Teaching an old dog new tricks

They say it can be done. I'm hoping to learn this fall, when the local community college offers canine obedience classes. I already obey the dog; I'm curious to see if Cletus the WonderMutt, at the advanced age of 8ish, can learn anything new. I'd love to be able to have him off the leash, but when he's not restrained, all he can hear are the strains of "Born Free" in the wind. All kidding aside, can churches learn new tricks, or relearn old ones? I'm anxious to see if mine can. We want to attract new people, we have this new worship service, we want to do ministry differently...I wonder what that might look like.

Through a glass dimly

Wondering what "church" might look like in 50 years. Will we be inclusive to the degree that the Bible is irrelevant, or only one of many sacred texts? Will we all look the same, or will each church be an independent free-standing body, where ecumenism becomes cooperation across congregations, rather than across denominations? I realize the church doesn't look like an whole orange now; we are split into segments...but what will a post-modern church look like? Will there be segments and slices, or will it be more like extra pulpy orange juice or a creamsicle?

Hey, anybody out there?

I'm working on a project for a DMin in postmodern ministry. Anyone know of websites I need to be sure not to miss? I'm thinking of reviewing "web churches" and perhaps interviewing some leaders. Help me out...leave names/email/web addresses in the comments, please!

Some Reflections on Online Community via Blogging

Soon, I hope to hear from Amy Forbus, Digital Community Builder for the UMPortal, on blogging and varied other subjects. In the meantime, here are some of my own thoughts. I started blogging in January 2007, so I can hardly consider myself an expert, and I'm not one to worry about who is reading my blog. At first, it was sort of a novel way to keep a journal, which I've never been good at doing for longer than whatever crisis I was journaling about lasted. This time, though, I've layered on some other experiences and kinds of meaning (to me at least), that have made it a much more successful attempt at journal-keeping than in the past. I intentionally named it Telling Stories and Learning Faith, hoping to emphasize both my desire to become a better storyteller and narrative theologian and also my sense that while I may be going on to perfection, I'm nowhere near there yet. I meant it to be a place to post whatever writing I do, and perhaps encourage me to do more, and initially to be a forum where I could express myself honestly and openly, without having to censor myself too much. That focus quickly shifted as my senior pastor and I thought about how the blog might let me be more transparent to our congregation, and I began not only to publish my weekly newsletter articles in the blog but also to censor myself a little more often and be a little more moderate in how I express my frustrations. As a very open person, that's occasionally difficult for me, but down the line, I found other arenas for that type of expression as well. In the first couple of months, I felt all alone in the blogosphere. I would occasionally get email or verbal feedback from a parishioner about something I had written and very rarely a comment from someone I didn't know who had stumbled on to my blog. I learned to use the "next blog" button at the top of the Blogger page to surf through randomly selected blogs, and discovered that I really am not interested in much of the content out there. As a free blog provider, Blogger hosts many blogs with commercial and "adult" content I'm not interested in. But one day, I stumbled on to the RevGalBlogPals site...I've honestly forgotten if I was chasing a link from a comment someone left me, or blogsurfing through random blogs, or possibly someone had mentioned the webring to me. At RevGalBlogPals, I found content for and by clergywomen, many of whom had experiences in ministry similar to mine, and others whose lives and settings were completely different. My connection with RGBP is two-fold: I'm now a member of the webring, so more people may stumble onto my blog through another RGBP member, and also there are a variety of weekly and monthly features through which we interact on the blog. The Friday Five, a "get-to-know-you" weekly event, is my favorite weekly web ritual. Each week a RGBP member posts 5 questions for visitors to answer on their own sites, and then refer to their post in the comments on RGBP. I have grown to look forward to the exercise both as a means of stimulating me to write something each week and as a way to connect with peers I might never meet in person. Through the Friday Five and reading others' responses, I have developed a list of blogs I check on a regular basis. Among them are The Best Dog Ever (yep, purportedly written by a dog), Catz and Best of (yep, by a cat--there's an informal RevGalPetPal network, too), Abbey of the Arts (and a bi-weekly poetry challenge I have added to my blog/writing discipline), and freshly ground and freshly brewed, although there are many others. In addition to the RBGP Friday Five, I check in on Tuesdays for Lectionary Leanings as the RevGals discuss the week's lectionary texts, on Wednesdays for the Wednesday Festival, where site visitors are encouraged to visit blogs having particularly interesting content, from a great recipe to a prayer concern to a project, and on Thursdays for the advice column, Ask the Matriarchs, where we can all join in to share our experiences and counsel when one is facing a difficult situation. I have also been invited to share in a joint blog kept for and by other UM clergywomen looking for a sounding board and a sense of connection. I did not anticipate finding a sense of community in any way when I began blogging. It started as a selfish exercise: I wanted a place that would be my own for reflecting on what was happening in my life and for writing a bit, so that one day I might be able to figure out what I want to write (I feel that as a sense of calling, not as strong as my call to pastor, but certainly strong and persistent). It became, however, a place to make connections: a fellow blogger from Tennessee offered me company and a seat at his Emergent cohort meeting when I was in TN helping care for my sick mother-in-law. Another blogger who is currently in Iraq with the military has stumbled upon the RevGalBlogPals, and finds himself asking questions as he reads our posts: questions about faith, about the Bible, about grace and Jesus Christ. I never anticipated that I could feel a sense of relationship, at many different levels, as I sat in my office typing on a keyboard. It's been a surprise, a welcome one, and a gift as well. cross-posted on Telling Stories and Learning Faith

