PBS Interview

A couple of months back I was interviewed for a PBS documentary in the US on Second Life for the Religion and Ethics News Weekly show.  To view it head to there website by clicking here.

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 (1527)

You don’t seriously think that online church is real church!?

The question I get the most about the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life is, ‘How can a church online be a real church?’

In this message preached this past weekend in the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life, I answer this question!
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To subscribe to my messages via iTunes click here.

Virtual Ministry? Really?

This weekend I will be preaching my second last message at the Saturday 8pm service in the  Anglican Cathedral of Second Life.  I will be speaking on Virtual Ministry?  Really?   Answering the question, ‘Is this really church?’

The service is 8pm Saturday Los Angeles time.  Click here to see what time this is in your part of the world.  Next week, Saturday June 6th, will be my final message and I will be speaking on :  What does the future hold for Virtual Ministry? 

And my final service on the 13th will be a farewell..  You are welcome to come and join us!

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 (1527)

A Brief History of the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life

In this short reflection I outline a history of the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life. From a wild idea to a significant ministry.

Originally preached in the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life, May 23/24th .
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To subscribe to my messages via iTunes click here.

The Final Weeks

Over the past two and and a half years I have been heavily involved in the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life.  And now I have just four weeks left before I retire from active involvement.

The service I lead is 8pm Saturday Los Angeles time.  Click here to see what time this is in your part of the world.  The preaching plan for my final four weeks is:

Saturday May 23rd:  A brief reflection on the history of the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life.

Saturday May 30th:  Virtual Ministry?  Really?

Saturday June 6th:  What does the future hold for Virtual Ministry?

And my final service on the 13th will be a farewell..  You are welcome to come and join us!

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 (1527)

Personal Announcement Regarding my Involvement in the Anglican Ministry in Second Life

This June will signify two and a half years of founding the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life and two years of offering worship services. Over that time we have grown to seven services, a discussion group, Bible Study and numerous fellowship, prayer and counseling encounters around the virtual Cathedral. And over that time the leadership of the ministry has matured into a robust and impressive leadership team.

The time has come for me to retire from active involvement in the Second Life Anglican ministry.  The plan is to remain involved in an advisory capacity. On the 14th of June I will be stepping down from the leadership team, leading services and in being involved in the day to day operations.  This decision is brought about due to increasing time pressures in my personal and professional life including a growing family and new responsibilities within my work and ministries .

I want to assure you that the ministry of the Anglican Cathedral in the virtual world will continue to flourish in this time of transition and beyond, under the expert guidance of the leadership team.

It is a real pleasure to serve God in this unusual setting.  I am firmly convinced that God is the God of the virtual space.  There is much the church needs to do to make the most of the internet; this isn’t about producing yet another website or blog, but of reconfiguring what church is, to best interface with the digital generation.  But also, we the church need to speak boldly into that same generation so as to influence it towards all that we hold dear in the Anglican tradition.

An exciting mission indeed!

God bless,

Rev Mark Brown

The Leadership Team have also released a Statement about my retirement.  Check it out by clicking here.

Oh your the online church guy.. hmm.

In just a few months time services being run at my church plant, The Anglican Cathedral in Second Life will be 2 years old.  What started out as a wild idea: being church in the virtual space, has grown into something quite serious.  There are now seven services a week run by five leaders, a Bible study, active discussion group and nearly 600 members.  The ministry is overseen by a leadership team of eight who are active in their work of all that is needed for a new ministry.

Right now the question is being asked, how is the ministry going?  What is working?  What needs work?  If you would like to fill out a survey on the ministry click here.  Your feedback is welcome!

And if you have no idea what I am talking about, then why not come along and check out a service?  I am leading one this weekend  Saturday 7pm Second Life time.  Click here to see what time this is in your part of the world.

I am preaching on, ‘The Point of Life is Death and the Point of Death is Life - huh?’ Where ever you live come along! Be great to see you at the virtual Cathedral.  So how to get to the Cath?

If you are signed up to Second Life:  to get to the Cathedral 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 (1527)

Or for a more general overview of the Anglican ministry in SL  click here.

Is online community real community?

Recently the influential National Pastors Convention happened in the US.  One of the speakers was Shane Hipps author of the recently released Flickering Pixels who recorded an interview on the nature of online community.  In the interview he boldly stated that ‘virtual community is not community.’  To check out the interview click here. Hipps then stated on his blog,

When I say that “virtual community” is not “community,” that does not mean it has no value. As I indicated in the interview, I know that all kinds of deeply meaningful connections and interactions happen online all the time. I have experienced them myself. Some may want to call this “community.” Fair enough. I just don’t call it “community.” That is not intended to dismiss or demean any one’s experience online.

Of the range of responses posted the one that impressed me the most was by Douglas Estes, author of the soon to be released book, SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World.  I contacted him and he was happy for his response to be re-printed on BrownBlog.  So here it is:

Last month on the Out of Ur blog, Shane Hipps shared in an impromptu interview at NPC what he believes to be severe problems with labeling online connections as “virtual community”. Scot McKnight raised some questions (view comments); Anne Jackson mostly defended (view comments). Not to mention Shane’s clarifications. As much as I tremendously respect Shane, I feel I cannot let his fundamentally flawed assertions (and assumptions) about virtual community go unchallenged.

First, let me tell you what meaning virtual community has for me: on the one hand, I seldom participate in any type of virtual community. I’ve attended a number of virtual churches, but for the sake of my marriage I’ve stayed away from World of Warcraft, and I don’t blog (this is my very first!), Twitter, or yet do much else online as far as community goes; on the other hand, I’ve spent the last year asking some hard questions about virtual community for my forthcoming book, SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World (Zondervan, 2009). Hard questions that started not by what I felt community to be, but hard questions that came out of my readings of the Fathers, church history, theology, and philosophy as they relate to community.

Let me start with a pointed critique of Shane’s criticisms of virtual community. He lists four necessary ingredients at the beginning of the interview, the first three of which he argues are lacking or absent in virtual community: Continue reading »

Virtual Church.. and you are invited!

This weekend I am leading a new service at the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life: Saturday 7pm Second Life time.  Click here to see what time this is in your part of the world.

I am preaching on  ‘Lent is a time for what?.’Where ever you live come along! Be great to see you at the virtual Cathedral.  So how to get to the Cath?

If you are signed up to Second Life:  to get to the Cathedral 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 (1527)

Or for a more general overview of the Anglican ministry in SL  click here.