1. More Thorough Evangelism – We can reach people who would never come to a physical church building.
I’ve had many fascinating conversations in blogs and online chat rooms about faith. Some were with angry people interested only in attacking Christianity – but many others have been with people who are genuinely seeking faith, but for various reasons will never feel comfortable walking into an actual church sanctuary.
2. More Open and Honest Communication – Many people who already attend a church can have more meaningful interactions online.
I have had a number of counseling sessions through Internet chats with youth who barely recognize my existence at the physical church building. For many, the mediation of a digital screen is a boost to communication.
3. Reaching an Overscheduled and Transient Culture – People who can’t be physically present on a consistent basis can keep up and contribute through the Internet.
Two of the biggest challenges for 21st-century churches are people who are too busy or who don’t live long enough in one place to make a significant commitment. To me, this is at least as big an issue as declining membership.
There is a wonderful young couple who has started attending my church, but they are not getting very involved because they both work long hours, and his career requires them to move about every two years. If my church offered more ways for them to interact online, they would be more active. They might even be able to maintain a relationship with one church as their physical residence moved.
4. More Frequent Contact– People who might see one another once or twice a week at the physical church can interact online on a daily basis.
Most churches already use email, which has greatly simplified communication patterns – and many have begun to share prayer concerns and other more personal faith matters through the Internet. But much more could be done.
I use Twitter several times a day to communicate with friends and colleagues all over the world – and feel much more intimately connected to them than I do to people I might see at Sunday worship and maybe once more during the week.
5. More Accesible Leadership – Pastors and other church leaders can have direct contact with more people and be more responsive to concerns and questions.
Consider the pre-20th century church in the United States – before automobiles and telephones were common. The average member, especially in the more rural areas where most people lived, might see a circuit-riding minister once a month – and that involved no more contact than shaking his hand on the way out of worship. For many, the only true interaction with clergy came on the occasion of a wedding, baptism, or funeral.
Even in the 21st century, many conventional pastors have limited daily contact. In my previous church, almost all interaction was face-to-face – usually in the form of a time-consuming home or hospital visit. Using the tools of the Internet, a pastor or other church leader can be in touch with an exponentially greater amount of people – and can respond to concerns and requests much more quickly.
For example: Through a quick series of emails, I have helped resolve issues that committee chairs have brought to me that might have taken weeks to negotiate by playing phone tag.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
5 Reasons Churches Should Be Cautious About Online Interactions
1) There Is No Virtual Equivalent For A Good Hug
2) It’s More Difficult To Understand Emotions And Communicate Empathy Through An Online Conversation
A sign at a local pharmacy cautions customers against using online prescription services, claiming that being able to physically see the person helps a pharmacist make a judgment. The same principle applies to pastors and online interaction.
For example: If a church member sends me a quick email and says, “I just found out that my father has died. I’m doing OK, and there’s a lot to take care of. I’ll call you when I get back from the funeral.” – I might take it at face value and not give a visit. Or, I might understand that seeing her face-to-face will reveal much more about her emotional state. In my experience, that visit is greatly needed and appreciated. Digital communication might enhance the process of pastoral care, but it is impossible to show the proper level of concern and empathy for a grieving person solely through the Internet.
3) Online Messages Can Be Misunderstood
A quick email or tweet is sent off, intended as a joke or an innocent observation – but the other person suddenly goes silent, or even shoots back an angry response. He or she is offended, because what is read and understood is much different than what the writer intended. Online, there is no such thing as tone, body language, or facial expression – things which help communicate much of what we say face-to-face.
Often, it takes a face-to-face conversation to repair the damage. In the case of delicate pastoral work, where the person might be hurt or angry to begin with, this kind of misunderstanding might never be resolved.
4) The Digital Divide Has The Potential To Exclude
For a variety of reasons – age, economic status, or personal preference – many people in the United States still do not use the Internet. Even if a church is careful to balance online and traditional communication, those who are not active participants in the digital universe can easily feel left behind.
For example: After a recent meeting, several committee members gathered in a circle with their I-phones, Droids, and Blackberries – making plans to share their ideas through Facebook. One woman, who confessed that she has a computer at home but rarely uses it, sat sadly in the corner – unable to even understand their conversation. Even though she had access to all official communication from the church and the committee chair – which was still being done with paper and ink - she was excluded from the interaction that was the driving force behind the group.
5) We Don’t Yet Understand The Theological Implications
This is the Biblical side of the new reality that will need much careful thought in the coming decades. Consider the Call of Abram in Genesis 12 that leads him to “the land that I will show you.” The Hebrew word for land refers directly to the earth, to the soil that is tilled. This means that the Covenant upon which the entire Biblical story depends is rooted in a physical place. What does this story – and what do many others from the Bible that speak to the importance of physical location – have to tell us about the “brave new world” of the Internet that we are just beginning to build?
