Is social media real community?

I believe it can be and that it can either lead to people getting together in person or enhance in person relationships. Here is a great post discussing this.

http://bit.ly/6GMd1m

Purpose of Sunday services

One of the arguments about church online, video venues, multi site, or multiple worship locations is "Can people grow in their faith by attending these service?"

However, the real question is "What is the purpose of the service?" Is it only to help Christians grow, or is it about outreach to those who do not attend church (The great Commission)?

Can you grow in only 1 hour a week? Or does it take the weekend service, weekly bible study groups, and personal quiet time with God?

Old tech geek

Well, my father in law passed away this past weekend. He was an old school tech geek from back in the day when a computer took a whole room and you had to align the drives, had a stack of punch cards for data entry.

We are spoiled with modern technology. There is more processing power in my cell phone then that whole room computer ever had. I remember my first PC repair job was increasing the memory from 1mb to 4mb and thought that they would never need that much RAM.

Question is, how can we utilize this technology for spreading the Word of Jesus Christ while not allowing it to overrun our lives?

Where is God? Where can you encounter Him?

Is God limited to just the building we enter into once a week? Do I have to be in that building to worship or spend time with God? No, I can do this anywhere, anytime, and should be doing it throughout my day everyday. God is everywhere and all knowing. So then why do we think that only inside the church walls is where we can meet Him?

There are multiple places in the Bible discussing this, here is one in Acts from the Message - www.youversion.com

Act 7:46 David asked God for a permanent place for worship.
Act 7:47 But Solomon built it.
Act 7:48 "Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,
Act 7:49 "Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth. So what kind of house will you build me?" says God. "Where I can get away and relax?
Act 7:50 It's already built, and I built it."

Sermon on CD/DVD/Cassette or online

So you just sat through a great sermon and thought "Wow, my friend/neighbor/family member/whoever could really benefit from hearing this." Do I go in next week and purchase the CD/DVD/Cassette and hand it to them, or do I email them a link to the sermon online?

Is there a difference?

CNN interview with Craig from Lifechurch

A CNN HLN interview with Craig - lead pastor at Lifechurch

Learning opportunity

Nothing thought provoking the next few days. Excited to be heading to Oklahoma City tomorrow to hang with the Lifechurch.tv gang, try to learn as much as I can and spend time in worship with them.

Cannot wait, and thank you ahead of time for taking the time out of your weekend to show me around your campuses.

minister from afar

Have you ever been talking on the phone with a friend and they tell you things are going rough for them right now? Then what do you do? Have you ever prayed for them right there, on the phone? If you have, how did they feel afterward, did it lift their spirits? Well wouldn't this also work through a web meeting using Skype or some other online meeting place? How about a text message, especially if they work somewhere they cannot take phone calls, or get personal email?

I personally think that a text message in the middle of the day telling me that my friend was praying for me at that moment would lift my spirits. Is it the same as them being right there with me in person? No, but that is also an unrealistic expectation all the time, although I would love to be able to be at my friends or families side for every little bump in the journey of life. Maybe my friends and family are praying for me, but maybe they are just saying they are, but if they text me, or call me, or email me, then I know they took time and some effort to let me know for sure that they were thinking about me.

Technical difficulties

Let me start by saying I am a huge technology geek, and I am fully behind the church internet campus with streaming video. In my job I get to work with clients remotely a lot through various internet technologies. For the most part this works very well, the client saves money on travel expenses, I get to stay home with my family and not lose time flying back and forth, and many other benefits.

However, there are the times when this remote work is very difficult and very draining. Whether it is a lack of understanding between the 2 of us that cannot be relayed easily or difficulty with the actual technology, it just is hard and sometimes I want to give up on it.

The interesting thing though is that no where does Jesus say "Come, follow me and it will be easy". If you can find this passage in scripture, please forward it to me. The reality is that just because we follow Jesus and are trying to spread the gospel, it is not always easy, and in some cases it is very hard. So, my point is, teaching the gospel through the internet can be done, and if it is what God is leading you to do, pray for strength and energy, and with His help, you can persevere.

God bless,
Marty

Internet becoming main communications tool

As we look at the internet and it's use today, it is far from the original intentions. Today we are able to upload videos for the world to see, and rent movies to watch on our home computers that can be connected to our big screen TVs, as well as communicate the old fashioned way of email. We can research things to buy, buy them, and have them shipped without leaving the house (even our food), and now I can do this through a web enabled phone no less. I can get an accredited college education from a number of schools without setting foot on their campus, and some are only available online without any physical classrooms.

So, if I can sit in my house and learn biology, math, physics, languages, art, whatever, why not theology? Is there harm to teach the Bible through an online church campus? Is this even the right argument?

Just getting started

This blog is about technology and theology. Can the church use technology or even create new technology in order to minister to people.

This is going to be a combination of my thoughts, other churches, interviews, and Bible content. It is not the answer to the question but a thought provoking discussion.