Church Online: Those That Believe and Those That Do Not
A recent technology piece by CNN highlighted how there have been some significant growth in the areas of online church. In addition to the growth of new “believers” there are equally (if not more) critics that emerge as well:
Online religious services offer convenience to those who are too isolated or infirm to attend a real-world church. But can worshipping via a computer offer true spiritual fulfillment?
I’m not here to necessarily put my foot down on which camp I’m coming from (which is more due to the fact that I can see both sides) but the fact that it’s getting some serious attention these days is a good thing.
Like I mentioned here, there appears to be a growing change of how we may “define” church and it is one of the most important conversation pieces we join in today.
I would like to make one particular note and thought public though: The goal is not win over the other side (and certainly not to condemn the other) but to create an environment of healthy dialogue and discovery.
Let the Holy Spirit do the convincing and convicting; far too often we take it upon ourselves to force entry into other people’s minds.
Finally, there will always be differences of opinion and to a certain degree this is healthy: Our goal is not equilibrium or standardization especially when it comes to theopraxis and methodology.
Rather, our goal is to encourage each other to look deeply into Scripture holding onto tradition but not traditionalism, and let love be the currency of conversation.
And let the conversation continue.
Buzz it!
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7 Responses to “Church Online: Those That Believe and Those That Do Not”
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I think a key here is that religion cannot be done online. Simple, plain, and easy. However, the relationship we all have in Jesus Christ can be done from anywhere. You'll likely never see the Catholic church understand or endorse online church campuses, but faith-based bodies of people in this generation will. The key is creating effective community, accountability, and usability in the online environment. This is where I don't know if we've gotten yet, but the closest "experience" I know of would be LifeChurch.tv's Second Life campus.
This is a great point…!
I don't see it as an "either or" but a "both and". However, my pastor sees any form of social networking or online church as a diluting or dumbing down of the real thing: God in soundbytes. After our last conversation which I think found him backed into a corner by my enthusiasm, he penned numerous articles for our parish blog all on the subject of "fast food faith" and "low expectations of God" etc in which he quoted from several saints from the early Church all of whom cautioned against speedy actions!
well, at least he's passionate, right?
don't give up!