Are We Shooting Our Churches in the Foot?
I’m not sure what my reaction would be to a gunshot wound, but I’m pretty certain it wouldn’t be appropriate for young children. In fact, I might be even too stunned to speak. And for anyone getting any ideas out there, this is not an invitation to see what the results would be…thanks.
However, there is a movement in the church today that just might be what we’re looking for in order to be relevant, but it also just might be what ends up killing off more church families. The movement I speak of is most commonly called “social networking”. The use of Twitter, Facebook and MySpace by church communities has exploded in recent years, I, myself, being one of those users. I have enjoyed engaging theologians through Twitter and actually having church members help pick and write sermons with me through Facebook. What’s wrong with connection?
In fact, being a United Methodist pastor, I really am all about connection and have really enjoyed using Facebook during work to stay connected with churches past and present, as well as ministry colleagues. However, I received an article on my desk from a member just a couple of days ago about the growing use of Twitter in worship services, both the good and the bad sides.
Twittering worship services has gotten some church communities a lot of press recently and made them “hip” in the eyes of unchurched teenagers who want a place that speaks their language. The idea behind the church tweets is the expansion of the worship service to the whole world. Anyone can now get the message of the sermon and experience in a small portion the teaching of God’s Word. This also occurs through applications and status updates on Facebook, and in fact, it has never been so easy to reach so many people with the Word of God then in the present day.
But at what cost?
I shared with a friend of mine about my infatuation with Lifechurch.tv and their online worship experiences. I don’t necessarily think they are the greatest speakers in the world, but I’m fascinated with the idea of reaching as many people for Christ where they are…on the world wide web. I have this dream of 10 different people watching our service in a completely other state and finding a way to hook those people up in an actual community together. But my friend was less optimistic.
How would they receive communion?
How would they receive baptism?
Would they even know how to talk to anyone else face to face?
Is there really a community of trust and love if you never see the other people?
We might be shooting ourselves in the foot. When we tell people to engage in church electronically are we saying the same things as Amazon.com and online shopping? “Don’t bother to come, we’ll make it easier on you. Just tune in to Twitter and get the 140-character sound byte.” It’ll almost be as though CNN took over sermons. We’ll have sermons that are 2 sentences long to explain a scripture passage that is 2 pages long. Already, I can hear the masses getting excited…shorter lines at restaurants at 10:15 than at 10:45.
I’m nervous about the amount that churches are attempting to push people online, despite my growing interest in engaging in it. I wonder if we can truly say that you’re engaging in the Body of Christ if you never partake of the same loaf together. I wonder if we can initiate you into the Body of Christ, if you never see the faces, or feel the touches of those you are to be in a family with. I also doubt the effectiveness of a wonderful text message verses a passionate one on one conversation. There is a reason that people move from e-harmony.com to actually sitting with each other in a restaurant.
I hope that we can truly utilize modern technology to the glory of God’s Kingdom, but I also hope that by trying to ride the wave of change that we do not change too much into a Body of Christ that never quite joins together. Imagine the destruction that could happen if we can’t come together to build a Habitat for Humanity house because we just never get together. Imagine the loss of community that comes from never holding hands as you pray (sorry, emoticons and cute parenthesis use won’t cut it).
May God use all of humanity’s creations for the glory of God’s will and let us join in that movement, and let us more importantly not get in the way.
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Powerful thoughts, David.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if churches like mine (who are populated with non-technophiles) feel like they are being lost in the shuffle as more and more of the "big churches in town" are using technology to increase their outreach efforts and connect more people to their church?
As a Gen X pastor, I struggle, as you do, to want to incorporate technology into worship and other aspects of church life, but have to remember who my congregation is when I try to go too far out on the limb too quickly.
I also wonder if churches who are using Twitter and Facebook regularly to engage congregants have an on-site system to get those who are digitally connected, physically connected with the life of the church.
Great questions, we're trying to figure all of this out. I just can't get past the need for physical, eye to eye, hand to hand connection at the church or somewhere in life to worship.
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