Sphere of Influence: Media, Religion
Article Title: My Faith: Why we’re doing church on Facebook tonight
Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com
Publication Date: November 2, 2011
By: Johnnie Moore
Summary:
A congregation of thousands of college students has decided to make a sanctuary out of the social network that unites the first “digitally native generation.” Each Wednesday, Liberty University gathers along with the local community in locations that can host 10,000 people. This week both sites are unavailable. Pastor Johnnie Moore and his team – all twenty-somethings – decided to connect where the people are; on Facebook, in the world Mark Zuckerberg created. Since the Apostle Paul, Christians have made it their goal to go where the people are; in the 21st century, there are over 800 million people on Facebook. Inviting the multigenerational and multiethnic 70,000 residential and online students to log onto Liberty’s Facebook page, Johnnie hopes to make doing church feel new again. Church and Facebook are places where we learn about one another, encourage each other, laugh, share, and live our lives together; Johnnie is thrilled because Facebook can be a place where we encounter God and others. “Like Paul told the Corinthians we can do it all for the glory of God.”
Quotes and excerpts:
“We are the first ‘digitally native generation.’ We grew up with a bottle in our mouth
and a keyboard in our lap.” - Article Author
“What is Facebook, after all? It’s a community. What is church, after all? It’s a community. For us, doing church on Facebook isn’t innovative. It’s intuitive.” -Article Author
Discussion:
Firstly, my attention was that the title of this article does not capitalize church, whereas Facebook, ironically, is referred to by its proper name. I do not understand the lowercase lettering of church because the article’s focus is on the fact that Christians are the Body of Christ and can meet anywhere; hence our proper name is the Church. Were the article to discuss Christians meeting at a church building my argument would not have merit, but the entire point of this idea for online fellowship is that “doing” Church does not require a building; we are Christ’s Bride, the Church.
Mr. Moore’s heart posture, I’m sure, is that of a man outrageously in love with his Savior. We under exaggerate the unrelenting pressure on pastors these days; a related article to the piece I read for this assignment is titled “Why young Christians aren’t waiting anymore” and discusses pre-marital sex. Johnnie’s plan for the Facebook church is based on a Biblical principle and I commend his enthusiasm to “go where the people are”. Personally, I would have recommended that the congregation would divide itself into a few hundred home churches for the week. The problem I foresee with having a service online would most likely be an issue of mine even if I were to attend the service in the “10,000-seat basketball arena on campus;” that issue is that neither setting is capable of providing thousands of people with intimate relationships that lead to accountability.
The Church is to be a place of intimacy; I tend to be wary when the size of a congregation exceeds numbers of people whom I could remember by a first name basis. In a world where Facebook and social media slowly replace community, I consider this a dangerous option that is quite opposite to the home churches Jesus’ disciples started. Acts describes the following considering the fellowship of the believers: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1 ESV emphasis added). The passage continues to describe the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As they ministered and preached the gospel, we read that in just one day the Church witnessed 3,000 souls receive the Word. “And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Acts chapter 4 records that an additional 5,000 men came to believe the word.
The Church is called to devote themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship; a sincere concern of mine is that one day I will hear the words, Communion? There’s an app for that. There is much to be lost when we take the intimacy out of the Body of Christ. “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:45). We are playing a dangerous game when Christians are isolated- it means Satan has all the cards. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)
This is a tricky subject, so I will leave you with this example: I pray with my loved ones over the phone and believe that God is greater than technology. He does not discount such prayers, nor do I believe the Lord would turn a blind eye to the worship service Johnnie Moore and Liberty University conducted over the internet. What does concern me is that millions in our country professes Christianity, but (I am about to say something harsh and want it to be said delicately) America is falling into a trap of churchianity; Satan is running rampant in this world and many people think church is more important than relationship with our Heavenly Father, Savior, Friend; we must not forget relationship with His Body, the Church!
Iron sharpens iron; I am not convinced you can surrender to a life of transparency via webcam. My comments are by no means to be interpreted in such a way that discredits the power of Christ Jesus; the Lord is not limited to time and space. My advice is more specifically towards Christians who may be losing sight of the need for public confession, sharing one another’s burdens, exhorting, challenging, and supporting one another in trials of this present darkness.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 1-6).
