CNN Reports on the Virtual Church

In the last week CNN has given some attention to the "Virtual Church." In an article about the "Virtual Church," and an interview with Craig Groeschel, the pastor of LifeChurch.tv, CNN brings to light some of issues surrounding one of the newer, and more controversial trends in Christianity. Interviewing a member of LifeChurch.tv, Hjalti á Lava, says:

"It allows me to connect with others and have conversations about the message. Technology allows us today to have fellowship across borders and cultures."

Recently Christianity Today had a blog post discussing this issue by Bob Hyatt, who is pastor of the Evergreen Community in Portland, Oregon, and a regular contributor to Out of Ur, (Part 1 | Part 2).

"The problem, in my mind, with virtual community and internet campuses isn’t that it’s not church… it’s that it is just church enough to be dangerous. Because it has all the easiest and most instantly gratifying parts of community without the harder parts, it ends up misshaping us."

Douglas Estes, author of SimChurch is also mentioned in the CNN article. For people that are passionate about the church and evangelism, and feel both excitement and concern over the new virtual world the internet is creating, SimChurch explores much of this debate and covers some of the vital issues that postmillennial followers of Jesus must grapple with.

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About the Author
Douglas Estes is Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Western Seminary-San José and Lead Pastor at Berryessa Valley Church, San José, California. He received his PhD in Theology from the University of Nottingham, UK.

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One Response to CNN Reports on the Virtual Church

  1. Jacki Lewis November 20, 2009 Reply

    Sounds interesting. I think I’ll check it out.
    -Jacki
    http://www.lovelylittleshelf.com

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