C.S. Lewis Final Interview

I recently came across a transcript of the final interview ever done by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was one of the most influential communicators in Christianity, in fact his writings are still having an impact on the christian community today. This transcript is literally gold to ministry communicators. C.S. Lewis is personal and specific in talking about how he developed his stories and then, in turn, delivered them to the world. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

C.S. Lewis’ Last Interview
Sherwood E. Wirt

Editor’s Note: This interview is believed to be the last-ever interview with C.S. Lewis.

I drove to Cambridge, England, on May 7, 1963, to interview Mr. Clive Staples Lewis, author of The Screwtape Letters and one of the world’s most brilliant and widely read Christian authors. I hoped to learn from him how young men and women could be encouraged to defend the faith through the written word.

It quickly became clear that this interview was going to be different from any that I had ever been granted. I found Mr. Lewis in a wing of the brick quadrangle at Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where he is professor of Medieval and Renaissance literature. I climbed a flight of narrow, incredibly worn wooden steps, knocked at an ancient wooden door with the simple designation, “Prof. Lewis,” and was shown in by the housekeeper.

Passing through a simply furnished parlor, I came into a study that was quite simple in appearance. Professor Lewis was seated at a plain table upon which reposed an old-fashioned alarm clock and an old-fashioned inkwell. I was immediately warmed by his jovial smile and cordial manner as he rose to greet me; he seemed the classic, friendly, jolly Englishman. He indicated a straight-backed chair, then sat down, snug in his tweed jacket and two sweaters, and we were away.

Wirt: Professor Lewis, if you had a young friend with some interest in writing on Christian subjects, how would you advise him to prepare himself?

Lewis: I would say if a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity. But to speak of the craft itself, I would not know how to advise a man how to write. It is a matter of talent and interest. I believe he must be strongly moved if he is to become a writer. Writing is like a ‘lust,’ or like ‘scratching when you itch.’ Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse, and when it does come, I for one must get it out.

Wirt: Can you suggest an approach that would spark the creation of a body of Christian literature strong enough to influence our generation?

Lewis: There is no formula in these matters. I have no recipe, no tablets. Writers are trained in so many individual ways that it is not for us to prescribe. Scripture itself is not systematic; the New Testament shows the greatest variety. God has shown us that he can use any instrument. Balaam’s ass, you remember, preached a very effective sermon in the midst of his ‘hee-haws.’”

By this time the mettle of the man I was interviewing was evident. I decided to shift to more open ground.

Wirt: A light touch has been characteristic of your writings, even when you are dealing with heavy theological themes. Would you say there is a key to the cultivation of such an attitude?

Lewis: I believe this is a matter of temperament. However, I was helped in achieving this attitude by my studies of the literary men of the Middle Ages and by the writings of G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton, for example, was not afraid to combine serious Christian themes with buffoonery. In the same way, the miracle plays of the Middle Ages would deal with a sacred subject such as the nativity of Christ, yet would combine it with a farce.

Wirt: Should Christian writers, then, in your opinion, attempt to be funny?

Lewis: No. I think that forced jocularities on spiritual subjects are an abomination, and the attempts of some religious writers to be humorous are simply appalling. Some people write heavily, some write lightly. I prefer the light approach, because I believe there is a great deal of false reverence about. There is too much solemnity and intensity in dealing with sacred matters; too much speaking in holy tones.

Wirt: But is not solemnity proper and conducive to a sacred atmosphere?

Lewis: Yes and no. There is a difference between a private devotional life and a corporate one. Solemnity is proper in church, but things that are proper in church are not necessarily proper outside, and vice versa. For example, I can say a prayer while washing my teeth, but that does not mean I should wash my teeth in church.

Wirt: What is your opinion of the kind of writing being done within the Christian church today?

Lewis: A great deal of what is being published by writers in the religious tradition is a scandal and is actually turning people away from the church. The liberal writers who are continually accommodating and whittling down the truth of the Gospel are responsible. I cannot understand how a man can appear in print claiming to disbelieve everything that he presupposes when he puts on the surplice. I feel it is a form of prostitution.

