Miscellany
By Roger N Overton | December 3, 2008
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Interview
Check out John Mark Reynolds’ interview on Prime Time America. His segment is a few segments into the program.
The Power of Twitter
Rhett Smith thinks that Twitter has the power to change the world, and he’s not alone. Check out his take on why you should use Twitter.
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Reviews
We’re hearing lots of great things about the book from readers and reviewers. You can check out many of the reviews on Amazon, where the book has a 4.5 star rating. Thanks for the positive feedback!
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Endorsements
By Roger N Overton | September 11, 2008
“This wonderful book explains how a new technology of communication is revolutionizing our culture, and how Christians can and must use the new media properly to spread the good news.”
-Phillip E. Johnson, Professor of Law Emeritus (University of California, Berkeley); author, Darwin on Trial
“A much needed book that looks at the historical, philosophical, and biblical why’s behind the rising communication forms of blogging, vlogging, and podcasting. These are powerful opinion expressions and tools that can be used for good, bad, and ugly purposes. So we’d better be prayerfully and intelligently thinking about the words we type or say. All persons with a computer, whether living in a major city or in an unpopulated rural area, now all have the same instant ability and potential to build, encourage, challenge, or tear down others to an unlimited audience on the Internet. You will not look at blogging, vlogging, or podcasting the same way again after reading this book.”
-Dan Kimball, author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church?
“Whether or not we care to admit it and whether or not we are even aware of it, as a society we have crossed into a new media frontier. Before us and all around us are new opportunities for service, for ministry and for impacting this world for Christ. Today many Christians are looking for guidance as they seek to understand this new reality and as they attempt to properly react to it. The New Media Frontier is the first place I would send these people. Timely, practical and often profound, this book is a valuable guide to the challenges and opportunities that demand our attention today. I highly recommend it.”
- Tim Challies, blogger, www.challies.com; author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
“The New Media Frontier provides us with expert insight into the new media revolution transforming our lives and today’s culture and how it can be used as an effective communication tool for advancing the love and truth of God’s Kingdom.”
-Andrew Jackson, blogger, SmartChristian.com; author of Mormonism Explained: What Latter-Day Saints Teach and Practice?
“Can’t tell a URL from and MP3? Here’s a place to start.”
-Marvin Olasky, Provost, The King’s College, New York City; Editor-in-Chief, World magazine
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Free Book Opportunity!
By Roger N Overton | September 9, 2008
Everyone loves free stuff- so how about a free copy of The New Media Frontier, edited by John Mark Reynolds and Roger Overton. Crossway will be sending a free copy of the book to the first 30 people who agree to review on their blog or Facebook page. Here are the details:
1) Send an email to marketing@crossway.org with the subject “New Media Frontier Giveaway” with your name, mailing address, and blog address.
2) Crossway will send you a shiny new copy of The New Media Frontier.
3) Read the book and post a review on either a blog or your Facebook profile so all your friends can see it by October 31st, 2008.
4) Cross-post your review on Amazon.com
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Scott Ott Plugs NMF
By Roger N Overton | September 4, 2008
Scott Ott, Editor-in-Chief of Scrappleface.com, has been getting the word out about the New Media Frontier…
NOT IN THE MAIL, but handed to me by Scott Ott of Scrappleface: The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ — with a chapter by Scott Ott, of Scrappleface, and a foreword by Hugh Hewitt. Having looked through it, I’d say it’s a good introduction whether you’re into the Christian angle or not. -Glenn Reynolds Instapundit.com
Scott also did an interview on the radio with Roger Hedgecock, which can be viewed on YouTube:
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5 Movements Towards Online Social Networking
By Rhett Smith | August 21, 2008
Our book is coming out pretty soon and I wanted to just give a quick framework for my chapter, New Media Ministry to the MySpace-Facebook Generation: Employing New Media Technologies Effectively in Youth Ministries.
When I was given the task to write the chapter for this book it was about a year ago and I had one month to complete the chapter. What I developed as a a framework were what I believe to be 5 movements, or themes in doing youth ministry in the Facebook-MySpace Generation.
It’s hard to keep up on the social media scene as so many things have changed in the last year, and I have learned so much. Though I might think through some things differently I still like the general framework laid out in the chapter. I tried to approach the chapter more from a spiritual/psychological/philosophical framework, then a how to tech manual. The technology is the tool, but how we approach and apply the technology and how it shapes us in the process is very important for us to think about.
I have given a sample below with some questions as well.
What do you think?
5 Movements Towards Online Social Networking
1.Online Journey
What is your online journey? How has it shaped your views of online social networks?
2.Identity Forming
When a student is in these communities for hours a day, how do we help shape and transform their identity, whether it is online, or in the personal time we get with them?
3.Leading Within
How does you or your church’s leadership style contradict/correlate with youth in a MySpace-Facebook world?
4.Intermingling Lives
Does the exposure of student’s lives intimidate, discourage or inspire you to want to engage with them online? Why or why not?
5.Transforming Communication
What can you do in your student’s social network to help transform their environment and communication? How can you communicate Christ to your students online?
Check out my blog at rhettsmith.com
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Pre-Orders
By Roger Overton | August 12, 2008
The New Media Frontier is now available for pre-order on a number of Christian websites:
Westminster Bookstore: $11.21 (34% off)
ChristianBook.com: $12.99 (24% off)
Berean Christian Stores: $14.95 (12 % off)
Parable.com: $14.95 (12% off)
Crossway.com: $16.99 (0% off)
LifewayStores.com: $16.99 (0%)
Barnes & Noble isn’t a Christian website, but I thought I’d point them out since they erroneously list Mark Driscoll and Gerry Bershears as co-authors. No, they did not contribute to the book, but maybe that will get more people interested?
