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No this article isn’t about the effectiveness of drum machines and strobe lights in churches… Instead it’s a reaction to several blog posts I’ve been reading on the growing idea of Internet communities and the Church. To get you warmed up I’ll reference a few of the articles I’ve been looking at then get into the meat of what I want to say on the topic.

• Shane Hipps NPC (video)
• Reaction to Shane Hipps by Clif Guy
• Technology / Internet Communities / Church by Ben Simpson
• I love Shane Hipps but I disagree a little by Steve K.

I should make it clear that I enjoyed reading/watching all of these posts, and I can definitely see points on both sides of the field.  I should also clarify that I’m not really responding to any of the post directly, but more just expressing what I believe to be the real core issue at the center of this discussion.

Issue #1 What is community?

At it’s core the issue in question is can we form true biblical communities using online tools or “virtual communities” as they are often called in a Web2.o world (yes I managed to squeeze four buzz words into one sentence).  Shane Hipps would tell you that missional christian communities should have 4 elements: shared history, permanence, proximity, and shared imagination of the future. While Clif Guy would take more of an approach that it takes at least one of these 4 elements to create a community (but I don’t think he would argue more then one helps out!).  I’d have to say I really liked what Shane Hipps said about the “benefit” of online community is that the forth element comes extremely quickly in a virtual community (a shared imagination of the future).  However, I must admit personally (and this is strictly semantics) I’d say it’s really a shared world view (being entirely seperate from a linear time line of ideas, and more of a moralistic viewpoint on the world around them.) Now I don’t mean to imply that to have true Biblical community that you must share every moral viewpoint with the brother in the seat next to you, but there must be some common ground from which you work with and that you ultimately identify your selves or organizational unit with.. Let’s call this a communal agreement on a mission statement.

Issue #2 The Disembodiment of the Gospel

I must point out how much I agree with Shane Hipps regarding his idea of “virtual communities” as the next step of the disembodiment of the gospel…./say what?/ Let me break that down… Now I’m assuming this is what Shane is saying and if I’m wrong, well then I only agree with myself.  Putting your physical relationship with the word of God and the Spirit of God into a “virtual community” disembodies your physical representation of Christ.  Plainly said, it’s not about what I say, it’s about what I do! Now to be fair, I think Shane goes a little to far with the notion of taking Christs choice to embody man in a physical sense, and our desire to “virtualize” our own manifestation of that is well, far fetched. The truth is we often “virtualize” our physical relationships with the church and those around us, by pretending to be something that we aren’t anyway.  Is this not also equally as wrong? This problem isn’t tied to the virtualization of the gospel but is in fact a self preservation of self and sin.  Equally wrong, but let’s not pretend it’s not happening in both the physical and virtual world. Both sides are guilty of this, however, I will admit that the truth of how you live your life will usually find you out much quicker in the physical world then it will in the virtual world.

Issue #3 virtual communities are centered around statements and not experiences

By definition a virtual community would be based off of the expression of ideas and thoughts online.  This will express itself in posted words or video statements, much like what your reading now.  But what do you really know about me? Have you learned what  I struggle with in my daily walk with God by reading this or 200 other posts I written?  Can you come up beside me and honestly and reflectively show me the way that I need to go that I might glorify God in all that I do.  Will your rebuke of my unchristian behavior be met with reluctant acceptance, or a flame war of Digg proportions?

The truth is true biblical communities are centered around experiences not statements.  Over a year ago a dear friend of mine’s son died.  It was a tragic event.  We had grown apart for no other reason then changes in our physical locations, and God’s direction.  However, it was the years (8+ years) of interaction in a Small Group that instantly brought us back together when my wife and I heard the news of the death of their son.  After this, Heather and I made it a mission to express our love and care for them not with just words of caring, but acts of service.  We watch their daughter so the two of them can go out and have a date night.  We are spiritual invested in their family now, because of years of a physical relationship.

How could any of this be truly, Biblically accomplished in a virtual community?  To be honest, we know it can’t.  I could post statements of how I’m praying for them, or love them on facebook…. and we often have.  But these aren’t the things that reach out to them…. These aren’t things that express our love and care for them… It’s our actions, it’s what we do, and what we do for them, is a direct result of the experiences we’ve had with them… It was several years ago that another member of our then Home Team’s husband died in Iraq. Another tragic event, that brought us together, it is tragedy that pulls us together and forces us to step out of our comfort box for those we love and care about. And I think if we are honest for just a second we can all agree, our online communities don’t hold as much unconditional love as the physical relationship we have. Let’s view TV as a one way virtual community… We know the news reporters that report the news to us every night, and they tell us of tragedies that have happened in our neighborhoods, but how often do we stop and pray for those effected by the local news?  Or do we simply ignore it? We ignore it 9 times out of 10 because we are not emotionally tied to the victims.

Let’s really break this down to where I think it belongs, and yes, this is where I usually get in trouble, but make no mistake, I totally believe this. What makes the idea of virtual communities so appealing is the same reason porn is appealing. Now for clarity, I’m not saying that those that disagree with me are saying that porn is ok, or that they are somehow tied to pornograpy. What I am saying is that society views pornography as a victimless crime, and one that shrouded in privacy and secrecy.  Our online lives are much the same way.  I don’t share my deepest darkest secrets on twitter, to be honest, there are activities that I know are totally acceptable by God biblically that I won’t mention or discuss on twitter or facebook.  Why? Because I don’t see a need to flaunt or discuss those issues in an open forum. They are issues that I’ve taken to God, and I know are not sin, and you should have your own coversation with God to deterime if they are infact sinful for you.  Not to mention that as a Director of Information Technology at a large church, I recognise that many of my readers and people I truely care for may not see eye to eye on some issues.  My liberty in Christ doesn’t need to be an issue of public debate, it’s an issue with me and Christ.  Yet, this can take a turn for the worse if I’m hiding things that I know are wrong.  This is where virtual community breaks down.  The virtual community can’t see my actions or experiences online.  They see only what I choose to show them. Meanwhile, it’s the people that I know deeply and care for me, that I’m able to open up to, and say, “Man I screwed up today, pray for me?” or “I can’t seem to stop doing X, will you pray that God will change my heart?”

In closing I think it’s important to note that I think technology plays an important part in our local churches.  I’ve strived very hard in the past five years to make technology work for the church and ensure that our congregation and staff are able to leverage it to assist our community of belivers in sharing the truth of God’s word.  However, it is not a goal in it’s self, simply a means.  It is a tool to accomplish the goals of the bible.  We signed up for Arena to create an online portal for our memebers to be able to access information about thier ministires and be able to communicate to their members, however, it was never designed to replace the physcial act of sharing life experience.

I say all this to say this… what are your thought?  Where do you see the church and virtual communities going in the next 20 years? Does it encourage you? or depress you?