Wirt: What do you think of the controversial new book, Honest to God, by John Robinson, the bishop of Woolwich?

Lewis: I prefer being honest to being ‘honest to God.’

Wirt: What Christian writers have helped you?

Lewis: The contemporary book that has helped me the most is Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. Others are Edwyn Bevan’s book, Symbolism and Belief, Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the Holy, and the plays of Dorothy Sayers.

Wirt: I believe it was Chesterton who was asked why he became a member of the church, and he replied, “To get rid of my sins.”

At this point I was surprised by the suddenness of Professor Lewis’ reply.

Lewis: It is not enough to want to get rid of one’s sins. We also need to believe in the One who saves us from our sins. Not only do we need to recognize that we are sinners; we need to believe in a Savior who takes away sin. Matthew Arnold once wrote, ‘Nor does the being hungry prove that we have bread.’ Because we know we are sinners, it does not follow that we are saved.

Wirt: In your book Surprised by Joy you remark that you were brought into the faith kicking and struggling and resentful, with eyes darting in every direction looking for an escape. You suggest that you were compelled, as it were, to become a Christian. Do you feel that you made a decision at the time of your conversion?

Lewis: I would not put it that way. What I wrote in Surprised by Joy was that ‘before God closed in on me, I was offered what now appears a moment of wholly free choice.’ But I feel my decision was not so important. I was the object rather than the subject in this affair. I was decided upon. I was glad afterward at the way it came out, but at the moment what I heard was God saying, ‘Put down your gun and we’ll talk.’

Wirt: That sounds to me as if you came to a very definite point of decision.

Lewis: Well, I would say that the most deeply compelled action is also the freest action. By that I mean, no part of you is outside the action. It is a paradox. I expressed it in Surprised by Joy by saying that I chose, yet it really did not seem possible to do the opposite.

Wirt: You wrote 20 years ago that “a man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool; you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” Would you say your view of this matter has changed since then?

Lewis: I would say there is no substantial change.

Wirt: Would you say that the aim of Christian writing, including your own writing, is to bring about an encounter of the reader with Jesus Christ?

Lewis: That is not my language, yet it is the purpose I have in view. For example, I have just finished a book on prayer, an imaginary correspondence with someone who raises questions about difficulties in prayer.

Wirt: How can we foster the encounter of people with Jesus Christ?

Lewis: You can’t lay down any pattern for God. There are many different ways of bringing people into his Kingdom, even some ways that I specially dislike! I have therefore learned to be cautious in my judgment.

But we can block it in many ways. As Christians we are tempted to make unnecessary concessions to those outside the faith. We give in too much. Now, I don’t mean that we should run the risk of making a nuisance of ourselves by witnessing at improper times, but there comes a time when we must show that we disagree. We must show our Christian colors, if we are to be true to Jesus Christ. We cannot remain silent or concede everything away.

There is a character in one of my children’s stories named Aslan who says, ‘I never tell anyone any story except his own.’ I cannot speak for the way God deals with others; I only know how he deals with me personally. Of course, we are to pray for spiritual awakening, and in various ways we can do something toward it. But we must remember that neither Paul nor Apollos gives the increase. As Charles Williams once said, “The altar must often be built in one place so that the fire may come down in another place.”

The hour and a half I spent with Mr. Clive Staples Lewis in his quarters at Magdalene College, Cambridge University, will remain a treasured memory. I found Professor Lewis in his modest establishment, surrounded by the historic atmosphere of the old university city, engaged in the quiet daily stint of teaching medieval classic literature. It was hard to realize that this unassuming man is probably the outstanding Christian literary figure of our age. I was prompted to say to him:

Wirt: Professor Lewis, your writings have an unusual quality not often found in discussions of Christian themes. You write as though you enjoyed it.

Lewis: If I didn’t enjoy writing I wouldn’t continue to do it. Of all my books, there was only one I did not take pleasure in writing.

