One of the most interesting phenomenons of the internet culture is instantaneous communication and the ability to form groups rapidly and easily. We covered this phenomenon in “What the Church can Learn from Wikipedia.” Read more there.
By far the most youtube-friendly of the new developments via this ability is flash-mobs. They are disconnected groups of people who get together and do weird things like the following.
First, a frozen crowd in a terminal:
Read on for ponderings of how this type of street theatre could become a useful tool for churches.
Second, remember “Where’s Waldo?” Find the ninjas in the crowd!
Finally, the famous improv group does a musical…in the food court of a mall.
There are all sorts of useful ways to use a flash-mob, a group of disconnected strangers, to do potentially subversive things like this.
- Get people to all bring themselves to the park for a quick sermon/praise songs get-together. Disperses before you get taken out for a noise ordinance.
- Get people to protest a new MacDonalds contribution to the obesity epidemic by having everyone get together wearing fat suits and get stuck in the front door (yes, I’m creative).
- Arrange for a random barbeque on a parishioner’s lawn all of the sudden (hopefully one with good humor).
I don’t know…it’s a Saturday night. Knock yourself out. What ways could this phenomenon be harnessed by a tech-savvy church?
Discuss and add your ideas below!
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