A church in your hand

A stunning bit of news out of Honolulu: a church there, New Hope Christian Fellowship is going to stream their services live to iPhone and iPod touch users starting this weekend.  The release of the new iPhone and the new updated software makes this possible.

The churches Director of  Technology and Innovations,  Michael Sharpe states,

“Typically, churches are years behind other organizations when it comes to technology and innovation. We have tried to reverse that trend and pioneer new ways to spread the Gospel using the most current tools available,”  “We don’t mind the long hours and stress that comes with innovating because we know that if we can come up with something useful, it can be used by other churches around the world.”

Wow.  The capacity to participate in church on your own, wherever you might be.  If this continues to grow in popularity we might see a completly new ecclesiology develop, a new understanding of what it means to be gathered in community.  No longer do we have to be physically present to participate, or do we have to be committed to engage.  We can drop in and out as we please and remain completly anonymous.

I would be interested in your thoughts.

A Bit of History

Rummaging around my hard drive I came across a very short video of my baptism from 1987.  I was just 15 years old.. so young and so skinny!  I recall how blown away I was by the experience, deeply moved by an overwhelming sense of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit.  Just a few months before I had given my life to Jesus in a dramatic conversion, and through one of my mates Glyn, had become involved in Leeming Baptist Church.  This was all part of God’s plan, that church gave me a solid introduction to the Bible and to the faith.  Under the careful guide of Pastor David Snell I began my Christian walk.  I remember my first church service as well, what stands out is how weird I thought it all was, particularly all these people singing in public together!

Also out of interest, in the video you will see the first time I spoke in front of a church.

Virtual Sacraments?

One of the key challenges with online worship is how to incorporate the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is a physical experience from witnessing the act to receiving bread and wine.  But it is also a spiritual experience in that the key action is invisible, caused by God who acts within the liturgy.   So would it be possible to have a virtual communion, a virtual sacrament?

The Revd Professor Paul S. Fiddes, who is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Oxford and Director of Research, Regent’s Park College, has just written a very interesting short paper called,  Sacraments in a Virtual World?

With his permission I reproduce it here; your thoughts are welcome!

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           Summary: An avatar can receive the bread and wine of the Eucharist within the logic of the virtual world and it will still be a means of grace, since God is present in a virtual world in a way that is suitable for its inhabitants. We may expect that the grace received by the avatar will be shared in some way by the person behind the avatar, because the person in our everyday world has a complex relationship with his or her persona.Argument:

1. The key theological question is whether the triune God is present, and whether Christ is incarnate (in some form, including the church) within the virtual world.[1] If the answer is yes, then one can conceive of the mediation of grace through the materials of that world, i.e. through digital representations.

Grace is, of course, not a substance but the gracious presence of God, coming to transform personality and society. In sacrament, God takes the occasion of bodies in creation to be present in an intense or ‘focused’ way to renew life.

2. One ought not to assume that cyberspace is a disembodied world.  The net is composed of a form of energy, just as is the familiar ‘physical’ world in which we operate everyday. Moreover, the persons behind the avatars are in physical connection with the virtual world - through many of the senses (sight, hearing, touch - i.e. keyboard, mouse). Anyway, mental activity always has a physical base in the brain. Studies have shown that people feel a bodily connection with those with whom they are communicating over the net. Continue reading »

Personal Announcement

I have taken the decision not to extend my contract as CEO of Bible Society New Zealand. This means I will finish up in March 2010. Over my time with Bible Society I have led the organisation through a period of contemporisation, with changes to structures, systems and strategy.

This from David Harrison, the chair of the Bible Society board:

“Mark Brown has had a major impact in the 30 months he has been Chief Executive of Bible Society. He has led us through a significant period of change and he has helped future-proof our organisation with a fresher, younger profile and approach,”

“Mark remains fully in charge until March next year but we are starting the search now so as to give us the time to make sure we get the right person to follow on from Mark and then to appoint him or her in time to have a seamless transition.

Bible Society has been greatly blessed under Mark’s leadership and there is a real momentum to the mission, both domestically and internationally, that we want to build on. We anticipate naming Mark’s successor later this year.”

So what next for me?  The plan is to spend around 6 months completing my business doctorate; aside from that, a matter of prayer and discernment!

HELP! CRISIS! now what.

There is no true change without crisis. Developmental psychologist, Erik Erikson states that we move through stages of development and that maturity comes from moving through the various stages. To mature to the next stage we need to experience a crisis, something that challenges our usual approach to life. With this understanding crisis = opportunity. Opportunity to improve, to mature. But it doesn’t comes easily. We might need to let go of something cherished, a security, a comfort, so as to move on.

The same applies to the church and to ministries: to change requires a crisis of sorts.

For very understandable reasons those in ministry establish methods and approaches and stick to them. Any change is minimal and carefully managed. It is rare to see major shifts. Most churches continue to use the same approach on a sunday that has been used for decades. Each denomination has their version and each church their local interpretation, but most churches all basically follow what they are used to.  The question is, Is it still relevant? Continue reading »

Ta tah!! I present the farewell service highlights video..

Check out the 6 min. vid highlight from my farewell service at the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life..

Is the Bible Good For You?