Wirt: Which one?

Lewis: The Screwtape Letters. They were dry and gritty going. At the time, I was thinking of objections to the Christian life, and decided to put them into the form, “That’s what the Devil would say.” But making goods ‘bad’ and bads ‘good’ gets to be fatiguing.
Wirt: How would you suggest a young Christian writer go about developing a style?

Lewis: The way for a person to develop a style is (a) to know exactly what he wants to say, and (b) to be sure he is saying exactly that. The reader, we must remember, does not start by knowing what we mean. If our words are ambiguous, our meaning will escape him. I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right, the readers will most certainly go into it.

Wirt: Do you believe that the Holy Spirit can speak to the world through Christian writers today?

Lewis: I prefer to make no judgment concerning a writer’s direct ‘illumination’ by the Holy Spirit. I have no way of knowing whether what is written is from heaven or not. I do believe that God is the Father of lights – natural lights as well as spiritual lights (James 1:17). That is, God is not interested only in Christian writers as such. He is concerned with all kinds of writing. In the same way, a sacred calling is not limited to ecclesiastical functions. The man who is weeding a field of turnips is also serving God.

Wirt: An American writer, Mr. Dewey Beegle, has stated that in his opinion the Isaac Watts hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” is more inspired by God than is the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament. What would be your view?

Lewis: The great saints and mystics of the Church have felt just the opposite about it. They have found tremendous spiritual truth in the Song of Solomon. There is a difference of levels here. The question of the canon is involved. Also we must remember that what is meat for a grown person might be unsuited to the palate of a child.

Wirt: How would you evaluate modern literary trends as exemplified by such writers as Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, and Jean-Paul Sartre?

Lewis: I have read very little in this field. I am not a contemporary scholar. I am not even a scholar of the past, but I am a lover of the past.”

Wirt: Do you believe that the use of filth and obscenity is necessary in order to establish a realistic atmosphere in contemporary literature?

Lewis: I do not. I treat this development as a symptom, a sign of a culture that has lost its faith. Moral collapse follows upon spiritual collapse. I look upon the immediate future with great apprehension.

Wirt: Do you feel, then, that modern culture is being de-Christianized?

Lewis: I cannot speak to the political aspects of the question, but I have some definite views about the de-Christianizing of the Church. I believe that there are many accommodating preachers, and too many practitioners in the Church who are not believers. Jesus Christ did not say, “Go into all the world and tell the world that it is quite right.” The Gospel is something completely different. In fact, it is directly opposed to the world.

The case against Christianity that is made out in the world is quite strong. Every war, every shipwreck, every cancer case, every calamity, contributes to making a prima facie case against Christianity. It is not easy to be a believer in the face of this surface evidence. It calls for a strong faith in Jesus Christ.

Wirt: Do you approve of men such as Bryan Green and Billy Graham asking people to come to a point of decision regarding the Christian life?

Lewis: I had the pleasure of meeting Billy Graham once. We had dinner together during his visit to Cambridge University in 1955, while he was conducting a mission to students. I thought he was a very modest and a very sensible man, and I liked him very much indeed.

In a civilization like ours, I feel that everyone has to come to terms with the claims of Jesus Christ upon his life, or else be guilty of inattention or of evading the question. In the Soviet Union it is different. Many people living in Russia today have never had to consider the claims of Christ because they have never heard of those claims.

In the same way we who live in English-speaking countries have never really been forced to consider the claims, let us say, of Hinduism. But in our Western civilization we are obligated both morally and intellectually to come to grips with Jesus Christ; if we refuse to do so we are guilty of being bad philosophers and bad thinkers.

Wirt: What is your view of the daily discipline of the Christian life – the need for taking time to be alone with God?

Lewis: We have our New Testament regimental orders upon the subject. I would take it for granted that everyone who becomes a Christian would undertake this practice. It is enjoined upon us by our Lord. Since they are his commands, I believe in following them. It is always just possible that Jesus Christ meant what he said when he told us to seek the secret place and to close the door.

