Digital ministry author and speaker
Ryan Panzer
Grace & Gigabytes:
Being Church in a Tech-Shaped Culture
The Holy and the Hybrid:
Navigating the Church's Digital Reformation
Praise for Grace and Gigabytes
"It's hard to imagine a more pertinent book for the church of 2020 and beyond. Ryan Panzer takes the best of tech culture and brings it to bear on a church desperate to engage the digital world. He does so without losing the richness of Christian theology or the dynamism of the Christian community. This book is a must-read for anyone longing to move their church beyond awkward live-streaming and Zoom meetings to a church that is as adept online as it is in the sanctuary."
- The Rev. Angela Denker, author of the best-selling "Red State Christians: Understanding the Voters who elected Donald Trump"
"In a time of pandemic where physical distancing has pushed us all into digital spaces, Ryan Panzer reminds us that a tech-shaped culture is one that demands good questions, clear relational connections, agile collaboration, and genuine creativity. His experience working at both Google and in Lutheran churches gives him the authority and authenticity to be an excellent guide in these challenging times. Our faith and our deepest questions are inextricably bound together, and this book will help you to see that entanglement as a gift, not an obstacle."
-Mary E. Hess, Professor of Educational Leadership, Luther Seminary
Praise for The Holy and the Hybrid
“Two decades and one pandemic into a religious reality dramatically changed by digital technologies, social media, and the new modes of communications they have prompted, Ryan Panzer’s The Holy and the Hybrid advances an essential conversation for church leaders and communities responding to the ministry needs of the digitally integrated world. An important exploration not only of communication practices required for meaningful ministry engagement today, but also a guide to innovative structural changes that will encourage and support revitalized ministries, The Holy and the Hybrid should be on every pastor’s, priest’s, and lay minister’s digital or old-school wooden desktop.”
—Dr. Elizabeth Drescher, adjunct associate professor of religious studies, Santa Clara University; author of Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones
“In this timely book, Panzer skillfully identifies and interprets the moment we are in. With one foot in the church and one in the tech industry, he speaks with a hybridized authority that few of us can muster. The Holy and the Hybrid offers a feast of insights that will be beneficial to a wide range of church leaders navigating monumental cultural changes.”
—Michael J. Chan, executive director for Faith and Learning, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
“The Holy and the Hybrid is a book every pastor and church leader needs to read. It invites us to reflect on the ways we were all thrown into the digital deep end during the pandemic, and most importantly it offers a way forward for churches to develop sustainable hybrid ministries that will be essential for the future of the church.”
—Jim Keat, digital minister, The Riverside Church
