The death of Scrabulous and what it means to the church
Ok - this might be (ok likely is) a bit of a reach, but I saw some parallels between the sad demise of Facebook’s Scrabulous app today and the way that we too often try to do church.
A bit of history
- Scrabulous created on Facebook and quickly becomes one of the most popular (and addicting) facebook apps
- Hasbro, etc follow the path of the RIAA, MPAA, etc and get uber-concerned about their intellectual property and Scrabulous’ popularity on facebook.
- Apparently, Hasbro tried to negotiate with the makers of Scrabulous and make a deal and they were asking for too much $$$.
- Eventually, Hasbro and EA make their own Scrabble app on Facebook and Scrabulous dies on facebook (today).
- New scrabble app doesn’t work on facebook.
Ok - very little of that has to do with the topic of the post, but the history is important. Anyway, what struck me was fact that, from all the reviews, the new Hasbro/EA Scrabble app is way over the top with animations, graphics, and (from what I have read on one review) no way to really chat with your opponent(s). This new app misses the very thing that was so great about the original facebook app.
Scrabulous wasn’t pretty - it was really basic. No fancy animations, no bells and whistles, etc. Just “scrabble”, a chat window, and a great way to connect with other people. So, Hasbro comes along and misses the point entirely as they create something that misses the point - people played Scrabulous to connect with one another. While it was great to play a 102 point word (as was recently done by my friend Will as he played QUARTET to start the game), it was even better to find a way to connect with people in the midst of life around us.
Don’t we do that too much as the church? We see something great taking place somewhere else and we try to copy it in our context, only to miss 1) the reason that it worked in that place and at that time and 2) our creation of this new thing focuses on the wrong things. I get things every day in the mail at the church about the latest church growth thing - whether its a conference that will “Revolutionize my ministry”, “increase our membership”, or “fill the congregation with praying small groups” - and I have to pray and think instead of about the real needs in the context where I am, celebrate the work that is taking place in these other areas, and maybe draw on them to learn and grow, but not to copy.
On a slightly sarcastic note about this too - the new Scrabble app has totally crashed too. It doesn’t even work on the day of all days that it should work - when people would be most likely to hop over to it when Scrabulous is no more. We have that tendency in the church as well.
You might read the above as a slam on the Christian church and its really not. Its a challenge to me about how the church needs to be something new in this day and age. As a pastor of a Reformed Tradition congregation, we hold to the statement that we are a church “once reformed, always reforming according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit.” It means that we need to be willing to look at the world around us, learn the needs, learn the language of the “world” around us, and respond with ministry, compassion, grace, and hope in ways that people can hear, understand, and respond themselves. It means that we don’t need to copy the Scrabulous-es of the world, but instead in our own contexts, create our own and allow people to connect with one another and connect in vital, real, (and fun) ways.
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Great post from a pastor’s point of view. Completely agree with everything you said (including that great opening word). There may be another possible analogy from the congregation point of view, especially one in the church hunting mode. No matter how great a previous church/ministry/group you have come from previously (in this case Scrabulous), sometimes you need to realize that the current situation never will be as good as the old one.
At that point you worry less about whether “your needs” are being met, and more about how to meet “others needs”. At this point, I can embrace whatever is bringing us together regardless of whether I like the app. I think the new Scrabble app on facebook is lame, too much splashy flash animation and garish colors, but hopefully it will still allow me to connect in a meaningful way with the people I already connected with in Scrabulous.
My point is directed both at people who are church-looking as well as people in the church who are dissatisfied with trivial issues in their church without actively being involved.