Social Media and the Pentecostal Church

In this March 2016 paper, Kyle Smith notes important issues about how Christians, particularly Pentecostals, are influenced by social media and how churches are using it to increase their reach. Where has the center moved?

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of social media on the Pentecostal church. The history and creation of social media will be examined with special attention given to the rapid adoption by both the Pentecostal church and culture at large. Next, the use of social media by several larger Pentecostal institutions will be examined. The use of social media by these institutions will then be compared and contrasted. The paper will conclude by examining the larger effect social media has had on Pentecostal culture.

In 2003, Mike Zuckerberg created a game called FaceMash that would eventually morph into Facebook as we know it today.[1] Unlike Facebook, which has many proponents who argue for its beneficial effect on society, few would argue that FaceMash should be viewed positively. FaceSmash was essentially a simple computer program that would present users with two pictures of fellow Harvard students. The user would then vote as to which student was better looking. Harvard University, the university Zuckerberg attended, reacted quickly by shutting the website down and threatening to expel Zuckerberg.

Despite this negative trial run, Mr. Zuckerberg continued to create websites with successive iterations approaching the concept of what would be known as Facebook. Eventually Mike Zuckerberg created TheFaceBook and released it for use amongst Harvard students. TheFaceBook quickly grew its user base as it continued to expand the demographics of individuals who could join. Later, TheFaceBook rebranded itself as Facebook and allowed students from Ivy League schools to create accounts.[2] Shortly thereafter Facebook began to allow all college students and employees of select corporations to register. In 2006, Facebook was opened up to all users.[3] After allowing all users to participate Facebook quickly boomed reporting 360 million[4] world-wide monthly[5] users at the end of 2009. Five years later, in 2014, that number increased 386% to 1,393 million[6] world-wide monthly users. Of those users 208 million, or 15%, were located within North America. This increase of users was so significant that Pew Research estimated that 71%[7] of online adults[8] were actively using Facebook.

The second[9] most used social media website is YouTube with over one billion users in 2015.[10] YouTube allows users to both upload and share videos via the internet. The idea was first conceived by three previous employees of PayPal who were unable to find videos of the Super Bowls Janet Jackson[11] scandal, or the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. The three founders gathered around the concept of creating a video sharing platform. YouTube was initially launched at the end of 2005. Roughly ten months later Google purchased YouTube for 1.65[12][13] billion dollars. At the time YouTube accounted for 46%[14] of all video views. However, Google received a significant amount of criticism from the business community[15]^,[16],[17] for purchasing the young company for such a significant amount of money.

Despite the initial skepticism, YouTube, with Google’s support, has gone on to dominate the world of online videos. In 2014, it was found that 63% of web panelists used YouTube.[18] YouTube itself reported over one billion[19] users and an average of over 300 hours[20] of uploaded film every minute. YouTube’s global base and open user format has received a significant amount of credit for changing the format of democracy and social discussion. During the 2007 presidential debates, viewers submitted questions to candidates via YouTube.[21] In 2008, YouTube received the Peabody award for “promoting a free exchange of ideas … becom(ing) an international video library.”[22]

Even though YouTube and Facebook are the largest social media sites, they are not the only platforms. Other sites such as LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter also have a significant number of users. All of these platforms can count approximately 20% of online American adults as users.[23] Pew Research reports that this exponential growth in social media use is not limited to the younger generations, but that approximately 31% of American seniors participate in a social media platform.[24]

The widespread use of social media has provided Christian churches with an opportunity to widen their reach and extend their influence to their adherents in new ways. Lakewood church, led by Joel Osteen, is a prime example of a church using social media to widen its influence. The Osteen’s ministry is comprehensive in its utilization of multiple social media platforms. The ministry maintains accounts on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. The ministry also utilizes three separate personas in addressing the general public. The first persona is that of Joel Osteen himself. Joel Osteen’s Facebook account possesses 12.9 million followers.[25] Providing Joel Osteen with a wide audience of people who have access to his encouraging remarks such as, “All the circumstances may say it’s going to take years for your dream to come to pass, but get ready for an unexpected delivery.”[26]

Joel Osteen’s Facebook is undoubtedly the central hub for connecting with adherents, however, his Facebook home page is designed to push viewers to other major social media hubs. The Facebook about page contains links for Joel Osteen’s personal website and Twitter account, encouraging followers to immerse themselves in the world of Osteen. This strategy appears to have a significant amount of success as Joel Osteen’s Twitter account possesses 4.31 million followers,[27] and the YouTube account reports 7.9 million views and 85 thousand[28] subscribers.

