Recently, I was interviewed by 88.3 The Wind (a local Christian radio station) regarding Selmore's Centennial Celebration. You can hear the interview by going to this webpage, and scrolling down to the Selmore link. One of the questions I was asked, as part of the interview, was what I think about "virtual church," in which people "do church" from their home via a computer, instead of actually meeting with other believers at a physical location.
Now, I like to think that I am pretty "pro technology" when it comes to church. I believe technology can be a wonderful tool for Kingdom work. Nevertheless, if you listen to the interview, you will hear that I'm pretty skeptical of the "virtual church." Here are a few of the questions I have after thinking about it a little more...
1) The command in Hebrews 10 "not to forsake assembling" is based on the principle of "considering one another." In other words, we don't only go to church for ourselves, but to bless others. Does the desire to attend church online stem from a heart to bless others, or ourself?(convenience)
2) How does this affect the observance of the ordinances? (Can baptism and the Lord's Supper be properly observed online?)
3) How does this affect the ability of people to exercise their spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body? Doesn't the very nature of some of the gifts necessitate personal interaction?
4) Scripture tells mature believers to be an example to the young believers. Can this modeling take place online?
5) One key distinctive of a church, is that it is a "covenant community." There is accountability. Is true accountability possible in an online congregation?
6) If love is the perfect bond of the church, can love really be developed online, past an initial stage? (Even online dating couples eventually have to meet.)
Now if you'll excuse me, (just to prove I'm not anti-technology) I need to log off my blog, so I can install a wireless router, to work in conjunction with my cable modem, so that I can work on my laptop computer while I watch my satellite television, and talk on my cell phone!