Interview with Amy Forbus on Blogging and Online Community

Amy Forbus is a UM layperson, a RevGalBlogPal, and the Digital Community Builder for UMPortal. Here's my interview with her: Anne:Your job title with the UM Reporter is “Digital Community Builder”, but you’ve told me that’s a bit of a misnomer. What do you do, and what would be a more appropriate job title? Amy:Some tasks match my job description very well: I do pursue opportunities to build relationships for UMR using the Internet, including blogging and reading others’ blogs, social networking, and e-mail dialogue. I also lead a few workshops here and there dealing with blogging, Web sites, and online communites. Most recently I’ve presented at the Texas Conference School of Christian Mission, Roundup (a Northwest Texas/New Mexico Conference annual event), and UMR’s own Editors Conference, which I’m preparing to do again in January. I also led the way in launching the Reporter Blog (http://umportal.typepad.com). As a member of the News staff, I always keep an eye out for postings from Methobloggers that could translate well into print, and I pitch those as potential commentaries to our managing editor, (who is also my supervisor). That’s how Will Deuel, Matt Judkins, Natalie Stadnick, and Guy Kent have wound up in the print edition. I write some features for the paper that focus on aspects of digital community (a Q&A with Real Live Preacher, features on RevGalBlogPals and The Young Clergy Women Project). My other area of interest is young adults, as I’m quickly aging out of that category myself. That topic doesn’t always have an overt “digital community” connection. Other tasks are “digital,” but they don’t directly deal with community: updating the UMPortal each weekday, setting up the weekly Sneak Preview email blast, proofing stories as I load them on the UMPortal, training and providing support to customers who have local-church-customized versions of the UMPortal. These tasks sometimes add up to the majority of my work week, and on those days I feel much less like a “digital community builder.” I’m not sure what a more appropriate job title would be, though. My supervisor has suggested making me a staff writer, but that doesn’t quite cover it, and honestly, I’m a little hesitant to do much more writing because of my other responsibilities. Anne: You mentioned in your profile on Locusts & Honey about the Methoblogger meetup in January at the Congress on Evangelism. I started my blog while I was there, but didn’t really connect there with any of the bloggers. Since then I’ve got to know you a bit, and found Gavin to be very supportive and welcoming during my mother-in-law’s last illness. Tell me a little about your experience with blogging, and with the RevGalBlogPals webring. How did you get started and connected? Do you feel like there’s ministry taking place there, or relationships forming? Amy: I originally blogged anonymously, and as having nothing to do with United Methodism; my blog was actually a creative-writing exercise designed as an attempt to escape the church in some small area of my life. Then I found some Methobloggers, and I couldn’t stay away. So, I found myself posting on my own blog in character (my dog Cub), and commenting on others’ blogs as myself (DogBlogger). Once when I posted a comment on John the Methodist’s blog, he visited mine and recommended it (he called it “delightful”—I’m still happy about that). I stayed relatively anonymous until I decided to attend the Methoblogger meetup at Congress on Evangelism in January 2007. I prepared myself by taking a couple of more private items off the blog, e-mailing with several others who would be attending, and finally joining RevGalBlogPals, where I’d been playing the Friday Five already. When I got there and they asked about my blog, I braced myself as I said, “I’m DogBlogger.” The reaction was far more positive than I expected. Jay Voorhees immediately added me to the MethoBlogroll and set me up as a contributor to the site. And, all of us had a wonderful time getting to know each other offline. I discovered the RevGalBlogPals webring through some of the women Methobloggers’ blogs I encountered, and got connected by simply jumping into the mix. There is definitely some real ministry happening there… marriages have broken up, pregnancies have been lost, family members have died, and the community has supported those people at each of their blogs. Once when Cub was having a series of blood tests with uncertain results, another RevGalBlogPal who has only a four-footed child reached out to me, and we corresponded by e-mail