I’ve known Landon in a Web way for a while, as he has been active in conversations with Presbymergent, tweets Presbyterian Twitter circles, and produces The God Complex Internet radio show. Finally, though, I met Landon in the flesh [and took in his famed PC(USA) tattoo].
Before getting to the nitty-gritty of PC(USA) policy, we cleared up a few bona fides.
COPELAND: iPhone or Android?
WHITSITT: Android, specifically the new myTouch 3G slide with plans to root it ASAP.
COPELAND: Mac or PC?
WHITSITT: I own an iMac but am awaiting shipment of a Linux computer with Ubuntu.
COPELAND: That’s acceptable. Do you tweet what you had for breakfast?
WHITSITT: No. Even I find that boring.
(I was going to ask “Keen” or “Converse” but he was wearing old-school Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars so I didn’t need to.)
Our wide-ranging conversation about social media, technology, and the church kept noting the many ways 218th Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and Vice Moderator Byron Wade opened many social-media doors that will make the life of the current moderator and vice-moderator much easier.
“It’s no longer a sprint, but a marathon” Landon said, referring to the two years facing him and Cynthia Bolbach. They plan to host a regular podcast for conversations with the church, and uphold a high standard for transparency in their duties
Since he’s a busy young pastor with four kids, I asked Landon the obvious question of his decision to stand for Vice Moderator:
COPELAND: Are you crazy?
WHITSITT: (laughing) Define crazy.
Landon pointed to his time as a Theological Student Advisory Delegate at the 2003 General Assembly held in Denver as an important factor in his pastoral development. “General Assembly is where I learned how to love my church,” he said.
A graduate of Louisville Seminary, Landon has served the larger church on the Committee on Theological Education. He is currently working on a book tentatively entitled, “Open Source Church.” For sample chapters, see his blog at http://landonwhitsitt.com/ and follow him on Twitter @landonw.
ADAM COPELAND, who was the Outlook GA blogger, lives in Grand Forks, N.D. He is pastor of First Church in Hallock, Minn., and is pursuing an M.A. degree in communications from the University of North Dakota.