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GodBlogCon 2008- Time to Register!
By Roger Overton | June 18, 2008
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The annual God Blog convention hosted by the Torrey Honors Institute is only a few months away. This year it’s September 20-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Most importantly, early bird registration ends on June 20th. So if you want to get the best price, register NOW! (click on the banner)Here’s this year’s speaker line-up:
Andrew Jones (TallSkinnyKiwi) GodBlogCon will take place only a couple of weeks after the publication of The New Media Frontier, and the book is actually the result of past conferences. So this GBC will be something of a premier/launch party for the book. I’ll be speaking about the book as one of the sessions, and we’ll have a book signing. So come network with other Christian new media folks and get to know what’s going on and how to use it all for God’s glory! |
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Now available for pre-order on Amazon.com
By Roger Overton | March 8, 2008
Amazon.com has now listed The New Media Frontier. Their pre-order price is $11.55 (32% off retail), and apparently when you pre-order they take another 5% off. Not too shabby!
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About the Book
By Roger Overton | November 29, 2007
The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ
edited by John Mark N. Reynolds and Roger N. Overton
will be published by Crossway Books in September 2008.
Table of Contents:
Foreword: Hugh Hewitt (HughHewitt.com)
Introduction: Roger N. Overton (www.ATeamBlog.com)
Part One: The Landscape of New Media
1) The New Media: First Thoughts -Dr. John Mark Reynolds (Scriptorium Daily)
2) The Future of New Media -Dr. John Mark Reynolds (Scriptorium Daily)
3) Three Cautions among the Cheers: The Dangers of Uncritically Embracing New Media - Matthew L. Anderson (Mere Orthodoxy Blog)
4) Beginning Bloggers Toolbox -Joe Carter (Evangelical Outpost)
5) Beginner’s Toolbox Part II: Even Newer New Media — Podcasting, Video Casting and More – Matthew Eppinette (Americans United for Life) and Terence Armentano (TerenceOnline.blogspot.com )
Part Two: Engaging New Media
6) Theological Blogging -David Wayne (JollyBlogger)
7) Blog as Microwave Community – Dr. Tod Bolsinger (It Takes a Church Blog)
8.) Pastors and the New Media -Dr. Mark D. Roberts (MarkDRoberts.com)
9) Navigating the Evolving World of Youth Ministry in the Facebook-MySpace Generation - Rhett Smith (RhettSmith.com)
10) Evangelism and Apologetics - Roger N. Overton ( www.ATeamBlog.com)
11) Professors with a New Public: Academics and New Media –Dr. Fred Sanders (Scriptorium Daily)
12) Virtual Classrooms, Real Learning –Dr. Jason Baker (BakersGuide.com)
13) Politics & Journalism -Scott Ott (Scrappleface.com)
14) Blogging and Bioethics - Joe Carter (Evangelical Outpost) and Matthew Eppinette (Americans United for Life)
15) Social Justice, Social Relief and New Media -Stephen Shields (FaithMaps.org)
Here’s a summary of the book:
We’d like to offer some direction for how Christians can use the new media with discernment and grace. Many of the contributors to The New Media Frontier began using new media at the encouragement of national radio host Hugh Hewitt, so we are delighted that he has provided a foreword for the project. Roger Overton presents a brief introduction to the concept of new media and why Christians should engage it with wisdom. Part One of the book addresses new media in general. Dr. John Mark Reynolds begins with a chapter examining the history of human communication in order to provide a fresh perspective on what new media really is. In the second chapter, Dr. Reynolds looks to the future of new media and stresses the urgency for Christian involvement before the opportunities vanish.
Matthew Anderson contributes our third chapter by looking at what dangers new media pose for those who uncritically dive into it. His chapter advocates the careful use of wisdom in consuming and creating digital content. With the foundation laid by these first three chapters, chapters four and five spell out exactly how consumers can become creators in the new media. Joe Carter explains how to blog in chapter four and in chapter five Matthew Eppinette and Terence Armentano explain how to podcast and vlog.
Part Two of the book looks to specific areas in which Christians can utilize new media more thoroughly and specifically. These areas include: Theology (David Wayne), Community (Tod Bolsinger), Pastoral Ministry (Mark D. Roberts), Youth Ministry (Rhett Smith), Evangelism & Apologetics (Roger N. Overton), Academics (Fred Sanders), Education (Jason Baker), Politics (Scott Ott), Bioethics (Joe Carther & Matthew Eppinette), and Social Justice (Stephen Shields).
While these brief explorations of each topic will in no way say everything that could or should be said, we do hope they can help to start a process of critical assessment so that when Christians use new media they will do so in a manner consistent with the character and quality of Christ. After finishing the book, readers should have an effective understanding of how they can advance, demonstrate, and utilize the Christian worldview through the use of new media.
Though it’s only in the beginning of development, we will have a blog dedicated to the book at NewMediaFrontier.com We also have a Facebook group up and running. I’ll post some of the major announcements regarding the project as they happen here, but you’ll always be able to find out more through the NMF blog and Facebook group. We’ll also do some sort of tie-in with next year’s GodBlogCon, which will be September 18-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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Book Announcement Coming Soon!
By Roger Overton | November 28, 2007
Welcome to TheNewMediaFrontier.com! This site will be source for information and discussion related to the forthcoming book:
The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ edited by John Mark N. Reynolds and Roger N. Overton.
It will be published in September of 2008 by Crossway. If you’re interested in the project, you can also join our Facebook group.
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