Because Professor Lewis has written so extensively, both in fiction and nonfiction, about space travel (see his trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), I was particularly interested in what he would have to say about the prospects for man’s future.

Wirt: What do you think is going to happen in the next few years of history, Mr. Lewis?

Lewis: I have no way of knowing. My primary field is the past. I travel with my back to the engine, and that makes it difficult when you try to steer. The world might stop in 10 minutes; meanwhile, we are to go on doing our duty. The great thing is to be found at one’s post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years.

We have, of course, the assurance of the New Testament regarding events to come. I find it difficult to keep from laughing when I find people worrying about future destruction of some kind or other. Didn’t they know they were going to die anyway? Apparently not. My wife once asked a young woman friend whether she had ever thought of death, and she replied, “By the time I reach that age science will have done something about it!”

Wirt: Do you think there will be widespread travel in space?

Lewis: I look forward with horror to contact with the other inhabited planets, if there are such. We would only transport to them all of our sin and our acquisitiveness and establish a new colonialism. I can’t bear to think of it. But if we on earth were to get right with God, of course, all would be changed. Once we find ourselves spiritually awakened, we can go to outer space and take the good things with us. That is quite a different matter.

What have you Been Doing Lately?

During the summer, I work at the Word of Life Family Campground. (no website… at least not one that I want to link to… sad, I know) I serve at the Staff Coordinator for the Family Campground. Basically, what I do is coordinate an environment where sixty-or-so high school-college age staff can grow spiritually. I build a program for the staff involving activities, meetings and personal discipleship. There are plenty of things to keep me hopping all summer, so no tanning days for me.

A guy like me has quite a few options for summer ministry. The Lord has blessed me with a job that allows me a high degree of flexability, and every Christian camp in the United States is looking for more staff. I work at the Family Campground for one major reason.

Most Christian camps create an artificial atmosphere of either hyper-spirituality or workoholism that a staff tolerates for a summer season, but at the Campground summer is just warmer.

It’s sad to watch my friends go away to camp knowing that many of them will return completely burnt out after giving out wihtout ever taking in for ten straight weeks. It’s sad for me to return emails that my computer recieved (while I slept) at 3:04am. The Campground is different, and that’s why I work here.

To give you some perspective: Word of Life is the largest camping organization (Christian or otherwise) in the world. The Family Campground is the largest Word of Life Camp in North America. We see about 3000 campers in the course of a summer season. There are larger individual camps, but not many. We run a full service child care program, waterfront, housekeeping and food service departments. In addition to the obvious operational departments like maintenance, customer service and office. We have a pretty slick operation going on up here with a lot of work being put in over the course of a summer, BUT we never expect anyone to kill themselves just simply because it’s summer!!!

One of the principles that we operate by is: We give more to our staff than we take from them. My boss, the Camp Director, is always talking about treating staff like customers. The result is happier staff with healthier more complete minsitry to both the staff and the guests. Unreasonable work expectations only leads to dialusionment from the organization and consequently, Jesus as well.

The point is this: as employers and Christians, do we communicate accurately what Christ expects from his people? Christ demands nothing more than the best that we can give, but often in the summer camping culture we demand more bricks with less straw from ourselves and our employees.

What does that communicate?

What are you Wearing?

Clothing is one of the first things that we notice about anyone upon meeting them for the first time. We make judgments about economic status, social skills, age, and overall level of cool based on their wardrobe choices. Don’t think so? What do you think when you meet someone dressed in flannel? Cooperate Executive? Not usually. Book after book has been written about dressing and impressing. I think it would be safe to say that clothing communicates.

The question then, is obvious. What does most CHRISTIAN clothing communicate? Let’s be honest, the average Christian T-shirt falls into one of three categories:

1. Weak Imitation
2. Terrible Pun or Play on Words
3. Sacrilegious and downright offensive to anyone of faith

I became so disillusioned with the whole Christian Clothing scene a few years back that I quit wearing “Christian T-shirts” all together. It made me sick to turn this relationship with God into a mockery or an imitation. Various Christian musicians have caught onto this theme and produced songs that are humorous to some, but sad to me.

