Comments on: Virtual Community & Video Venues http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/ exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:31:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Doug Paul http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/comment-page-1/#comment-7903 Doug Paul Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:46:19 +0000 http://lifeasmission.com/blog/?p=1028#comment-7903 Maybe you should write an extensive, advanced education paper on such a topic, JR. ;-) Maybe you should write an extensive, advanced education paper on such a topic, JR. ;-)

]]> By: jrrozko http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/comment-page-1/#comment-7902 jrrozko Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:12:05 +0000 http://lifeasmission.com/blog/?p=1028#comment-7902 So, if I hear you right, you think there's something important about discipleship ;) Couldn't agree more and I think it's this starting point, more than any other, that should catapult us into reflection and discussion about the theology which has led to relegating discipleship to the margins of our Christian imaginations and lives. Perhaps one of the most fruitful questions we can be asking ourselves today is, "What sort of theology emerges from and leads most naturally to the vision and practice of Kingdom discipleship?" For me, the answers to this question fall under the category of "missional theology." So, if I hear you right, you think there's something important about discipleship ;)

Couldn't agree more and I think it's this starting point, more than any other, that should catapult us into reflection and discussion about the theology which has led to relegating discipleship to the margins of our Christian imaginations and lives.

Perhaps one of the most fruitful questions we can be asking ourselves today is, "What sort of theology emerges from and leads most naturally to the vision and practice of Kingdom discipleship?"

For me, the answers to this question fall under the category of "missional theology."

]]> By: Doug Paul http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/comment-page-1/#comment-7899 Doug Paul Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:20:11 +0000 http://lifeasmission.com/blog/?p=1028#comment-7899 I feel like this whole discussion is symptomatic of a larger problem: The modern evangelical church feels you can be a Christian without being a disciple. The video venue strategy is all about "getting people in and getting people saved" but then says, "and hopefully they plug in and become disciples." Over and over again we forget that the end game for Jesus wasn't conversion but discipleship. In fact, he seemed to have a few snarkey responses about converts. If the goal of the church is to make converts and video venues can accomplish it, then great. But converts isn't what Jesus is counting. Converts aren't the goal. The goal is discipleship. And everything I've seen on video venues leads me to believe that people are LESS LIKELY to become disciples in these types of environments because they subtly undermine community, participation and engagement ("medium is the message" line of thinking). I could make a thousand arguments as to why video teaching isn't scripturally sound (if Hebrews tells us to judge teaching based on the person's life...how do we judge their life when they live an hour away and we've never met them?), but I won't go down that bunny trail. Ultimately, it's got to come back to discipleship. When Paul talked about being happy that any method would lead to someone coming to Christ...they were immediately entering into discipleship, not simply conversion. That seems optional for us and it seems even more optional, to me, with video venues as we currently know it. Meaning, I'm open my opinion changing as I know several churches with video venues starting to embrace Missional Communities, et al. I guess we'll see in a few years if they are compatible or not. ;-) I feel like this whole discussion is symptomatic of a larger problem: The modern evangelical church feels you can be a Christian without being a disciple.

The video venue strategy is all about "getting people in and getting people saved" but then says, "and hopefully they plug in and become disciples." Over and over again we forget that the end game for Jesus wasn't conversion but discipleship. In fact, he seemed to have a few snarkey responses about converts.

If the goal of the church is to make converts and video venues can accomplish it, then great. But converts isn't what Jesus is counting.

Converts aren't the goal. The goal is discipleship. And everything I've seen on video venues leads me to believe that people are LESS LIKELY to become disciples in these types of environments because they subtly undermine community, participation and engagement ("medium is the message" line of thinking).

I could make a thousand arguments as to why video teaching isn't scripturally sound (if Hebrews tells us to judge teaching based on the person's life…how do we judge their life when they live an hour away and we've never met them?), but I won't go down that bunny trail.

Ultimately, it's got to come back to discipleship. When Paul talked about being happy that any method would lead to someone coming to Christ…they were immediately entering into discipleship, not simply conversion. That seems optional for us and it seems even more optional, to me, with video venues as we currently know it. Meaning, I'm open my opinion changing as I know several churches with video venues starting to embrace Missional Communities, et al. I guess we'll see in a few years if they are compatible or not. ;-)

]]> By: jrrozko http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/comment-page-1/#comment-5473 jrrozko Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:27:15 +0000 http://lifeasmission.com/blog/?p=1028#comment-5473 Seems like what you are talking about isn't video venues, but ways to make localized community teaching available to members of that community while they are away, which is a great idea. Even that might go too far if we put in ordinate amount of emphasis on teaching, but a decent idea nonetheless. I'm all for using technology to help the actual members of a community stay connected, but not when it begins to cross into a line of an artificial sort of connection. Seems like what you are talking about isn't video venues, but ways to make localized community teaching available to members of that community while they are away, which is a great idea. Even that might go too far if we put in ordinate amount of emphasis on teaching, but a decent idea nonetheless. I'm all for using technology to help the actual members of a community stay connected, but not when it begins to cross into a line of an artificial sort of connection.

]]> By: Jim S http://lifeasmission.com/blog/2009/03/virtual-community-video-venues/comment-page-1/#comment-5468 Jim S Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:52:18 +0000 http://lifeasmission.com/blog/?p=1028#comment-5468 Thanks for sharing this information JR, great points Bob, Shane and you make. My thoughts, is there a way to use the “Video Venue” type medium as a way of helping members of our family/community feel connected when they have to be away from our Sunday morning gathering. I am mostly referring to, for example at least five members of the Living Hope community that are pilots and must be out of town, sometimes for more than one week at a time. I know that with my biological family we use the video mediums to “connect with one another” and close in the gap of the miles that physically separate us. I believe that a low-tech approach could serve this purpose. For example just a live video simulcast using something like sight speed. This would require an account to access it and when it is over it is over. I am actually thinking about trying this with small group as one of the members of our community is out of town this week. I would be interested in your thoughts on this. Thanks for sharing this information JR, great points Bob, Shane and you make. My thoughts, is there a way to use the “Video Venue” type medium as a way of helping members of our family/community feel connected when they have to be away from our Sunday morning gathering. I am mostly referring to, for example at least five members of the Living Hope community that are pilots and must be out of town, sometimes for more than one week at a time. I know that with my biological family we use the video mediums to “connect with one another” and close in the gap of the miles that physically separate us. I believe that a low-tech approach could serve this purpose. For example just a live video simulcast using something like sight speed. This would require an account to access it and when it is over it is over. I am actually thinking about trying this with small group as one of the members of our community is out of town this week. I would be interested in your thoughts on this.

]]>