The second persona the ministry utilizes is Joel Osteen’s wife Victoria Osteen. Although Victoria’s persona does attract less followers than Joel, her numbers are still comparable. Her Facebook account boasts 3.5 million adherents,[29] and her Twitter accounts shows 614 thousand[30] followers. Like Joel Osteen’s site, Victoria’s site prominently displays links to her website and Twitter account. However, unlike Joel’s persona, Victoria does not maintain YouTube or Instagram accounts. This absence is somewhat covered by the fact that Joel’s accounts include a significant amount of material created by Victoria.

The third persona is Lakewood Church. This persona only possesses 874 thousand[31] followers. This discrepancy in viewers may illustrate that it is easier for people to imagine personally interacting with one of the Osteen’s than the institutional church itself. The number of associated Twitter followers is also significantly lower at 160 thousand.[32]

These three personas together provide multiple avenues for Osteen adherents to interact with the ministry and its message. Adherents can follow the Osteen message through nearly every major social media platform and develop the feeling of personally interacting with the Osteen’s. Both Joel and Victoria’s accounts are littered with requests for prayer. All of which are given a slightly different iteration of the answer, “God has a plan and a purpose for your life. We are standing with you in prayer and faith during this time. Post your prayer here http://b.osteen.co/prayersfb or call 1-888-567-5635 -VOM Team.”[33]

While one gets the sense that the Osteen’s ministry social media presence is largely monitored by a trained marketing team, not all Pentecostal ministries have chosen to pursue their social media outreach in such a polished manner. Bethel church is located in Redding California, a town of 90 thousand people.[34] The congregational size is significant given the size of the town, but by no means comparable to the Osteen ministry. Despite this, Bethel has garnished a significant amount of influence boasting a ministry school of two-thousand students from sixty-four nations.[35] Bethel is also the founding institution of Jesus Culture, a ministry that has attracted significant attention for their international conferences and music production.

Bethel’s approach to social media is somewhat piecemeal. While the church does maintain an official Facebook page and website, it has a very limited presence with just under three-hundred thousand followers. Adding to the confusion, Bethel has allowed its different ministry branches to set up their own individual Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. For example, on Facebook you can follow Bethel church (298 thousand followers[36]), Bethel.tv (197 thousand[37]), Bethel Music (1.3 million[38]), or Jesus Culture (2.3 million[39]). On Twitter, only Bethel.tv and Bethel Music are represented and, on YouTube, only Bethel Music and Jesus Culture maintain accounts. On YouTube, the two accounts between them have seven-hundred thousand followers, but one is left assuming that a significant number of those are users following both accounts as most Bethel artists are featured on both media streams.

These official accounts, however, only represent a fraction of Bethel’s overall social media presence. Nearly all of the numerous artists and authors associated with Bethel maintain Facebook pages and a significant number also maintain Twitter accounts or Instagram accounts. The majority of these accounts have between one to five hundred thousand followers, leading to the general impression that the sum of the followers amongst the unofficial accounts is significantly larger than the official social media outlets. For example, Jenn Johnson, who has never released her own album and yet has been a featured artist on multiple albums has 134 thousand[40] followers on Facebook. Steffany Frizzell-Gretzinger, another relatively obscure Bethel artists, possesses just under 100 thousand[41] followers on Facebook and 34 thousand[42] on Twitter. Both Jenn Johnson’s and Gretzinger’s social media presence is extremely personal, featuring pictures of their children, houses, and daily activities.

The main leaders of Bethel church are generally considered to be Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton. Bill Johnson possesses 389 thousand[43] followers on Facebook and Kris 230 thousand.[44] Despite the fact that they are representatives of the same ministry, their approach to social media is significantly different. Whereas Bill Johnson takes a more passive approach to social media, posting quotes and different encouraging messages, Kris Vallotton actively engages with his follower by posting provocative messages and then actively engaging with the commenters. This creates a very different atmosphere on his Facebook page. Commenters know they are free to disagree with Vallotton’s political or theological statements, but that he will frequently respond to dissidents with counter arguments.

T.D. Jakes Ministries and the associated Potter House attract a significant amount of attention on social media sites, both negative and positive. Jake’s Ministries Facebook page has 4.8 million subscribers with the majority of his posts being reposted by followers over a thousand times. Illustrating that his social media presence is significantly wider than even his substantial subscriber base. His Facebook account is extremely active with his account posting multiple times a day. The frequency and polish of his account lends itself to the theory that like Osteen’s page, it is being managed by someone other than T.D. Jake himself.