Next Post: 6 Reasons Why Churches Need To Have More Online Interaction
2) It’s More Difficult To Understand Emotions And Communicate Empathy Through An Online Conversation
A sign at a local pharmacy cautions customers against using online prescription services, claiming that being able to physically see the person helps a pharmacist make a judgment. The same principle applies to pastors and online interaction.
For example: If a church member sends me a quick email and says, “I just found out that my father has died. I’m doing OK, and there’s a lot to take care of. I’ll call you when I get back from the funeral.” – I might take it at face value and not give a visit. Or, I might understand that seeing her face-to-face will reveal much more about her emotional state. In my experience, that visit is greatly needed and appreciated. Digital communication might enhance the process of pastoral care, but it is impossible to show the proper level of concern and empathy for a grieving person solely through the Internet.
3) Online Messages Can Be Misunderstood
A quick email or tweet is sent off, intended as a joke or an innocent observation – but the other person suddenly goes silent, or even shoots back an angry response. He or she is offended, because what is read and understood is much different than what the writer intended. Online, there is no such thing as tone, body language, or facial expression – things which help communicate much of what we say face-to-face.
Often, it takes a face-to-face conversation to repair the damage. In the case of delicate pastoral work, where the person might be hurt or angry to begin with, this kind of misunderstanding might never be resolved.
4) The Digital Divide Has The Potential To Exclude
For a variety of reasons – age, economic status, or personal preference – many people in the United States still do not use the Internet. Even if a church is careful to balance online and traditional communication, those who are not active participants in the digital universe can easily feel left behind.
For example: After a recent meeting, several committee members gathered in a circle with their I-phones, Droids, and Blackberries – making plans to share their ideas through Facebook. One woman, who confessed that she has a computer at home but rarely uses it, sat sadly in the corner – unable to even understand their conversation. Even though she had access to all official communication from the church and the committee chair – which was still being done with paper and ink - she was excluded from the interaction that was the driving force behind the group.
5) We Don’t Yet Understand The Theological Implications
This is the Biblical side of the new reality that will need much careful thought in the coming decades. Consider the Call of Abram in Genesis 12 that leads him to “the land that I will show you.” The Hebrew word for land refers directly to the earth, to the soil that is tilled. This means that the Covenant upon which the entire Biblical story depends is rooted in a physical place. What does this story – and what do many others from the Bible that speak to the importance of physical location – have to tell us about the “brave new world” of the Internet that we are just beginning to build?
Next Post: 6 Reasons Why Churches Need To Have More Online Interaction
Friday, January 20, 2012
Does Presbyterian Polity Provide For Online Church Organization?
(Following are selected passages from the Presbyterian Church USA's Book of Order, 2011 edition. They speak to the feasability of organizing churches or higher governing bodies on the Internet. Actual language from the BoO is in bold. In parentheses, I have added a list of questions for each quote intended to spark discussion.)
From G-1.01 The Congregation
The congregation is the church engaged in the mission of God in its particular context.
(Can the Internet and social media in particular be considered an independent context for ministry, or can it only enhance the ministry of geographically-based churches? If we believe online destinations such as Twitter, Facebook, and Second Life do qualify as “particular contexts,” should we seek to form congregations that are exclusively digital in nature?)
Through the congregation God’s people carry out the ministries of:
(1)Proclamation
(2)Sharing the Sacraments
(Can the full spiritual effect of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper be communicated through a virtual online medium? Should we continue to require the physical presence of the elements – water, bread, wine - to ensure the efficacy of the Sacraments?)
(3)Living in covenant life with God and each other
(Can the full meaning of covenant life together exist between people who do not share a geographic community and who may have never physically met one another?)
A “congregation,” as used in this Form of Government, refers to a formally organized community chartered and recognized by a presbytery as provided in this Constitution.
(Would an online congregation need a geographic presbytery to grant a charter? Would it then participate in that presbytery as would a geographically-based church? Or would a new, non-geographic presbytery need to be formed that would encompass various online congregations and would send its own delegates to General Assembly? Or would an entirely new structure and system of polity need to be developed to meet the particular needs of online ministry?)
Other forms of corporate witness established by the presbytery shall also be governed by this Constitution and shall be subject to the authority of the presbytery.
(Could “other forms of corporate witness” apply to efforts to organize online churches? How would the structure and polity of such bodies be different from traditional geographic congregations?)
From G-3.01 General Principles of Councils
The particular responsibility of the councils of the church is to nurture, guide, and govern those who witness as part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), to the end that such witness strengthens the whole church and gives glory to God.
(Is “council” a more appropriate way than “congregation” to think about groups that form on places like Facebook and Twitter that are comprised primarily of clergy and lay leaders?)
