EDITORIAL:
'Cyberchurch' demands response
___Theologically speaking, how do you define "gathered"? Jesus told his disciples, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).
___For most of church history, Christians commonly considered him to mean meeting in one place for worship. The Lord's promise of presence comforts small crowds. Back when I was a preacher-boy filling pulpits in the Panhandle, my brother, Martin, and I drove 50 miles in near-blizzard conditions to find only the Sunday School superintendent, his wife and toddler gathered for worship. We rejoiced in Jesus' promise to be there with us, and we were warmed.
___But gathering today may be taking on a new connotation, according to religion researcher George Barna. "Among the growing number of Americans who use the Internet, millions are turning to the digital dimension to get them in touch with God and others who pursue faith matters," he reported on the heels of a new study by his Barna Research Group. "Within this decade, as many as 50 million individuals may rely solely upon the Internet to provide their faith-based experiences."
___So, to what extent can Christians "gather" over the Internet? And what are the spiritual implications of cyber-religion?
___Fortunately, we don't have to figure out the answers before next Sunday. Only "8 percent of adults and 12 percent of teen-agers use the Internet for religious or spiritual experiences," Barna noted. "Less than 1 percent of all adults and just 2 percent of teens currently use the Internet as a substitute for a physical church." Worship planners aren't competing with websites. Yet.
___However, Americans already are "in the early stages of warming up to the idea of cyberfaith," Barna observed. More than two-thirds of survey respondents predicted they will use the Internet for religious pursuits in the next decade. They indicated the most attractive web-based religious alternatives are listening to religious teaching from Internet archives, reading devotionals online and ordering religious products and resources.
___Still, that doesn't rule out cyber-gathering for religious purposes. "If the research projections hold true, ... online worship would likely attract some 30 million to 35 million adults" by the end of the next decade. That's roughly twice the size of the Southern Baptist Convention and five times the size of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___The trend toward cyberchurch calls for two responses from Baptists and other concerned Christians--train it and transcend it.
___We can gain the most from the Internet by training it. We must master its principles, understand its potential and focus its power for good. Like every medium that has preceded it, the Internet will alter society. And like every medium that has preceded it, the web offers tremendous possibilities for both good and evil. Christians, including thousands of local churches, ought to utilize the best of the Internet for outreach, inreach and fulfilling the mission of Christ's church in their communities and far, far beyond.
___The Baptist Standard stands with Texas Baptist churches in this effort. We work with the Dallas Morning News and Koz.com to offer low-cost, easy-to-use websites and Internet tools such as e-mail, calendars and chatrooms to all our churches. See our website, www.goodnewstx.com.
___In a Christian Century essay, Mark Edwards, president emeritus of St. Olaf College in Minnesota, demonstrated how Protestants advanced the Reformation because they embraced the printing press decades before Roman Catholics realized its power. The implication is clear: Christians who harness Internet technology for good can advance the cause of Christ in ways previously not imagined.
___Nevertheless, the nature of Christianity calls us to transcend the web. The Protestant Reformers utilized the printing press to great advantage. But they changed the religious landscape because of their excitement for their cause, yearning for freedom and zeal for souls. Similarly, warm-hearted, evangelistic Christians can extend their reach through the Internet. But they will transform lives by touching them personally. New Testament professor Clint Dunagan was fond of telling Hardin-Simmons University students a generation ago, "Faith is relationship." The web may provide a first connection to people now unreached by the gospel. But they will grow in faith through up-close relationships in churches where people demonstrate the love of Christ.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
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