Of late, I have seen a resurgence of the whole Christian Apparel industry, and I have broken my 5 year ban on Christian T-shirts. If you are still wearing “God Jesus?” or “Pray Hard”, please let me challenge you to think about what you are doing. Wearing unimaginative, cheesy, knock off clothing from another decade communicates to a watching world that the Church of today is… well, unimaginative, cheesy, knock off and from another decade. I know that is not the case. That is what this blog is all about, but the problem comes when we as a group settle for second-rate quality in a Christian context. We need to think about what we are communicating in every aspect of our life. From our lifestyle to our clothing choices,  everything communicates something about us, and as a result, about our Savior. Put down the cheesy Christian T-shirt.

Now, if you are like me and started boycotting the likes of these long ago, let me encourage you to seek out the emerging trends in Christian apparel (not emergent, emerging. There is a difference.) There are quite a few people out there today making great looking apparel that makes for a bold uncompromising witness. A Christian T-shirt can make for a great witnessing opportunity, only now you don’t have look stupid to get those chances. I have come across several locations on the internet that I’d like to share with you.

Sanctify Clothing has some great shirts that have an open testimony of being Christian without compromising on design or shape. These are great looking shirts with Abercrombie-like pricing. There are shirts with artistic depictions of the battle of Good vs. Evil, David & Goliath and the pale horse of the apocalypse.

c28 is another great source for fashionable Christian apparel, except with Old Navy-like prices. c28 has a much wider selection than many of the other sites including polos, hoodies and button-ups, shoes and accessories. I wear Christian apparel in order to have a clear and obvious testimony, but some of the clothing on c28 is not as outspoken as I would like, but it is all great quality and much more in my price range than some of the more independent T-shirt makers like: Enthos, Gilgal or Faveur. The Indies are great, but more expensive than I can stomach most of the time.

If you are in search of Indie T-shirts at a more mainstream price, check out the Relevant Store. In addition to their own promotional products, Relevant Media Group has a very good relationship with many of the smaller Christian Apparel makers and are able to sell some great clothes at reduced rates. Along with some Indie music, books and artwork. Relevant has been preaching social justice pretty hot and heavy of late, so I would anticipate seeing more like the “orphans and widows” hoddie at right.

The Twice Born Store is another place to find high quality, uncompromising Christian Apparel, but what makes Twice Born really shine is it’s design and print service. Many people in ministry are interested in having identiy shirts for their group or ministry but lack the graphic design skills to create something of high quality. Twice Born Store can create you a very high quality design and turn your order around in about a week. I don’t know this first-hand, but they make a 5-10 day claim on their home page. Their designs look great and the sight is very credible, so I would tend to trust them.

This is the Language Revolution. There is nothing that we do anymore that is disconnected from our Faith, and there is nothing that does not communicate in some way to someone. The time is now to start evaluating how we are perceived by the world outside. The church is not a cheap imitation, so let’s stop wearing clothes that make us look that way. Let’s start the revolution right now.

Language Barriers

I heard a great quote the other day. It went like this:

“No amount of passion, concentration, or faith can compensate for a language barrier.”

Most of you are probably very clear on why that meant to so much to me. I have been preaching that mantra on this website for the past several months… except… maybe not quite so succinctly. There are few things on earth which frustrate ministry efforts more than language barriers. Bible translators devote their entire lives to learning and in some cases creating a written language in order to communicate the truth. In the United States our barriers are less absolute, but there is a very clear disconnect between what the average Christian thinks and what the average non-believer hears. Somewhere we are losing our connection. Is the problem with the unbeliever who does not understand our Christian-ese? Or is the problem with us? Are we not communicating effectively what we believe?

There is some truth in the notion that non-Christians cannot understand because of the sin that affects their thinking, but we cannot tribute our failures to the depraved mind of the non-Christian because we were once in the same state ourselves. What is to be done? How may we break the language barrier?