From G-3.03 The Presbytery
The presbytery is the council serving as a corporate expression of the church within a certain district and is composed of all the congregations and teaching elders within that district.
(The definition of the word “district” is key. Does it mean a specific geographic area? A specific ethnic constituency? A specific special-interest group or theological orientation? A specific online site or destination? All of the above?)
Also important is the word “all”. For example, would a presbytery formed on Facebook need to include all churches that have a Facebook presence? In such a case, would the formation of a higher council, such as a synod or even a parallel General Assembly, be more appropriate?)
The presbytery is responsible for the government of the church throughout its district, and for assisting and supporting the witness of congregations to the sovereign activity of God in the world, so that all congregations become communities of faith, hope, love, and witness.
(Perhaps the most instructive passage for why online organization is needed. Not as an end unto itself, but as a way to nurture congregations, be they geographic or virtual, and the disciples they are growing.)
From G-1.01 The Congregation
The congregation is the church engaged in the mission of God in its particular context.
(Can the Internet and social media in particular be considered an independent context for ministry, or can it only enhance the ministry of geographically-based churches? If we believe online destinations such as Twitter, Facebook, and Second Life do qualify as “particular contexts,” should we seek to form congregations that are exclusively digital in nature?)
Through the congregation God’s people carry out the ministries of:
(1)Proclamation
(2)Sharing the Sacraments
(Can the full spiritual effect of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper be communicated through a virtual online medium? Should we continue to require the physical presence of the elements – water, bread, wine - to ensure the efficacy of the Sacraments?)
(3)Living in covenant life with God and each other
(Can the full meaning of covenant life together exist between people who do not share a geographic community and who may have never physically met one another?)
A “congregation,” as used in this Form of Government, refers to a formally organized community chartered and recognized by a presbytery as provided in this Constitution.
(Would an online congregation need a geographic presbytery to grant a charter? Would it then participate in that presbytery as would a geographically-based church? Or would a new, non-geographic presbytery need to be formed that would encompass various online congregations and would send its own delegates to General Assembly? Or would an entirely new structure and system of polity need to be developed to meet the particular needs of online ministry?)
Other forms of corporate witness established by the presbytery shall also be governed by this Constitution and shall be subject to the authority of the presbytery.
(Could “other forms of corporate witness” apply to efforts to organize online churches? How would the structure and polity of such bodies be different from traditional geographic congregations?)
From G-3.01 General Principles of Councils
The particular responsibility of the councils of the church is to nurture, guide, and govern those who witness as part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), to the end that such witness strengthens the whole church and gives glory to God.
(Is “council” a more appropriate way than “congregation” to think about groups that form on places like Facebook and Twitter that are comprised primarily of clergy and lay leaders?)
From G-3.03 The Presbytery
The presbytery is the council serving as a corporate expression of the church within a certain district and is composed of all the congregations and teaching elders within that district.
(The definition of the word “district” is key. Does it mean a specific geographic area? A specific ethnic constituency? A specific special-interest group or theological orientation? A specific online site or destination? All of the above?)
Also important is the word “all”. For example, would a presbytery formed on Facebook need to include all churches that have a Facebook presence? In such a case, would the formation of a higher council, such as a synod or even a parallel General Assembly, be more appropriate?)
The presbytery is responsible for the government of the church throughout its district, and for assisting and supporting the witness of congregations to the sovereign activity of God in the world, so that all congregations become communities of faith, hope, love, and witness.
(Perhaps the most instructive passage for why online organization is needed. Not as an end unto itself, but as a way to nurture congregations, be they geographic or virtual, and the disciples they are growing.)
Spreading My Wings
I haven't posted here since mid-September, because I have found myself involved in some other projects. As a means to keep myself focused and sane, I have decided to start posting here weekly just to share some of my personal thoughts.
Today, I'm full of excitement and anticipation as I launch the Beta version of what I hope will become a collaborative effort. It's a political blog, designed to recreate the energy and passion that I experienced as a writer for The Seminal back in 2008. I have no idea how this project will go, but it gets my juices flowing, so I'm doing it!
Just to summarize, here are the virtual projects I am currently managing:
Presbytery of Twitter
Presbytery of Twitter (on Facebook)
The Spectacle
This blog (Pastor Looks at 40)
I'll share more about each of these projects, and how I envision them working together, in future posts.
Today, I'm full of excitement and anticipation as I launch the Beta version of what I hope will become a collaborative effort. It's a political blog, designed to recreate the energy and passion that I experienced as a writer for The Seminal back in 2008. I have no idea how this project will go, but it gets my juices flowing, so I'm doing it!
Just to summarize, here are the virtual projects I am currently managing:
Presbytery of Twitter
Presbytery of Twitter (on Facebook)
The Spectacle
This blog (Pastor Looks at 40)
I'll share more about each of these projects, and how I envision them working together, in future posts.
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