Virtual Church
I ran across some cool technology stuff today that I had not seen before...LifeChurch, known for its amazing use of technology and online church campus has recently gained some attention from MSNBC with its online virtual 3D world campus on Second Life. Second Life (a newbie to me) is a 3D virtual world with millions of users who wander around and...yeah I don't know much about it but the best I understand it...it is similar to a RPG game like EverQuest, but it's not a game. Anyways it seems cool...people attend their "virtual" church on Sunday's and are participating in the services with their "virtual identity," even if they never step foot into a church building. I'm not sure how effective this type of
ministry is, but as long as the gospel is being proclaimed in a Christ-centered way, it can't be bad...right?
Want to know more? Why don't you just check out the article on MSNBC or the video segment on the story. Leave your opinion in the comments.
LifeChurch speaks on the virtual evangelism issue: "Why Second Life?"
1 comment:
Interesting... I have never heard of Second Life either.
Just a few quick observations. First, I don't doubt that God could use this as a way to share the Gospel to people who haven't stepped foot into a church, but I am skeptical as to how it would pan out in real life. As far as non-believers go, I think this could be a useful means of sharing Jesus with people. But when it comes to Christians, I don’t see how this could ever be a substitute for human fellowship together as the body of Christ. This could be another way for us to make Christianity all about us. There is no commitment necessary, there is no way to hold one another accountable, no place for people to use the gifts God has given them, and no responsibility. Take the guy in the video for example, he puts on his PJ’s and goes to church. That is a misinformed view of what the church is. In that example the church and the church service are equated, which could lead to a lot of problems. I’m not saying that LifeChurch is saying that this would be a substitute for a real church, I am just saying that people would make it one, that’s just a fact of human nature, we want everything to be easy.
Secondly, we always have to be aware that Satan is at work also, and this is no different. I think this could be a means by which Satan plants a false hope of security in the minds of many. With an already decreasing level of commitment, Satan can fool many into thinking they are saved by repeating a prayer and watching a church service on Sundays, but never actually repent and follow Christ.
Well, that is my two cents worth, it probably would help if I knew more about it, but those are my thoughts on what I can gather from the article. Maybe I am too pessimistic and skeptical, I think it’s the engineer coming out in me, we are always taught to look for potential problems.
Post a Comment