The online world came into being in the late 1989's. At first, it was mostly used as a 'bulletin board' for communication between executives, corporations, governments, and a few savvy civilians. By the time I graduated high school in 1996, the Internet had been overtaken with chat rooms where one could escape the real world and enter a virtual world with a whole new identity and persona. It was often said that online, nobody knows that you're a dog. In the church, there were frequent warnings to stay away from the lure of the Internet - it was becoming a 'place' where there was virtually no accountability and plenty of temptation to give in to activity, real or imagined, that Christian virtue wars against.
Enter Facebook.
Unlike it's predecessor MySpace, Facebook didn't allow fake personas. Well, let me back up. It was easy enough to 'create' a fake persona on fb, but the whole purpose of Facebook was to connect with people that you know, or have known, in the real world. The thick, towering walls dividing virtual reality and true identity were, for better or worse, disintegrating. It was an experiment that took surprisingly little time to gain traction. At the same time, Second Life became an alternative, an online life where one could engage in activities such as dancing, dating, clubbing, vacationing, flying, spying, shooting, slapping, shopping, etc with 'no' direct impact on their 'real' life. But facebook's reality-based online connection with other real people superseded the popularity of Second Life. Today, though many go online to escape the real world into virtual space, there is much more honesty, vulnerability, and integrity in the online world than there was 10, even 5 years ago. One friend of mine pointed out that they tend to be much more honest with their Facebook friends (notice I didn't use quotations) than with the friends they see regularly in person.
Is that a bad thing? Many people seem to think so. Community needs to be flesh-and-blood. I need to look you in the eyeballs while we talk to see that you're genuine. We need to share experiences to deepen our relationship and fellowship. Friendships don't grow online. While I agree with all but the last statement, I would say that friendships can and do develop online. In a greater capacity, often, than at church. If you want honesty and vulnerability, don't look to most churches - look at Facebook groups or chat rooms. Things are brought up and left out on the table, like it or not. Maybe that's too much for many of us to take. Maybe that's why we prefer the comfort of our sterilized church communities. Maybe that's why when we venture out to Facebook, we're often quick to 'unfriend' those who swear or admit to clubbing or doing drugs or post photos we deem to be inappropriate. We're afraid of the honesty, even the accountability that Facebook allows.
This post isn't just about Facebook. It's about an online evolution in which Facebook has certainly played, and continues to play, a large part. Twitter is another big part of this (r)evolution. So is texting, which purely doesn't have to do with the Internet per se, but another medium through which people are increasingly prone to share themselves with fewer inhibitions (read, "walls"). Blogging, in fact, might have started this revolution. Journals and diaries were once kept hidden under lock and key, but sometime in the late '90s people started sharing their thoughts and experiences online. And, wonder of wonders, others actually started READING them! And then there's the online church.
For many of us, this concept has been difficult to swallow. Church isn't something that we attend or watch, but it's meant to be our people, our brothers and sisters, our community who we share life and mission with, who we serve with and pray with and have over for dinner after the service. How can we do all of that online? Online church is a copout, an excuse for people who want the benefits of having a great preacher and high quality worship band without the discipline of being involved, connecting with others, or even getting dressed. I share these concerns, but they aren't for the most part limited to online expressions of church. We all know that there are many people who 'go to church' regularly but aren't in community, aren't involved in church life or Christian discipleship. What I'm saying is that physical churches often haven't accomplished the same things we criticize online churches for neglecting, yet we keep on planting them, building them, attending them, investing in them. Maybe we can recognize the shortcomings of doing church online, address them, innovatively try to correct them, but continue to 'plant' those communities just as we do physical churches.
I'm excited to start Access Church online (read about that here). I'd love it if someday it could also become a physical community, but even if it doesn't, I still believe that it retains the same legitimacy as an online community. Maybe you'd like to join me? Maybe you disagree with me? Maybe I've challenged your thinking just as I've been challenged in mine. I'd love to hear from you! Please leave your comments below.
Enter Facebook.
Unlike it's predecessor MySpace, Facebook didn't allow fake personas. Well, let me back up. It was easy enough to 'create' a fake persona on fb, but the whole purpose of Facebook was to connect with people that you know, or have known, in the real world. The thick, towering walls dividing virtual reality and true identity were, for better or worse, disintegrating. It was an experiment that took surprisingly little time to gain traction. At the same time, Second Life became an alternative, an online life where one could engage in activities such as dancing, dating, clubbing, vacationing, flying, spying, shooting, slapping, shopping, etc with 'no' direct impact on their 'real' life. But facebook's reality-based online connection with other real people superseded the popularity of Second Life. Today, though many go online to escape the real world into virtual space, there is much more honesty, vulnerability, and integrity in the online world than there was 10, even 5 years ago. One friend of mine pointed out that they tend to be much more honest with their Facebook friends (notice I didn't use quotations) than with the friends they see regularly in person.
Is that a bad thing? Many people seem to think so. Community needs to be flesh-and-blood. I need to look you in the eyeballs while we talk to see that you're genuine. We need to share experiences to deepen our relationship and fellowship. Friendships don't grow online. While I agree with all but the last statement, I would say that friendships can and do develop online. In a greater capacity, often, than at church. If you want honesty and vulnerability, don't look to most churches - look at Facebook groups or chat rooms. Things are brought up and left out on the table, like it or not. Maybe that's too much for many of us to take. Maybe that's why we prefer the comfort of our sterilized church communities. Maybe that's why when we venture out to Facebook, we're often quick to 'unfriend' those who swear or admit to clubbing or doing drugs or post photos we deem to be inappropriate. We're afraid of the honesty, even the accountability that Facebook allows.
This post isn't just about Facebook. It's about an online evolution in which Facebook has certainly played, and continues to play, a large part. Twitter is another big part of this (r)evolution. So is texting, which purely doesn't have to do with the Internet per se, but another medium through which people are increasingly prone to share themselves with fewer inhibitions (read, "walls"). Blogging, in fact, might have started this revolution. Journals and diaries were once kept hidden under lock and key, but sometime in the late '90s people started sharing their thoughts and experiences online. And, wonder of wonders, others actually started READING them! And then there's the online church.
For many of us, this concept has been difficult to swallow. Church isn't something that we attend or watch, but it's meant to be our people, our brothers and sisters, our community who we share life and mission with, who we serve with and pray with and have over for dinner after the service. How can we do all of that online? Online church is a copout, an excuse for people who want the benefits of having a great preacher and high quality worship band without the discipline of being involved, connecting with others, or even getting dressed. I share these concerns, but they aren't for the most part limited to online expressions of church. We all know that there are many people who 'go to church' regularly but aren't in community, aren't involved in church life or Christian discipleship. What I'm saying is that physical churches often haven't accomplished the same things we criticize online churches for neglecting, yet we keep on planting them, building them, attending them, investing in them. Maybe we can recognize the shortcomings of doing church online, address them, innovatively try to correct them, but continue to 'plant' those communities just as we do physical churches.
I'm excited to start Access Church online (read about that here). I'd love it if someday it could also become a physical community, but even if it doesn't, I still believe that it retains the same legitimacy as an online community. Maybe you'd like to join me? Maybe you disagree with me? Maybe I've challenged your thinking just as I've been challenged in mine. I'd love to hear from you! Please leave your comments below.
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