ATTENDANCE & “Never on Sunny Days.” Researchers confirm what pastors know: people are less likely to attend church when the weather outside is just right.

“Never on Sunny Days: Lessons from Weekly Attendance Counts”

by Laurence R. Iannaccone and Sean F. Everton, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Vol. 43, No. 2 (Jun., 2004), pp. 191-207 (17 pages) Published By: Wiley https://www.jstor.org/stable/1388122

Abstract

Congregational attendance data are abundant, accessible, and relevant for religious research. Weekly attendance histories provide information about worshippers, congregations, and denominations that surveys cannot capture. The histories yield novel measures of commitment, testable implications of rational choice theory, and compelling evidence that attendance responds strongly to changes in the opportunity cost of time.

Access the article here … https://www.jstor.org/stable/1388122?seq=1

PARENTING & Multiple research confirms the danger of too much of the wrong type of screen time.

“Screen Time Guilt During the Pandemic?” by Laura Wheatman Hull, JSTOR Daily, 9/10/20.

… Moving Beyond Screen Time: Redefining Developmentally Appropriate Technology Use in Early Childhood Education by Lindsay Daugherty, Rafiq Dossani, Erin-Elizabeth Johnson and Cameron Wright, outlines some of the “potential pitfalls” of screen time. Research indicates that “technology use in ECE may have a negative effect on the development of social and gross motor skills, contribute to obesity, and diminish skill development in areas beyond digital literacy.” Too much passive screen time is harmful for little kids’ development.

Regarding teenagers, the headline of an article from the 2015 British Medical Journal by Nigel Hawkes says it all, “Every hour of daily screen time knocks two grades off teenagers’ exam time, study shows.” We want our kids to be smart, to perform well, so limiting screen time seems an easy way to do it. Go outside, read a book, problem solve with peers, do hands-on projects. “Experiential learning” is an expression used often in education, especially at the middle school level. Getting into the world to learn something is more effective than watching a show about it, no doubt.Memes glibly tease parents who rely on screens, telling them that the best thing kids can do right now is pick up a book.

…Yet, pediatricians are STILL urging parents to avoid too much media. A news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics came out at the beginning of the shut downs on March 17, 2020. It is entitled, “Finding Ways to Keep Children Occupied During These Challenging Times” and the main thesis is that parents should find “creative ways” (read: screen-free) to keep kids busy. They say, “the AAP urges parents to preserve offline experiences.” Memes glibly tease parents who rely on screens, telling them that the best thing kids can do right now is pick up a book. The AAP article does acknowledge that “kids’ screen media time will likely increase,” but wants parents to monitor content closely and try to make the content as meaningful as possible. Sounds lovely, but parents may be overwhelmed with trying to manage media and everything else. More likely, parents are letting go of strict screen-time rules and feeling guilty about it.

If history reminds us that, once upon a time, people believed reading books was a bad habit, history will perhaps see “screen time” the same way in future generations. Anna North imagines, “In 50 years, maybe we’ll be lamenting our failure to read enough Internet.” In Moving Beyond Screen Time, the authors explain that digital literacy is an important skill. They say it “plays an important role in the child’s ability to exceed in school and beyond.” The authors argue that it’s not how much screen time a child receives, but what kind. Focused, educational screen time, whether it be shows, apps, or games, is beneficial to kids’ knowledge base and ability to succeed in a technology-driven world.

…Instead of asking parents to, as the AAP says, “Consider what offline activities are enjoyable for your family. Help other families by sharing those ideas,” pediatricians and teachers should focus on helping educate parents on where to turn to get quality screen time. Several school districts got access to apps such as ABCMouse, DreamBox, and Lexia to help students learn through playing video games during distance learning. Furthermore, turning on a fairy tale movie for your kid while you have a Zoom meeting is fine. Parents should let go of the pressure to print worksheets and be a teacher while they’re also doing whatever else it is they do as an adult. Even better than turning on a movie and letting go of the guilt is if parents talk about what the kids watched. Talk about story structure, morality, characters. Talk about artistic style, acting skills, and music. Film as literature is a legitimate form of education. Digital literacy is a valid form of literacy.

Read more at … https://daily.jstor.org/screen-time-guilt-during-the-pandemic/

NEED MEETING & Research Shows Growing Churches “Poll non-churchgoer needs & then fill them” #ReviewOfReligiousResearch

Commentary by Dr. Whitesel: “Here is more research that supports the premise that churches that are asking non-churchgoers about their needs are growing faster than churches that just poll their own congregants. When you ask your congregation about the needs of non-churchgoers you’re getting ‘secondhand information.’ In academia this is called ‘secondary research’ and is not reliable because it is going through the filters of an intermediary, in this case your congregants. However ‘primary research’ is preferred in academia, where a researcher goes directly to a source (e.g. non-churchgoers) and asks them about their needs. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat around in church board meetings where they guessed at the needs of the community. Sometimes they were accurate, but most times they were not because the board members had become part of a Christian culture and often missed the needs of the non-churchgoing culture. Below is more research that confirms this along with how one of my students nicely summarized it.”

The student wrote. “Vokurka and McDaniel (2004), in a study of Southern Baptist congregations of varying makeup, have found that developing programs directly based off of observed or surveyed needs is the best approach among churches that experience numerical growth (p. 145).”  Vokurka, R. J., & McDaniel, S. W. (2004). A taxonomy of church marketing strategy types. Review Of Religious Research, 46(2), 132-149.”

Read more at … http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3512229?uid=3739600&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21104811418001