of faith and technology, but will take steps at the intersection to build lights and sidewalks for others.
Won’t you consider joining with MMM for Digital Disciples Charlotte. Or, if you like what you hear here and would like to engage with Digital Disciples a bit closer to your home, check out the Digital Disciples website for a group that meets nearer to you.
There’s a lot of digital ground to cover – and a whole lot of folks that want to keep connected to Christ while covering it.