One of T.D. Jake’s Twitter account is tagged “TDJakesShow” demonstrating that like Bethel’s social media outlets there is multiple departments operating under the brand name of T.D. Jakes Ministries. This account hosts a bare 10 thousand[45] whereas the Twitter account “BishopJakes” possesses 2.1 million followers[46]. The Potter’s House presence on Twitter is somewhat limited as there is no single hub for the church network. Instead, local churches are allowed to host their own individual accounts. The largest is Potter’s House Dallas with 35 thousand[47] followers. Another larger page is Potter’s House Fort Worth Texas with 3 thousand[48] followers. Although these numbers are fairly sizable, they are slight in comparison to the 4.9 million[49] followers T.D. Jake possesses on Facebook. Leading to the conclusion that so far neither T.D. Jakes nor the Potter’s House have made a significant push to enlarge their presence on Twitter.

There are other notable deficiencies in the ministries’ presence on social media. One example is that the T.D. Jake’s Facebook page possess a broken link to their YouTube outlet,[50] leading to some confusion as to which of the numerous T.D. Jakes YouTube accounts is the official outlet. This author after a prolonged search finds that the most likely YouTube account possesses just under 150 thousand subscribers,[51] again, a small fraction of the 4.9 million Facebook subscribers. Despite this small base, large number of T.D. Jake fans have posted their own videos of T.D. Jakes. Giving his ministry a significant presence on YouTube despite its official subscriber based being somewhat limited.

The confusion surrounding the various accounts claiming to be T.D. Jakes is something the official organization admits on its Facebook account. A video is prominently displayed that depicts an older woman logging on to Facebook using a computer her granddaughter bought her. The women begins speaking to a friend over Skype when she receives a message from T.D. Jakes Ministries requesting a donation. The women starts to respond when her friend advises her that T.D. Jakes Ministries and the Potter’s House will never ask for donations over social media. The video then tells the viewer that there are only three official Facebook outlet pages, T.D. Jake Ministries, The Potter’s House Dallas (129 thousand followers[52]), and First Lady Serita Jakes (331 thousand[53]). This leaves some ambiguity as to whether the Potter’s House Denver or another given city church is a valid outlet of a local church or if such outlets are discouraged by T.D. Jake Ministries.

Despite their differences, the Osteen’s, Bethel, and T.D. Jakes, are all similar in their embrace of social media as a means of enlarging their ministerial influence. While this utilization of social media has had many positive impacts such as the Osteen’s being able to partner with people in prayer, Bethel’s theological dialogue, or T.D. Jake’s efforts to minimize phishing schemes, social media has also had negative effects on ministries and the development of Pentecostal culture.

One of the negative effects is the ease that critics of major organizations can gain an audience. Disgruntled members can also quickly find each other through social media and quickly form a sizeable block of people. For example, the Osteen’s are largely critiqued for being outside of orthodox Christianity, especially with their perceived emphasis on material wealth.[54] Bethel has been harshly critiqued for being cult-like. Bloggers have also mocking similarities between Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry and Hogwarts School of Wizards.[55] Meanwhile, Wikipedia’s page for the Potter’s House prominently displays concerns that the Potter’s House is a cult.[56] While Wikipedia is not academic, it is a prominent source of information on the internet. Furthermore, it represents an information outlet over which the Potter’s House has limited influence.

Academics have also critiqued the use of social media among Pentecostal churches. Anthea Butler has brought the concern that the proliferation of media has allowed the Pentecostal church to state one truth doctrinally, but communicate another truth through its media outlets.[57] Anthea Butler also raises concerns about the power of social media. She specifically notes that the Prosperity Gospel is given “skin”[58] with the use of video. The potential follower of the prosperity Gospel no longer merely hears that if they trust God they will be blessed with wealth. Rather now, they also see the visible effects of trusting God through interacting with the prosperity preachers via social media and noting the wealth on display during messages. The ability to experience the wealth of the prosperity preacher lends itself to bolstering the message of God’s desire to financially bless the hearer.

Darnell Moore is concerned with the effect social media can have on perceptions of race and gender. Moore, referencing other notable scholars, notes, “Individuals may also encounter virtual spaces that are overdetermined by dominant theologies that further the maintenance of normative ideologies such as those associated with race, class, or gender.”[59] Moore also notes that, on social media platforms, users are frequently exposed to short snippets of longer sermons. Because of this, preachers can be easily misrepresented and their main message skewed. To substantiate this claim Moore brings up an example of a short sermon clip by T.D. Jake’s. In it, T.D. Jakes seems to propose a traditional understanding of gender. The problem, however, is that the clip is so short that T.D. Jake’s comments could easily be a misrepresentation of his position on gender roles.

