If you have a minute, check out the Virtual Community article by Nancy Ortberg on ChristianityToday.com. I don’t know that I agree with everything she says, but I think its definitely worth reading, especially for those of you who have online communities with your small groups or are considering starting one.
Here is one part that stood out to me:
“It’s much easier to love from a distance. I can be enormously patient with a person when I know I can click off from a conversation anytime I want. I can self-reflect what information I will and won’t divulge, giving a false picture of who I am. Because online communication is fraught with potential for deceit or withholding, we need to be deeply aware it provides only a partial relationship.
I think that’s part of the reason why we as zone leaders want to use ZoneGathering as a supplement rather than a replacement for relationship. Instead of closing off certain types of communication, we’re trying to open new avenues like this blog, podcasts, etc.
Thanks for posting this article, Nathan. I thought it was really good. We need to think through things like this Biblically and critically.
Heather Z
July 12th, 2006