Christianity Today has published an interesting article by Chad Hall discussing online churches. Much of the article covers issues we discussed last month in our 9 part series on the challenges and opportunities of online churches.
But there were a couple of things that stood out to me. First…
Brandon Buckner, internet campus director of McLean Bible Church near Washington, D.C., recognizes the limits of online churches while still advocating for them.
“The internet campus is not an end, but a means to the physical campus,” say Buckner. “There is real value that comes from being a part of virtual community, but it’s not a replacement for the church. We think it’s great for people who cannot be in attendance for whatever reason, but we would not be pleased if someone only worshiped in the virtual world. We want them finding community online and also coming to church and connecting in the real world.”
Brandon Buckner is one is one of the few Internet campus directors I’ve seen openly state that they are not content to have people worshipping solely at their Internet campus. Their goal is to encourage people in their online church to become a part of an offline church.
Second, there’s this quote.
No husband would want a virtual bride; no mother would want a virtual child. Yet our union with fellow church members—other interdependent parts of Christ’s body in Paul’s language—is of greater importance than union with family.
Bam! It’s hard to argue with that. Would you setting for a virtual spouse? If not, how could you settle for a virtual church?
You can read the full article here: Church… Virtually
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