quite a bit – she revealed her secret identity and everything. That was ministry to me. Also, many of these women have felt isolated working in church professions, and the network of colleagues who are also friends has been precious to many of them. I’ve done a few small meetups, including a completely accidental one, and I’m planning to attend the Big Event meetup in March. Anne: You pointed me to Nu Faith as one example of a church doing online ministry. What are your thoughts on the role of the internet in developing individuals’ faith and faith communities? Amy: For individuals’ faith, I do think the Internet can have a valuable place, but it shouldn’t be the end goal for one’s spiritual life. I also realize there’s a lot of content out there that falls outside of my theological standards. For example, most people have received what I call “Christian blackmail messages,” in which you’re given some lovely (or all-too-syrupy) statements about God, then threatened with something like, “If you don’t send this to everyone on your address book, then you don’t love Jesus!” I can’t adequately express my level of disdain for that sort of… crap. Yes, I think “crap” is the valid theological term there. My first thought for an online faith community is, “It only works with the right combination of people.” Even in groups that meet in-person, an online component doesn’t always work well, especially when not everyone has the same level of dedication to, or interest in, e-mail communication. I’ve seen some fallout from those differences happen within my own local church. For those who are comfortable establishing or continuing relationships online, though, I think it can be life-changing. I’ve seen that happen, too. Anne: What are your thoughts on how the UMC is engaging in ministry to postmodernism? Amy: Yes, there are some places where it’s fruitful, but I think many churches are doing it out of a sense of fear and their need for denominational self-preservation. Then, there are those who don’t really engage at all, for a variety of excuses. My part of the country is a place where it’s pretty common to church-hop, and I think that complicates the issue. Are we making disciples, or trying to steal ready-made ones? I’m sure I have many more thoughts on this topic, but I’m not articulating them well at the moment. Anne: As a layperson, how would you like to see church happen? What does church mean to you? Do you have a vision for what ministry to postmodern culture might look like? Amy: I would like to see church happen in a way that goes beyond the surface; where the answer to “How are you?” doesn’t automatically have to be, “Fine, and you?” I would like to see church happen differently, more intentionally. If people are showing up on Sundays for the same old thing because that’s how it’s always been, I’d like them to be willing to step outside of that comfort zone. What if more than two or three people in the room actually expected the Holy Spirit to show up? Imagine the possibilities. To me, church means community, relationship, sharing, expression, brokenness, truthfulness, healing, spiritual growth – and it can happen any time, not just on Sundays. I love it when church happens when you’re not trying. Anne: What frustrates you the most about how the UMC is looking at ministry in the future? What gives you the most hope? Amy: I think the thing that frustrates me most may be the same thing that gives me hope, in a terrifying sort of way. It seems as though everybody’s doing a bunch of hand-wringing about the fact that we’re aging, a huge wave of clergy retirements will hit us within the next 10 to 15 years, and we’re shrinking. That frustrates me the most, that we can’t seem to agree on what to do with that information. But what gives me the most hope is that the church will have no choice but to look very different in the next 10 to 15 years. It’s terrifying because I don’t know how that will turn out, but sometimes the only way things will change and grow is when they’re forced to do so. It’s going to be interesting to be wrapped up in this shift. United Methodism is an organism, and organisms have life cycles. The questions I’m waiting to see answered: Are we willing to die to self as a denomination, and if so, what kind of new birth will we have? Anne: If you could shout one thing to the world about the church or ministry or Christ, what would it be? Amy: We’ll be doing a lot more than bickering at General Conference. Unfortunately, the bickering is what makes headlines. Don’t judge all of Christianity by looking at the demonstrators or the secular news stories.

