June 2021 Resource
Title:
Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age: How the Church Can Prepare for a Post-Pandemic World
Author:
Michael Adam Beck and Rosario Picardo
Publisher:
Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN
Book Review By:
Melvin Amerson
Premise of the book:
Churches can explore and integrate technology in worship and discipleship-building, while creating new and different types of faith communities.
What this book does:
Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age is a great book, uniquely formatted to guide and lead clergy, church leaders, and congregations in a post-pandemic environment. The authors do an excellent job with integrating analog (traditional) and digital worship for the church moving forward. Also, ideas and strategies are shared to create online engagement and discipling. They define a Fresh Expression as a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of those who are not yet part of any church. (p. 1) Each chapter concludes with internet technology named terms: App it, Chat Box (team discussion questions), E-Haviors (practices as missionaries in a digital age), and Livestream (leading pastors sharing experience/wisdom).
Contents:
Login
Download 1: The Digital Age
Download 2: The Covid 19 Reset
Download 3: Hybridity The Post-Pandemic Church
Download 4: Digital Worship-Liturgy, Lectionary, and Utilizing Free-Tech
Download 5: Digital Incarnation-Rethinking Evangelism and Discipleship
Download 6: Cultivating Digital Fresh Expressions
Download 7: Going Old School in a New School World
Download 8: From Monologues to Dialogues
Login: A Missional Posture of Peacefulness
What are some important insights:
The authors of this resource provide great insights throughout from processing an idea to actual application/practice. Triple listening to God, to the physical space, and to the digital space. (p. 36) Churches need these quadrants to thrive on the new missional frontier: Physical, Digital, Attractional, and Incarnational. (p. 61)
Possibilities as a resource for churches:
Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age is an excellent resource for clergy, church leadership, and congregations, who want to pivot and do ministry in new ways and reach new people.
The Rev. Melvin Amerson is a member of the Texas Annual Conference and serves as a Resource Specialist and Area Representative at TMF. His experience and passion lie in encouraging and developing generous, faithful leaders and congregations.
Amerson is the author of Celebrating the Offering, Fruit for Celebrating the Offering, and Stewardship in African American Churches: A New Paradigm, as well as several articles covering topics from generosity, leadership, and visioning. He served as a board member of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center until it was dissolved in 2021 and is currently serving on the Texas Annual Conference Church Leadership Team. He is a nationally recognized generosity consultant known for his engaging presentations. Beyond strengthening congregational leaders, one of his favorite ways to use his skills is to empower Wesley Foundation staff to effectively fund their college ministries.
Melvin obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, an M.Div degree concentrating in Christian education from Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, an Executive Leadership certificate from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a certificate in Professional Fundraising from Boston University. Recently, he completed a fundraising certificate with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.