Does electron-based social media undermine the Christian concept of community? This is the question explored by Mark Galli in his Christianity Today article, "Does Twitter Do Us Any Good?" It's a valid concern. (This is part two of my reaction to his article.)
Technology offers new opportunities to connect with people around the world. My parents live across the country from me. Our web cam is a wonderful tool for the grandchildren and grandparents to connect. I can also chat with friends who are foreign missionaries. Seeing them monitor-to-monitor helps me stay connected to those who are on the front lines of ministry.
What about web communities like MySpace, Facebook, and twitter? Do they cause more harm than good? I recently joined Facebook. Within the past few months I have reconnected with friends I haven't seen or talked with in twenty years. I now know that one friend has a tween who refuses kisses, another is missing a son who went to camp, an author friend is working on an article, a fellow adoptive family just returned from the beach, a grieving friend found encouragement from the book of Isaiah, and a missionary preached at a hospital today.
Through these little tidbits of the mundane, I'm able to network with other Christian writers and ministers, pray and request prayer, give and receive encouragement, and exhort and receive exhortation toward good works and godliness. Sounds a lot like the biblical concept of fellowship to me!
But, Angel, who posted a comment on Galli's article, says it well, "Ah, but one can touch, smell, connect in the flesh. Can you do this on the Internet? That's the argument." This is the point at which cyber-communities fall short. My parents can see their grandchildren on a web cam, but they cannot hug them.
Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- all the more as you see the Day approaching." (NIV)
As our world continues to advance towards the day of our Lord's return, we need each other "all the more." Creating cyber-communities is a viable method of providing encouragement for one another. However, this in not a replacement for meeting together. The two can go hand in hand, but one cannot substitute for the other.
I'm thankful for the techno tools now available. Shunning them cuts us off from their good uses and from reaching the mission field that waits at our fingertips every time we sit down to our keyboard. The important thing is to Get Real! about God's word and apply it to everything we do, including our Internet activities.
Galli did a great job of raising important issues for Christian consideration. I encourage you to read his article and add your thoughts to the comments section. For more on the biblical concept of Christian community, I also recommend Nathan Creitz's thoughtful entry "The Case for Community" on his blog, ChurchETHOS.
Gettin' Real!
Melodie
I agree that technology such as the internet can bring us in closer connection with others in terms of fellowship, encouragement and the sharing of prayer together. However, it can still get lonely without the real in person connection. We all need that as well. If we don't have that at times in our life, we can be thankful and appreciate more the connection with people that takes place via technology. I know many missionaries living at what might seem to be the ends of the earth are very thankful for the connections with people via avenues such as Facebook.
ReplyDeleteDebra