Thursday, January 19, 2006
Blogging About Blogs
I am sure I am not the first person to blog about the impact of blogs (probably not the last). I do know that I am surrounded by several people that blog or use other online journal-type medium to get their thoughts down, post pictures, etc. And I guess I have been in a kind of weird mood lately because I have been wondering how this new blog world has had or will have an impact on us. We are made to be relational peopl (that means we are meant to actually speak with people face to face, be friends with each other, etc). My question is, how can you be in a relationship with someone (whether friendship or else wise) if you are only speaking to them via email, chat, or blog? Is that even possible? Now don't get defensive. This is just the rambling of a simple man with some questions. One of my friends, Shayna, brought up another area of our lives tha seems to be 'people-less'. The ole self-check in the grocery store. I gotta tell you I am a fan. But what is the cost. I know, I know this is a small area of our life. But where does it stop?
I read this interesting book a few years back by George Barna about Teens and church life. He stated that people in the next 20 years would be receiving a certain percentage of their spiritual/religious experiences via the internet. (I can not remember the percentage nor can I find it now but it has stuck with me). I am not sure what I think about that. I have noticed several very web-savy churches around here and other parts of the country. Heck, we even used a clip found on the internet to introduce a class topic the other day in our JH class. I am not railing against the internet or blogging or self-check outs. I am just wondering what the effects of this new digital journaling world will be. Is it possible that people will actually hear, believe and comment to following Christ without face-to-face contact? Is is realistic to believe someone might actually start a church that does not meet in a building of any kind but only via an online journal/web site? Is is possible that our traditional belief of church buildings, meeting spaces, etc. will be radically changed by the culture we are curretntly living in?
Can Christ be met online? Can the Gospel be successfully portrayed through a blog or Facebook? Can we self-check our way into a new type of God-follower community?
Let me hear ya....
I read this interesting book a few years back by George Barna about Teens and church life. He stated that people in the next 20 years would be receiving a certain percentage of their spiritual/religious experiences via the internet. (I can not remember the percentage nor can I find it now but it has stuck with me). I am not sure what I think about that. I have noticed several very web-savy churches around here and other parts of the country. Heck, we even used a clip found on the internet to introduce a class topic the other day in our JH class. I am not railing against the internet or blogging or self-check outs. I am just wondering what the effects of this new digital journaling world will be. Is it possible that people will actually hear, believe and comment to following Christ without face-to-face contact? Is is realistic to believe someone might actually start a church that does not meet in a building of any kind but only via an online journal/web site? Is is possible that our traditional belief of church buildings, meeting spaces, etc. will be radically changed by the culture we are curretntly living in?
Can Christ be met online? Can the Gospel be successfully portrayed through a blog or Facebook? Can we self-check our way into a new type of God-follower community?
Let me hear ya....
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Chris, I have to say that technology is good and bad. My friend Elise and I keep up via technology because we're so far apart. Remember that the telephone counts as technology too. And when we're in town, we make time for our relationships. So for people that are far away, technology keeps us close.
On the other hand, technology does distance us from people. I keep in touch with friends who live right down the street via e-mail because I don't have time to fit them into my life. Is this relationship building? Probably not.
But with all bad things, God can bend them and use them for His will to be done. I remember Bruce saying that a person from Indiana visits FXCC's website and listens to the sermons, so that's a good thing, right?
I don't think technology is going anywhere, but you're right to caution us against it. Technology makes our lives easier because we have less people to deal with, but at the same time we should be working on relationships and leading people to Christ.
On the other hand, technology does distance us from people. I keep in touch with friends who live right down the street via e-mail because I don't have time to fit them into my life. Is this relationship building? Probably not.
But with all bad things, God can bend them and use them for His will to be done. I remember Bruce saying that a person from Indiana visits FXCC's website and listens to the sermons, so that's a good thing, right?
I don't think technology is going anywhere, but you're right to caution us against it. Technology makes our lives easier because we have less people to deal with, but at the same time we should be working on relationships and leading people to Christ.
I love that you raised this issue. I find myself starting to write one response, then I contradict myself and decide to take the opposite view. What I really think I think is that blogging increases intimacy. It allows us to express ourselves with more depth and contemplation. People have been blogging throughout the centuries, though not with keyboards, and not with such a sweeping forum (with the exception of those who wrote published works). Writing letters was once limited to those of wealth or leisure. I love that the internet has democratize the process of publishing one's thoughts and soliciting responses. The end result, I do believe, is that blogging makes the face time more exciting and richer. Even when I IM/email/blog with family members, we find ourselves being closer later when we're face to face. When I first started reading BLOGS, I worried that we would become the BORG, knowing every thought of all other people. But I don't think that anymore.
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