Jay Voorhees and Church of Fools, part 2

Anne: Would you consider being involved with a project like Church of Fools again? What would you change? Jay: Yes, I would consider being a part of a COF like project, and have maintained relationships with the US expressions, although I really don’t have the time to do much. The main problem with COF was an inability of the founders to envision a form of polity that was community driven, one that was more influenced by open-source software than something created by a centralized owner. I think that the leaders were driven more by technological wizardry rather than thinking intentionally about the nature of community, and what type of community they were creating. Communities are things that aren’t created through human efforts, but are things that we put in motion but then have lives of their own. The COF founders didn’t fully recognize and appreciate the power of what they were putting in motion, and have been unable to build upon that to create a sustaining church. Anne: How do you think the UMC in particular and Christians in general can best connect with postmoderns who are not presently connected to a church? Jay: Obviously, as is true for any form of evangelism, one has to be present with folks before one can connect them to a faith community. What I think we offer as a denomination is a theological tradition that is well situated to deal with complexity, holding in tension personal piety and social holiness. Postmoderns usually need to belong before they believe, and our “journey based” theological construct allows us the means of recognizing the unique gifts of all, and of understanding that our relationship with God is not based on a single event (walking down an aisle, saying the sinners prayer, etc.) but instead represents the adoption of a lifestyle over time. Anne: You mention shared leadership as a hallmark of ministry with postmodern/emerging people. What might this look like in a church context, functionally speaking? Alan Hirsch suggests in The Forgotten Ways that leadership in postmodern/emerging ministry will be more lay-driven, with less value placed on seminary training and ordination. What might clergy look like? Jay: Shared leadership is absolutely crucial in ministry with emerging folks. The pastor in the these models is less of the example to be emulated and much more of a co-participant in the journey, albeit with a certain task in helping to create a culture within the congregation. Certainly many of my colleagues in the evangelical end of the spectrum are very negative of seminary education, however I think that is because they experienced a theological education based in indoctrination rather than in formation. I frankly found my seminary education (Candler) to be valuable, but part of that we there was a great deal of thought given to balancing praxis and doctrine. In these kinds of congregation, however, clergy are really environmental engineers, creating spaces by which Christian community and the experience of God can flourish. Anne: So many people posit that the age of the denominational church is coming to an end. Do you share that view in regard to the church at large, or the UMC in particular? Some have suggested that we are “due” for another Great Awakening. Do you anticipate a revival/renewal movement growing out of postmodern/emerging ministry? Jay: Are we at the end of the denomination era? It depends on how denominations respond to the world around us. There is no doubt that denominations in the current American form are children of modernity, focused on institutional development and the systematization of revival along universal norms. Denominations assume that there are universal truths and practices that they hold which can be shared and experienced with little regard for the specifics of cultural settings. The great analogue to modern denominations is the notion of the fast food franchise – an organization that helps to provide uniformity to an experience (be it worship or a Big Mac) in a variety of locations. From that standpoint, denominations are certainly already dead, for “brand loyalty” means nothing these days . . . for postmoderns and moderns alike. There has to be something more than style of branding that provides meaning for this structure if it is to have any success (one reason that Open Hearts, Minds, Doors is generally ineffective is that it is built on old notions of brand identity and loyalty). Yet, I maintain hope for denominations, especially our United Methodist Church, based not in a universal experience or form, but in a shared theological heritage that provides meaning for folks searching for holistic ways to reach God. This absolutely requires an emphasis on content, not style; theology, not form. Part of the reason that I maintain this hope is that I think the church needs structures of accountability, both at the individual and small group level, and at the ecclesiological level. At that latter level, I think this needs to include not only accountability for church leaders (clergy and staff) but also accountability for congregations, holding struggling congregations to certain expectations of their faith practices. Are we due for another Great Awakening? I am always suspect of those who put too much emphasis on “revival,” fearing that we will fall into the trap of the first and second awakenings – the systematization of that revival into something that can be duplicated. I think that the emerging church is indeed bringing about renewal in certain segments of the church, especially to an evangelical world in flux with the fall of the Falwells, Robertsons, and Haggards. But it is one of those things that we won’t really know until hundreds of years later, so we are better off simply trying to be faithful to our calling by God and let the historians worry about those questions. Anne: How do you feel that that the Internet (including blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, Second Life, etc.) and other new forms of communication (text-messaging, for example) can be used to foster community and bring people into relationship with Christ? What dangers do you see in the Church adopting these means? Jay: I am the original technogeek (sometimes called the TechnoPastor) so I am not the best person to ask this question, however I do see value in these tools for facilitating alternative paths for communication. One must always remember that these things are tools in the service of a broader mission (bringing Christ, creating community, etc.) and resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon simply because something is cool, however the proper use of these tools can indeed enhance ministry. The one mistake I often see made is the desire by Christian folks to create alternative spaces to the ones currently populated on the web. So instead of trying to be present on MySpace, we create a “MyChurch” site as an alternative, only to find that no one shows up. It is kind of like saying we’re going to build our own alternative mall with only Christian stores, and then are surprised when folks keep going to the “real” mall and shopping at Macy’s and Sears. Just as the church has to be present in the broader world, we also have to be present in the on-line world rather than creating our own Christianized ghettos. The danger is what I said above – becoming enamored with the technology and forgetting that technology is only a tool in the service of a broader goal. The church has to think through what it is trying to accomplish and then choose wisely the technological solutions that help them in that purpose. Anne: Who do you see as leaders in postmodern/emerging ministry? Who has most influenced you (positively or negatively), and how? Jay: I’ve been lucky enough to be friends with many of the public faces of the emerging church, folks like Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt of Solomon’s Porch, Dan Kimball of Vintage Faith, Tim Keel of Jacob’s Well (whose new book titled Intuitive Leadership may be one of the best introductions to the who postmodern emergent thing I’ve read), Karen Ward of Church of the Apostles, and the list goes on. These are folks who aren’t mentors but are friends, willing to engage in conversation about the variety of ways that God is calling us to be faithful. I am also especially pumped up by a new generation of United Methodist leaders involved in trying new things – D.G. Hollums in Kentucky, Jim (I can’t remember his last name) at Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh, and others along the way. Anne: What sources do you consider essential for learning about and participating in postmodern/emerging ministry (books, people, websites, places, conferences, etc.)? Jay: www.emergentvillage.com ; www.ooze.com (Anne suggests maybe this should be www.theooze.com?); Soularize, most of the books in the emergent lines published by Baker, Zondervan, Josey Bass, and Abingdon; Wikipedia; Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point” and “Blink”; Friedman’s “The World is Flat”; the Alt Worship movement in Great Britain; open source theory; well, that is a start. Anne: What is your greatest hope for the Church in the future? What is your biggest fear? Jay: Greatest hope? That we might actually follow in the way of Jesus and actually help to usher in God’s kingdom on earth. Greatest fear? That we will continue to be consumed by consumerism until we are totally meaningless. Anne: What have I not yet asked that you wish I had? Go on, you might as well answer it, too. Jay: I’m out of gas, so I hope these are helpful.

