There’s been some discussion around about the “online church.” Some think it’s great that people can now “go to church” in their own homes; others decry the lack of fellowship. I’ve joined the discussion in an article that’s out on Heartlight today.
But I’d like to hear about you. I don’t think any of my regular readers substitute Internet websites for actual church fellowship. But do you listen to sermon online? Do you watch videos of sermons? How often? Are there certain preachers that you listen to regularly?
Patrick Mead, Josh Graves, JM Hicks, Mark Moore, NT Wright, John Dobbs, Jeff Walling
I rarely watch video because I listen while I’m up moving around at work.
While I love technology and the internet, I generally think it helps contribute to the individualism and other barriers that stand in the way of the genuine fellowship God envisions for his people. Having said that, the internet, which has already changed the way we do so many things, is certainly changing how we do church, conduct ministry, grow in faith, and so on (e.g., how much theology/doctrine is now learned online that was once learned from a few books and the local preacher?).
Grace and peace,
Rex
Ironically, I wonder if online sermons might offer an opportunity to reshape the assembly of the saints into a more healthy pattern?
If we could get more people to listen to sermons on their iPods, et al, we wouldn’t have to give so much assembly time to sermons — there’d be more time for communion, for public reading of Scripture, for dialogue.
What do you think? Am I dreaming?
Rex, I see the same pros and cons about the Internet that you see.
Nick, that’s a fascinating idea that I may explore a bit more in a future blog post. (That means you can’t write about it :-)
Grace and peace,
Tim