Should we do it all online?
As many of you know, I am teaching a course in Internet Ministry this semester at Biola University. Most of you reading this cannot attend this class, but have told me how interested you are in the topics of the course. In the spirit of Britain’s Open University and MIT’s Open Courseware, over the next few weeks, I will use this blog to share with you some of the highlights of the course and what the class is learning. As of today, the class has met two times and we have already had some good discussions regarding the role of the Internet in ministry.
Probably the most interesting topic so far is the debate on which areas of ministry can be performed effectively on the Internet. The first day of class we started defining the term “ministry”. By using the early church as described in the book of Acts as our example, we found many types of ministry performed: teaching, fellowship, communion, prayer, worship, ministering to the poor, evangelism, fasting, hospitality, and miracles. The discussion then led to the question: which of these areas of ministry can be done online? And the followup: which of these areas of ministry should be done online?
I asked my students to attend a church service at Lifechurch.tv between our first and second meetings. Lifechurch is a multi-site church that extensively uses the Internet as a means for ministry. They have even created an Internet “campus” which attempts to provide a complete church experience for those who “attend” one of the services. It was this Internet campus that I asked my students to attend. In class the next week, we recounted our experience there and compared it to our experience attending a church service physically. We reviewed the different activities performed in a church service, such as worship, taking offering, preaching, prayer, and fellowship. We all agreed that, from a technical perspective, Lifechurch does these quite well. For worship, they show their band playing, with the words to the songs appearing on the screen as they are being sung. At one point in the service, offering is taken where a short message on the importance of giving is presented and the opportunity to give is presented (though you can give at any time via the “donate” button at the top right of the screen). The Lifechurch pastor, Craig Groeschel, gave a Biblically-sound topical message in his latest series, called “True-ish”. Prayer happened throughout the service and at any point you could click “live prayer” to contact someone to pray with you. Finally, fellowship was provided through the “chat” window to the right of the screen (see image), where you could interact with each other in a text-based format. The chat window was lively and had quite varied topics going all throughout the service.
But after agreeing that the technical aspects of the service were well done, we started asking the harder questions. Was fellowship that was handled via “chat” sessions really fellowship? One of my students noted that true fellowship is not just getting together only during Sunday mornings for a conversation, but it is seeing the hurt in someone’s eyes as they are leaving the service or running into someone later in the week and talking about what they are doing. And what about worship? After agreeing that the music was quite moving and the musicians were talented, a student asked, “but did you find yourself singing along with it?” In other words, were you merely being entertained, or were your thoughts turned towards glorifying God?
As my students work towards their first assignment of developing a philosophy of Internet ministry, these are the types of questions that must be answered. What parts of ministry are better handled offline, in the physical world? How do you integrate the online and the offline? As you may be able to tell from this blog post, I have my reservations about what Lifechurch is doing with their Internet campus. Their commitment to giving someone 100% of the church experience online, without directing that person to a local Christian fellowship, in my opinion, shortchanges that person and does not give them the full Christian experience and, more importantly, leads them away from fulfilling their duties as a Christian.
“HOLD ON!”, you might say, “isn’t an ‘incomplete’ Christian experience better than no Christian experience at all?” There are many who would never go to “church” (or are unable to for some reason) but would be willing to attend a service online. Doesn’t that make it worth it? These are great questions that are difficult to answer. I will leave that for an upcoming post.
Book: The New Media Frontier
This is the second in a series I’m writing describing the books I’m planning on using in my upcoming course on Internet ministry. Last time, I discussed the Aubrey Malphur’s book ChurchNext. That book, written in 2003, was a relatively short book focused on explaining to church leaders why they should embrace change in the shape of the Internet. This book, released just a few months ago, shows what a difference five years can make. Written for pastors, educators, youth leaders, academics, and anyone else who who has a passion for sharing the message of Christ, this book explains why it is crucial to get involved with the Internet as a medium and describes how it can be used in a variety of fields. Its focus goes far beyond having a web site, blogging, or podcasting, and focuses on all the “new media”, including social networking, online education, and video.
Book: “Church Next”
Over the past several months, I have been reviewing books for my course on Internet ministry, trying to narrow down my choices and select books that will be most appropriate for the class. My goal for these books is that they would provide a range of views on Internet ministry, with an appropriate mix of theology, philosophy, strategy, and technology. I am NOT looking for books on how to create a web site or how to blog, etc., because these are secondary to first really understanding the concepts of online ministry. I also want books that are readable by the mix of students I will have and that will foster good discussions.
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.
