Off The Shelf: 2016 Review

Changes seems to be the word which best sums up the past year for me on a personal level. There has been the death of a close relative, the birth of my first child (Sophia Jane Paterson), moving house, starting a new ministry role & travel to Singapore. However it also seems an appropriate word when we consider global politics. This time last year I don’t think there would have been many people who would have expected that Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson would have brought the conservative front bench to their knees. Maybe even less likely was “the Donald” winning the US Presidential election (the only president in history to receive a stunner from Stone Cold). It has also been a year of change in popular culture with the departure of many well loved contributors such as Prince, Bowie, Fisher & Rickman.

It has been a year to pay attention to for many reasons and here are things which have greatly shaped me over the last 12 months; here is my 2016.

Counter Culture In Social Media

For many people social media has become incorporated into the daily routine of life. It has been a great thing and there are many reasons for this. But how often do we stop to think about how we are using this means of communication? Further still, what we are saying through it and why? Holding to a Luddite mentality is futile. Instead one of the topics Christians need to think through is how to engage with this platform of communication in the full view of an on looking digital society.