Advent 09- Harriers

I wrote a few days ago about Scripture Union, and how I'm thankful for what I've learnt from different parts of the organisation.  Probably the SU-related activity that had the biggest impact on me was Harriers.  Harriers is one of many activity holidays run by volunteers under the supervision of SU throughout the year, which mix activities with Bible teaching and discussion groups.  

Harriers is a sailing holiday for 14's-18's,* run on the Norfolk Broads in cabin yachts, some of which are over 70 years old and don't have engines, let alone fridges or electric light.  I was 15 when I first went, and although like any week when you're a teenager there are ups and downs, I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed it.  I'd never done any sailing but growing up reading about the adventures of the Swallows and Amazons and similar books I'd always wanted to learn, so it was almost the perfect holiday (now, if it could have included G&S as well...!).  

For a young Christian who wasn't used to having people of my own age who I could talk to about my faith, it was wonderful to be in an environment where I could do that, could share experiences and listen to other people's, where I could make friends who shared my faith and understood the problems Christian young people faced at school, at home, or elsewhere.  And I could learn about and discuss the things that that were never talked about in my church, because the people there weren't interested or because they simply weren't relevant for the elderly congregation.  It helped me see that Christianity isn't something old and dying and hopeless, but young and vibrant and full of life and love and the Holy Spirit.  It transformed my understanding of my faith, and helped me grow and learn far more than I would have without it.

Unsurprisingly, I went back the next year.  And the next, and the next.  After that, I went as a mate, a junior leader, for three years.  I enjoyed it too much to want to leave, and I wanted to help other young people get as much out of it as I had done.  It's several years now since I stopped going (not because I'd stopped enjoying it, but because there were other people who wanted to do what I'd done, and I wasn't an experienced enough sailor to move into senior leadership, not to mention having less holiday once I moved into the world of work beyond uni) but I still try to pray for those who are involved, and am grateful for those who gave up their time to make it possible for me.  I hope that when I was a leader I helped other young people enjoy the week as much as I did.  Definitely a Good Thing.

*Harriers A is for 14's-16's, Harriers B 16's-18's.  Ish.  There's also Kestrels A and B, which are much the same, but run at Easter when it's colder.  I only did Kestrels once.

Advent 09- SU

Another organisation that's had quite an impact on my life is this one: Scripture Union.  As a small child I used their group resources in Junior Church and my parents did Bible studies with me based on their notes.  As an older child I read children's books published by them and went to holiday clubs that used their materials.  As a teenager I went on holidays that were run through them, and got involved with the organisation nationally as a member of the Youth Council.  As an adult I helped lead those holidays .  Now I use their WordLive site to help me focus on God daily and I'm a member of the General Council which helps guide the movement's direction in England & Wales.

WordLive is a good example of this.  For years when I was on the Youth Council we tried to encourage the organisation to do more with the internet.  Then, a few years ago, they began to develop this idea for daily Bible reading and study on the web, through words, pictures, audio, music and video, on the web and via email.  I remember hearing about it for the first time and looking at the designs and being very excited!

It's almost two years since WordLive launched and it's even better now.  I've followed it through (I was one of the original beta-testers) and used it ever since it launched.  I think it helps move forward SU's ministry of encouraging people to get to know God through the Bible into a way they can understand.  It's definitely something I'm thankful for, something which is a Good Thing.

Digital Gospel

Those who read my last post will know that last weekend I was away at a conference of Scripture Union, an organisation which resources and works with the church to help them reach out to the community, particularly among children and young people.  Over the last couple of years SU has felt a particular calling to investigate ways of using 'technology' (ie the internet) to do this, and a lot of money and effort has gone into digital projects like WordLive, designed to help individuals engage with the Bible; and LightLive, which provides resources for youth and children's leaders.

During one of the meetings one of the members of the council expressed a concern that these days technology moves on so fast that we could end up investing in something only to find that by the time it was complete it would already be obsolete.  For example, are books going to be made obsolete by ebooks?  Could something like GoogleWave render ways of communicating by email, skype and social networking sites useless?

I thought about this, and wondered if actually we should be concerned about something slightly different.  In the past, there was generally only one method of doing things- if you wanted to speak to someone you telephoned their landline, if you wanted to send them documents you used the postal system.  Today, there are many ways to communicate- you can speak to someone by landline or mobile, via skype, or send them a text message, IM or email, or send a message via a social networking site like Twitter.  If you want to share a document you can use the post, fax, email, or upload it to Google Docs where you can collaborate on it instantly.

Perhaps we can look at the entertainment market for an example of what communication might look like in the future.  When TV began to become widespread there were fears that it might kill off radio and cinema.  It didn't.  Radio and cinema changed the way they did things, but they survived.  VCR recorders and tapes have survived long past the introduction of DVD's because they possessed something DVD's didn't- the ability to record and wipe- and are only now being supplanted by DVD recorders and hard drive recorders.  DVD's are in turn under threat from BluRay, but are likely to be around for some time yet.

So rather than one thing directly replacing another, it seems to me that what we're looking at for the future is a multiplicity of methods of communication.  That presents a different kind of challenge, as we have to work out how to communicate in many ways without increasing the costs or risking decreasing quality by spreading ourselves too thinly.  The alternative is to risk loosing touch with many users by only focusing on one or two methods, and potentially being trapped into servicing a diminishing market share.

So perhaps there is a need for caution.  But it's also an opportunity to potentially reach new users and to develop new ways of getting the message across.  Being too cautious is risky too.

P.S.  If you have any thoughts on this subject, I really would be interested to hear them.