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Church, online or off, is about the middle
I’m a fan of Seth Godin’s pithy wisdom along with thousands of other people. I like him most when he pops bubbles, as he did with this comment over the weekend on The Paradox of the Middle of the...
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Community is about doing something together
Reading Mark Batterson’s recent interview with Neue Ministry on community rung so many bells it felt like a carnival in my head this morning. Some choice snippets: (emphasis mine) “To me, the greatest...
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Worship with your phone?
It was only a matter of time before the mobile revolution caught up with the online church revolution. The result: A Hawaii church, New Hope Christian Fellowship, will become the first to livestream...
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How deep is the divide between technology and religion?
Beth Kantor had an interesting post today at her social media blog, lending her expertise and considerable network of social media professionals to trying to leverage faith using digital tools. Here’s...
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Online church connection not community?
I’ve been thrilled about the entry of North Point into the online ministry space. With such a world class staff, there’s no question that we’ll learn a ton from their efforts. I thought its most recent...
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Is community more broken than we think?
Eastern Orthodoxy sees the church as “truly the Ark in which mankind may be saved from the flood of corruption and sin.” It’s more than just a family. It’s literally the “mothership.” It’s actually...
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How to be the church on the web
I’m enjoying the recent spike in Christian blog chatter about the web and the church, which is being touched off by the impending Christian Web Conference, which I am hoping to attend. I thought Tall...
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Eavesdropping on the soul in the statussphere can help you fight for joy
“When the Word of God, tailored to our need, comes to us in a per- son who gives us his very self, there is a great triumph of love that almost always leads to joy.” – John Piper, When I Don’t Desire...
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The Big Question
“Instead of asking, “Is virtual community real community?” Let’s spend more time considering “What is Biblical community?” Which leads us to consider “How can technology assist the life of a Biblical...
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“The local sermon is crumbling”
A few months ago, I caused quite a stir with my post “The Rise of Net Campuses: Are Local Churches on the Ropes?” It picked up 903 page views, and dozens of comments, which in my opinion far outclassed...
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A tuneup for the NewSpring Web Service
It doesn’t feel like 8 months since NewSpring launched Sunday worship services on the Web, and it’s hard to believe how much they have become a part of NewSpring life for nearly 800 people week after...
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Digging SimChurch
I’ve been excited about Doug Estes book SimChurch ever since I heard about it in the spring. I’ve been among a number of web pastors/bloggers who have been trying to break through the resistance to...
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Parting thoughts on my year as NewSpring’s Web Campus pastor, part 1
(Update: You can read the other three parts of this blog series, here, here and here.) A new chapter in NewSpring’s web ministry begins Sunday with the launch of NewSpringLive, a live streaming webcast...
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Web Church reflections, Part 2: Proclaiming the Gospel
This is a blog series of personal observations from my year as NewSpring’s web pastor. Read Part 1, Part 3 and Part 4. (In all references to “web church,” it’s simply a shorthand for the (re)creation...
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Web Church reflections, part 3: The Spiritual Power of Interactivity
This is a blog series of personal observations from my year as NewSpring’s web pastor. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 4 Any references to “web church” are shorthand for “doing church online.” There are...
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Web Church reflections, part 4: Online discipling can be a difference maker
This is a blog series of personal observations from my year as NewSpring’s web pastor. Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Any references to “web church” are shorthand for “doing church online.” There are...
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Web church challenges, part 1: Is it even necessary?
My reflections on my year as NewSpring’s Web Pastor have focused on what I see as the Web Church’s three potentially strongest contributions to the greater church: proclaiming the gospel and enhanced...
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Web church challenges, part 2: Is it fruitful?
Part 1, of this blog series bidding goodbye to web pastoring focused on the Biblical warrant for only physical church planting. So if in fact the highest and fullest expression of “being the church”...
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Web Church challenges, part 3: Is it dangerous?
Part 1, of this blog series bidding goodbye to web pastoring focused on the Biblical warrant for only physical church planting. And Part 2 questioned whether web churches might be helpful in discipling...
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Journey’s End
Thanks for stopping by. This blog capturing my thoughts during NewSpring’s experiment in online church has run its course. Below are my favorite and most provocative posts for your reading pleasure....
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