Theological Considerations

As one begins to use internet media to distribute content, this will create new situations. What happens, for instance, when someone starts to say, "Well, I don't go to church anymore, I just listen online." The other consideration with new internet media is that it is interactive. What happens, for instance, when someone starts to say, "I was really offended by what that person wrote on the church's blog..."

It seems that the key concepts here are Word and Community. God comes to us in God's Word, most poignantly in the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are called to live in the Word and to proclaim this Word to other people. So, when it comes to new media, how is this affecting how we proclaim, understand and interpret the Word. I have not yet answered this question, but I think it will be a locus of thinking.

The second locus is community. Internet is creation all sorts of communication possibilities. Yet communication does not necessarily mean community. What makes community? What makes something a Christian community?

As a Lutheran, I much appreciate the definition given by the Augsburg Confession (1530): The church is the gathering where the Gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments are administered. This presents a helpful grounding pole for me; the community needs to be gathered by the Holy Spirit, the Word needs to be proclaimed, and the signs (Baptism and Communion) of God's mercy need to be done to us. However, this does not leave all the questions asked or solved...