tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post5265173915745354836..comments2023-11-03T08:44:12.478-07:00Comments on James' Random, Stimulating, Missional, Spiritual Thoughts: How many online friends can and should you have?James Noredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13707292759635770946noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-11133168838688080552009-02-26T22:40:00.000-08:002009-02-26T22:40:00.000-08:00Thanks, Jason. I'm not sure how to change the disp...Thanks, Jason. I'm not sure how to change the display name . . .<BR/><BR/>Anyway, thanks for the post. I really liked The Search to Belong, and I think that it does indeed have application here.<BR/><BR/>Keep Cynthia in line for us down there in Houston!James Noredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707292759635770946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-59546629069603749662009-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:002009-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:00James,Another interesting book on this idea of com...James,<BR/><BR/>Another interesting book on this idea of community is Joe Myers, The Search to Belong (see http://www.languageofbelonging.com/). As I remember it, he identifies 4 levels of community that we need (corporate, social, personal, and intimate). <BR/><BR/>Clearly "the Dunbar 150" is at the corporate level, but we can have many many more corporate friends than that. The level of belonging at a rock concert or a football game swaying in the stands is powerful. And on-line friends seems like that.<BR/><BR/>But corporate friends can't replace our need for deeper levels of belonging. We do need real relationships in life-- at every level.<BR/><BR/>Hope this helps. Your friend.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07454297866468938666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-37438240358419112112009-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:002009-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:00Jeremy, thanks for the wired link. You are hitting...Jeremy, thanks for the wired link. You are hitting on one of the uses of Facebook--the "weak link" contact list. I'll post on this soon.James Noredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707292759635770946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-38736299906300355062009-02-24T06:41:00.000-08:002009-02-24T06:41:00.000-08:00I've heard our larger groups called "a church with...I've heard our larger groups called "a church within a church". And within those, you can have multiple smaller groups of 8-16 people to facilitate even closer growth.<BR/><BR/>Back to facebook friends, Scott Brown from Wired.com writes an article with some interesting ideas: Friends are the currency of the social networking. Online friend lists are the new rolodexes (except they don't throw snowballs or ask you to fill out surveys of 25 things). Friend lists remember your friends forever, when in reality friends come and go. The sweetness of being reacquainted with an old friend is removed when they were your 'friend' all along! Not to mention, there are some 'friends' who are only friends for a reason, or maybe only around for a season of our lives. Some people are just not meant to be 'friends 4-eva'.<BR/><BR/>http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-11/pl_brownjeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847724478369955627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-13163221773099328912009-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00As to the question of planting another church afte...As to the question of planting another church after 150, that would certainly be a possibility. And perhaps there is a reason that churches struggle to break the "200 barrier." We are then back to the old question, Is a big church or a large church better? If there is a desire to keep the church small, then growth must still happen through church planting.<BR/><BR/>Some large churches organize around their Bible classes, which may be a church in itself of up to 150 people.James Noredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707292759635770946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-74610048444095048392009-02-23T11:48:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:48:00.000-08:00Lantz, you are onto something, which I will hit on...Lantz, you are onto something, which I will hit on in another post.James Noredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13707292759635770946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-88912820475914537392009-02-23T11:27:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:27:00.000-08:00Interesting! Could this be applied to congregatio...Interesting! Could this be applied to congregations of Christians? Shoud we consider Dunbar's number--150--and begin thinking of starting/planting a new congregation when our number tops 150? <BR/><BR/>If, at this number, functionality breaks down and "group cohesion breaks down, and rules and regulations--rather than relationships--are required to engender proper behavior", should we consider new means of grouping larger congregations into smaller groups of 150 or less in order to encourage relationships and be more effective in being our 'brother's keeper'?<BR/><BR/>Have our expectations been unrealistic for large congregations? Sometimes relationships in large congregations are very much like relationships on Facebook.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25422068.post-57295025147553976942009-02-23T10:00:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:00:00.000-08:00There is a desire by people of the need to be need...There is a desire by people of the need to be needed. The creation of Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and many other online avenues gives us a false sense that we are needed by someone.<BR/><BR/>This is our story from the beginning.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08700254457008008910noreply@blogger.com