Another concern associated with social media is the way in which belonging to a community has been redefined. Facebook offers users the ability to connect with communities across the world. Because of this, it is now possible for individuals to participate in communities that would not normally be available to them. For example, an individual can attend a local denominational church such as Foursquare or Assembly of God church. If the given individual is actively involved in the church, their friends list on Facebook will most likely reflect this involvement. However, that individual can also form an online community with people who associate with Bethel. Thus, the individual can be associate with two church communities, one local, the other thousands of miles away.

This can have the effect of decentralizing power away from the local pastor. The local pastor’s message can now easily be compared to an internationally recognized pastor such as Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, or Bill Johnson. This can also become an existential issue as the individual who is now in two different faith communities has to grapple with how to define themselves. Are they an adherent of the non-denomination Bethel church, or are they a member of the local Foursquare church?

The ability to actively choose one’s community also contains the risk of users creating an echo chamber where the only theological thought they are exposed to is doctrine they already agree with. All three of the major churches examined are active on multiple mediums with multiple accounts. This allows adherents to inundate themselves with a single theological framework, locking contrary opinions and voices out of their social media feeds.

The advent of social media has greatly shifted the balance of influence within Christian culture at large. Pentecostalism possesses a relatively smaller influence in both literature and academia in comparison to other streams of Christian thought. Additionally, whereas it has often been a struggle to communicate charismatic experience through print, social media lends itself to communicating these experiences. Instead of merely reading about a Charismatic event, one can experience it first hand through social media. As Butler notes, this gives the Pentecostal experience “skin.”

Social media has also caused a shift in influence within the Pentecostal church. Social media has allowed flag churches such as the Lakewood church and Bethel church to exert influence comparable to a denomination. They are able to set the tone of the faith dialogue by making posts on Facebook framing the terms of the discussion. This ability means that the influence of these churches can be felt on a day-to-day basis by adherents. Butler notes this in her article stating, “Classical Pentecostalism no longer constitutes the center. The messages, still text-based, have more power in their aesthetic representations than in their doctrinal constructions. For good or ill, the center of the movement is comprised of Charismatic and neo-Charismatic offshoots.”[60]

Social media’s essence is about relationships and providing both individuals and institutions with a platform for interaction. Churches have also long had an emphasis on relationships and Pentecostalism’s emphasis on early adoption has lent itself to churches quickly moving their church networks onto social media. However, the widespread use of social media has shifted society’s understanding of relationship in significant ways by allowing different groups to interact, but also by allowing individuals to avoid interacting with certain demographics. Both social media and Pentecostalism are new developments in history and it has yet to be seen how the advent of social media will continue to influence the development of communal understanding and doctrinal development.

 

Kyle Smith
March 12, 2016

 

 

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Notes

[1] Kaplan, Katharine. “Facemash Creator Survives Ad Board” thecrimson.com. Last Modified Nov 19, 2003. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/19/facemash-creator-survives-ad-board-the/ (Accessed February 6, 2016).

[2] Rosmarin, Rachel. “Open Facebook” forbes.com. Last Modified Sept 11, 2006. http://www.forbes.com/2006/09/11/facebook-opens-up-cx_rr_0911facebook.html (Accessed February 22, 2016).

[3] Facebook. “Facebook Expansion Enable More People to Connect with Friends.” Newsroom.fb.com. Last Modified Sept 26, 2006. https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2006/09/facebook-expansion-enables-more-people-to-connect-with-friends-in-a-trusted-environment/ (Accessed January 9, 2016).

[4] Facebook Inc. 2012 Annual Report, December 31, 2012. Item 7. SEC.org. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000132680113000003/fb-12312012x10k.htm#s73D07D81B36B03406EE0D7A5A5990854 , (Accessed January 9, 2016).

[5] Monthly Users is defined as a Facebook user who has logged into his/her account at least once in the past month.

[6] Facebook Inc. 2014 Annual Report, December 31, 2014. Item 7. SEC.org. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000132680115000006/fb-12312014x10k.htm. (Accessed January 9, 2016).

[7] Duggan, Maeve. “Social media Update 2014.” Pewinternet.org. Last Modified Jan 9, 2015 http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/ . (Accessed February 6^, 2016).

[8] Self-reported surveys found that 81% of U.S. adults use the internet at least occasionally.

