I’ve just taken (a very small) part in a live online lecture about preaching in the digital environment from Durham University. It was really interesting.
Some very good things being said about the nature of online communities including issues of avatars and trust.
I’m left reflecting on the way in which technology of this kind can be used as a bridge between cultures. One of the big questions for me is how much of the inherited tradition is it necessary to retain and how is that done without compromising the incarnational nature of the ‘sermon’. In that sense it’s the same question that I often struggle with when i’m involved in ‘Fresh Expresions’ conversations. If the established Church is to support these initiatives how much of them does it need to understand? Where is the common ground for these two cultures and how can it be expressed in such a way that both can be aware of it’s presence?
more to follow i’m sure!…….
Minister Me 
how is this going Becca? anything to update us on?
I have just been put ‘on staff’ for a welcome centre on Second life. It’s run by a Church as a PG sim for anybody searching for a home away from home. On second life (SL) there are thousands of people escaping into any reality they want to create. For many their own reality is full of abuse and suffering yet on SL they find escape. The Welcome Centre (Heather’s Welcome Centre) seeks to provide a home and they use volunteers to provide positive role models. Many people are differently abled, they may be partially sighted or have limited use of their limbs, but on SL they are free. Now, SL is dangerous…it is addictive, especially if your reality is not as good as your SL life. However, the church would do well to see it as a legitimate mission field and find ways to support Christians (many of them American) in their work.