Is the plural of Paradox, Paradise?

We have a visitor in the community for a few weeks, who comes into town to visit her mother, who is unable to attend worship with us anymore. She faithfully sits in her mother's church and listens to every sermon and every hymn and lets me know after the service how awful some of the hymns are: songs about blood and gore, Jesus' "precious bleeding side". She also critiques the sermons, which by some twist of fate and lectionary have centered on Luke each time she's been here. She doesn't agree with or believe a lot of what we do, but she's here anyway...something draws her here. That's a part of the essential paradox that is our faith. The Old Testament calls us to fulfill the law; Jesus says the Law is not as important as having a relationship with him. Our culture calls us to put ourselves first, because no one else will care for us like we will; our faith calls us to live for others, and put ourselves last. Many of Jesus' parables and the stories of his encounters during his ministry, and the stories of the early church in Acts, tell us about paradoxes: the disobedient leper who comes back to Jesus rather than go to the Temple is the most faithful, the stone that the builders reject becomes the cornerstone of our faith, we must be born again...it seems like a huge part of my preaching and teaching is centered around unpacking the reality that we can't learn or earn our way into the Kingdom. And when I look back on what I've preached and taught, in the midst of all the paradoxes, I find consistency: God's desire for us, that we might be in relationship with God in Christ through the Spirit, and also with each other. So maybe Paradise is the plural, the sum, of all these paradoxes...the Kingdom of God, in all its paradoxical, eternal, now-and-not-yet, present and eschatological glory. A thought from Mother Theresa, who embodied paradox (much like John Wesley) in living out her faith, even when she didn't feel it:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway. People may cheat you; be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it is never between you and them anyway.