Finding the future of Internet ministry in WoW
In several conversations I have had recently, the subject has come up of where technology is going and how those new technologies will affect how we impact the world for Christ. In my course on Internet ministry, I am purposely not planning on teaching specific technologies because of the fact that technology changes so quickly. But I am going to work with the students on understanding concepts behind technologies so that they can be ready to use new technologies as they become available.
It has been said that progress in technology is driven by the porn industry. While I am sure that studying the latest innovations in online sex would be insightful (eye-opening?), I am not ready to do that in my class at Biola. However, there is another driver for technological innovation: online gaming. Specifically, I am referring to that class of online gaming known as “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games” or MMORPG. These games allow a player to take on the role of an individual within some sort of fantasy world and interact with dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of other players. This shared experience leads to the development of culture, community, and even an economy. How does the experience in these games in the online world impact life of the participant in the physical world? What lessons can those doing online ministry learn from the way players interact online or physically?
Perhaps the most extensive gaming community applicable to study would be World of Warcraft (WoW), with over fifteen million (yes: 15,000,000) active participants in the US alone. I am, by no means, an expert on World of Warcraft or gaming culture, so if I intend on using WoW as a vehicle for study in my upcoming course, I will need to spend some time understanding it further and, yes, even playing it. I will also need to rely experts in this community to help me see how the study of WoW can shape and perhaps even influence what we do in Internet ministry.
Managing the intersections
As I prepare to teach my course in Internet ministry next semester, I have been meeting with several different individuals to try to get a diversity of inputs into some of the topics that should be covered. Last week, I had lunch with John Edmiston, a pioneer in the field of using the Internet to share Christ. John also moderated an online course at Fuller Theological Seminary on Internet evangelism last year, which is how I tracked him down. John currently manages the web site Cybermissions.org, which is a great resource for those working to understand how the Internet can be used to share their faith.
One of the points that John and I discussed was the understanding of using the Internet for what it does well. The Internet is a nonreligious space, it is not a church-like environment and we shouldn’t try to make it so. The Internet is really good at creating “intersections” where people who might not otherwise meet come together. So part of understanding effective online ministry is managing these intersections. The question becomes: how do we take advantage of the moments that wouldn’t happen otherwise?
So what does an intersection look like? Traditionally, we think of building our web sites so that someone Googling “What is the meaning of life?” will find our site and have their life changed. This is not an intersection; this is more like a head-on collision! An intersection is something that happens much more informally and cannot always be predicted. For example: someone searching for a local group to go hiking with finds out about your church’s hiking club and joins you for your next hike. Or someone looking for information on their favorite music group finds a Facebook group that you are also a member of.
So how does this fit into Internet ministry? While we may not always be able to predict how these intersections will take place, we can do our best to create the opportunities for them to happen. This does NOT necessarily mean creating new web sites – it really means getting out there and involving ourselves in the lives of others online. Over at the Internet Evangelism Day web site you can find a good outline of how this strategy might look: the “bridge strategy”.
One warning I might have of this approach is that we must be genuine. I would not recommend trying to create an intersection where one would not naturally exist. For example, it would not make any sense for me to get involved with an online fan club for Celine Dion because, frankly, I am not a fan. My intersections with other fans would be a lie, I would be misrepresenting myself to them. But I am sure there are others who are called to minister to Celine Dion fans. . .
And all God’s people Skyped “Amen”
As part of my preparation for my Internet ministry course coming up this spring, I have been studying the book of Acts to look at how the early church “did” ministry. One of the practices of the early church was prayer. Specifically, corporate prayer: “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ” (Acts 2:42)
We all know that we should be praying daily to God, but many of us forget that we are also commanded to pray with other believers. And when we consider how to utilize the Internet to further our ministries, do we even consider the possibility of using it to enable corporate prayer? Or is this one area where the virtual cannot replace the physical?
Has anyone reading this had experience with corporate prayer online? Would it work to do it via a “chat” session, via Skype, or through some sort of virtual world? And again, as I have asked before, does the virtual environment provide truly the same experience as the physical environment? Will the prayers have the same power?
How does the medium (Internet) change the message (ministry)
In preparing for my course on Internet ministry next semester, I am seeing the need to cover the topic of how the medium affects the message. The question is not “DOES the Internet change the message of our ministry”, it is “HOW does the message change when it is communicated via the Internet?” This is, of course, classic Marshall McLuhan and “the medium is the message“.
