The Commons
Digital Ministry and a Community of Practice
For the past few months I’ve been scheming something new: The Commons.
This is a new online space we’re developing over at Convergence. It’s an online space that will be centered around a Community of Practice, a group of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis.
The Commons officially launches on Tuesday, February 10 with a welcome event at 12:00 pm ET on Zoom. And yes, you should register, even if you can’t join the event — you’ll still get access to The Commons!
But what does all this have to do with digital ministry? (After all, this is a digital ministry substack, right?!)
To answer the first question: two things. (And to answer that second question, yes!)
The Commons is digital ministry. It’s an example of using an online space to help cultivate community and facilitate shared wisdom and accountability, allowing us to do the work we are called to do, especially in these perpetually unprecedented times when it is needed more than ever.
We will be launching the space with two Community of Practice groups: one will be a book group, reading Life after Doom, facilitated by Cameron Trimble. The other will be a Lent Sermon Prep group, facilitated by me. (They are both free to join and yes, you should join them both!)
But wait, where’s the digital ministry Community of Practice?
Great question. And once we know there are enough people who want to dive in on various digital ministry topics and problems, it will be there! (This is a good time to leave a comment saying that you want to be a part of one!)
I already have long lists of ideas for digital ministry Community of Practice groups: YouTube Your Church, Substack is the New Sermon, God and the Machine (hey, that’s the title of Nathan Webb’s forthcoming book on AI!), and so much more.
All this to say, the first step is to join us for the welcome event. You’ll get access to The Commons and we can start arranging the furniture together to see how this space can be what we need to help us fix the fractures in this broken world. (Easy peasy, right?)
