I think the speed of the web moves faster than the speed of light.
It is amazing to see how information is updated, changed, shared, or for that matter consumed. It is light years ahead of what it was 3 years ago. This was made obvious to me the other day when I heard that Corey Haim had passed away. Corey Haim is best known for his numerous collaborations with Corey Feldman, the pair being dubbed “The Two Coreys”.
It wasn’t the breaking news that shocked me; it was that his Wikipedia page had been changed 5 minutes after the announcement of his death.
Fast.
In college any time we had a paper to work on that needed to be cited with references the professor would always say, “And Wikipedia is not a reliable source.”
No matter how many times I heard that, I still referenced Wikipedia. Why? Because from my perspective it was reliable and it made sense.
And yet none of my professors would acknowledge it as a legitimate reference. The technology age is rapidly growing and the way we get information continues to change.
CNET.com has said:
“Wikipedia is about as good a source of accurate information as Britannica, the venerable standard-bearer of facts about the world around us.”
Information has become a community event; that is the beauty of Wikipedia. It is a resource that is managed by millions of people who police each other and yet work together to keep things at the highest level of integrity and honesty.
I wonder how this would look in the Church?
My vision: A community of believers that is moving together in pursuit of the highest level of integrity and honesty with complete transparency and openness. Ultimately, where trust can be established.
Greg Simmons says
It is from their shared experiences that believers could best help each other. Situations I have faced in my life give me perspective that someone just now experiencing it does NOT have. The testimony I have of how God walked with me through that can help the person that sees nothing but despair.
Believers working together to accomplish common goals. The combined knowledge and experience is far more successful than any one person working alone. To quote Douglas Merrill:
“All of us are smarter than any of us.”
Crowdsourcing at its best! A real life example is Google and the traffic function in their mapping products (mobile, desktop and Google Earth). The traffic data is gleaned from each mobile user that is allowing their data to be updated with Google. This data is then combined with 10s, 100s and 1000s of other users to paint a real time picture of current traffic conditions. Based on historical data, Google can also provide an idea of what traffic for a particular road should be on a particular day of the week during a time window. Here again, my experience (how fast or slow I’m able to move on the roads) benefits others.
Now…….why can’t we do the same as a church? Hmmm?
Mitch Ebie says
Good points Greg. Shared experience is crucial! We first look to the Word and the Spirit for guidance, which is great; however, we cannot overlook the Body of Christ as a viable option for learning more about God and Christianity.
Kyle Reed says
Great question. Do you think some of it has to do that we are pretty divided in a sense of denominations etc…?
Maybe start sharing resources?
Dan King says
Interesting conversation…
To Kyle’s question about denominational divide, I think that I’ve seen more of those walls come down in the online world. But that is only as long as we don’t start talking about some of the potential theological potholes that can separate us. I love it though when we focus on the things that we have in common and do great stuff together!
As far a collaborative works, I’ve been also checking out http://www.theopedia.com as a similar resource for matters of the faith. Pretty cool…
Nathan Edwards says
Kyle, that’s my vision too :)… authentic we call it, I’ll DM you sometime.
Kyle Reed says
Would love it, @kylelreed
Mitch Ebie says
When I was writing papers in grad school, I was faced with the same thing. My professor would say “no wikipedia!” So, I would go to wikipedia and then just look at the sources that were used there by others. The wikipedia articles would also give me a good idea of what to include in my own papers.
The churches that were a result of the restoration and reformation movements are actually much like you suggested above. Since there is no hierarchy in these churches, they are essentially comprised of millions of members that are allowed to add their input on Christianity and theology. If someone ever gets too far out there, then the rest of the believers will correct them or disfellowship them. Its a pretty good check and balance system that makes sure we don’t change with the culture to quickly or too slowly.
Kyle Reed says
I didn’t even think about that example, but great point.
danielcberman says
I think you have hit upon something that many believers, are aching for, to see what being a Christian in the 21st century actually looks like in the midst of Technology and Advertising. I would love to see who steps forward to organise this on more than an individual scale.
Kyle Reed says
I think this will happen soon, just don’t know what it looks like yet. But I think we are moving in that direction.Good to be apart of the conversation though
Nick Shoemaker says
This is going to be interesting. Especially when it comes to hot button issues. In my experience, Christians do a crap job at community- real community. We let theology trump relationship.
I’m not discouraging this movement. It’s needed more now than ever. Who really freakin cares about non-salvation issues!?
Sorry- I’m just tired of people debating each other instead of being Christ in a desperate and dying world. Cut the fat. Be REAL. I could care less about your paperwork and meetings.
Kyle Reed says
I would agree with you, often times it is easier to sit around and talk about things then do anything really.
I will say that I am a little confused by your comments though, could you explain a little more?
Mitch Ebie says
Nick, I see where you are coming from, your heart is in the right place. I have noticed that what one person sees as non-salvation another person sees as a salvation issue; thus we have another argument that is senseless to one and crucial to another. There are basically two ways Christians think: unity or primitivism. The first sees the most important thing is too stick together and maintain strong relationships. However, this will cause a little compromise of theology. The other group considers doing it the way of the first century church the most important thing. However, this will cause a few relationships to break down. What is most important to you…doing it “right?” or doing it together?
joanna says
The solution to the professors and wikipedia problem is cite what wikipedia cites (having looked at at the sources of course).
brett barner says
Wow, 5 minutes? Crazy fast. Interesting draw from Wikipedia to the church community. I always find it interesting when people are like, “What the difference between Methodists (or w/e denomination) and what I believe?”
We don’t know each other well.
On a side note…
Curious, it “Thoughts:…” going to be a regular theme? Because kudos on the subtle branding.
Kyle Reed says
Ya I was very surprised as well in the spead.