This morning I wrote a response to a recent post on his blog.
Nick, just finished reading yesterday's post on your blog and the subject reminded me of something I heard years ago during a historic home tour in Charleston.
This particular mansion was quite grand by every standard, including its ornate gas-fired chandeliers and sconces, but even though the house had been constructed after residential electricity was readily available, the original owner had refused to include the new technology in his home.
Apparently the stubborn man had argued that he'd gotten along fine without electricity so far and that, in his estimation, "Electricity is just a fad, and can't do anything gas already does better."
That man's stodgy thinking made me think of a comparison to today's web-based church campuses when mortar-bloggers opine, "What for? We've gotten along fine without web campuses so far. They're just a fad and can't do anything a 'real church' does better."
But I'd suggest that today's web campuses are only as sophisticated (and perhaps as delicate and mysterious) as the first light bulbs: not perfect, and in a sense still very unfamiliar, but good enough to get the job done. Which means the web campus experience merits further attention.
When the first home computers arrived on store shelves the systems were slow, bulky, arcane and expensive, offering little more than simple word processing and cumbersome filing systems (like, for keeping track of phone numbers and Mom's favorite recipes- awesome!). Which caused lots of folks to scratch their heads and ask, "Why would I ever need a home computer?"
It took a new dimension of thought (and some inspired innovations, like icon-driven menus, sound cards and the mouse) before the "home computer" gradually evolved to become Skype, HD surround-sound Xbox's, Kindles, Blackberries, video editing platforms and Facebook.
This particular mansion was quite grand by every standard, including its ornate gas-fired chandeliers and sconces, but even though the house had been constructed after residential electricity was readily available, the original owner had refused to include the new technology in his home.
Apparently the stubborn man had argued that he'd gotten along fine without electricity so far and that, in his estimation, "Electricity is just a fad, and can't do anything gas already does better."
That man's stodgy thinking made me think of a comparison to today's web-based church campuses when mortar-bloggers opine, "What for? We've gotten along fine without web campuses so far. They're just a fad and can't do anything a 'real church' does better."
But I'd suggest that today's web campuses are only as sophisticated (and perhaps as delicate and mysterious) as the first light bulbs: not perfect, and in a sense still very unfamiliar, but good enough to get the job done. Which means the web campus experience merits further attention.
When the first home computers arrived on store shelves the systems were slow, bulky, arcane and expensive, offering little more than simple word processing and cumbersome filing systems (like, for keeping track of phone numbers and Mom's favorite recipes- awesome!). Which caused lots of folks to scratch their heads and ask, "Why would I ever need a home computer?"
It took a new dimension of thought (and some inspired innovations, like icon-driven menus, sound cards and the mouse) before the "home computer" gradually evolved to become Skype, HD surround-sound Xbox's, Kindles, Blackberries, video editing platforms and Facebook.
Just as that mansion's owner accepted that "Gas is better" because he couldn't imagine the arrival of electric hair dryers, TVs or washing machines, the parallel holds true for today's "first generation" web campuses: we can't overlook the reality that we live in an era when the majority of 21st century US citizens feel that owning a computer is a virtual [pun] necessity. And we haven't even mentioned iPods, iPhones or DVD players ... which would never have been invented had we been content to accept the previous century's notion that "Gas is better."
Perhaps some folks would argue that "Church web campuses are a fad," but the potential for great and amazing opportunities remains; the key to unlocking that potential might lie not so much in defining a web campus in terms of comparisons to brick n' mortar churches, or according to "things we already know for sure about what church is," but in formulating an entirely new paradigm from scratch ... and in making room, lots and lots of it, for the web campus miracle to define itself and meet the ministry opportunities those of us born in the second half of the 20th century cannot begin to imagine, much less perceive as possibilities.
Summing up, sure, nowdays probably nothing sounds quite as romantic as dining (or reading a good book) bathed in the warm glow of a hissing gas-lit fixture; it's just that I'm starting to seriously doubt we'll ever see natural gas iPods or gas-burning cell phones. Electricity opened doors that folks used to gas lights couldn't see.
Nick I can't wait to see where the web campus will take ministry and how its presence will revolutionize sharing the gospel. Not just by crossing time zones or circumventing geographical boundaries like oceans or borders, not just by responding to differences like language, ethnicity or age ... but how web campus ministries can impact and negate INDIFFERENCE and reach the hearts of individuals who desperately need to know Christ. Wherever and whoever they are.
I keep wondering what's ahead ... like, what will the equivalents of the first "web campus mouse" or icon-driven menu be? And it makes my head spin every time I try to imagine where God will lead us from there.
Perhaps some folks would argue that "Church web campuses are a fad," but the potential for great and amazing opportunities remains; the key to unlocking that potential might lie not so much in defining a web campus in terms of comparisons to brick n' mortar churches, or according to "things we already know for sure about what church is," but in formulating an entirely new paradigm from scratch ... and in making room, lots and lots of it, for the web campus miracle to define itself and meet the ministry opportunities those of us born in the second half of the 20th century cannot begin to imagine, much less perceive as possibilities.
Summing up, sure, nowdays probably nothing sounds quite as romantic as dining (or reading a good book) bathed in the warm glow of a hissing gas-lit fixture; it's just that I'm starting to seriously doubt we'll ever see natural gas iPods or gas-burning cell phones. Electricity opened doors that folks used to gas lights couldn't see.
Nick I can't wait to see where the web campus will take ministry and how its presence will revolutionize sharing the gospel. Not just by crossing time zones or circumventing geographical boundaries like oceans or borders, not just by responding to differences like language, ethnicity or age ... but how web campus ministries can impact and negate INDIFFERENCE and reach the hearts of individuals who desperately need to know Christ. Wherever and whoever they are.
I keep wondering what's ahead ... like, what will the equivalents of the first "web campus mouse" or icon-driven menu be? And it makes my head spin every time I try to imagine where God will lead us from there.
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