Two thoughts:

- Learning a language takes time and study. We never think about studying the differences in communication between believers and non-believers, but we should. Before we can be understood we must first seek to understand. In the same way that a Wycliffe translator spends hundreds of hours on language analysis before speaking or writing one single word of the gospel. Obviously, our study does not require the same level of intensity, but surely we should consider our method of communication before we dive headlong into a culture that we do not understand. No matter how close to our own it may be.

- The Best Way to Learn a Language is to Practice. Cultural and linguistic emersion is very effective. Let’s not get carried away and say that we must participate in the sin to reach the sinners. That is certainly not the case. We should, however, meet the unsaved where they are. Meet them in their environment and communicate their language. That is the goal. That will require that we move out of our padded pew. Are we willing to do what it takes?

Are we willing to do what it takes to overcome the language barrier?

There is a very interesting comparison between Bible Translators and Youth Ministers. Mission boards like New Tribes and Wycliffe are full of people who devote their skills and time to learning languages that are completely foreign to them. In some ways, Youth ministers have to learn a language that is totally foreign. Lol, omr, and brb are as foreign to many of us as the syntax of some Papua New Guinean tribe. We would all applaud the investment of those tribal missionaries who give their lives to spreading the gospel. So… why do we not give a similar (even if less dramatic) thank you to those of us who reach another idiosyncratic sub-culture? Do we question the legitimacy of a ministry across the street because they do not face the threat of a spear each day?

A language barrier is still a barrier, regardless of how familiar the barrier may be.

So again, are we willing to do what it takes to overcome the language barriers?

Programming Tips

I don’t like to write two posts in a row about the same thing, but I just couldn’t pass this one up. If found a great post about programming that I have to pass along. It is from Leading Smart. You can find it here.

Some of the highlights:

- Keep them blinking – the audience must stay engaged.

- Leave your sissy pants at home—don’t be afraid to take risks.

Plus, there is a sweet video on there as well. Check it out at Leading Smart.

The 2nd Hardest Battle in Ministry

Programming is, in simplest terms, choreography. Think of your meeting like a dance. There is a natural rhythm and there is a gradual progression to the climax of the song and then a decent to the finish. Many flourishes can be added, but a flourish to the expense of the basics can be devastating. If you have the basics down a fancy turn, dip or spin makes for a nice touch… but only if you have a good handle on the rhythm and flow of the song already. It matters much less how it feels to you than what it looks like to the audience; (That is the major difference between dancing an choreography, by the way) and if there is no clearly defined purpose, then you are wasting your energy.

What is your overall goal in any given meeting? Do you have one? I have found that most people who are responsible for planning program have goals, they just have not taken the time to sit down and identify how those goals can be accomplished with their meeting format. Programming, like anything else in life, is a means of communication. We communicate in hundreds of different ways, and we become more effective in communicating when we identify what specifically we hope to communicate. When I begin programming a meeting, I ask myself three questions:

o What am I trying to say?

o Who am I saying it to?

o (And naturally) How am I going to say it?

Some very capable communicators that I know advocate asking the “who” question before the “what” question. I don’t. I believe that WHAT you are going to say comes before WHO, because truth does not change. The way that we present it, may change but I am going to have the same things to say to a group of five-year-olds as I do to a group of twenty-five year-olds. I am going to go about saying those things in a very different way, and I may speak in more general-less-specific terms but the truth is the same. I start with WHAT.

Audience analysis certainly needs to be a part of what you do. Everything in your meeting will be influenced by the determinations that you make about who is out in the seats. I address audience analysis before I put my PowerPoint together, before I plan the skits, before I select the music, before I do anything saving identify the subject matter. Audience analysis has to do with method and means, so it takes a back seat to message and purpose, but only to those two things. Otherwise, Audience Analysis is king. Take your audience analysis notes, and hang them somewhere important, get them tattooed, do something because it will be some of the most important information for you in programming a meeting.