crossposted at Telling Stories and Learning Faith

New Monasticism: Shane Claiborne and the Potter Street Community

This is less an online church than it is a continuing journal of a powerful missional expression of church as the family of God. Shane Claiborne is the face of a movement to new monasticism: a return to simple values lived in intentional Christian community with the goal of being a meaningful incarnational member of the neighborhood in which they are located. The Simple Way is the website dedicated to the Potter Street Community (PSC). In June 2007, a fire in an neighboring abandoned warehouse destroyed the building at 3200 Potter Street where the intentional community was based, as well as damaging or destroying many other homes in the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. In the aftermath of the fire, the PSC has partnered with other groups to continue its work in the community and the small businesses that helped sustain it. PSC members have also created a fund to support their Kensington neighbors as they recover from the fire. The PSC does not engage in overt proclamation, although Shane in particular leads conferences about New Monasticism. It is however, an intentional missional/incarnational community dedicated to forming and growing relationships among people for Christ. While they are not engaged in evangelism as most mainstream Christians might consider it, it cannot be denied that their living within impoverished and challenged communities and working for the benefit of all expresses GodLife values in a way that cannot help but reach people. The Simple Way is in no way an online church, but I do think it demonstrates the values of the PSC in a way that invites, welcomes, and stands with those whom it serves.

There's a mission field for you

Reuter's reports that 80% of US adults use the Internet. Read the article here.

Full frontal church: LiveChurch.tv

In contrast to some of my other reviews, I'm going to state my opinion of this on right up front. I don't like it. I don't even think I really have a good reason. I just don't. I do not believe that online-only church can really offer the fullness of relationships and incarnational connection that happen when we occupy the same space as one body. I'm not suggesting that it has to be exactly a brick and mortar church, but that there are some experiences of church, worship and otherwise, that I believe can only really offer meaning and relationship and yes, incarnation, in the physical presence of other people sharing in and participating in the same experience. Now, that said, I've shown my prejudices. And LiveChurch.tv doesn't really live down to them. I mean it; it's not as bad (I think) as I feel about it. LifeChurch bills itself as "one church, multiple campuses". Live worship experiences are offered online (you can even get yourself e-vited) weekly, and the same worship service is broadcast by satellite to the 12 campuses nationwide (and on Second Life) that make up its congregation. The site is easy to navigate, with comprehensive "frequently asked questions" and and links to basic information. All that sounds pretty good, right? But: there's no real interaction. Yes, I can receive the "What's Next Kit?", a bible, t-shirt, cd and dvd. I can click through a contact link and even find an area to volunteer. But the language seems a bit exclusive to me: unlike Church on the Net's intentional use of non-church language, terms like worship, salvation, mission are given without reference. In addition, it's hard to see how twelve separate bodies are going to feel connected to one another via satellite broadcast, nor how any individual congregation will feel like much more than a spectator. They do offer the whole package: children's and youth programs, LifeGroups (local small groups) and global missions from the brick and mortar campuses. But I just don't feel it. It's not a web church; it's a slick invitation to a pre-packaged worship service. The web version leaves a lot of room for visitors to observe at a remove, and never engage. Even the physical campuses seem to lend more towards watching and less toward participating. The MRI variables all seem to be there, and one would think this would be a technological solution that works for me. Instead I find it canned and sterile, uninviting.

