So Zach Lind and I did a podcast about ‘Virtual Church’. The podcast is here.
It was spawned out of an article posted on Out Of Ur which is right here.
The topic is about online communities and their interchangeability with physical communities. I, myself am a huge online fan, I am even a fan of keeping connected with people virtually, but I think Zach made some great points on the Out of Ur blog and during the podcast. My favorite – ‘cybersex isn’t as good as real sex with your wife’. Possibly a new book from Zach? Probably not, but I would buy a book with that title.
Kimberly is attached to the Koinonia Church that meets in Second Life, here is their link.
What do you guys think about this whole discussion?
What do you think about the comparison of seeing a band perform live and having a copy of their music? How similar and different are the two experiences? Are they interchangeable?
Tags: rambling, virtual community, zach lind
Online is a good place for ideas and a bad place for community.
If the internets become our community, then our community really becomes our darkened bedroom, or our lonely but comfortable living room sofa.
To make the online environment truly useful and relevant, we can’t just talk about things forever. We can’t theorize endlessly.
These ideas have to be taken out our front doors and tested with the people we touch every day.
Another perspective on virtual living. Written a hundred years ago. http://www.plexus.org/forster/index.html
Nick,
I happen to agree with the conclusion that both you and Zack seemed to come to in the podcast. That is that online church can provide/produce useful and meaningful experiences, but can’t (and shouldn’t) be interchangeable with physical church gatherings. Like Zack, I think Shane Hipps is not far of the mark when he says that the way we communicate online is changing the way we view relationships. We critique far too soon, we must first seek understanding.
Good podcast, I really appreciate them man.
Shalom,
Jesse
Thanks Jesse, that’s helpful. I seem to be in your same boat. Feel free to jump in at the conversation on thenickandjoshpodcast.com, there are some other views hanging out there, from practitioners of the online churches.
Clint – I have put this in my reading stack. Thoughts to come soon.