Yesterday was a great day! I experienced two things yesterday that I have never experienced before. First, we took our student leaders to NewSpring Church’s Greenville campus for church. It was the first time that I have experienced a video venue first hand. I have to admit, it was incredible! I’ve heard some people say, “well…it just can’t be as effective without the pastor physically standing there and teaching. With the quality of teaching and the quality of technology, it was as if Perry (the pastor) was standing right there. Heck…I even heard people respond to his comments out loud as if he were standing there.
The other thing that I experienced was part of a collaboration between Life Church and Carlos Whitaker called LifeShare. Last night, our whole family watched the LifeShare event and sang along to a live worship stream. It was simply ‘Los leading worship from the downstairs of his house and with over 100 other people joining in from around the country. Some say you can’t have community online, but I beg to differ.
I think that the web is revolutionizing the way we do ministry. We can reach more people than we ever could have imagined if we take advantage of what’s available.
Tomorrow I’m going to share some new tools I’ve found online, but I’d love to hear your response to this question: Do you think that the Church can develop true community online? Either leave a comment by clicking “Comments” below, or if you have a webcam, post a video reply to the video below. This might get interesting.
Community and Tecnology??? I think God is smart enough to use 21st century “stuff” to build His kingdom which includes–I’m sure–true community.