Nu Faith Community: Online and in person

Nu Faith Community UMC is a new church plant in northwest Houston, TX, that's starting up in a new way. The church "launched" online well in advance of the "brick and mortar" launch in April 2008. The stated goal is to reach out to those who are not connected to church, to foster diversity in the church, and share the love and relationship with Jesus Christ. The founding pastor and "Launch Team" have created a website that seeks to answer preliminary questions about Nu Faith Community as well as the Christian faith, offered opportunities to become a part of the community through online, telephone (Talkcast) call, or on location Bible study. The pastor is also available via sermon downloads or email contact, and she includes a phone number on the site. She engages with the Houston area with local radio broadcasts, preaching engagements at other UM churches, and joint studies with other churches, in addition to the website. Interaction is available via participation in the Bible studies at any level, a variety on online forms to enable people to make contact with the pastor or to volunteer to take part in missions, in the launch in April, or to assist in other ways. Meetings and information sessions are held in the pastor's home on a regular basis. Multiple efforts are made on the site to make engagement easy. This site is targeted to a particular geographic location, and it does not offer weekly worship. What it does offer are multiple spaces to engage in, from public all the way to intimite, if one chooses to do so. It also emphasizes connection to a brick and mortar church (albeit one that does not yet exist) and does so in a relational, missional, and incarnational way. One criticism I have, however, is that the website's terminology locates it within the "Christian bubble" and may not be as accessible or inviting to those who are not familiar or have a negative opinion of church. By the way, the pastor, Rev. Jacqui King, was originally part of our DMin cohort. When she was appointed to Nu Faith, she deferred for a year.

Getting Connected: Some Thoughts on Online Church Presence

I wish I'd thought of this sooner; I'd be asking other people what it is they would look for in an online church presence. I've read a white paper on Church eMinistry Basics from the UMC.org Web Ministry Planning Guide, and have looked over some other resources, and here are my thoughts on what I think people look for in church websites (both online churches, and websites for brick and mortar churches). I'm going to organize it by Myers' four spaces, or levels of engagement. Public Space: This is the arena for conveying information that will enable people to make public space connections to the church. This includes calendar information about programs and worship schedules, sermon downloads and podcasts, and even online giving. Websites that provide theological/doctrinal information, including FAQs (frequently asked questions) fall into this category. Many church websites provide for this level of engagement; a simple "contact us" link or even phone and address information on the website can meet the needs of those who want to be related in this space to a church. For an online church, the means of contact can go a little deeper, as there's not always a brick and mortar church to connect to. There might be a space for threaded discussion of topics or issues of interest, an online Bible study outline, or a photo gallery of church events. Websites with a minimal level of interactive content fall into the public space arena; they provide information about themselves but there is a definite distance between church and website visitor. Individuals will feel connected to the church site as a place they visit with some regularity, for example, to read or hear sermons or be connected with other content, such as music or devotional readings. Social Space: In social space, connections are formed that reveal people's "snapshots" to one another. These websites provide a higher level of interaction with online prayer requests, opportunities to give online, discussion groups, chats and blogs. This is also an area where people can be drawn together for a common mission project, or invited in to worship and relationship in the brick and mortar church. In terms of conversations about doctrine and theology, social level connections would include "Ask the Pastor" sections, or giving intentional and comprehensive contact information for developing deeper relationships with the church. Instead of a simple "contact us" link, one might see a detailed profile of a staff member of volunteer, with contact information at multiple levels: physical address, email, blog address, link to social networking site (MySpace or Facebook, for example), Instant Messaging identity, etc. For someone to be connected to a church website on a social level, there has to be meaningul interaction. One would expect to see a great deal of well-organized and presented material, both video and written, a large number of photographs, and many opportunities for participation in giving, missions, Bible study, prayer, and direct contact with staff members. (to be continued)

