CauseWired: What is a Cause vs. a “Flash Cause”?
- Posted by Steve K. on June 1st, 2009 filed in CauseWired, Internet
- 1 Comment »
In his book CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World, Tom Watson explains:
“To me, causes are situations that motivate people to try to change some part of the status quo; causes are, by definition, progressive. They are what drive people to seek change. … Then there are flash causes—quick and fast-moving drives to organize people online to take action, in response to a disaster or news story, for example. …
“We are living in a time of widespread experimentation involving causes—call it social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy, social enterprise, or whatever term strikes your fancy. At its core, this movement favors a tolerance for risk in seeking social change.”
I wonder if sometimes we underestimate the ability of our audience (e.g., constituents, supporters, etc.) to respond quickly to urgent needs (e.g., “flash cause”-style). For an example of a “flash cause,” check out my earlier post on Tweetsgiving.
I also think we underestimate our supporters’ interest and ability to take risks beyond praying and giving. I think an important aspect of our mission communication that needs to be encouraged more often is in recruitment—actively inviting supporters to take the risk of participating hands-on in mission, whether it be short-term or long-term.
Do we not believe that there are some who’d be willing and able to make the leap? Let’s have a little faith ourselves that “faithful is he who calls” (1 Thessalonians 5:24) and start welcoming others to participate in God’s mission alongside us wherever we are serving!
Related: Justin Long has a great blog post on “Mission agency as mission platform,” where he suggests traditional mission agencies should do more to reach out to the “people who aren’t with any agency, who are already on the field.”
UPDATE: This has just been announced: Summer of Social Good, June 1-August 28. Looks interesting, utilizing social media to support causes. Perhaps this could be a called a “flash cause campaign”?
June 1st, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Thought provoking. I’ve been thinking lately of causes and how it relates to missionary support. How are individual missionaries using the idea of a cause for their own support? And now you’ve raised the question is missionary support a flash-cause or a real cause? I think a missionary may have a hard time identifying their work with a cause, and therefore their support-base may not be as fully developed as it could be.
You’ve added some more food for thought on this! Thanks Steve!