If you have read this blog before, you know that I have been a critic of online church. However, as a lover of technology and the Internet, I am always open to thinking in new ways about things and want to see how technology can be used to share the message of Christ.  But I am also a realist: I know that just because we can do church online does not mean that we should. So I read this book with an open mind and heart – looking for new ways of thinking about online church.

Some highlights of SimChurch for me included:

• a definition of virtual church as “a virtually localized assembly of the people of God dwelling in meaningful community with the task of building the kingdom.”
• the author taking on those who would use the church as described in Acts 2 as a way to discredit the virtual church.  The early church existed at a special time in history and we will never fully be able to recapture it.  Churches today cannot expect to do everything that the Acts 2 church did.
• the discussion of how our Western worldview clouds our understanding of “presence”.  Defining presence as the location of our bodies is not a God-given or Biblical idea.
• a challenge to Christians to be ever vigilant on how we conduct ourselves. Since everything we do virtually is recorded in some way, we should be completely transparent about our online lives. Identity and authenticity will be key issues in the virtual church.
• to be seen as real churches, virtual churches must begin to offer communion. The exact methods as to how to do it must be worked out by each individual church within their traditions and understanding.  Baptisms should also be offered.
• The online church will need to leverage their strengths to do things that physical-world church cannot do (or at least cannot do well).

Douglas Estes is a supporter of online church and in this book he makes a very good case that it is important that these churches continue to move forward and meet the challenges they will face head on. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and was encouraged to think deeper about online church.

Unfortunately, I am still not convinced that the participation in a church service accessed over the Internet and mediated via a computer is the same as actually attending a church physically.  In my experience, the types of worship, fellowship, and community experienced online is anemic compared to what one can get by fully participating in a physical-world church (not to mention the issues with communion and baptism). Now this would not be a big issue to me if it were not for the fact that these online churches never encourage those participating online to find to a physical-world church. I was hoping that SimChurch would address this question, but it did not.

Now let me reiterate, I believe it is imperative that Christians take to the Internet as a mission field and learn to understand it well. I wouldn’t spend so much of time helping churches do this if I did not feel it was important. Using the Internet should be an integral part of a church’s ministry. And being there to meet with and minister to those in the virtual world should be part of what they do. And yes, even providing the ability for someone to experience a church service online can be part of the ministry – but it should be made clear that every believer needs to find a physical community to be a part of as well.

Overall I think that SimChurch does a great job of exploring online church and its implications. If you are looking for a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, then I recommend this book.  And if you never have participated in an online church service, I encourage you to do so at the now over forty different Internet campuses available.  Just remember to also attend church in “real life” as well.

I have finally settled on three primary books for my course (though I still have a couple I am thinking about adding). Over the next few weeks, I will share my selections here on this blog.  The first book I have selected is Dr. Aubrey Malphurs’ Church Next.  Written with his son, Michael, I found this book to give a good overview of the current state of the Church and makes a great case for why the move to the Internet is the right one.  For those who do not know who Aubrey Malphurs is, he is Senior Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is also the head of the Malphurs Group.

The book opens with two chapters on the decline of the Church in the US and the world and presents some reasons for just why that has happened.  Their conclusion: the Church has failed to change as society and culture changed and is becoming less and less relevant.

The second part of the book makes the case for change, with a full chapter devoted to the development of a “theology of change”. Frankly, it is this chapter that convinced me that this is one of the books I need in my course.  This chapter focuses on the idea that while it is allowable for the forms of the Church to change, it is not acceptable for the functions of the Church to change.  Using good examples and scripture, a case for change is well-made. This is followed up by a chapter on the effects of postmodernism on our culture.

The last part of the book is on how the Internet can be the tool for this change.  Because the book was written in 2003, most of what is here is old news. I will probably have my students scan this part, but we will not focus on it. We will have other sources in our class for ideas on technology.

Overall, this is a great book for those working to understand how something as timeless as Christ’s body (the Church) can change. If you are working with a church or organization who doesn’t see the need to move to the Internet, this book presents a compelling case.