I was thinking about this yet again today while I was working out and listening to my iPod. I was listening to some old Daniel Amos, and the song “Here I Am” came on. The song, written originally in 1983, asks the question: does the use of recorded media (“preserved performance”) change the relationship between artist and his or her audience? Some sample lyrics:
Here I am, here I am, driving to the studio with all of our equipment
Here I am, here I am, singing in the microphone while the tape is rolling
Here I am, here I am, at the photo session smiling at the camera
There you are, there you are, getting out your money purchasing the record
Here we are, here we are, by way of stereo making minimal contactIs this a substitute, is this me
Well I can’t see you and I’m out of your reach
Here I am (crying)
To listen to the song, go to YouTube here. For a full listing of the lyrics, go to danielamos.com here.
This brings up the idea of “live” vs. “preserved” performance and the effects this has on both the artist and the presenter (more on this in the book put out by John Mark Reynolds and Roger Overton). And this got me thinking yet again about how the use of the Internet changes our message, whether or not we want it to. For example, when we post a blog entry, we are told we must keep it short or no one will bother to read it. To work under this condition, many authors will try to create a “quick hit” post about something that really does require more depth. (After all, to a blogger, every thought or idea looks like a blog post, as every problem looks like a nail…). And what about using video to “video-cast” (or “vcast” or “vlog” or ?) a church service? Won’t this lead many to view the service as they do television? Just sit back and do the couch potato. This leads to a very different experience than attending a worship service.
So am I saying that ministries should abandon the Internet because the way that they will be used may lead to a changing of the message? No. But I do think it is very important for those of us who want to minister online to have an understanding of how the Internet changes our ministry’s message and to use this knowledge to help us with our decision-making about how to use it. This is the conclusion that Shane Hipps comes to in his book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture. And this is also what the students in my class (and any good course that is teaching Internet ministry) will be learning.
Internet ministry curriculum
So I have confirmed that I will have enough students to go forward with my course on Internet ministry next semester. So far I have five business students and four Talbot seminary students. I expect to get a few students from the Christian Ministries department and maybe a couple Intercultural Studies. The cap on my course is 16, so I have may have to turn some away.
I am beginning to work through exactly what should go into my course on Internet ministry. I am hoping that whatever work gets done in this course will be a first step toward a more comprehensive Internet ministry program here at Biola. My plans at the moment are for the course to follow a high-level format similar to this:
- What is ministry?
- The Internet as a tool for ministry.
- How does the Internet change ministry?
- Case studies: who is doing it successfully?
- Developing a philosophy of Internet ministry.
- Hands-on projects: doing it ourselves (runs concurrently throughout semester).
The folks at the Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC) have put out a call to Bible colleges to teach Internet evangelism, which is one form of Internet ministry. They envision some sort of online course directed towards graduate students. They include a long list of topics the course would cover, such as:
- A Theology of Cyber-Space
- Cross-cultural Communication and Cultural Sensitivity
- Communicating with Post-modern Culture
- Incorporate Web Outreach Within a Wider Strategy
- Counseling In Cyber-Space
- Issues in Cyber-Ethics
- Email/Web Security for Missions
I like much of what the IEC has to say here and will incorporate some of it into my course. I will also bring in much of what I have learned teaching my “E-Business Strategies” and other Internet-related courses here at Biola.
What do you think should go into a course on Internet ministry? My goal is to find topics that are not going to be affected by every new technology that comes along but are instead strategic and longer-lasting.
What is ministry?
As part of teaching my course in Internet Ministry this spring, I want to be able to define exactly what “ministry” means. From there we can then examine the different ways ministry can be done using Internet tools. So what, exactly, is ministry?
A quick web search on the term ministry gives a circular answer: “the work of a minister.” Other web sites associate ministry with service. One helpful definition comes from a Canadian web site vocations.ca, which defines it this way:
MINISTRY – Ministry is the use of a person’s gifts and talents, time and energy, in the service of others. It involves the exercise of roles designated by the Church to fulfil its mission in different works of service, such as in worship, teaching, leadership, the sacraments, welfare, and stewardship.
I had a discussion with one of the professors here at our seminary (Talbot) about his thoughts on this topic. After explaining why I wanted to define ministry, he said that we could look at the life of Christ and see ministry as the communication of grace. The question then becomes “how can we commuicate grace so as to compel people to listen?” He went on to say that too many times, we Christians are anxious to communicate truth, but we fail to communicate grace. After further discussion, we came up with a preliminary definition of ministry as “reaching out to communicate the truth, grace, and call of the kingdom of God.”
I will be exploring and refining this further, but I believe that an understanding of Internet ministry is not complete without first understanding what exactly ministry is. Your thoughts?
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