Philosophy of Small Groups Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of Small Groups - Research Paper Example Wilson (2003) states that the importance attached to small face to face groups within the congregation is what allows many church members to personalize their contribution.1 The small group is the starting relational unit which is beyond family where ministry to one another starts, it is the arena of primary care. A small group is a highly effective means of individuals entering the spiritual growth process. It is made up of 5-10 members who get together weekly with the specific purpose of growing personally and spiritually. It entails open mindedness and encourages honesty in all aspects. Thus, the primary way to be connected in churches is through the small groups. The fruit of entering the spiritual growth process is one of the greatest things that people may have anticipated. According to Djupe (2006), feeling similar to other members in the church small group is positively related to practicing skills, confirming the importance of incorporating a social dimension into theories posting an organizational influence on individual behavior.2 One of the most fundamental steps for a small group ministry is developing a personalized philosophy of the ministry. This mainly entails defining priorities, defending actions and determining the next steps to take for the upward success of the individual’s personal life. The philosophical distinctiveness of churches differ with the churches core values, but all aim at ensuring the goals of the small groups are taken into consideration and that they are effective and beneficial for all the members involved in a particular group. The four-session trial period is one of the philosophies and this mainly entails people having a four meeting trial period in a particular small group. Thus if the small group does not satisfy an individual’s need, then one is likely to seek another group but this involves no hard feelings. Another philosophical detail can emanate where the

Why are social media good for the alcohol industry Essay

Why are social media good for the alcohol industry - Essay Example Not only do these media have a huge role in shaping social interactions between young people, they also play an important role in the development of advertising. Advertisers often see Facebook and Twitter as free advertising, because of the relatively low costs of setting up a Facebook 'page' or a Twitter account to spread the word about these products. Social media is also good for discussing new products, especially among youths, who may endorse or denounce these products publicly, having a massive impact on sales. Social media is often also used to discuss television, movies and music (Egan & Moreno, 2011), not only advertising these products but perhaps even endorsing the actions which go on in these media. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how these aspects of social media are good for the alcohol industry and how these things can affect alcohol use and abuse in the younger age groups because of their constant exposure to alcohol via social media sites. One of the most int eresting things about social media is its use in discussions, often live, about television programs and other more traditional forms of media. For example, programs such as Gossip Girl or Jersey Shore often have a huge online following on blog sites, Twitter and Facebook, which focus on discussing the show and characters. Shows aimed at a youth market often have a focus on alcohol (Rideout et al, 2010) and the effects this has on the body and social relationships. Gossip Girl, for example, commonly shows underage teenagers being served drinks in exclusive cocktail bars or having outrageous house parties where alcohol is freely available (Reid, 2009). The characters often look like they are having a great deal of fun. This is a great endorsement for the alcohol industry, who are often focused on tapping into the youth market who have often have significant amounts of disposable income (Rideout et al, 2010). Not only do these forms of traditional media encourage drinking, the use of s ocial media to reinforce these ideas can be seriously influential for the alcohol industry. Teenagers who may not have had exposure for alcohol before seeing these shows or hearing a recommendation to watch it from somewhere online may suddenly be more curious about the drug that causes the often imitable characters of these shows to have so much fun. Something else that is interesting about social media and alcohol is that the minimum age for signing up to most social networking sites is 13 (Rideout et al, 2010). This age is too young to drink in every country worldwide, and yet alcohol advertising is still prevalent on most social networking sites (Egan & Moreno, 2011). On something like Twitter, it would be impossible to ban all references or sideline advertising of alcoholic products. It has been recommended that social networking sites do not allow explicit advertising of alcoholic products, something that seems more important when you consider the fact that almost 50% of child ren in the UK aged 8-17 have a profile on a social networking site (Reid, 2009), a country which has the legal drinking age set at 18. Whilst there are no limitations on this kind of advertising (as there are on advertising cigarettes and alcohol via traditional media [Goodman, 2003]), it seems likely that social media will remain a good advertising source for the alcohol industry. A further interesting point about social media and alcohol consumption is that a reported 27% of 13-15 year olds have seen pictures of friends drunk on a social networking site such as Facebook (Egan & Moreno, 2011). This only goes to further the endorsement that these sites seem to give to alcoholic beverages. If the youth market sees that drinking is something that other young,