en looks at how we are being encouraged to utilise online resources in our churches
Everyone values high-quality resources.
These can help the church to be built up and evangelise effectively. A clip that distils a point in a sermon can be something memorable.
Getting hold of these is relatively easy, with DVDs put together by professional publishing houses, or those by the likes of Dan Rackman and his thought-provoking films such as the widely watched 2015 remake of the John Lewis advert. Clayton TV bills itself as the most ‘comprehensive evangelical video library’ with programmes available from a huge online catalogue as well as a live schedule to stream.
New to the market is RightNow Media, based in the USA. One subscriber has rather helpfully described it as ‘Netflix for Bible studies’ (secular films available online for a subscription). On its website it says its ‘ultimate goal is to encourage Christians to be on mission (sic) wherever God has them’. The site has many different organisations’ materials, sermons and courses all available to download, view and use by churches who have signed up to the site. Rather than an individual accessing content from anywhere across the Internet, churches are encouraged to select materials for use by church members. One subscription for the church will allow the individual members to have access to whatever the church leadership thinks will be most helpful for them to use.
Congregation viewing
For example, if the church is running a series of Bible studies on a particular topic, there may be supplementary material on the site that the church member can be directed to watch during the week to help them meditate on what’s been taught. Or Sunday sermons can include extracts from download-able materials direct from the site, just as one would already do but after much time spent trawling the Internet.
If someone is unable to attend one evening of a course series, then the missed session can be caught up with, either at the same time (if someone is travelling, or looking after children at home) or later at a more convenient time.
Customised and vetted
Churches can add introductions to courses that are already on the site, making them personal to the church group that is using them. Churches are also able to ‘deselect’ speakers / courses / groups from the areas on the site that the individual church member can access. If resources are not in keeping with the church theology, this could be helpful at ensuring teaching that was unhelpful is kept away from the church family. However, with a growing resource base and leadership unable to know the theology of every group posting material, never mind be able to watch every sermon through, then the feasibility of doing this is probably unlikely.
The cost for a church with up to 100 in attendance is fixed at around £740 a year. The pricing scales from there to churches with over 5000 people attending each week. (you will recall it is based in the USA.)
A few UK evangelical churches have taken up a subscription and are very happy with the site and the way they use it, referencing examples of use such as those above.
Is there a tension?
There is some tension between relying primarily on media resources with ‘big’ speakers to teach the Bible, and relying on the Holy Spirit to teach the church. The leadership of a church are the ones primarily given the responsibility of teaching (1 Timothy 3.2). Too much use of technology can undermine this. Having many of the local church capable of opening up the Bible anywhere to share the gospel without the need for technology should be an aim of the church. The equipping of people for this can be supplemented by media resources, but surely it would be ideal if everyone is confident in what they’ve been taught and just depend upon the Spirit’s help so they can sit around the kitchen table, or in the office canteen, and point people to Jesus.
Changing the way we learn
Just as the invention of the printing press, widespread literacy and the proliferation of books changed the way society – and the church – learns, remembers and passes on information, then any new media, including RightNow, will have its effects on the church. Prior to paying upwards of £740 a year to hear the latest marriage / family / evangelistic course led mostly by people with amazing teeth, the sunniest of smiles, and perfect make up, it might be worth considering the impact that ‘Christian Netflix’ might have.
Clearly cost is going to be a factor for the many small churches who arguably would benefit most from access to a wide range of speakers and resources that they may not be able to have otherwise. Alongside the cost of the subscription, there is still a need to buy the technology and services to use it and broadcast it. Where a course may take the pressure off an elder in a team of one, the other costs still need to be factored in.
Prioritising the popular
One of the arguments for expository teaching is that it helps teach the ‘whole counsel of God’ and prevents a pick-and-mix approach to Bible study. The Internet and related media tend to prioritise what is popular, rather than promote what is true or a balance of truth. One would need to be careful of that bias even on a Christian site. Also, would the church want homegroup leaders downloading Bible studies on issues that may be on ‘secondary matters’ but are not coming from the church’s theological position and could be divisive in a church context? Churches already find people are getting unhelpful theological ideas from all over the web, and this would perhaps be facilitating that even more.
This may be one of several resources that the church uses, but do the online resources encourage people to become better readers of the Bible, or simply consumers that require more and more multimedia teaching to be ‘engaged’ with God’s Word? There is a difference between Bible knowledge and being able to read the Bible for yourself. Both need to be encouraged to guard the truth.
Coming together
One of the important things about sitting under teaching in a local church is that it is (or should be) directly applied to those specific people in their specific context. International speakers cannot do this and yet their teaching can often be more attractive to local congregation members because they are more skilful speakers than their local pastor.
Similarly, there is something important about the coming together of people to hear God’s Word – ‘where two or three are gathered’ – and to speak it to one another (Ephesians 4). This is quite different from the individualistic experience of listening to a talk on one’s own.
What a joke?
On April Fool’s Day 2017, The Good Book Company posted an amusing blog ‘launching’ a Virtual Reality Access Library Bible Studies headset. The ‘marketing’ suggested that by donning the headsets, group leaders from the materials could ‘appear on the coffee table in the middle of the room’ and answer questions with pre-programmed responses. The post ended with this: ‘Version 2 is already in development that incorporates remote access. When it launches a year from today on 1 April 2018, there will be no need to leave the comfort and safety of your own home to visit your small group. You can enjoy your weekly “get together” while lying in bed or on the couch. Christian fellowship has never been so effortless.’
This was clearly a joke. But, moving away from meeting together, getting our ideas primarily from the Internet and from people and places that don’t know us pastorally as Christians, will result in a more self-conscious and self-centered way of living, communicating and learning as Christians.
Lifeline or disaster
For some, the hope of being connected to the church through technology will be a lifeline where illness prevents real connection to take place. But for the majority, this 2018 parody would be disastrous. The joke is not a huge step away from what RightNow is offering, and certainly how it could be used even now by church members in place of genuine fellowship with the church to which they belong.
However, wise leaders use such technologies in parallel with other forms, rarely or never on their own. And, as Paul says: ‘The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached’ (Philippians 1.18).
