With so much technology around us its difficult at times to tell the difference between reality and virtual reality. It would be really easy for me to say that I’m good friends with someone like Abraham piper or Frank Turk (two guys that are bloggers with lots of readers) simply because I have had a few “conversations” with them on twitter where I spoke and they responded. Now simply by using my phone I can see what my good friends in Texas are saying while I’m having lunch in the park in Arkansas.
With these thoughts in mind I can also get online at home (in Little Rock Arkansas) to listen to Matt Chandler (lead preaching pastor at the Village Church in Texas) preach to his church, tweet Michael Bleecker the worship pastor on the wonderful song choice, and encourage Josh Patterson (an elder at the Village Church) because he wrote a great blog post this week. This can all be done from home and give me the impression that I am just as much of a member as anyone at the Village Church as many of the covenanting members. The unfortunate part of this is that I’m the only one under this dilution. The members at the Village have no knowledge of me, I have not covenanted with the church, and I’m not having fellowship with any of them.
Ed Stetzer posted on twitter a blog post that quoted him when the writer was talking about the resent fad of internet churches and social media. There are some out there that try to bring church to those who won’t go (this is not referring to those who are unable to go for health or physical reasons other than the early morning weekend blues). These have made it so that all the things you would want in a church are supplied from worship and preaching to the message boards allowing for conversation.
Ed said this in the blog post “there is no such thing as an internet church.” Those who regard the church in this manner and participate only by the live streaming of the worship service and “conversing on message boards are short circuiting the fellowship of the saints and their own spiritual growth.”
The writer of the blog states that Stetzer used “classic text” of Hebrews 10:25. http://baptistmessenger.com/the-rise-of-social-media/
So for myself and all of you I pray that we never fall into the trap of watching a monitor instead of communing with our brothers and sisters. I have seen a few friends fall victim to this mentality. I at times have even lingered far to long on the thought of how much easier things would be if I watched the sermon at home and then led a devotion and worship with my family instead of attending. Gas may not be cheap and humans may be hard to get along with. But the sacrifice of covenanting with a local church could be devastating to our walk in Christ.
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