Douglas Estes in a Christianpost article defends the virtual church concept. He asks, “Isn’t church supposed to be about people in communion with God rather than the building? … Since when does the location of a church determine the quality of its community?”
How and where we do church has been a issue for centuries now. George Barna advocate for home groups over public gatherings. Mark Dever believes true churches are only local churches with at least nine marks. Nick Charalambous web pastor for NewSpring church advocates the validity and necessity for virtual church to reach a networked lost generation. Who is right and where did this problem begin. It began in the Reformation era.
The Reformed traditions challenged and reevaluated everything about the Church. Most eventually concluded that there are three valid marks of a true church. The word rightly preached, the sacrament rightly given, and church discipline practiced.
Let me add to the chorus that the virtual church concept can bring about good. It can allow for the word to be rightly preached and for people to connect to it. It can allow for spiritual songs to one another which we call worship. This is good particularly in an age where there is so much bad theology in preaching and music.
All the good aspects do not validate the concept of the virtual church since it excludes two marks of a true church. The sacraments which Jesus commanded for a gathered body to do regularly become casualties since individuals can not practice communion or baptism individually. Why not? Jesus intended these to be public events. These sacraments bring the physical realm and senses into submission to God through physical acts in a physical fellowship of saints and sinners.
Virtual church unintentionally creates a dualism between the physical and the spiritual as it divorces the personal spiritual from the corporate physical. Anything that segregates the spiritual and physical is dangerous. It runs the risks or turning the concept of church into something intrinsically personal when it was meant to be explicitly communal.
Doug Estes equates the gathering of the church with the building where they meet. He says the church isn’t the building. He’s right! It never was meant to be. The church is the collective embodied souls gathering together to become one as they meet. Location would not matter if if it did not break the idea of church as a physical gathering in a physical place. “Neglect not the gathering together of the saints which is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25). The physical act of gathering was very important to the first believers. It should be to us as well.
Physical churches aren’t perfect but they are God’s starting point. God desires communion with him in the context of physical communion with others. Virtual church is here for a while but it can not foster the inter-connectivity of the Church that Jesus envisioned as a publicly gathered group of saints and sinners standing together before him.
Possibly related posts:
- defining virtual church
- Disconnected, Jim Baker & Virtual Faith
- Advent, Disconnected, Identity and Branding
- Disconnected
- Virtual Community
I have to say the personal interaction that is missing from a "web based" church makes me ask some questions. In the end the answers I come up with are the facts that the "net" has changed the landscape of life and culture. I believe that there are people that we will miss reaching with the gospel if we ignore this aspect of ministry. Chances are some of the these people would never enter the doors of church, and only come out of the house to work. The social disconnect already exists, online church will not create it, but maybe the only vehicle available to reach certain in our generation. Did Jesus command the sacraments to be done or did he give instructions on how, they should be observed, is baptism a command and requirement for salvation? Are to stuck on traditions of our fathers to allow God to move in the greatest surge of global connectivity to bee seen by humanity? Thoughts to ponder.
Interesting POV and I agree with it if the question is whether a virtual church is a real church. But can't we say the same thing about any para-church experience like an Intervarsity group or a community Bible study, or a mission organization? They don't have all the marks of a church and yet God seems to put up with them if not actually bless them.
There are also a lot of people, who may check out virtual church, or get involved in internet ministries, that will then be inspired or moved into physical churches and ministries. For folks who haven't grown up in church, or who have been hurt by the church, these internet based ministries offer a safe environment to sort of "test the waters". The Spirit can certainly move through these ministries, and create a desire for more. Internet ministry should never stop there, but a church should never neglect, or discount this aspect of our new world. I also know of several internet ministries that have varying ways of setting up physical gatherings/meetings which enables them to have, at least to some degree, accountability, and real fellowship. Again though, it shouldn't stop with virtual/internet church, as it falls far short of the ideal, but then again, I could say the same for several local/physical churches.
The internet can be useful. It can be used to edify, exhort, praise God, fellowship to a point, but it cannot replace church. Even though the early church did not have the ability for internet virtual church they could have had virtual distance church via sending letters of instruction. Sure, there would have been delays, but still…
Seriously, I see no biblical warrant for a virtual church. Even if some are attracted to it since it is virtual it still does not give them the sense of church as in the local body gathered. It just can't substitute. People in the Middle East, China, etc. risk their lives to meet with one another to worship God.
There was something about being in Jesus presence when He was here. There is something about being in the presence with other believers as we worship too. I don't want to "virtually" be there, I want to actually be there.
Now for my thoughts on the issue:
-I love churchonline. I watch it semi regularly for many reasons. Sometimes I (as with many) "attend" church online because I slept in too late or the weather is too bad to make it to church. I personally also watch it to see what things the church can do to glorify God via technology and the internet.
-When I am "attending" church online, I read the comments people leave in the chat rooms. There are a few different types of attenders. The first group is people who already attend a "physical" church and simply use churchonline as a supplement. The second group is people who have had a falling out with God or the church and haven't attended a physical church in years. I regularly see them talking about this at churchonline and they most often use virtual church as a halfway house if you will, on their way back to the physical church. I think this is a wonderful use of churchonline. I would even go as far as to say that it is the #1 intention/purpose/goal/mission of virtual church, though I have no solid evidence to support this claim, just my personal observations. I say this confidently because I don't see the virtual churches @ churchonline or newspring marketing virtual church as a permanent home. The third group I see is people from all over the wordl (especially 3rd world countries), who are not allowed to meet corporately and stumble onto churchonline, and form an underground community of believers who regularly watch church online from their homes. I personally experienced this during my time in Vietnam.
Here is one very real example of how virtual church is thriving, functioning, and bringing glory to God through a virtual world called Second Life. (From the site: " Second Life is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using free voice and text chat." secondlife.com)
Click the link for the original source @ swerve, the lifechurch.tv blog "We’ve already had a number of stories about people who have become followers of Christ through this virtual campus. We also have recently had people visiting our physical campuses who first attended LifeChurch.tv in Second Life. In fact, some readers of this blog are only here because I met them in SL." http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/category/second-life/
Here are two more posts on the purpose of virtual church specifically on Secondlife from Lifechurch.tv
Part 1 http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2007/03/28/why-second...
Part 2 http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2007/03/29/why-second...
To wrap up my thoughts…
I agree with Will's post here for the most part. Where I primarily disagree is concerning the intended purposes of virtual church. As already mentioned, I dont see ANY virtual church marketing itself as a final destination, but rather a bridge bringing people from not attending at all to attending regularly, serving, and growing at a physical church.
Thanks for such a great post Will :-)
First up…A link about taking communion from the most popular virtual church I know: Churchonline @ Lifechurch.tv This is just food for though ( http://internet.lifechurch.tv/2009/12/communion-a... FULL TEXT is also below)
"During the LifeChurch.tv Online Experiences from December 19th-23rd, we will be taking time to partake in communion as a community. Communion is the time we remember Jesus death and sacrifice. It is something very important for all the followers of Jesus in our community to participate in.
We would encourage you to come prepared by having your own elements ready (like bread and juice/wine) for the experience.
When viewing online, it can be easy to become disengaged. I want to encourage you all this next week to come with a heart ready to remember what Jesus has done on your behalf. Let’s take the time to remember Jesus suffering and death and worship Him for what He has done for us. This is why Jesus came to earth on that first Christmas to pay the price for our sin.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26"