The How question will always naturally follow audience analysis, and the name of the game is variety. Mix it up! Most Christian leaders today are still using the same meeting formats, songs, skits, games and object lessons that they remember seeing when they were young. The problem is not that the old things are bad, it’s just that they are boring the twelfth time around. My rule of thumb is this: If I have seen it before, I assume that my audience has as well. Staying fresh is the second hardest challenge in ministry today. Staying accurate is the first, and we talk about that one way more than we do about staying fresh.

Is your programming a communication device? Is it being utilized?

Effective Object Lessons

This is a great example of fostering audience involvement. While it may seem silly, I guarantee that every member of this audience remembered this message, and specifically this illustration. Feel free to use this illustration exactly as it is done here. Ric Garland, Executive Dean of the Word of Life Bible Institute, is the speaker here, and he encourages people to use this technique freely. 

This teaching technique can be applied to other topics. Can you think of how?

Consolidate Your Online Presence

Have you ever goggled yourself? It can be a little scary. I did the other day, and evidently there is someone else named Ray Deck who is doing more online than I am. I feel a distinct need to change that, so I started working to consolidate my online presence.

Why is that so important? The internet is THE source of information for the younger generation. Think about it: when you want an answer right now, where do you go? Google. No question. So, what if there is someone out there trying to find you. Not to be egotistical and think that the whole world knows my name, but still… I want to be easy to find on the internet. Controlling the google pagerank for your name is key to that happening. Depending on what your name is that might be really hard. For example: John Smith is gonna have lots of competition. Here’s how I went about consolidating my online presence.

First of all, I started blogging. Search Engines see text. They see other things, bust mostly they see text. So, I started creating lots of meaningful text that had my name attached to it. This blog, is just one example of my work in that area.

Secondly I made a list of all the places that I could be found online. Social Networks, Bookmarking sites, media sharing sites and blogs.

Finally, I got a Wink account. Wink is a social network like the dozens of other social networks out there, but it is just a little bit different. WInk is all about consolidating your online presence. It has you list all of the places that you can be found online with a brief description. They claim that an account on Wink will help to influence your Google Pagerank. We shall see.

Just because it’s interesting, here’s the list of all the places that I can be found online:

Facebook is a social networking website. (if you’re reading this on facebook, you already know about this one)  It allows users to share pictures, videos and music. Presently, it is THE premiere social network. I’m at Ray Deck III, and I’ll be your friend.

Twitter is a micro-blogging website. If you’ve never heard of Twitter, you really need to check it out. It is a newer idea, and is still very much up and coming. The concept is very simple: 140 characters to answer the question, “What are you doing?” There are plenty of ministry applications for Twitter. You should check it out. I am at RayDeck3

I have a channel on YouTube. There are a few examples of great communicators and some promotional videos for Word of Life. There are also a few illustration videos. If you find something on my YouTube Channel that you would be interested in having for your ministry, shoot me an email at raydeck@wol.org, I’d be happy to send you the full-sized file. On YouTube, I’m at RayDeck3

StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking site. Basically, as I cruise the Internet, and find cool stuff, I bookmark them using a toolbar on my browser. Those bookmarks are all stored in one place: my StumbleUpon page. Other people can see what I’m reading and what I liked. It’s a neat idea that makes it easier to find things that you are interested in.

I can be found on Wink. Another social network, that helps you coordinate your whole online presence. It’s a neat idea, and very helpful for people like me who are trying to control their online persona. Just search for my name.

I write for a website called MinistryLIVE. On that blog, we work to make practically effective ministry tools available for the people who are going to use them. I write about Ministry Communication.

I also write on The Preaching Thespian. That is a blog about Dramatic Arts Ministry. Lots of good information there, and the niche is quite a bit narrower than those that I cover on MinistryLIVE or Language Revolution. If you do Drama Ministry of any kind, you should check it out.

