Facebook Church

I've been thinking lately about social networking website in terms of ministry, primarily my thoughts are social networking as a primary means of ministry. A few conversations in the last few weeks have prompted some of my thoughts.

First, talking to Todd Craig about college students away, he mentioned how some freshman have a hard time forming new relationships particularly in their second semester of school because their first semester they simply maintained previous relationships through Facebook. I didn't have that temptation, but I did notice that in my freshman year there were some who tended to struggle with isolation and lonliness and if a social networking site was available that would easily have replaced relationships within the new context.

Second, I met with a church member about using social networking to engage people outside of the Tulsa area. LifeChurch, for instance, uses Second Life. This person was pushing me to think of our new ministry, the Venue68, in broader terms of the Tulsa area.

Third, at Annual Conference a teen stood up during our Strategic Plan presentation to share about evangelism. She shared the importance of using Facebook in terms of evangelism, instead of home visitation, which is what most people were used to.

So, here's my confusing. On one hand, I am fully behind using Facebook/MySpace in terms of ministry because it is a way to speak the gospel in the common "vernacular." Missionary efforts always need to take into account speaking according to the local languages. When Europe was being evangelized a common debate between the East and West, among other things, was translating the Mass into the common vernacular for the new converts. The West held, until Vatican II, that Latin was the appropiate language, and that converts would need to learn Latin. Subsequently, people who could not read Latin had no access to the Bible. The Reformers rebelled against this idea, and many people were martyred because they sought to speak the gospel according to the common vernacular. So, as we move into a new era in the world, are we speaking in the common vernacular or forcing people to communicate in antiquated means?

On the other hand, the gospel is incarnational. God did not virtually become flesh. "The Word became flesh and dwelled among us." Furthermore, we remember the gospel through tangible means- we eat the bread and drink the wine, and are covered in actual water. In addition, Christian community, while universal, actually works on a local level with real people living in real ways, with real problems. Can you have Christian community via a social network?