The Future of Virtual Ministry
Today I preached my last message in the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life and chose to focus on the future of Virtual Ministry. I pointed out that research shows a majority of Christians don’t regularly attend church and stated that the usual solution of attempting to make church attractive is only part of the answer. I shared that we as a church need to go where people are, as well as expecting people to come to us.
To listen to the message click on the play button below..
And at the end of the service I was quite moved when those worshiping, spontaneously gathered around me to pray for me.
Check out the images from the service below…
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Filed under Sermon, Virtual Reality, Web 2.0 | |
3 Responses to “The Future of Virtual Ministry”
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It is an exciting time, and I hope to see virtual Anglican ministry firmly established with the necessary organisationsl structure in place in the next few years.
I am sure I join many in thanking you, Mark, for your sterling work in this area, and I wish you every success in the future, wherever God leads you.
It was a privelidge to meet you that time when you came to Guildford. God bless.
What is your definition of a “Christian” if you can end up with “a majority of Christians don’t regularly attend church” - it sounds like a new definition of rugby player who only plays by himself in his back yard. It used to be you became a Christian by joining the church, the body of Christ. Have I missed something?
Mark, I have attended a couple of services in the SL cathedral and found the worship experience interesting but sorely lacking.Now what disturbed me was not so much the virtual people, avatars, false identities that gathered in this virtual space,for we experience such falsehoods in RL worship spaces too.
But as I sat in my living room directing my Avatar to sit in a virtual pew two rows from the front on the left side of the SL worship space, I became immediately aware that, in this digitally crafted sanctuary, the warmth of spirit that embraces us as we gather together in communal worship. I missed the hugs and handshakes, the warm smiles and animated conversation during the sharing of the Peace. I missed seeing the congregation encouraging other in their own human struggles.
We must reflect, I think, on what it is to gather in Jesus’ name without limiting what is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.
My instinct is that online virtual churches fall short of authentic Christian communities of faith. Now we all know that not all real life churches can be described as authentic communities of faith either, many fall a long way short of the ideals of Christian life together bur still offer possibilities of rebirth and a strengthening faith that do not seem possible to me in online pseudo-communities where most don’t even use their own names.
RL churches need to seriously examine what it is that forces seekers to gather online rather than enter the supposedly welcoming doors of the local church.
What is it that turns people off?
What are the reasons for so many first time visitors not coming back?
I heard recently at a church “we have a reputation for chewing up pastors and spitting them out”, if this is the kind of thing that a congregation is proud of, the fact that they have managed to keep the average duration of their pastoral leadership down to 3.5 years is worn like a badge of honour,how likely are they to welcome a visitor or invite someone to worship with them?
Churches need to seriously examine the welcome that seekers experience, people with the necessary gifts need to be specially trained to welcome people in to the church and to make them feel comfortable.
These people honour us by visiting our sanctuaries to share their spiritual journeys with ours. By failing to welcome them into our communities we insult them and we insult God.
I think that the United Methodist Church is on to something with it’s Rethink Church campaign which encourages seekers to explore and express the many ways they can participate in the transformation of the world by becoming and by inviting others to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
I am convinced that the prophetic role of the church is to stand as a counterpoint to the culture, offering the alternative of life in communities of Shalom, while keeping a constant critical eye on it’s own role in repelling believers and to stay abreast of emerging technologies, reacting creatively in ways that call seekers out of their exile in digital pseudo-community.