Predicting the Future of Communication

Technology has a profound effect on technology. Attention spans are getting shorter, multitasking is getting more common and communication is getting easier. That is to say, it is getting easier for the younger generation. Many member of the older generations are finding it difficult to stay connected, because as new methods of communication are introduced, the old one are being abandoned. For example: Xanga was THE preferred social network of 2004-2005 for students. As quickly as the spring of 2006, Xanga had passed off the scene and Facebook was the premiere method of interaction for students. Why did the change happen so rapidly? Facebook was always there, but it hadn’t become mainstream simply because it had a locked registration. It was for college students only. Exclusivity is the opposite of communication. The minute that Facebook unlocked it’s registration, allowing anyone and everyone to join, that’s exactly what happened. Xanga was never designed to be a social network, but it became one because of how unreasonably popular it had become. For a time it was performing over its head in a field that it was not designed for. As soon as a viable alternative (that wasn’t as trashy like MySpace) came along, everyone was jumping ship, including yours truly. I did want a blog, however, so I migrated over here to WordPress, because of a seriously superior interface. The big question for us now is obvious: What’s next?

I have a few suggestions for you. First of all, I don’t see Facebook dying like Xanga did simply because it is built from the ground up to be a social network, Xanga was not. .com power comes from involvement, and Facebook has such a huge base of members it is hard to imagine them being abandoned. Everyone is on Facebook. Finally, Facebook requires less upkeep. Communication can be short and succinct or long and involved. It does not require a huge time commitment like Xanga, but if you have time to spare, Facebook would be glad to make good use of it. Facebook is more visually appealing overall and highly customizable. My first prediction is not really a risk taker:

I believe that Facebook is here to stay. If you don’t even know what Facebook is, I have some resources for you. (I realize that this is going to sound weird if you’re reading this on Facebook) First of all, there is a Facebook for Dummies. You can’t go wrong there. Online check out this article, this eBook and this Wikipedia page.

Speaking of Wikipedia, that brings me to my second prediction about the future of Communication Technology: User generated content will eclipse professional media. This prediction is a little bolder, but I really believe that user generated content is the future of news media and mass communication. Blogs, Podcasts, and sites like Wikipedia are growing like wildfire. There is less and less distinction between the professionally generated and user generated. It is getting easier everyday to become your own reporter. Did you know that Wikipedia is all user generated? Yeah, that’s right. Anyone can write anything on Wikipedia…

And you thought it was an encyclopedia Britannica alternative. The deal is though, that it doesn’t matter anymore who said it. The content speaks for itself. The information is so easily accessible, the validity of a claim can be verified or refuted online. If it isn’t true, you can find out. We just can no longer swallow anything that we read… but… that shouldn’t be new.

The final prediction that I have (for today) is about a communication device that you may not even have heard of. Twitter. If that word means nothing to you, don’t worry. It is really REALLY fresh. Only the tech elites have discovered the beauty of twitter so far, but I believe that Twitter is the new text messaging. In simplest terms it is texting meets facebook, and it is brilliantly simple. Technically speaking, Twitter is micro-blogging. You have 140 characters to answer the question, “what are you doing.” The simplicity makes most people very skeptical, but the potential applications are through the roof. I defer once again to Commoncraft for a more detailed explanation, they just plain now how to break it down.

You can’t truly understand Twitter until you try it. You can follow me on Twitter along with some of my closest friends like Brandon Collins and Nathan Jenks. Try it, you’ll like it. And who knows, maybe I’ll run a twitter event or contest like this one.

Communicate with PowerPoint

PowerPoint is one of the most overlooked communication tools available to the church today. To many ministers and worship leaders it has become nothing more than an after thought– a place to put the song lyrics, but it can be so much more than that.

Visual communication can be quite powerful when executed effectively, and we all know who helpful it is to have multi-sense input  when we communicate. Last week, I ran a 2 part series on PowerPoint usage over at MinistryLIVE. You should go check it out. You can find both PowerPoint posts, as well as all of my writings for MinistryLIVE, right here. I hope that they are helpful to you.

Happy Communicating!