This is a Guest Post by Andrew Mason.
The “Mobile Church,” is that where we’re headed?
There are a lot of posts weighing in on this subject, and it’s absolutely fascinating. Some individuals seem to be celebrating the growth of their local church through multi-campus & online strategies, while others seem absolutely outraged at the concept. Some love the idea of a portable church environment that can basically be replicated in any venue, while others see it as another step in the “Walmartization of America” in which the mega-churches move in and muscle out the little guys.
Why would we be so worried about the spreading of the gospel? If technology is a tool to be used in communicating the message of God’s love, should we feel threatened when churches use it effectively to reach more people?
One day, we’ll probably be able to access talented communicators streaming live to our iphones & experience a life-changing message. There’s no doubt that the “church experience” is growing more portable. Regardless of the tools we use, shouldn’t there always be a flesh-and-blood relationship to support these experiences?
If we do feel threatened, were we trying to build our church, or the church?
Whatever the answer, this trend reminds us that the church isn’t a building, a cool website, a new technology, or any other tool we use.
Isn’t a church made up of people, regardless of who they are & where they meet?
Paul Steinbrueck says
Nice post Andrew. Raises some interesting questions for me….
Can a message really be "life-changing" if all we do is "access it?" I think not. Millions of people are already stimulated by great music and a well-delivered sermon every Sunday and then walk out of the church building feeling good but not really changed. I think life change usually requires reflection, action, and accountability to make it a part of who we are.
The church is the people, but can we be the church if we're not in physical proximity? I believe the core of the church is love for one another. Not loving feelings, but doing things that require sacrifice for one another – helping a friend move, helping a single parent with their kids, having friends over for dinner and unrushed conversation. As much as I love technology, I'm starting to believe we can only be a weak counterfeit of the church unless we are physically present with each other many times a week.
CoffeeWithChris says
I guess it all depends on the definitions of "gospel" and "church" that we start our thinking from. If the gospel is about people hearing about Christ, saying a prayer, and getting saved so they can have an escape to heaven, we will be thinking about these things in a much different way than if we think about gospel in terms of the gospel as the good news of heaven coming to earth to transform it.
The same goes for church, thinking about church as a means to help people escape to heaven will bring us to a much different place than if we think about church as partnering with God in creating transformation here on earth.
Simply latching onto a new bit of technology without first thinking about our theology will not help the cause at all.
adam lehman says
"One day, we’ll probably be able to access talented communicators streaming live to our iphones & experience a life-changing message."
yeah. and that day was about 10 years ago when podcast started being pumped out. how hard is it for me every week to sit through a sermon (at the church i work at!) when i've spent the weak listening to rob bell, francis chan, and john piper?
Paul Steinbrueck says
True. I'm starting to wonder why we've made the sermon the focal point of the church gathering. If you read 1 Cor 14:26-33 you'll see the early church did not have sermons.
"When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church…"
If church is just listening to some dude preach or singing along with a good band, that can be done anywhere but if it's a group of people joining together to glorify God and edify each other then that requires total participation and everyone being in the same room.
stephenbateman says
I'm gonna jump out on a little bit of a limb:
Isn't online (or mobile or holographic haha) church just a stop on the spiritual journey? and for 95% of people not the destination. Eventually real physical community is necessary, if available.
Paul Steinbrueck says
>>Isn't online church just a stop on the spiritual journey?
Stephen, I think that's a great question that I'm not sure anyone has answered. I'm not sure it can be answered. For what % of people who connect with a church online does it spur them towards engagement and what % of people does it spur disengagement by perpetuating the myth that's all there is to being a part of the body of Christ?
stephenbateman says
That ought to be at the forefront of strategy, ensuring that disconnected people that show up @ #churchonline leave understanding that we're glad they came, but we hope they don't stay forever!
Adam_S says
I am not sure you want to be kicking people out (which is what you seem to be suggesting). But instead help people find additional resources to grow. Many additional resources will include real life relationships and accountability. But there are some that will always be more comfortable in an online realm. (Some of those are disabled, have phobias dealing with crowds, etc.)
To me the point would seem to be, have people that are being reached been in church previously? If many or most are not being stolen from another church but are new evangelism then what is wrong with reaching out to people that are not currently being reached. And if people are not currently being reached then it will likely take something new to reach them. It is rare to reach someone that is currently unreached with something that we have already been doing and hasn't worked.
Chris Hill says
Maybe you’ve never encountered them or maybe you haven’t searched for them, but there are lots of people who don’t draw the line between “flesh & blood” relationships and “online” relationships. To them, thier online community is very real and no different from a “physical community”. Who are we to tell them their perspectives, emotions, and relationships are just a stop on their spiritual journey? Who are we to invalidate someone else’s personal life experience.
@stephenbateman: Could that 95% be 95% of the people you know and not an actual representation of the viewpoints of lost people in the world?
If you disagree with the points above, it’s okay. You can. Just know that you are not who the online/mobile church is trying to reach.
chrishill says
Forgot to log in earlier…doh!
Eric Granata says
I’m with Stephen (nice to see you in the wild). What we’ve confused for church (sermons and a few songs) is just a part of Church. Relationships outside of the Sunday morning experience is where I do most of my learning and growing.
I also think that being a member of God’s Kingdom requires much more than the consumption of the spiritual buffet to be found at churches and online campuses. Every member must take personal responsibility for their growth and spiritual health. That includes time in prayer, meditation on scriptures and personal (as opposed to corporate) worship.
I’m not ready to say that a healthy Christian MUST have real-world, “meatspace” relationships. While there is no doubt that such relationships are far better than those restricted to Twitter, chat rooms and email, the way that human behavior (and the church with it) has evolved over the years leads me to think that eventually these types of relationships will be held in the same regard as “real” ones.
By the way (I hope this is okay), I wrote a post a few months ago about churches and iPhone apps. It relates to this post in that it presents several scenarios where an iPhone or mobile app could enhance a physical church service. http://churchtechdump.com/post/81434786/do-churches-really-need-their-own-iphone-apps
Jim says
i'm all about continuing to fulfill Act's 1:8 "the remotest parts of the earth"
Tim Schoffelman says
Kinda agreeing with Eric's and Paul's first point, in that I think it's extremely important we keep relationships and building relationships with others as a main focus.
I love the idea of the "mobile church" to spread the Gospel, but with a few thoughts. How does the mobile church (media from the church) play into building relationships, how does it help us to personally touch people with the love of Christ and how are we able to keep people accountable in ways that can only be done by building a relationship? If we are to pursue and use the concept of the mobile church, I think it's important to keep everything in perspective, knowing it's for a few specific situations, but not a fix all for furthering the Gospel. But, by using it as another tool to gather / encourage people to become integrated into the local church, I think then it becomes a powerful medium.
Jason Walker says
“One day, we’ll probably be able to access talented communicators streaming live to our iphones…”
I thought this statement was pretty amazing – I just experienced exactly that this past Sunday when I watched the live Northpoint broadcast Subday evening on my iPhone while at a friends house. It was a serious mindmeld. Technology is changing at an amazing pace and it’s awesome to see it being leveraged for the kingdom.