FOX News: Is Jesus social-media savvy? (Or Yahweh? Or Buddha?)

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Is Jesus social-media savvy? (Or Yahweh? Or Buddha?) Mar 9th 2013, 15:35 Quick: Who has the biggest footprint on Facebook? One of the Justins — Timberlake or Bieber? Perhaps Kim Kardashian or President Barack Obama? Guess again. Celebrities may have more followers, but with 1.3 billion impressions every 30 days and over 16.5 million fans, Jesus Daily claims to be the most engaged Facebook page in the world. The site's success is indicative of the way religion is increasingly moving beyond the church, temple and synagogue onto the web, where faith can touch us not just on the weekend but every day. Even the pope took to Twitter at age 85, quickly building up more than 1.6 million followers before signing off the social network on Feb. 28 following his unexpected resignation. 'May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.' - The @Pontifex Twitter feed As the cardinals gather in Rome to elect the next man to the ministry, the fate of that Twitter account is unclear; the tweets on the @Pontifex account have been deleted and the name that appears alongside the handle reads "Sede Vacante," Latin for "empty chair." The Vatican has said it will leave the account untouched until Benedict's successor is picked and decides if he, too, wants to use Twitter. He's likely to say #yes. The number of religious leaders using social media implies that Jesus, Yahweh and even Buddha have indeed inspired followers to find faith online. "There are ways of being tech savvy, and some [religious leaders] are developing sustained, interpersonal relationships and making a difference in people's lives through the context of digital ministry," Elizabeth Drescher, author of "Click 2 Save: The Digital Ministry Bible" and religion and pastoral ministries professor at Santa Clara University, told FoxNews.com. And expect religion to get even tech savvier, Drescher said: Our expectation that everything be instantaneous, accessible and on-demand means these figures and organizations need to become more mobile. Another religious leader with a large following on Twitter is the Dalai Lama who on his @DalaiLama verified account has more than 6 million followers. The Dalai Lama mainly tweets instructive inspirations, such as his most recent message on March 7: "@DalaiLama: Education is the way to achieve far-reaching results, it is the proper way to promote compassion and tolerance in society." These tweets are what Fr. Jonathan Morris, a Catholic priest and Fox News contributor, likens to a delicious meal.  "If you're hungry, and I believe everyone is hungry for God, and you taste a really good appetizer, then you're going to want to taste the next course because [social media] doesn't replace the Bible, sacraments, or church," Morris told FoxNews.com. Just as St. Paul was willing to travel in order to spread the message of the gospel, Morris — who uses Twitter and Facebook, and hosts a SirusXM Catholic radio channel — sees social media not as an opportunity, but an obligation to reach out to people who may not be coming into his pews on Sundays, as well as a means to keep in touch with parishioners. Similarly, Lakewood Church's Joel and Victoria Olsteen, who use several dozen social media platforms combined such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, see social media as a tool for ministry and communication. Lakewood Church spokeswoman Andrea Davis explained to FoxNews.com that such forums offer the opportunity to connect with people in real-time: "Waiting until tomorrow to interact with people about a service or an event that is happening today is too late." In a single month Joel Olsteen, who now has about 1.4 million Twitter followers, will tweet approximately 224 times resulting in potentially over 413 million impressions.  "As Christians, social media gives us the opportunity to cast a wider net, to let our lights shine more than ever before," Davis said. The Internet then becomes a place of prayer and worship. Chabad Rabbi Uriel Vigler of the Chabad Israel Center in New York's Upper East Side echoes that sentiment, adding that social media has also been invaluable for education. He uploads weekly "two-minute Torah" video lessons, but people of other religions can also find apps for Buddhist meditation, Ignation contemplation and even a compass to point them in the direction of Mecca at times of prayer. In Benedict's message for the 2013 world day of social communications, the pope recognizes that social media is penetrating people's lives and providing new spaces for evangelization. "The Church sees that and embraces it as a means to dialogue and to the free and easy exchange of ideas," Mary Nolan, a spokeswoman for Vatican news outlet L'Osservatore Romano, told FoxNews.com. Nolan said the fact that people can find a Torah lecture or a papal encyclical online shows how social media can help nourish faith. "The idea is to be present when [people wonder about God] and help them from there," Nolan said.

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