[9] Anderson, Monica. “5 Facts About Online Video, For YouTube’s 10^th Birthday.” Pewresearch.org. Last Modified Feb 12, 2015. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/12/5-facts-about-online-video-for-youtubes-10th-birthday/ . (Accessed February 6^, 2016).

[10] Youtube. “Statistics.” Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html . (Accessed February 6^, 2016).

[11] McIntyre, Hugh. “How Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl ‘Wardrobe Malfunction’ Helped Start YouTube.” Forbes.com. Last Modified Feb 1, 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/02/01/how-janet-jacksons-super-bowl-wardrobe-malfunction-helped-start-youtube/#219c5e6b25fc (Accessed January 24, 2016).

[12] Google Inc. 2006 Annual Report, December 31, 2016. Item 5. SEC.org. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312507044494/d10k.htm, (Accessed February 22, 2016).

[13] Hopkins, Jim. “Surprise! There’s a third YouTube co-founder.” Usatoday.com. Last Modified Oct 11, 2006 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-10-11-youtube-karim_x.htm (Accessed January 24^th, 2016).

[14] Delaney, Kevin. “Google Looks to Boost Ads With YouTube.” Wsj.com. Last Modified Oct 10, 2006. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116039852999986783 (Accessed January 24, 2016).

[15] Delaney, Kevin. (Accessed January 24^th, 2016).

[16] Hau, Louis. “Why Buy YouTube? Why Not?” Forbes.com. Last Modified Oct 6, 2006. http://www.forbes.com/2006/10/06/youtube-google-video-tech-media-cx_lh_rr_1006google.html . (Accessed January 24^th, 2016).

[17] Associated Press. “Google Buys YouTube for 1.65 Billion.” Nbcnews.com. Last Modified Oct 10, 2006. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15196982/ns/business-us_business/t/google-buys-youtube-billion/#.VqvwwIUrLIU. (Accessed Jan 24^th, 2016).

[18] Mitchell, Amy. “Social Media, Political News and Ideology.” Journalism.org. Last Updated Oct 21, 2014. http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/section-2-social-media-political-news-and-ideology/ . (Accessed Jan 24^th, 2016).

[19] YouTube. “Statistics.”

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[23] Duggan, Maeve. “Social media Update 2014.”

[24] Duggan, Maeve. “Social media Update 2014.”

[25] Joel Osteen’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/JoelOsteen/?fref=ts. (Accessed January 31^th, 2016).

[26] Joel Osteen’s Facebook page. (Accessed January 31^st, 2016).

[27] Joel Osteen’s Twitter Page. https://twitter.com/JoelOsteen (Accessed January 31^st, 2016).

[28] Joel Osteen’s YouTube Page. https://www.youtube.com/user/joelosteenministries/about (Accessed January 31st, 2016).

[29] Victoria Osteen’s Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/Victoriaosteenspage/?fref=ts. (Accessed January 31^st, 2016.)

[30] Victoria Osteen Twitter Page. https://twitter.com/VictoriaOsteen . (Accessed January 31^st, 2016).

[31] Lakewood Church Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/LakewoodChurch/?fref=ts (Accessed January 31^st, 2016).

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[33] Victoria Osteen Twitter Page. (Accessed January 31^st, 2016).

[34] US Census Bureau. “Redding (city), California.” Census.gov. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0659920.html . (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

[35] Bethel School. “Bethel School.” Bssm.net. http://bssm.net/. (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

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[37] iBethelTV Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/ibetheltv/?fref=ts. (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

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[39] Jesus Culture Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/jesusculture/?fref=ts. (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

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[43] Bill Johnson Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/BillJohnsonMinistries/?fref=ts. (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

[44] Kris Vallotton Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/kvministries/?fref=ts. (Accessed February 6^th, 2016).

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[46] T.D. Jake Twitter Page. https://twitter.com/BishopJakes. (Accessed February 23^th, 2016).

[47] Potter’s House Dallas Twitter Page. https://twitter.com/TPHDallas. (Accessed February 14^th, 2016).

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[54] “Joel Osteen Caught in Financial Scandal? Report Claims He’s Leveraging Church as Money-Making Vehicle.” Freedompost.com.

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[57] Butler, Anthea. 2011. “Media, Pentecost and Prosperity: The Racial Meaning behind the Aesthetic Message.” Pneuma: The Journal Of The Society For Pentecostal Studies 33, no. 2. Page 274

[58] Butler, Anthea. Page 272

[59] Moore, Darnell L. 2011. “Constructing Gender: Old Wine in New Media(skins).”Pneuma: The Journal Of The Society For Pentecostal Studies 33, no. 2: 254-270. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Page 258

[60] Butler, Anthea. Page 272.