Getting Connected: Some Thoughts on Online Church Presence, Part Two

To recap, we're looking at Myers' 4 spaces in a sort of preliminary way to see how online churches might help people make connections and form relationships. Personal Space: This is where I really want to see some fact to face contact. In personal space, we begin to share more deeply than the "what you see is what you get" public level, or the "personality snapshot" of social spaces. For me to do that with a high level of comfort, I like to be able to see the person I'm sharing with, although I have developed a fair degree of comfort with some of my fellow RevGalBlogPal bloggers. One interesting aspect of these digital relationships is that we have tremendous control over what we share, and so I've shared many personal thoughts with people I may never see, and yet we've begun to count ourselves as friends. I'm still reconciling my feelings about having friends whose voices I've never heard. On a website, here is where I'd expect to see some kind of small group offering (voluntary, of course): moderated chats, threaded discussions, and invitations to particular activities. I would think some online support groups could be very helpful at this level; in the brick and mortar church I serve, we've had requests recently for groups for cancer patients, adult children caring for elderly parents, Parkinson's sufferers and families, parenting, etc. Personal space is a place for people to have these kinds of relationships. Another way an online ministry might help relationships happen and move into personal space is to allow some activities to come together online and take place in real time, such as an outing for caregivers with respite care provided for their patients/loved ones, retreat time, interest groups such as knitting or sports fans, and Bible study groups to meet in local coffee shops. Intimate space: Intimate space, in Myers' parlance, is the space with share with very few other people, in which we can be (physically or spiritually) naked and not ashamed. There is a conundrum here. Many people would profess to have intimate relationships with online partners whom they have never met in "real life." This is an area of great concern for me, as it is so easy to present an incomplete or false image of oneself. The rise of Internet predators and scam artists also makes this level of relationship a risky one to have online. Here again is an area in which I would be most comfortable knowing that there was some "real time" contact, and some type of brick and mortar or at least staff presence to ensure people's safety in this very vulnerable space for relationships.

What is church?

So now it's time to offer a summation of sorts; I've certainly made my opinions known throughout. But here are some personal reflections on what I think about church in general, and online church expressions in particular: As I've worked through this project, I have come to one conclusion: church is more than worship on a screen, or Bible study at any level of participation, or shared prayer concerns. It's more than a place to give charitably or meet people with similar interests, or join a mission team to some faraway clime. Church to me is the incarnated Body of Christ, and I simply can't separate that image from the need for live and in person community, people participating together in worship, in mission, in study, in life together and out in the world...people you can reach out and touch, if you need to. In my second post on the Church of Faith and the Jay Voorhees interviews, i referred to a story about Jesus with skin on. That's what I need for church to be truly church: Jesus with skin on, in the person of people who I live in community with, in the neighborhood, in the same city, going to the same grocery store, with kids in the same schools, and worship, study, play, and work with in mission to one another and the world. I have seen online churches with a missional emphasis. Church on the Net does an excellent job at interpreting Christian concepts and church language for those who do not have a church background, or seek a way to interact with church in a way that places minimal demand on the individual, but invited interested persons into deeper relationship with the church and Christians. Their mission is to be reach out to such people. Other online churches have mission emphases and high missional sensibilities toward others, but most of them seem to be "other" directed. It's hard to be relational online; there is a distance inherent in packaging one's church interface for a mass audience on the scale of the internet. It's easy to say you are open and welcoming to everyone, but much harder to actually pull it off. Liquid Church stands out to me as demonstrating their high value on relationships in the ease with which their website (actually a blog on typepad) is navigated. I was also particularly impressed with their presence in the community. The account of the church's generosity and accepting spirit at the gay pride event demonstrates the relational character of this church, and it comes off in their websites. As I said above, some kind of physical presence is inherent in the notion of incarnational ministry to me. The best of the websites I've reviewed have sought to draw people into relationship with a brick and mortar church, with real people, live and in person. This is the ideal for me. I am not satisfied with the level of interaction with the virtual environments of St. Pixels and Infinite Church. I've described it as clunky, and it is: cartoonish avatars, text-driven interface (sound takes too much bandwidth to really work), slow movement in a poorly animated environment. I was not able to feel connected in any meaningful way. Also, these are primarily worship environments; it's hard to image what kind of real, personal, relational missional relationships can develop in that kind of space. Some of the elements I miss: the very sensory engagement of the sacraments of baptism and communion, and the sacramental moment that is the greeting time. I miss in person prayer; it's powerful actually hearing someone's prayer for you. I'd miss joint participation in the music; live worship music brings something special for me. And in any online church setting, I would miss the "editability" over a cup of coffee that I share now. Digital coffee just doesn't cut it. Nope, guess I just like my church like I like Jesus: with skin on. At the heart of things, I need people. As Len Sweet pointed out in an online discussion several weeks ago, online relationships increase peoples' desire for in person relationships. I hope that's true.