I came across some interesting research by Leslie Francis which sought to find out whether regular reading of the Bible affects the chance of taking drugs amongst 13-15 year olds.The first thing Francis found was that only 2% of those surveyed read the Bible daily, with 66% reporting they never read the Bible and 29% saying they read it occasionally. This is supported by research by Bible Society New Zealand , although a different age group (15-24 year olds) it equally portrays an appalling level of Bible engagement. Francis’ research displayed that if the young person believes in God and regularly reads the Bible, they are more likely to adopt a more negative attitude toward drug use than young people who believe in God but do not read the Bible.  Francis also discovered that,

While believers who attend church and believers who do not attend church hold similar attitudes toward substance use, believers who read the Bible hold a less tolerant attitude toward substance use than believers who do not read the Bible. In other words, Bible reading is clearly associated with taking a firmer stand against substance use. (p.55-56)

In the US nearly 10% of 12 to 17 year olds use an illicit drug, which aside from the risk it poses to personal health, relationships with parents and peers, it places the young person at considerable risk:

In the United States, approximately three-fourths of all deaths among persons aged 10–24 years result from only four causes: motor-vehicle crashes, other unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide. Results from the 1999 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey demonstrate that numerous high school students engage in behaviors that increase their likelihood of death from these four causes…[including alcohol and illicit drug use]” Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Centers for Disease Control, Risk Youth Behavior Surveillance.

What sort of effect could we see if the number of young people regularly reading the Bible grew from 2%?  This isn’t about artificially ramming Bible rules down their throat, but of exposing them to the transformative Word of God, giving them a biblical world view that values health and life.

What do you think?

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Ref:  Leslie J Francis.  (2002). THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIBLE READING AND ATTITUDE TOWARD SUBSTANCE USE AMONG 13-15 YEAR OLDS. Religious Education, 97(1), 44-60. 

Farewell Anglican Cathedral of Second Life

Back in Feb 07 I came up with the wild idea of planting an Anglican Cathedral in the virtual World of Second Life.  A couple of amazing people caught that vision and in July of 07 the first service was held in the newly built Cathedral.  Over the past two years that wild idea has grown into a real, substantial ministry with there now being offered 7 services a week, a bible study, discussion group and hundreds of encounters, all conducted online.  And the time has come for me to retire from this pioneer ministry.  The hugely competent leadership team will take the ministry forward and I am certain that it will grow and continue to influence how we understand church. This weekend is my final service, my farewell and you are welcome to attend!

The service is Saturday 8pm Los Angeles time. Click here to see what time this is where you are.

Curious what the ministry will do going forward? Check out the blog post on the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life blog by clicking here.

To get to the Cathedral

If you are signed up to Second Life: to get to the Cathedral to attend the service click here.

If you need to sign up to Second Life: check out my blog post by clicking here.

For more background info see: Christian Mission to a Virtual World (1030)

Why I don’t like Twitter But Stay Involved

I am an active Twitter user posting multiple times most days.  I have set up several accounts:  @revmarkbrown (6,109 followers), @Bible4U (6,584 followers), @AnglicanChurch (151 followers) and @Prayer4U (431 followers). But to be honest I really don’t like it.  Why?  I am really not that interested in sharing the minor details of my day..  the ‘had breakfast.. cereal was amazing’ kind of stuff that Twitter usage demands.

But then recently I received the following message from a good friend, Seth:

 For me Twitter has been a revelation as I have gained insights in the day to day thinking of many of my ministry hero’s. The way they talk, think and their basic positivity has rubbed off. I feel closer to them. I follow them as they follow Christ. There are things Mark that you have in you life that I am only aware of, am exposed to because of these cyber tools. Twitter for me is one of the best for finding out what great leaders do in their day. What goes on in their head is better than whats on TV. These are men under great stress yet they have an opportunity to give a faith filled update of their day. As I have emulated their behavior (not necessarily a bad thing) I have gained a tool to connect people to the Vision of my local church and to pass on valuable resources as some of the most resourced men and women in the world pass them on my way (via blogs and twitter). The chatter that is filling my heart and mind is starting to combat that of the media of the day.

And that is why I stay involved.  As much as I dislike Twitter, with its 140 character limitation and oodles of get rich schemes that bombard you, I can see that it is one potentially powerful way of influencing.  So though it isn’t a natural space for me, something I would by choice be involved with, I stay involved as I believe leaders need to expose themselves to new innovations, explore them, and make them work.  It is essential to seek to understand not only this generation, but to grasp where things are heading.

And where are we heading with Twitter?  How will it affect communication?

1)  Synchronous communication - sharing events, news as it is happening, real time.

2)  Simplicity and brevity.  I don’t have time, make it quick.

3)  News reporting in the hands of non journalists (huge shift still to fully bite).

4)  Popularity defined, not only by advertising pulling power but the ability to attract followers.

5)  Will add to the emerging reality of online community with virtual connections becoming as significant as face to face.

Global Internet Evangelism

Check out this very cool ministry.. hats off to Campus Crusade.

Source: PRNewswire –

Millions of people around the world are searching for God. In response, Global Media Outreach (GMO), a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International, is sending faithful churchgoers … to their computers, training them to become online missionaries out of their homes.”People are looking for answers. And, not surprisingly, they are looking for those answers on the Internet,” says Dr. Allan Beeber, director of GMO’s Orlando office.

According to Beeber, about 3 million online searches are made daily that are of a spiritual nature (e.g. “I need God,” “Who is Jesus?”). GMO has created 90 themed Web sites — the modern-day equivalent of Gospel tracts — to correspond with those searches. There are sites in every major language on a wide variety of topics: from TalesofNarnia.com to GodLovesMarines.com to whoisJesus-really.com. The results are astounding. Continue reading »